Restaurants
The prices indicated here are for dinner with starter, main course and dessert, with wine, per person. (Note that some fish or shellfish dishes will be more expensive.) Tax (IVA) is included. All restaurants listed here accept major credit cards. Note that many Lisbon restaurants close for the entire month of August.
€€€€ over 45 euros €€ 20–30 euros
€€€ 30–45 euros € below 20 euros
Lisbon
Alfama
A Baiuca €€€ Rua de São Miguel 20, tel: 218-867 284. Open for dinner, closed Tue. This small, family-run Alfama restaurant offers good Portuguese fare and amateur fado performances (Thu–Mon).
Casa do Leão €€€€ Castelo de São Jorge, tel: 218-875 962, www.pousadas.pt. Open daily for lunch and dinner daily. The only restaurant inside the castle ramparts serves a wide range of traditional Portuguese and international dishes, with excellent views.
Chapitô á Mesa €€€ Costa do Castelo 7, tel: 218-875 077. Open Mon–Fri for lunch and dinner, Sat–Sun dinner only. This restaurant serves up hearty Portuguese food, and offers stunning views over the city.
Bairro Alto
100 Maneiras €€€€ Rua do Teixeira 35, tel: 910-307 575, www.restaurante100maneiras.com . Open daily for dinner only. An intimate, elegant restaurant that is foodie heaven, offering a very reasonably priced 10-course tasting menu (€55); each dish is a surprise. Chef Ljubomir Stanisic also has a less formal and cheaper bistro at 9 Largo de Trinidade in Chiado.
Cervejaria da Trindade €€ Rua Nova da Trindade 20, tel: 213-423 506, www.cervejariatrindade.pt. Open daily for lunch and dinner (until late). A famous old beer hall and restaurant, in a former monastery with azulejo-covered walls, serves extremely popular Portuguese dishes and seafood specialities at good prices; light bar snacks also available.
Pap ’Açorda €€–€€€ Rua da Atalaia 57–9, tel: 213-464 811. Open Mon–Sat for dinner only. Under glittering chandeliers and against exposed brick walls, this is a cool but disarmingly informal restaurant, popular with a wide-ranging clientele. Traditional and creative Portuguese dishes, with fabulous and filling açorda real (a thick shellfish stew with lobster and shrimp) as the main speciality.
Principe do Calhariz €€ Calçada do Combro 28–30, tel: 213-420 971, www.principedocalhariz.com. Open Sun–Fri for lunch and dinner. This lively restaurant just beyond the Bica funicular, is a good place to discover local dishes, particularly from northern Portugal where the owners come from. Try coelho à caçador (rabbit, hunter’s style) or Mirandesa veal steak.
See me Peixaria Mdoerna €€€ Rua do Loreto 21, tel: 213-461 564, www.peixariamoderna.com. Open Mon–Fri for lunch and dinner, Sat and Sun all day. This elegant and popular restaurant with simple décor and wooden tables offers modern take on traditional seafood dishes inspired by Asian flavours. Also sushi bar.
Tavares €€€€ Rua da Misericórdia 37, tel: 213-421 112, www.restaurantetavares.net. Open Mon–Sat for dinner. A stylish and immensely popular restaurant-café with ornate ceilings, mirrors and chandeliers. Classic French cuisine has been served here for more than a century.
Central Lisbon
Belcanto €€€€ Largo de São Carlos 10, tel: 213-420 607, www.belcanto.pt. Open Tue–Sat for dinner. This stylish, Michelin star restaurant is situated next to São Carlos National Theatre in Chiado. José Avillez, a renowned Portuguese chef, offers a modern interpretation of traditional Portuguese cuisine using the best quality organic ingredients. The tasting menus are outstanding.
Bica do Sapato €€€ Avenida Infante D. Henrique (Cais da Pedra), tel: 218-810 320, www.bicadosapato.com. Open Tue–Sat for lunch and dinner, Mon dinner only. This is a trendy restaurant in an old warehouse on the waterfront, across from Santa Apolónia station. Excellent and fairly priced creative Portuguese menu is accompanied by a good list of local wines, and there’s a sushi bar on the first floor (dinner only).
Cafe Buenos Aires €€ Calcada Escadinhas do Duque 31 B, tel: 213-420 739. Open daily for dinner. This shabby-chic Argentinian restaurant is a romantic, candlelit, atmospheric place to tuck into superlative steaks and delicious salads. It’s perched beside a staircase leading steeply up from the Rossio towards Bairro Alto. Cash only.
Estórias na Casa da Comida €€€€ Travessa das Amoreiras 1, tel: 213-860 889, www.casadacomida.pt. Open Mon–Sat for dinner. An elegant restaurant in an old mansion, decorated in soft colours, in northwest Lisbon near the aqueduct. Fine Portuguese cuisine with a modern twist is served outdoors in a patio setting.
Gambrinus €€€€ Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 23, tel: 213-421 466, www.gambrinuslisboa.com. Open daily for lunch and dinner (until late). A sophisticated restaurant, one of the city’s finest and most famous, in a street of restaurants, close to Rossio. Specialises in traditional Portuguese and Galician dishes.
Leão d’Ouro €€€ Rua de Dezembro 105, tel: 213-426 195. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Big, bright, and centrally situated, this azulejo-lined restaurant, dating from 1640, is just off the Rossio. Seafood is the speciality. Try the cataplana fish stew or the seafood rice with shrimp, lobster, mussels and prawns.
Martinho da Arcada €€€ Arcadas do Terreiro do Paço/Praça do Comércio 3, tel: 218-879 259, www.martinhodaarcada.pt. Open Mon–Sat for lunch and dinner. Lisbon’s oldest café, under the arcades at Praça do Comércio, dates back to 1782 and has a history littered with political and literary figures – it was a favourite of poet Fernando Pessoa.
Tágide €€€€ Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes 18, tel: 213-404 010, www.restaurantetagide.com. Open Mon–Sat for lunch and dinner. Classic Portuguese and French restaurant west of the Praça do Comércio in an elegant, old house offering magnificent views of the waterfront, cathedral and square. There are Port wine tasting sessions and the tapas bar below offers cheaper lunch menu options.
A Travessa €€€ Travessa do Convento das Bernardas 12, tel: 213-902 034. Open Mon for dinner only, Tue–Sat for lunch and dinner. A Belgian- and French-influenced menu with dishes such as mussels, stuffed aubergine and bacon-wrapped dates enlivens this good-looking place near Parliament. Mussel feasts on Saturday nights.
York House Restaurant €€€€ Rua das Janelas Verdes 32, tel: 213-962 435, www.yorkhouselisboa.com. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Inhabiting a former 17th-century convent, now the refined and retreat-like York House Hotel, this is a cut above a typical hotel restaurant, with a refined atmosphere and a daily-changing menu featuring imaginative interpretations of Portuguese cuisine. There’s a beautiful courtyard. Excellent desserts.
Bélem
O Caseiro €€ Rua de Belém 35, tel: 213-638 803. Open Mon–Sat for lunch and dinner. Closed August. In a convenient location between the Coach Museum and the monastery, this is an intimate restaurant serving simple but tasty local dishes. Specialities include porco á alentejana (pork, Alentejo style).
A Commenda €€€ Praça do Império, Belém (inside the Belém Cultural Centre), tel: 213-648 561, www.cerger.com. Open daily noon–8pm, Sat till 11.30pm. Fine river views top the sophisticated atmosphere of this excellent restaurant. Good traditional fish buffet with cod specialities.
Pastéis de Belém € Rua de Belém 84–92, tel: 213-637 423, www.pasteisdebelem.pt. Open daily. This legendary purveyor of custard tarts cooks up Lisbon’s finest pastéis de nata, and its warren-like, tiled interior seats huge numbers of people, all wondering at the deliciousness of these still-warm, delicate pieces of heaven, made to a secret recipe.
São Jerónimo €€ Rua dos Jerónimos 12, tel: 213-648 796. Open Mon–Fri for lunch and dinner, Sat for dinner only. A sleek, beautifully designed restaurant with warm woods, dimmed lighting and leather chairs, just around the corner from the Jerónimos Monastery. The menu features creative Portuguese cuisine.
Solar dos Nubes €€€ Rua dos Luciadas 68–72, tel: 213-647 359, www.solardosnunes.com. Open Mon–Sat for lunch and dinner. This stylish restaurant has been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Offers traditional Portuguese fare and great wine list.
The docks
Price ranges are the average for restaurants in the Docks.
Doca do Bom Sucesso €€€–€€€€ Belém. This small marina in Belém has become a popular nightlife spot for business people and politicos. Restaurants are predictably upmarket and fashionable, including Vela Latina (www.velalatina.pt) and A Margem (www.amargem.com).
Doca Jardim do Tabaco €€–€€€ Avenida Infante D. Henrique, tel: 218-824 280. Just in front of Santa Apolónia railway station is a series of popular docks converted into restaurants. They look out over the Tagus as well as the Alfama district. Restaurants in this part include Casanova (www.pizzeriacasanova.pai.pt) and Trigo Latino (www.trigolatino.com) offering American steaks.
Doca de Santo Amaro €€–€€€€ Alcântara Mar. On the Rio Tejo near the 25 de Abril Bridge, Doca de Santo Amaro is the best-known dock and has a lively bar-and-restaurant scene. Most places open daily for lunch and dinner. The best idea is to stroll along the dock and choose a restaurant that looks appealing. Some to keep an eye out for include: 5 Oceanos (www.5oceanos.pt); Doca Peixe (www.docapeixe.com) famous for seafood.
Outside Lisbon
Colares Velho €€–€€€ Rua Fria 1-4, Largo da Igreja, Colares (Sintra), tel: 219-292 727. Open Tue–Sun for lunch and dinner. A lovely, small restaurant in the village of Colares, several kilometres down the mountain road from Sintra. The dining room is like the library of a country estate. Dishes are imaginative and professionally done, including homemade desserts and good daily specials.
Cozinha Velha €€€ Palácio Nacional de Queluz, Largo do Palácio, Queluz, tel: 214-356 158, www.pousadas.pt. Open daily for lunch and dinner. One of the most atmospheric restaurants in Portugal, this was once the old kitchen of the royal palace, but has now been converted into a dining room. It has a garden patio and a decor that will transport you to the 17th century. The regional cooking is excellent.
Lawrence Hotel €€€€ Rua Consigliéri Pedrosa 38–40, Sintra; tel: 219-105 500. Open daily for lunch and dinner. The Dutch owners call this ‘a restaurant with rooms’ rather than a hotel, and Portugal’s prime minister is among many who declare it their favourite place to eat. Opened in 1764, it’s the oldest hotel in Portugal (Byron stayed here in 1809), and its restaurant is renowned.