A Food Guide to Lisbon

My first morning in Lisbon was not ideal. I woke up early, ready to be productive; I scrambled up the cobbled, slippery and steep streets up to a cafe straight out of a magazine, Hello Kristof; I plonked myself down on a communal table with the best flat white I’d had in a while and a bowl of thick greek yogurt and homemade granola – and I desperately rushed to finish my thesis, six months in the making. I vowed not to leave the cafe until it was submitted, a goal that was tested when I realised I’d miscalculated and still had another few hundred words to cull, and tested again when my battery read 5%. Luckily the girl next to me with her laptop charger saved the day. I was not going to let editing and re-editing these 15,000 words take over the rest of my time in Lisbon. So, taunted by the sunlight on the teal tiled buildings outside the window and the yellow trams rattling past, I pressed submit. I left that cafe about about 100kg lighter – ready to take on whatever Lisbon had to offer.

Lisbon more than lived up to expectations. It wasn’t until a year or so ago that it was even on my radar, without the force of reputation of Rome, Paris or Barcelona. It is only in recent years that it has undertaken some kind of culinary resurgence – labeled the next “it destination” by every other magazine, the “most underrated dining city”, the “hottest place to visit next” and coupled with glamorous instagram shots of multicoloured tiles, a hilly red roof-ed city overlooking the river, and the classic Australian inspired brunches (you know, the flat whites and acai bowls on asymmetric plates and a marble bench-top). Cue all the travel bloggers (ok, me included). Well, it was justified. It was that night in one of Lisbon’s most talked about cevicherias, a tiny sunlit place known by the huge octopus hanging from the ceiling, seated at the bar next to another freelancer living in Lisbon, greeted with house-made cornbread and seaweed butter, eating the freshest salmon ceviche topped with mango foam. It was the evening trek we made up the hill just to eat warm pastel de nata fresh from the oven at Mantegaria, crisp and flaky and dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. It was the graffitied and slightly dilapidated sloping streets, where the higher you go the better the view. It was the gem around every corner – the stores trading solely in tinned fish (it’s big business here, and I came home with a bagful of my own), the traditional Portuguese eateries serving up cod and potato, ribs and rice next to more diverse and immigrant driven restaurants, particularly Africa and Asia – a different spectrum of flavour to other European cities.

Below are some of my favourite spots during my week in Lisbon – where to find the darkest chocolate gelato, the back (free) entrances to popular viewpoints, the flaky pastel de nata and fresh seafood. And yes, the flat whites too.

Coffee and Cafes

• Comoba: a modern, plant-filled cafe just around the corner from the hostel I stayed at – the best coffee I found and a gorgeous breakfast and lunch menu.
• Hello Kristof: the aforementioned location where I scrambled to finish my thesis : great coffee, a great place for breakfast or to freelance, great breakfast food if you’re leaning towards something a little healthier – an acai bowl, greek yogurt, and the scrambled eggs on sourdough were met with rave reviews by my neighbours.
• Copenhagen Coffee Lab: if you’re looking for a bit of hygge, a quality coffee and a cardamom bun or avocado on rye, this is your place. They also do breakfast plates with a little bit of everything – perfect for the indecisive. There are 2 or 3 across the city.
• Bettina & Niccolò Corallo: a little pink hued chocolate shop and roastery – sample some housemade chocolate with your espresso, order the halfway to molten brownie if they’re there, and don’t leave without trying their made-to-order dark chocolate sorbet- it’s just dark chocolate, water and a bit of brown sugar. For those who love their chocolate intense.
• The Mill: an Australian owned cafe filled with blue speckled plates and instagrammers, but also a good feed too, and reliable coffee.
• Others that I didn’t get a chance to visit but have heard good things about: Zenith, Bowls & Bar, Fauna & Flora and Talk to Me. All very pretty brunch spots involving coffee.

Sweets, Bakeries and Pastel de Nata

• Manteigaria: known as the best pastel de nata in town, this place was worth seeking out. You can watch the pastry being made and tins being lined by hand, and the turnover is so high you’ll be eating your’s warm from the oven. Try the cinnamon and icing sugar on top, and a take a few for later! Or just drop back past- they’re only a euro each, after all, and open until midnight.
• Pastels de Belem: the main rival of Manteigaria for best pastel de nata. They were a different beast entirely and I’m not sure I could pick a favourite – these were certainly more crisp and flaky, more pastry dominant, and perhaps had a little longer in the oven. You’ll just have to try both! Make a morning trip out to Belem and couple it with a visit to the Jeronimo’s Monastery (get tickets next door at the museum if the line is too long) and a wander past the Belem Tower.
• Landeau chocolate cake at the LX factory: a very famous chocolate cake. Google it. Even the New York Times had a rave. If you’re a chocolate cake person and you’re at the LX market, I’d recommend giving it a try – it’s rich but light and almost mousse like, and comes dusted with cocoa.
• Pastelaria Alcoa and Confeitaria Nacional: the top spots for more traditional Portuguese baked goods (a little warning – you may feel a little sugar overloaded by the end of your visit).
• Mu – gelato italiano: so so good. By far the best gelato I had in Lisbon. Caramelised banana and dark chocolate? Salted pistachio? It almost rivalled Italy. I also heard great things about Nannarella Gelateria but didn’t quite manage to try it out. Gelados Santini, though ubiquitous, was nowhere near as good (though if you must, get the coconut).

Lunch and Dinner

• A Cevechieria: some of the best ceviche I’ve had. Go early as it’s tiny and there’ll be a queue, though there is some outside space to wait with a drink if it’s a nice evening. Identifiable by the octopus hanging from the ceiling. The pisco sours are also A++
• Ramiro: launched into superstardom and insane wait times by it’s feature on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. So yes, it’s touristville, packed and probably a little overpriced- but the seafood was **incredible**. So worth it. Tiger prawns as big as my forearm, clams swimming in a fragrant white wine and coriander sauce, garlic shrimp sizzling straight in the pan accompanied by piles of buttered white bread. If you’re up for it, get the steak sandwich for dessert – it brings new meaning to surf and turf. Get a reservation (you can before 730pm!) or go very early.
• Taberna da rua das flores: tiny tables are crammed into this narrow space in the city centre, where the lunch menu is scrawled outside on a blackboard and no reservations are taken. Go for lunch for a more traditional Portuguese meal, or for dinner for a seasonal menu of more creative dishes, still using Portuguese ingredients. Expect to wait, or visit off-peak time.
• Sol e pesca: a tiny rod and net adorned bar born out of a fishing shop down by the waterfront, almost solely selling canned seafood – which, being in Portugal, is probably the best in the world. It’s a good chance to test out what fish you might like to bring home – sardines, tuna, cod, mackerel, octopus, eel.. Get a few drinks and sit outside on a warm evening.
• Time Out Food Court: I’m sure you’ve already heard all about this – I thought it was great for a quick lunch or dinner with the myriad of different stalls (and thus also great if you have a group of people with different tastes as you can get anything from tuna tartare to traditional Portuguese rice to pad thai to burgers), but it wouldn’t make top of the list for me. It’s fairly crowded, pricy and touristy. Manteigaria and Bettina and Niccolo Coralli are also located here in mini-form if you didn’t get a chance to visit, but I’d highly recommend dropping past their original stores. However, the morning produce market IS worth a stop by before the crowds arrive.
• Other places I didn’t get to but came highly recommended:
  • Cantinho do Aziz: a casual and acclaimed Mozambican restaurant – think lamb ribs, coconut crab curry and samosas.
  • Pistola y Corazon Taqueria: a casual Mexican taco stop with rave reviews.

To see and shop:

• Conserveira de Lisboa and Loja da Conservas: walls of hundreds and hundreds of brightly hued tins of fish. The former was established in 1930 and maintains the traditional shop style and countertops. At a few dollars each, they make the perfect memento.
• Prada Mercearia: a turqoise painted specialty grocer with a particularly photo friendly wall of jarred dry goods. Pick up some bread, vegetables and a few cans of fish, or sit with the newspaper and a coffee.
• Rua Augusta Arch: towering over the main pedestrian shopping strip one way and the plaza and the river the other, you can head up to the top of the arch for a unique view over the city. It was built to commemorate the reconstruction of the city following the devastating earthquake of 1755.
• Explore the different neighbourhoods: the winding steps of Alfama with the Tues/Sat flea market, tiny homes and artisan shops and the view from Portas Do Sol; the backstreets of Barrio Alto with its night life and restaurants spilling onto the pavement (make sure to walk up Ascensor Da Bica and to the Santa Caterina Miradoura); peer down Ascensor da Gloria and wander past the towering front of Rossio station; up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge, built by the Moors in the 11th century.
• Sintra: (in my opinion) worth a day trip, but only if you have more than 3 days in Lisbon itself. Otherwise, I’d stick to Lisbon. All I can say is GO EARLY (as in, get there at or before opening time) and buy tickets online ahead to avoid the crowds. My favourites were Pena Palace and Quinta da Regeilara.
• Spend a morning in Belem: wander through the Jeronimos Monastery (get a ticket from the museum next door if there is a line), walk past the Tower of Belem and tuck into morning tea at Pastels de Belem. Wander back towards Lisbon via the LX factory for window shopping, coffee at Wish Concept Store or browsing the floor to ceiling lined bookstore.