Lisbon’s Top 5 Places to Eat
From tapas-style restaurants to fine dining, Lisbon is full of great places where you can enjoy delicious meals. This article tells you some of those places for lovers of Portuguese food, tapas, fine dining, or a 100% plant-based diet. If you’re a fan of tasty cuisine, discover Lisbon’s top 5 places to eat.
A Casa do Bacalhau
A Casa do Bacalhau is a thematic restaurant of Portuguese food where, as the name indicates, the codfish is the king.
It is the perfect place if you want to have a complete codfish feast and can be found in the stables of the Duque de Lafões Palace. The restaurant’s dining room still boasts its original 18th-century vaulted ceiling, built of typical brick.
Here you can find the classic Portuguese recipes such as bacalhau assado na brasa, à Brás, or à Gomes de Sá, but you can also try bolder dishes such as carpaccio or feijoada de sames de bacalhau.
Try A Casa do Bacalhau and enjoy the dedication revealed through a menu with 25 different ways to eat cod, over a hundred brands of wines, and much more than the typical desserts you have come to expect.
Location: Rua do Grilo 54 | 1900-706 Lisbon
Alma Henrique Sá Pessoa
Get a taste of the signature cuisine of Henrique Sá Pessoa in his restaurant Alma. Located in Chiado, this luxury restaurant won its second Michelin star in 2018, a distinction reinforced in 2021.
Henrique Sá Pessoa’s cuisine is inspired by his influences and references: traditional Portuguese cuisine, his trips around the world, his passion for Asia, and life in Lisbon.
Alma can be described as a fine dining restaurant: signature cuisine served informally in a refined environment. The concept aims to be innovative due to its approaches, and because it simplifies and breaks some basic rules of service, which are strict but relaxed at the same time.
If you love fine dining, you’ll enjoy a mouth-watering meal and a wonderful dining experience at Alma.
Location: Rua Anchieta 15 | 1200-224 Lisbon
Pharmácia Felicidade
This restaurant with an exceptional view of the river has a concept of petiscos (the Portuguese version of tapas) and a surprise tasting menu for those who like to stay in suspense.
Pharmácia Felicidade is placed in the building of the National Association of Pharmacies. All of its menu items are inspired by Portuguese flavors. Its unusual decoration reminds us of a kind of conceptual pharmacy, very much in the style of the doctors’ offices of older times.
The snacks like the à Brás with shrimp and the pica pau with pickles are always a pleasant way to enjoy your meal at Pharmácia Felicidade, but if you like to be kept guessing, give the surprise menu a try. Always considering any food contraindications that might exist, the tasting menu that the chef will prepare for you includes a starter, meat dish, fish dish, and dessert.
Here you can also drink cocktails, always with the Portuguese touch. All of them are made with ingredients and drinks from Portugal. Enjoy them while relaxing on the terrace and admiring the breathtaking scenery, or while having your meal in the restaurant.
Location: Rua de Santa Catarina 2/4 | 1249-069 Lisbon
The Green Affair
Located in the Saldanha neighborhood, The Green Affair is a contemporary eating place where you can find a menu of healthy, vegetarian, vegan food. Here, there are no animal dishes at all, and the idea is to serve intelligent recipes with an appealing preparation.
The menu at The Green Affair is made with seasonal, locally grown, and organic produce in mind and is therefore constantly changing. The different dishes and recipes you find in this restaurant reflect the extensive research over several months, developed by The Green Affair and in collaboration with the blog “Alho Francês”.
Green tones and wood dominate its interior decoration, but you can also enjoy a nice cocktail on the terrace at Avenida Duque de Ávila.
The Green Affair offers more than just cocktails, wines, and craft beer; it also serves world cuisine dishes that people who are not vegan will enjoy, too.
Location: Avenida Duque de Ávila 30 A | 1000-141 Lisbon
Água pela Barba
One of the best petiscos restaurants is in the Bica neighborhood. Água pela Barba is a restaurant full of charisma born when two friends with beards got together with a bearded cook to serve seafood delicacies in this neighborhood.
The decor of Água pela Barba takes you back to a fisherman’s house near the coast, but with a modern city feel. It was designed entirely by the owners. Curiously all the changes like lining the walls with wood or painting were also made by them in a short period.
Although the restaurant’s menu is not extensive, you can find mostly seafood options, but meat lovers and vegetarians are not left out. Try everything from fried fish tacos to crab Bao or beef sandwiches. This place also has no shortage of wines, and you can try the grape varieties from Minho, Douro, Alentejo, and Lisbon regions.
The Água pela Barba has the ideal atmosphere for a relaxed meal, and it is the perfect place for a group dinner to eat and share before going out to Lisbon night.
Location: Rua do Almada 29/31 | 1200-057 Lisbon
These are our suggestions of Lisbon’s top 5 places to eat. However, the staff of the Hotel Portuense is always available to recommend you to other restaurants.
Book a room with us and enjoy Portuguese gastronomy in the best way!