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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.
Contemporary Portuguese restaurant Em Alta na Baixa delivers genuinely high-quality food and service. The menu spans local classics and international fare such as duck magret and moqueca, a Brazilian fish stew made with coconut milk. Take a seat outdoors and sip a cocktail, or enjoy the elegant indoor space on chillier days.
After many years in the kitchens of some of the top restaurants in Portugal, French chef Vincent Farges opened his own spot in Lisbon, where he presents creative seasonal tasting menus that since 2022 have earned him a Michelin star. His cuisine is inspired by different parts of the world and is accompanied by Portuguese wine. Try to snag a table by a window: the views of the city and river are almost as divine as the food.
Everything is made with love at this tiny Brazilian-owned café, from the collection of art on the walls to the fresh juices and French-press coffee. Simple snacks include cheese and charcuterie boards, bruschetta, and toasts with tapenade. There are just two tables with four seats each, so reservations are advised for lunch or dinner.
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.
This riverfront restaurant successfully experiments with creative takes on traditional Portuguese gastronomy. Innovative vegetarian and vegan concoctions include pumpkin steak with beetroot puree and tomato ceviche with piri-piri and coriander.
Today it's a lively spot for petiscos and cocktails, but this was once the location for secret political meetings (and romantic trysts), thanks to its secluded gabinetes (booths). It's been given a top-to-toe overhaul, but retains its paneled booths, tiled floors, and other details from its more than 150 years of history. Light dishes such as chilled tomato soup and tapas-style plates for sharing make for sociable dining in a cozy restaurant-bar, but they also have heartier bacalhau and seafood rice dishes, which are often big enough for two.
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.
In business for almost nine decades, Gambrinus has plenty of historical drama in its decor, including arched wooden ceilings and stained-glass depictions of beer-swilling royals. Prawns, lobster, and crab are always available, and seasonal choices like sea bream, sea bass, and sole are offered grilled or garnished with clam sauce. If you just want to drink in the atmosphere and perhaps a well-chilled imperial (draught beer) feel free to join the locals at the counter to sample the famous meat croquettes or a full meal.
The Moorish-style courtyard of Palacete Ribeiro da Cunha (now the EmbaiXada shopping gallery) was turned into a bar and restaurant. It serves contemporary Portuguese cuisine, as well as lighter snacks such as salads and burgers.
South of Lisbon you can find plenty of casual coastal dining, tucked into a long stretch of almost wild dunes. At Grão d’Areia there’s no DJ spinning house music to draw in the cool crowd, just dozens of unpretentious tables where you’ll sit with your toes in the sand. Order a tiny ice-cold beer or a big jug of sangria while you wait for your grilled fish or Portuguese seafood snacks and watch the waves roll in.
In a space that was part of a water reservoir from the 12th century, this cozy restaurant now serves a variety of Portuguese petiscos such as clams and sautéd shrimp, but also bigger portions like codfish and octopus. Be sure to sample their wine selection which highlights the Dão region.
Located next to the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, this may be Lisbon’s best burger joint. It serves American-style burgers, and there’s a new one on the menu every month, plus a vegetarian option.
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.
One of Lisbon's most authentic Italian restaurants, Il Matriciano faces the Palácio de São Bento and is owned by a couple from Rome. Diners are greeted like family and presented with a menu made from ingredients brought in twice a month from Italy.
The stylish bar-restaurant at the trendy 1908 Lisboa Hotel makes the most of its historical setting, with a striking tiled floor, high ceilings, an exposed metal staircase, and windows on three sides. It's a pleasant place for brunch, lunch, or dinner and has an eclectic menu featuring seafood, meat, and vegetarian options, many with Asian influences. The outdoor terrace is a nice spot for people watching on the plaza.
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.
The inspiration for this restaurant's food comes from Argentina, so expect a steak-heavy menu that has long made it a favorite among Lisbon’s carnivores. You’ll also find fish dishes borrowed from traditional Portuguese cuisine and a couple of vegetarian options, too.
For cod dishes prepared with great pride, come to this restaurant that's been specializing in all things bacalhau (salted codfish) since 1976. Expect a few Mozambican dishes alongside excellent renderings of Portuguese favorites.
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.
Don't let the name fool you: this sophisticated restaurant serves a menu that is largely Portuguese—there's plenty of codfish, octopus, and grilled Portuguese meats—but also includes Italian appetizers and pastas (and the occasional head-scratcher like chicken samosas).
Widely considered one of Lisbon's best pizzerias, Lupita is the product of a Brazilian chef turning out Italian-style pies. The dining room is no-frills—guests sit on tiny stools at low tables, and the line is usually down the block—and the pizzas are both simple and playful. There are standard margherita, pepperoni, and the like, but also burrata, carbonara, and shakshuka pies. There's even an unironic pineapple-and-bacon option.
This trendy café and restaurant aims to be exactly what its name implies: a gathering spot for residents and locals in Intendente. The terrace is almost always busy, and laptops are welcome inside, allowing people to work and socialize. It's a rare café that functions well from breakfast and coffee straight through to dinner and cocktails.
Staunchly traditional amid the flurry of modernization in the surrounding streets, this old-school marisqueira (seafood hall) is the best of several local spots specializing in shellfish. Priced by the kilo, the day's offer varies according to season and what the anglers have hauled in, but expect enormous, perfectly fresh crustaceans year-round.
This typical restaurant opened in 1966, and very little has changed since then; it's a wonderful journey back in time. The menu hits all the Portuguese classics—including fire-grilled steaks, amêijoas à Bulhão Pato (clams steamed in wine and garlic), and a full-on cozido à portuguêsa (stew with all the meats you can think of)—but the main reason to go is the impeccably fresh fish and seafood.
