The 13 best restaurants in Lisbon
The Lisbon food scene has undergone an enormous change within the last few years and continues to boom, with restaurants launching fast and furious. An influential wave of young local chefs, such as Pedro Pena Bastos, Henrique Sá Pessoa and of course the legendary Jose Avillez, have remained loyal to the culture of the Portuguese table whilst reimagining it afresh, drawing on the endless bounty from the sea and coastline, the mountains, plains and vineyards.International chefs have arrived too, offering diversity on a previously almost uniquely Portuguese platform.
But dining out here is not merely about fashion or trends – food is held in high regard by lisboetas and eating out is a necessity rather than a luxury. Just make sure you book a table and these top places to eat.
Read on for our expert's selection of unmissable restaurants, while here we have our guides devoted to the city's best hotels, bars, shopping and attractions plus how to spend a weekend in Lisbon.
Find a restaurant by area
Belém
Feitoria
Feitoria is found right on the banks of the River Tagus in historical Belém, where the great Portuguese explorers set sail. This gourmet restaurant pays homage to the spices found on those journeys, weaving them through the menu. New chef, Andre Cruz, has retained the restaurant’s Michelin star and introduced tasting menus, with plant-based options. His dishes display a strong respect for the authentic ingredients he uses. Try the cod, potato and truffle or the pudding of Malagueta, chocolate and goat’s milk. Wine pairing is expertly done with little known gems from around the country. A Nanban panel at the entrance, clad in gold leaf, sets the tone.
Contact: restaurantefeitoria.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Canalha
When Chef João Rodrigues left Feitoria, above, he knew he wanted to change his previous Michelin style cuisine for something with more freedom and more fun. Step up Canalha, a buzzy restaurant with a real neighbourhood vibe. Expect a queue at the door and a fast tempo to your meal with two sittings per evening. Start with perfectly crisp codfish cakes and then order the scarlet prawn in garlic, with fried egg and chips or the prawn and onion open tortilla and sit back and watch João and Head Chef Brazilian Livia Orofino dish up the delights in the open kitchen.
Contact: 962 152 742
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Chiado
Alma
This warm and welcoming restaurant has simple interiors of stone floors, wooden tables and vaulted stone arches, all illuminated by bronze lamps. In the open kitchen you will find Henrique Sá Pessoa, who won his first Michelin star here in 2017 and second in 2019. Low ceilings and the intimate atmosphere allow you to concentrate on the plates which lay the foodie heart of Portugal before you. Menus range from a five-course 'coast to coast' option inspired by the sea to a tasting menu of Sá Pessoa’s favourite dishes. From the former, don't miss the scarlet shrimp with pumpkin, harissa and black garlic.
Contact: almalisboa.pt
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Taberna
The deliciously simple tavern food here is a favourite in the Jose Avillez empire. In the shadow of huge hams hanging from the ceilings and a counter with the best of Portugal’s cheeses, delve into favourites such as the Prego (beefsteak) sandwich with mustard butter, made from the typical Bolo do Caco flatbread. But don’t miss the traditional beef croquettes or the octopus with garlic, kimchi sauce and sweet potato.Accompany these sharing dishes with one of the many Portuguese wines from their selection before finishing with a glass of port and Taberna’s own chocolate cake.
Contact: bairrodoavillez.pt
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
Cru Bar
Located in a corner of the new Ivens Hotel, the Lazaro Rosa-Violan decorated Cru Bar has a breezy, beach vibe with its turquoise striped plates, rattan furniture and walls covered with photographs. Food is absolutely superb from the traditional dressed brown crab to the freshest of oysters to the boiled prawns with garlic mayonnaise and lemon to the tuna tartare with avocado and wasabi. For a perfect finish try the steak sandwich, prego do lombo, as a pudding just like the locals. What a treat.
Contact: theivenshotel.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Baixa
Prado
Exquisitely balanced, ingredient-led, farm-to-table food served with beguiling simplicity in a low-key, large and leafy space is what makes Prado unmissable when in Lisbon. The urban restaurant is housed in an former 19th-century factory for candied fruit and biscuits, which Ark Studio have designed to brim with a feel of a pastoral paradise, greenery cascading over white walls. At the stove is the young and very talented António Galapito who celebrates Portugal’s bounty with dazzling dishes such as Minhota beef tartare, wrapped in grilled kale; smoked Bluefin tuna belly, kumquat and bergamot mint; and a sensational mushroom ice cream with pearl barley, dulse and caramel.
Contact: pradorestaurante.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Chiado
Las Dos Manos
Situated right opposite one of Lisbon’s scenic points, or miradouros, this new Mexican restaurant fused with Japanese touches proves as much of an attraction with its dazzling turquoise tiles and mural of Frida Kalho as the view opposite of the capital’s red-roofs. At the helm is acclaimed chef, Kiko Martins, who here delivers a fresh and vibrant take on Mexican cuisine, weaving the best of Portuguese ingredients and Japanese techniques through a Mexican base. Try the quesadilla with shrimp, mozzarella, feta, pak choy, lime and ginger or the tortilla with tiger prawn tempura.
Contact: lasdosmanos
Prices: ££
Reservation: Recommended
Belcanto
José Avillez has long led the way in bringing Portuguese cuisine to the world and he is still going strong. His two Michelin-starred restaurant, Belcanto, is where to go if you want to understand the nuances of Portuguese cuisine, the traditions that the country holds close and the flavours they hold even closer. Here you will feel the Lisbon light that reflects off the Tagus River, the pull of the sea woven through the DNA of the people and you will taste Avillez’s signature dishes over the years from The Garden of the Goose that laid the golden eggs to his suckling pig with orange peel purée.
Contact: https://www.belcanto.pt
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential
Avenida da Liberdade
Liberta Kitchen
Liberta Kitchen entices with its affordable Italian cuisine from talented Chef Silvio Armanni, whose product-driven menu draws on the best seasonal ingredients from both Portugal (think beef from the Azores, clams from the Algarve) and his home country (polenta from Rovetto, olives from Sicily, flatbread from Sardinia) to ensure you return and return. There is a 5 course Tasting Menu but whatever you do, don’t miss his home-made meat ravioli, ‘casoncelli alla Bergamasca’, with pancetta, sage, brown butter and parmesan. In summer, tables spill onto the street and on a Friday and Saturday there is an Apertivo hour from 5pm to 7pm.
Contact: liberta.kitchen/
Price: £
Reservations: Recommended
Kabuki Lisboa
The first Portuguese outpost of this acclaimed group from Madrid, known for its skifull fusion of Japanese and Spanish cuisine. Taking over three floors it offers a bar and a restaurant with tables and countertop seating (definitely the best option for foodies). The tasting menu delivers a full immersion of their cuisine with delicacies from Wagyu teriyaki to hamachi with ponzu, but there is a wide choice on the a la carte menu, which includes sushi, nigiri sushi, makis and temaki. Not to be missed are the scallops with foie gras or the Pa Amb Tomaquet where tuna meets the Spanish combination of bread and tomato. This is one which will impress even the most serious gourmands.
Contact: grupokabuki.com/kabuki-lisboa
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Principe Real
Tapisco
A fun, buzzy atmosphere combined with excellent, tasty bites from the Iberian peninsula make this a popular option for a quick lunch or dinner. Taking its name from a merging of Spanish Tapas and Portuguese Petisco, Chef Henrique Sa Pessoa highlights the best of both worlds. Try the octopus salad or the fried cuttlefish with coriander mayonnaise and lime. It is worth getting there early, before you eat, to squeeze in a drink on the street outside from the seriously impressive list of Vermouths and red and white wines from either side of the border.
Contact: tapisco.pt
Price: ££
Reservations: only walk ins
Mouraria
Cervejaria Ramiro
This much loved restaurant is famous for its fresh seafood and has been going strong for more than 70 years, as its tiled interiors bear witness to, offering an authentic glimpse of a Lisbon of yesteryear. The neighbourhood is named after the Moors who were allowed to live here after the Christian re-conquest of Lisbon in 1147. Step through the doors and you will see giant aquariums with spider crabs, rock lobster and tiger prawns. But start with the house pata negra (smoked ham) or a plate of garlicky clams or goose barnacles and finish with the delicious azeitão cheese.
Contact: cervejariaramiro.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Cura
More than worthy of the Michelin star they have, the newly opened Cura raises the gastronomic bar in Lisbon. Portuguese Chef Pedro Pena Bastos delivers food from his homeland with a fresh eye. Turbot is paired with black trumpet mushrooms, barnacles and lemon grass, onion with black truffle, buckwheat and lemon-thyme. Don’t though - at any cost - miss the squid; a delectable dish with hazlenuts, bergamot, roasted seaweed butter and caviar which even outshines the elegant interiors by Miguel Cancio Martins.
Contact: fourseason.com/lisbon
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Cais do Sodré
Brilhante
A timeless, French-inspired, brasserie which just ticks all the boxes. Interiors mix wood panelling with brass studded red leather, red velvet, fringed lamps and curtained windows. In the centre of the restaurant a lowered kitchen is inset, which delivers classical brasserie dishes with aplomb. Try the oysters or the blinis with salmon to start with or the veal croquettes with a selection of mustards. Follow it with their signature steak Brilhante, a twist on a century old, popular, Lisbon dish, steak à Marrare or a just perfect sole Meunierè with truffle mashed potatoes.
Contact: restaurantebrilhante.pt
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
