First Stop: Nuno Mendes’s Lisbon
Lisbon |Lisbon -- Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring First Stop feature, we asked celebrated Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes about some of his go-to spots in Lisbon. Born and raised in Lisbon; now splitting his time between East London and Portugal, Nuno has dedicated his life to exploring and perfecting his cooking. Mendes is a pioneer of modern gastronomy, a traveler or "viajante," who has explored the globe in search of unique ingredients, innovative techniques and first-hand experience on local farms.
In 2017 Nuno published his first solo cookbook, 'Lisboeta' (Bloomsbury publishing), which inspired his partnership with restaurant group MJMK to launch Lisboeta (2022) – Nuno’s "love letter to Lisbon" – on Charlotte Street, Soho. Most recently, in February 2023, Nuno launched Cozinha das Flores and Flôr, a neighborhood restaurant and bar in the historic center of Porto.
For me, some of my favorite dishes when I return to Lisbon are the following:
Rissois de camarão – prawn rissoles
Grilled Alentejo pork plumas with a tomato salad and piri piri. Read more
![Nuno Mendes](https://images.culinarybackstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/cb_lisbon_nuno_firststop-1-320x400.jpg?lossy=1&ssl=1)
Lisbon -- For me, some of my favorite dishes when I return to Lisbon are the following:
Rissois de camarão – prawn rissoles
Grilled Alentejo pork plumas with a tomato salad and piri piri.
These are the dishes that make me salivate when I fly back home. Both of them symbolize the food of Lisbon and they always taste better in situ.The pork dish is one you can find with reasonable quality in most good tascas or old school eateries throughout the city. I prefer to sit outside to soak in the sun, perhaps because I now live in London where there’s so little of it.
Read more
Rissois de camarão – prawn rissoles
Grilled Alentejo pork plumas with a tomato salad and piri piri.
These are the dishes that make me salivate when I fly back home. Both of them symbolize the food of Lisbon and they always taste better in situ.The pork dish is one you can find with reasonable quality in most good tascas or old school eateries throughout the city. I prefer to sit outside to soak in the sun, perhaps because I now live in London where there’s so little of it.
Read more