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Lisbon’s Food
July 3, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment
Where and what to eat
by Luis Mota
Portugal is a small country that always had a tremendous influence coming from the sea, which affected the type of food that is eaten all across the country, but mainly in its capital city, Lisbon. Due to this fact one can often find very different types of fish and seafood dishes along the menus of the city’s restaurants.
Along its history, Lisbon has been a harbor for a large variety of cultures, flavors and spices from all around
the world. This started in the 15th century with the Portuguese discovery of the maritime route to India.
A huge breakthrough in that time that enabled the growth of the Portuguese empire as the interest of the
European in the spices brought from Asia started to rise more and more.
Despite of this huge mix, that provides the city with different types of restaurants, from Chinese to Angolan, to regional or award winning cuisine, the real charm of Lisbon consists in its traditions: in the summer, a walk by the historic districts reveals a distinct aroma of a grilled fish in particular: the sardine, the queen of the 5 days of popular street celebrations, that start in the evening of the 12th July, in memory of Saint Anthony, born in Lisbon and also known as Saint Anthony of Padua.
The sardines, that are larger and tastier than the regular ones you purchase in your local supermarket, are grilled over hot coals and served in a very particular way: on top of a slice of bread, that soaks up all the fish’s juices. You’re supposed to eat the fish using your bare hands, afterwards throw away the fish bones and eat the bread that is enriched by all the juices from the fish. Red wine is the chosen drink, perfect to enhance this simple, yet very tasteful, dish.
The capital of Portugal has other specialties to offer like “pataniscas de bacalhau” (a mixture of egg, cod, parsley and chopped onions that is deep fried to make small fish cakes) and “peixinhos da horta” (deep fried green beans), but the dish that you can find in every single restaurant in town is named “bitoque” or “bife da casa”, a fried steak topped with a fried egg, French fries and salad to the side. It’s one of the
cheapest and most enjoyed dishes in the city.
If you like fish, you shouldn’t miss the chance to try “caldeirada”, a delicious fish stew with many different
types of fish cooked with onions, tomatoes and potatoes. A nice way to start your meal is to order “caldo verde”, a green soup made with shredded green kale leaves and broth. You can find these traditional courses with ease in the Bairro Alto, Chiado, Baixa and Alfama districts, and opportunely you may be able to discover some “fado” houses playing traditional Portuguese music characterized by sad tunes and lyrics about the sea or the life of the poor.
After eating some of these Portuguese traditional dishes you can’t miss the opportunity to experiment
one of Lisbon’s most famous desserts, the “pastel de Belém”, a small custard tart sold in almost every café
or restaurant. However, one can only enjoy the original at the “Casa Pastéis de Belém”, near the Jerónimos
Monastery, in Belém, where this sweet snack was created near the 18th century, by catholic monks.
Traditions aside, in the recent years Lisbon has lived a boom in restaurants focused in international cuisine. If those traditional dishes don’t suit your palate you are bound to find a restaurant that does, as you can come across with almost any kind of cooking you can picture: Chinese, Japanese, African (a menu with a mix of conventional dishes from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe), Brazilian, Italian and Indian restaurants can be easily discovered along the town streets and also in shopping centers, but in addition you can also find with a little more effort Irish, Mexican, Nepalese, Argentinean, German, Moroccan, Russian, or Thai cuisine in downtown.
For those of you who are vegetarian there are no reasons to worry because some of these international cuisines have dishes suited for you, but there are also some restaurants dedicated to this kind of food, so if you plan your trip to Lisbon with that in consideration, you should be just fine. Nevertheless, here’s a tip: the Jardim dos Sentidos (in Plaza of Alegria) is a great vegetarian restaurant and it’s located within the city center.
The Nations Park has an area by the sea packed with international and vegetarian restaurants. Similar
to this location, you can find in the other side of town, by the 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon’s renovated docks, from Doca de Santo Amaro to Doca de Alcântara where you can select a wide variety of food.
If you’re in the mood for some fast food you can always go to Vasco da Gama shopping center in the Nations Park, or if you’re near downtown you can catch a bus and go to Amoreiras, one of Lisbon’s oldest shopping centers. Overall, you’ll never be hungry in Lisbon. And if you’re looking for good quality traditional meals, don’t be deceived by appearances, often the more aged looking restaurants serve the best food.
You can never go wrong with the house wine or the chilled “vinho verde” (green wine) in these establishments. A glass of Port followed by a local cheese is the aperitif of choice. To end your meal in
the Portuguese way, why don’t you try and have a “bica”? It’s a small black coffee, filled with caffeine.
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