Portuguese Food - Delights of Lisbon
Portuguese Food - one of the joys of Lisbon Grilled Fish, Bream, Bass, Tuna etc Seafood, Prawns, Crabs, Lobster Salads and Vegetables Barbecued Chicken and Meat Cured Ham, Chourico, Local Cheeses Sweets and Pastries Lisbon is a Gastronomic Paradise. Fantastic Portuguese Food and Fabulous Restaurants to suit all budgets.Amazing Markets selling great fish, cured meats, the freshest of vegetables. This page is an introduction to the food you will encounter in Lisbon restaurants. For Tips on where to eat see the
Lisbon Restaurants Page
Grilled Fish and Sea Food
Lisbon cuisine is inevitably linked to the sea. Fish and Shellfish from Atlantic waters make for a delicious mix of flavours. The staple fare of Lisbon is grilled fish, often cooked over a fire in the street. In summer sardines, bass and squid kebabs are cooked outside many city centre restaurants and bars, giving the downtown streets a wonderful smell from 11,30 onwards. A great fish to have grilled (grelhada) is Cherne, translated as stone bass or wreck fish. Dourada, Corvina, Besugo and Pargo are usually cooked whole and are delicious. Grilled Sardines are the delicious summer food and the center piece of the Lisbon Festivals in early June, Huge Tuna steaks are grilled outside in summer.Squid - Lulas, is grilled on skewers with prawns another speciality of Lisbon restaurants. A speciality of portuguese food is Bacalhau. Dried salted Cod, there are so many recipes to try. It is a religion with the Portuguese. An acquired taste for sure but it is worth giving it a try. People come to Lisbon for Bachalau alone. In a good restaurant with great wine it is truly memorable.
Lisbon Restaurants
Seafood is central to Portuguese Food and wonderful in Lisbon- and less expensive than in most cities.Lisbon restaurants offer succulent prawns, great crabs, clams, and delicious lobsters. Words become unnecessary you can often see what is on offer on display or in tanks. There are many seafood restaurants in every area of town but a great place to eat seafood is in one of the many Cervejarias. They usually specialize in crabs, lobsters, tiger prawns, clams and of course beer. 
Lisbon Restaurants
Soup, Salad, VegetablesSoup is the way to start a meal in Portugal. It is the heart of Portuguese food in every region. In Lisbon there are several possibilities and all are good. Sopa de Legumes, thick fresh vegetable soup, Caldo verde, (Portuguese kale soup), a type of hearty cabbage and potato soup with chourico from Northern Portugal, or Sopa de Alho, Garlic soup with bread from the South. Sopa de feijao, Portuguese bean soup, is also a fabulously satisfying dish, when served hot with good bread. Fish soup is usually wonderful but is only available in certain restaurants like Portugalia. After soup and bread you can relax while the main course is prepared. 
Another centerpiece of Portuguese Food is Salad.The freshest ingredients from the local areas around Lisbon are used. Succulent tomatoes, fresh cucumber, crispest of lettuce, peppers, olives, and maybe egg, cheese, and sometimes tuna or prawns. City center restaurants have woken up to Vegetarian options. There also many specialist restaurants offering vegetarian and vegan options often with Indian, Italian or Macrobiotic influences. Meat DishesThere are great meat dishes and many regional specialities are found in Lisbon. The best beef is from the North of Portugal and best pork from the South. Espetadas which are like kebabs are a staple in many restaurants Grelhada de Carnes is a mixture of meats and is usually delicious. The black pig of the Alentejo Region south of Lisbon has a very distinct taste due to the acorns it is fed on, look for Porco Preto on menus - with a good red wine - a truly satisfying dish. Alentejo region is also the home of Carne de Porco Altenjana which is Pork cooked with clams and served with small roast potatoes. It may sound unusual but it’s good , it’s very good !Lisboetas often eat chicken especially with the family and there are plenty of restaurants which specialize in spit roast chicken and pork ribs, usually accompanied by chips , salad green vegetables and an optional chile sauce. Chicken and chips may not sound exciting but in Lisbon it is usually so tasty you wonder for a moment why you would ever eat anything else.
Lisbon Restaurants
Cured Meats Choricos and CheeseCured Sausages, Chouricos and Hams are wonderful in Portugal. Presunto is the starter for many family meals and is sometimes presented to you in a Lisbon restaurant. Try it, the taste is delicate and the meal tender similar to Serrano in Spain and Palma but with it's own special Portuguese quality. Portuguese food is regional - every area has it's specialties, usually each has a different type of cured sausage. In Lisbon a lot of food comes from the South or central parts of the country. If you get a chance try cured sausages from the different regions each has a quality all its own. Portuguese Cheese is also wonderful. Made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. again each region has a different speciality. The cheeses from the mountains are especially fine, goat and sheep cheeses are fantastic, sharp and refreshing before a meal as a starter or after with a glass of wine. Lisbon Restaurants 
Pudim one of the great sweets of Portugal - you can tell a good restaurant by how it does this Portuguese favourite ! Sweets and Cakes
Portuguese Food - The delights of Belem Now something for the sweet lovers.After eating mountains of delightful Portuguese food at lunch or dinner finish off with some of the sweets on offer. The Portuguese have found ways of mixing eggs, flour, cinnamon, oranges,, almonds, chocolate and sugar into a thousand delights of all shapes and sizes. After lunch the usual possibilities are, Pudim a type of Crem Caramel, especially good is Pudim de Laranja, which has orange in the mix. Mousse de Chocolate is usually home made. Leite Creme a type of custard but better, much better, if you prefer they will toast the top for you, making it like sugary glass, just ask for leite crème quemada, its gorgeous. There are also lots of cakes to choose from. It is also common to eat fruit after a meal. Oranges and peaches are local and in spring the strawberries from the South are succulent - lovely with cream and a drop of port wine. Pasteis Pasteis de Nata are little pastry cakes filled with a type of custard made with eggs. They are nothing like an English egg custard. Eaten with cinnamon and sometimes icing sugar, they are the perfect accompaniment to strong Portuguese coffee or tea. They are found all over Lisbon and are usually a safe bet but there is one special place that everyone must visit where they are very special. The Pastelaria de BelemNear Jeronimos Monastery opposite the bus stops in Belem and rapidly becoming more popular than the many monuments in the Belem area of Lisbon, this maze of tile decorated spaces is a Mecca for cake and coffee lovers. Everyone is here for the speciality Pastel de Nata. When they arrive at your table they are warm, the folded pastry is light and crisp, so inviting, but be patient, add cinnamon and a little icing sugar before taking the first bite. I have never heard of anyone not being delighted by these humble gastronomic wonders.
Lisbon Restaurants
Last but not Least Bread - An Essential Portuguese FoodBread is wonderful in Portugal. Eaten with every meal. Whole grain and heavy to accompany soup or lighter with cheese and ham. Portuguese Sweet Bread with coffee. Each festival has its specialty bread and every Portuguese woman has her own Portuguese Sweet Bread Recipes.
The King of Portuguese Sweet Bread, Bola Rei, A Christmas favorite but a slice any time of year is full of delightful surprises.
Lisbon Cafe
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