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Lisbon
Lisbon's culinary record
The Portuguese capital seems to have gone overnight from being a sleepy, almost forgotten city of crumbling buildings on the edge of Europe to a crowded tourist destination and a hotspot for property developers. The rapid change couldn’t be more jarring for Lisbon locals: It was as if Lisboetas had woken up from an exceptionally long slumber to find out that while they had been sleeping the rest of the world had suddenly become interested in their country and – as importantly – its food.
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Juliana Penteado Pastry: Baking Lisbon a Better Place
It’s been a long journey – literally – for pastry chef Juliana Penteado, culminating in her small-but-beautiful bakery in Lisbon’s São Bento neighborhood, and another shop soon to come. The Brazilian chef first enrolled in a cooking school in São Paulo at age 12 where, she would spend six years studying. As a young girl, she went back and forth between cooking and baking, but the latter would eventually win. “I also like cooking but baking has a more delicate and feminine side which make my eyes sparkle,” she tells us. It’s that inspiration which shines through in the elegant, lovingly made pastries that have become her calling card.
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Street Smarts: Rua do Forno do Tijolo
Lisbon’s Rua do Forno do Tijolo may only stretch a few blocks, but it packs in the city’s full story: French bakers, Portuguese wine bars, Goan curries, Macanese dishes, and old-school coffee roasters, all side by side.
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Lisbon’s Best Wine Bars
The numbers don’t lie: the Portuguese drink the most wine per capita of any nationality. Not surprisingly, you don’t have to look far to find the drink in Lisbon, a city where a glass of wine is sometimes cheaper than a bottle of water. But if you’re looking for a unique wine – perhaps something made by a small producer, a long-lost grape, or a bottle from an obscure region – in a comfortable or perhaps even stylish atmosphere, poured by someone who can tell you a bit about what you’re drinking, things get a little more complicated.
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O Primo do Queijo: Cheese Champions
The original idea was simple enough. “The plan was to make really good ham and cheese sandwiches,” explains Bruno Ribeiro of O Primo do Queijo, the Lisbon restaurant he owns with Francisco Nuno Silveira Bernardo. But rarely are things so easy.
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Belmiro: Game Time
“This restaurant is different,” says Belmiro de Jesus. He’s describing his own establishment, Belmiro, which he opened in 2020. And, we have to admit, it’s true. From the menu, with its emphasis on game dishes, to the unique wines – quirky labels that won’t break the bank – the chef has created a restaurant that stands out. If there’s anything we’d add to his descriptor, it would be that Belmiro is also very delicious and very Portuguese.
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Recipe: Açorda de Gambas, Portuguese Bread Porridge with Prawns
Start with stale, leftover bread. Add to this some of Portugal’s most decadent, richest ingredients, and you have açorda de gambas, a dish that manages to bridge the gap between poverty and indulgence. The Portuguese are masters at transforming leftover or stale bread into new dishes. In the north, leftover slices of bread are dipped in eggs, fried in oil and sprinkled with sugar in the dessert known as rabanadas. In the south, açorda is a soup made from slices of day-old bread topped with hot water, garlic, herbs, and a poached egg. The south is also home to migas, bits of stale bread and fat that are cooked into an almost omelet-like form.
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CB On the Road: Olive Oil, Wine, and Cork in Romeu
It’s an epic love story between the Menéres family and the land of Romeu, a remote village in the region of northeast Portugal called Trás-os-Montes, whose name literally means “beyond the mountains.” Over 150 years ago Clemente Menéres began the family farm, and today the Menéres estate continues to produce certified organic olive oil and wine, as well as cork, with absolute respect for the land and the people living and working in the hilly fields. On our arrival we’re received by João Menéres, the fifth generation to lead the family business, whose infectious enthusiasm resists the high temperatures of the scorching summer months and the unusually harsh cold of winter. João leads the way as we explore Romeu, sharing a bit of the family’s story along the way.
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Recipe: Sapateira Recheada, Portuguese Stuffed Crab
We are in Lota da Esquina, in Cascais, staring down a small bowl filled to the brim with a mix of crab meat, chopped eggs, mayonnaise and other seasonings. On the surface, it looks like a straightforwardly decadent dish but according to chef/owner Vítor Sobral, it’s actually a way to boost a product that’s not quite at its peak.
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Easter in the Algarve: Our Favorite Folares
A visit to a pastelaria in Lisbon in the lead up to Easter brings with it new surprises. Alongside the usual pastries and cakes, you’ll spot folares, loaves of sweet bread, some topped with hardboiled eggs, and many surrounded by a colorful assortment of almonds. This type of bread, which contains ingredients forbidden during Lent, has long been associated with Easter and the feasting that occurs on this holiday. “After the winter months and the long fast during Lent, the Easter brings an intense activity in terms of culinary preparations and the exchange of cakes, namely the folares,” writes Mouette Barboff in her book A Tradição do Pão em Portugal (Bread in Portugal).
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Recipe: Canalha’s Razor Clam Rice with Deep-Fried Hake
“This is the best time for bivalves,” says Portuguese chef João Rodrigues. It’s late February, and we’re speaking in the dining room of Canalha, his award-winning Lisbon restaurant. “Usually you think of bivalves as something you eat in summer, but you shouldn’t. During the months with no letter R, you shouldn't eat them.” We had asked the chef to share a seasonal dish, but since proper spring produce hadn’t yet quite arrived, he suggested razor clam rice served with deep-fried hake – a fish related to cod, although with a more delicate flavor – creating a dish that takes advantage of those plump, non-summer bivalves.
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Saving Lisbon’s Classic Steakhouses
The story goes that in the early 19th century, an Italian immigrant, António Marrare, arrived in Lisbon and opened four eateries, essentially introducing the concept of the contemporary restaurant to the city. These venues – all of which bore his name – would have an impact on Lisbon’s culinary scene that exists until today, as would the steak dish he invented, which was also – perhaps unsurprisingly – named after himself. Marrare’s last restaurant closed in 1866, but a century later Lisbon restaurateurs, nostalgic for that era of dining, opened restaurants that paid homage to Marrare. Those that exist today include Snob Bar, opened in 1964, Café de São Bento, in 1982, and Café do Paço, in 2009.
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Uaipi: Cassava Café
We’re in a small café in Lisbon’s Madragoa neighborhood, and all of the disparate dishes loading down the table in front of us – small bread-like balls, a dish that resembles a small crepe, granola studded with flakes of grains, a pudding-like dessert – have one ingredient in common: cassava. “Cassava is known as the Queen of Brazil,” says Laila Ferreira Soares. “Everyone eats it, it’s always present.” Laila, a native of Brazil, along with her partner, Gregory Busson, a Frenchman, are the pair behind Uaipi, a new café/market in Lisbon with a focus on this particular ingredient.
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Lisbon: An Eater's Guide to the City
Part of our city guidebook series, this new book was created with those who travel to eat in mind. Comprehensive yet still pocketable, think of this little book as your trusted and knowledgeable local companion in Lisbon.
Visit the shopYour Questions, Answered
The best things to do in Lisbon are visiting its historic neighborhoods, medieval castle, public squares and palaces strewn throughout the city. While many tourists pack into the 28 Tram, we suggest following the rails on foot, saving the seat on the tram for locals who need it for their daily commutes. The city’s dining scene has much to offer and we’ve chronicled much of it here. The city is a great base for beach and nature trips in the region as well.
Lisbon is fairly small and walkable, so there are many good areas to stay in. The neighborhoods Principe Real and Chiado are very popular and central. Anjos and Graca are more up-and-coming and hip. For a good look at a really local neighborhood with a great dining scene, check out Alvalade.
The COVID-19 situation in Lisbon is among the best in the world. The vaccination rate is one of the highest and current infection/hospitalization rates among the lowest. For the latest information please check.
Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal located in the far southeastern corner of the European continent in the European Union. Lisbon is situated on the river Tejo or Tagus, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean a couple of kilometers from the city center.
Compared to other European cities of its size, Lisbon is unusually safe. Incidents of violent crime are very rare though petty crime such as pickpocketing is a nuisance.
The best time to visit Lisbon is May-June to attend the festivals and September-October when the weather is best. July and August are the hottest month when much of the city slows down as locals leave on vacation.
The best food in Lisbon is fresh fish and seafood as well as Iberian pork. You can find all of this at simple neighborhood restaurants known as tascas.
American citizens with a negative COVID test result or a valid proof of vaccination may travel to Portugal.
You can fly directly to Lisbon from many locations worldwide. Check TAP for any new routes.
Lisbon has a very diverse dining scene from the traditional to the trendy that is changing all of the time. Please check our top 10 essentials list for our latest tips.
There are Atlantic beaches very close to Lisbon including Carcavelos which is a short train ride from downtown Lisbon and Costa Caparica which is a short drive across the river. Though not technically on the Ocean, Lisbon is very much a “beach town” culturally.
The weather in Lisbon is very good. Lisbon has more days of sunshine per year than any city in Europe. Average temperatures are 53F/11C in the coldest month, January up to 74F/24C in the hottest month, July.
Compared the other European cities, Lisbon is not expensive. A good cup of coffee rarely costs more than 1 EURO, nor does a glass of local beer. Portuguese food and wine is very high quality and inexpensive. The cost of living is quite low, though real estate prices are increasing rapidly.
Lisbon is a great city for families with children. Public safety is among the highest in European cities, the people are warm and welcoming and there is a bakery selling custard tarts on nearly every corner.