Lisbon's best restaurants

Jan 23, 2024

5 min read

110

Lisbon is all about the walking and the food for us. Below is a comprehensive overview of the restaurants we have discovered and recommend. Broken into our round up of best restaurants, best traditional restaurants, best non traditional restaaurants and best cafes/sweets/brunch, ice-cream.

For the most part, Lisbon restaurants are rustic, no-frills, and in our opinion most notable for their fish. Salted cod is everywhere but fresh fish and seafood is abundant, varied and bang for your buck, the best in Europe. Portuguese restaurants have a few different names:

Marisqueira - fish restaurants
Churrasqueria - BBQ
Tasco - No frils restaurants
Taberna - More sophisticated but not always better
Petiscos - similar to Spanish tapas

Find all venues mentioned on our pinned for you map of Portugal

Best overall dining experience

Ponto Final - Homely, rustic and a beautiful waterfront patio. The restaurant serves traditional plates and local wines. A favourite of ours. RESERVATIONS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. In Almada, across the river from Lisbon. You will need to take a 20 min ferry from cais de sodre ferry terminal. This is a top runner for one of Lisbons best restaurants. Seating time is limited, booking is required.

Best for lunch

Ze Da Mouraria - one of the great traditional tasca experiences, lunch only, portions are huge, mains usually shared between 2 or more people. Love their beef dish. Ze Da Mouraria 2 opens for dinner, same food but lacks the atmosphere of 1. Another runner for Lisbons best restaurants for us.

Trinca - A favourite for lunch. Tiny spot, beautiful fresh food, lovely service and great prices. The tuna is always great.

Best fado experience with a meal

Senhor Vinho (Lapa) and Parreirinha de Alfama - Both are a great experience. Enjoy top tier fado music with wonderful food at both venues. The fado singers come out in between courses.

Best casual

Time Out Market - food market, very touristy but must-see for most visitors.

Best consistent experience

Tapisco - Lovely restaurant, high-end experience but not stuffy, has always impressed visitors and has never let us down.

TRADITIONAL PORTUGUESE RESTAURANTS

Churrasqueira da Paz - a classic tasca/churrasqueria (bbq), very popular.
Ramiro’s is Lisbon’s iconic fish eatery, an institution - totally laid back, no reservations but queue goes quick. Shellfish is what we go for here - clams, crab, prawns etc, but everything is good.
Faz Frio - an old establishment tasca reimagined. Does a great job bringing a novo approach to the design and menu but retains an honest charm and reverence for tradition. Nice atmosphere, in trendy Principe Real.
Taberna Das Flores - bit expensive for a tasca/taberna, but a go-to for traditional Portuguese food. In chic Chiado.
Celebrity Chef Jose Avillez has about 20 establishments in the city including Michelin starred Belcanto but for traditional dishes and flavors with a novel approach I like Taberna in Bairro Avillez and Pateo in Cantinho do Avillez.
Taberna Sal Grosso in Alfama - Portuguese petiscos, local ingredients and flavors evolved enough to make it interesting but evades any sense of pretentiousness, great chef, oozes a causal cool. I like it for lunch, a nice option for dinner is his sister restaurant "Salmoura", close by.
Taberna Albricoque - Located right next to Santa Apolónia Station, Taberna Albricoque is a restaurant that privileges Mediterranean products with a special focus on Algarve specialties. Lovely atmosphere and very good service.
O Velho Eurico - Typical Portuguese food served in “tapas” style with a twist. The guys running it are great hosts, very reasonable prices. Always full, need to book almost a week in advance for dinner. Great vibe.
Gambrinus - “upscale” traditional Portuguese dining environment - but not overpriced. Really friendly service, and considered an establishment by locals.
Senhor Vinho - “Fado Music”.

OTHER RESTAURANTS (not traditional)

Prado - one of the most talked about restaurants in recent times; local, seasonal produce, with small plates accompanied by organic and biodynamic wines.
Alma - our favorite Michelin experience.
100 Marineras (Bistrot) - their Michelin establishment goes by the same name but would recommend their bistrot, a distinctly monocle reading type crowd and place, good food and superb cocktails.
Mezze - located in Mercado Do Arroios, it's a Middle Eastern restaurant owned and staffed almost entirely by Syrian refugees. Great initiative matched by excellent food including staples like baba ganoush, falafel, and baklava.
Cafeh Tehran - great tasting middle eastern food in lovely Praça das Flores.
Time Out Market - food market, very touristy but must-see for most visitors.
Campo de Ourique Food Market -much smaller than TimeOut, but more relaxed and local. If taking the 28 Tram all the way to Prazers it's a good option.
PSI - fantastic vegetarian - the menu includes a cross-section of Asian flavors. Close to Campo Martires Da Patria, one of the nicest parks in Lisbon to sit and relax. Our favorite veggie restaurant.
Palacio Chiado - located in a stunning old palace. Showcases 5 or 6 themed kitchens, from which you can pick and choose.
O Gambuzino - casual but great vegetarian/vegan restaurant, beside trendy Intendente square.
Peixola - located on Rua do Alecrim, one of the most famous streets in Lisbon, Peixola is a great venue where you can taste various treats of the sea, combined with elaborate cocktails, at the bar counter, and in a sophisticated and intimate ambiance.
Ruvida - untypical Italian restaurant, handmade pasta, ultra-regional recipes along with creative dishes.
A Paranza - our favorite Italian restaurant, traditional dishes from the South of Italy.

CAFES, SWEETS & BRUNCH

It 's hard to walk 100 meters in Lisbon without passing a Pastelaria - the local coffee/pastry shops. Espresso (usually excellent, for my taste, costs 50 cents to 1 euro). Small bites, great for snacks. Try few local pastries, both sweet and savoury; Pastel de Nata, Pão de Deus, Bolo de Arroz, Clarinhas, Bola de Berlim, Tarte de Amêndoa, Pastel de Feijão.

If looking for a more artisan coffee with brunch style offerings, fear not, the apartment is located in the heart of trendy “avocado on toast” style cafes:

Fauna and Flora - the food offering is maybe the best of the trendy cafes. They have two venues, closest is a short walk, in Santos, but very busy.
Dede’s - slightly off the beaten tourist trail, in residential lapa not far from the house, current favorite brunch style food offering.
The Mill – very popular European/Australian coffee shop with brunch style offerings.
Hello, Kristof - same street as the Mill with similar offerings plus a great selection of independent magazines.
Heim Cafe - a first mover in the now very trendy Santos.
Café Janis - Good café, bolstered by some top notch cocktails.
Confeitaria Nacional - more a pastelaria than a cafe, but it is the oldest in the city, so worth a mention.
Copenhagen Coffee Lab & Bakery - considered by many to be the best coffee in Lisbon, overpriced and overrated in our opinion.
Ceres boulangerie - French bakery with best croissants in downtown.
Manteigaria (Egg tart) - if you go to Belem you must try pastel de Belém, but in the city our favorite pastel de nata (egg tart) is Manteigaria. They have two shops; Time Out Market and close to Praca Luis de Camoes.
Landeau Chocolate – best chocolate cake in town (in our opinion), beautiful store/coffee shop on Rua Das Flores.Also, “The Best Chocolate Cake in the World” in Campo De Ourique, has an interesting take.