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Lisbon's dining scene has evolved dramatically in recent years to include any number of high-end dining opportunities, but amid the international fare, Michelin-starred restaurants, and molecular gastronomy, the city's simplest and most traditional restaurants still do a roaring trade. Meals generally include three courses, a drink, and coffee. Many restaurants have an ementa turistica (tourist menu), a set-price meal, most often served at lunchtime. Note that you'll be charged a couple of euros if you eat any of the couvert items—typically appetizers such as bread and butter, olives, and the like—that are brought to your table without being ordered.
Lisbon's restaurants usually serve lunch from noon or 12:30 until 3 and dinner from 7:30 until 11; many establishments are closed Sunday or Monday. Inexpensive restaurants typically don't accept reservations. In the traditional cervejarias (beer-hall restaurants), which frequently have huge dining rooms, you'll probably have to wait for a table, but usually not more than 10 minutes. In the Bairro Alto, many of the reasonably priced tascas (taverns) are on the small side: if you can't grab a table, you're probably better off moving on to the next place. Throughout Lisbon, dress for meals is usually casual, but exceptions are noted below.
This laid-back, friendly spot in the São Bento district, just outside the Barrio Alto, is a local reference point for Goan cuisine. Vindaloo dishes are among the stars, and vegetarians have plenty of options alongside the meat and seafood dishes.
Portugal's first vegan pastéis de nata (custard tarts) are available at this long-established coffee merchant, with its vintage facade and wood-and-glass interior. Nonvegans, too, will love these egg- and dairy-free treats.
In business for nearly a century, "The House of the Little Birds" is a favorite for neighborhood locals and nearby office workers. Come for the house specialties, which include the famous naco na pedra (steak cooked on a hot stone), vitela barrosã (tender veal), and açorda de gambas (shrimp and bread stew).
Casanova serves a full range of authentic Italian fare, but most people come for the pizzas. The local and imported ingredients for the toppings and antipasti are the best available. Before she opened the restaurant, the Italian owner spent months training with some of her country's most respected pizzaiolos. Her homemade recipes are still used.
It’s always difficult to get a table at this café, as it’s a favorite of young crowds who crave its pancakes and pastries all day. By the entrance is a display of Portuguese and international gourmet products to take home.
This place hasn’t changed a bit over the years, from the beams across the ceiling to the harnesses and wagon wheels that serve as decor. It's a favorite among locals, who come here to enjoy hearty Portuguese dishes amid the bustle of Bairro Alto.
This eco-conscious café sources all its ingredients from local independent producers. There's abundant use of matcha, quinoa, and spirulina, and as there's no refined sugar in any of the cakes, cookies, and other sweet treats, they make a perfect guilt-free pick-me-up when combined with a cup of Comoba's excellent coffee.
Portugal’s oldest bakery has taken over an old pier next to the Torre de Belém. Here dozens of tables are perched over the Tagus River, with one side facing the famous tower and the other toward the city. While it lacks the opulent interiors of the original, it's location is the perfect pit stop for coffee, sweets, or a freshly squeezed orange juice.
The roasted coffee beans come from Copenhagen, as did the inspiration for the minimalist decor. The Coffee Lab has become a favorite, both for the different types on the menu and the welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.
Sit beneath fragrant orange blossoms enjoying a healthy lunch at this café with a mission. Hidden behind the Belém library, this glass-walled social enterprise café supports a project protecting and empowering vulnerable women and girls. Come for the delicious house-made cake and stay for the side helping of social justice.
This bright red kiosk directly in front of the ferry terminal is hard to miss, and there are few better spots for a quick coffee, beer, or ginjinha (sour cherry liqueur) while waiting for a boat. Although the food offer is limited, toasted sandwiches, nuts, and potato chips will keep hunger pangs at bay while you soak up the sun.
When love led Damascus-born Bashar Khabbaz to put down roots in Portugal, he couldn’t help but miss the flavors of Syria. So he opened this Syrian bistro in Cacilhas with homestyle dishes from kibbeh to kebabs. Call ahead for traditional live music on Saturday nights.
However you like your eggs in the morning (or afternoon), Dear Breakfast will cook them to perfection, alongside a cheerful range of house-baked breads, fresh juices, and jams. Eat them any which way, from omelets and eggs Benedict to chipotle shakshuka. There's excellent coffee, smoothies, and brunch cocktails.
The flagship store of this Portuguese coffee brand faces Avenida da Liberdade and offers more than just its coffee. Come here for a light meal, brunch, or a cocktail in the wood-clad interior or at the tables outside.
This tiny corner café might not look like much, but step inside, and you’ll find a stunning art nouveau interior with tiled facades and marble tables. It specializes in salgados (savory treats), but it also has a few sweet options, like the ubiquitous pastéis de nata (custard tarts). Choose your favorite snack from the counter and take it to the nearby Jardim do Príncipe Real.
Hidden just a few feet from the Elevador do Lavra, this was one of the first places in the city to offer specialty coffee, roasted and ground on the premises. Sandwiches and pastries are also available.
This all-day brunch spot does a roaring trade in pancakes, avocado toast, smoothie bowls, and other breakfast favorites. Lines are virtually inevitable at any time of day, but the flower-filled café is a pleasant place to wait.
Members of Lisbon's large Brazilian community flock to this all-day snack bar for tasty generously sized pastéis de vento (deep-fried meat or cheese patties), coxinhas (chicken croquettes), and pão de queijo (cheese rolls made with cassava flour); various menus with cassava fries or tapioca are available. Sugarcane is among the fresh juices on offer, as well as detox blends, and there are sweets, too. If you'd prefer a sit-down meal, Brazilian Concept next door has a range of classic dishes from the country, plus caipirinhas.
There's no shortage of places to eat ice cream in Sesimbra, but Fini serves superior Italian scoops and has a sunny patio overlooking the sea. Flavors vary daily (the banana and peanut butter is particularly delicious), plus there's a wide range of toppings and good coffee.
Focaccia sandwiches, made according to traditional Italian recipes but with high-quality Portuguese ingredients, are the draw at this small shop in the Feira da Ladra market.
This easy-to-miss vegan tapas place is little more than a door in the wall halfway up a public stairway. Despite its location, it was the first fully vegan restaurant in Lisbon, and it's still worth the search for its ever-changing menu of shareable plates and its pretty tables on the outdoor stairway terrace on summer evenings.
There’s no English menu here—just the daily specials scrawled on a piece of paper out front. If you want to eat where the locals do, search these dishes on the Web then step inside Frazão. Say bom dia ("good day") to the grill chef and pass through the tiny front room where workers watch TV while eating. Find a more comfortable table in the back room and tuck into your own €10 lunch menu, which includes a dish, soup, drink, and coffee.
This friendly café-bar has a wonderful vantage over the sea. The seafood, toasted sandwiches, and house white wine are all good, but the main attraction is the sheltered terrace.
The large counter facing the bar makes this 1960s establishment a prime spot for solo diners. It’s also one of the few places in the neighborhood open from breakfast to dinner. Many Portuguese politicians have dined here through the centuries, including current president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. These days, it attracts mainly tourists and night owls, who come here for a beer or a bite to eat on their way to the Gulbenkian.
This bright and breezy Ukrainian-owned café was a pioneer in bringing trendy Instagrammable brunches to Santos's main drag. Its pretty, tasty meals made it famous, so there's usually a line, but the avocado toast on house-baked sourdough is worth the wait.
Named after the Brazilian chef who came up with the recipes for this restaurant's original hamburgers, Honorato is a minichain of trendy burger joints. The branch in Chiado is the most popular—it has a lively atmosphere and large windows looking out to one of the neighborhood’s main squares.
This long-established Austrian-style café is popular with most locals and tourists, with its combination of bottled and draft beers (including their very own brand) and hearty central European dishes such as Wiener schnitzel, homemade sausages, and spätzle, along with vegan and vegetarian options. The dessert menu includes apple strudel and Sacher torte. They do excellent brunches, too.
In a city with so many traditional pastries, a menu dedicated exclusively to French éclairs and macarons certainly didn’t seem to have great appeal. But turns out Lisboetas were looking for just that, and L'éclair is now one of the city’s most popular sweets spots.
Ever since the New York Times described it as “devilishly good,” Landeau’s chocolate cake has been reason enough to head to Chiado (or one of their three other Lisbon shops). Here you can buy an entire cake to enjoy at home or sit for a slice with some tea.
A slice of Brittany in Lisbon, this French-owned café specializes in buckwheat crepes, or galettes bretonnes, with sweet or savory fillings and cheeky names.
