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Just a few metres down the road from Pap’Açorda, 1º de Maio is much less fashionable and noticeably proud of its 57-year tradition. Among its regulars are artists, writers, journalists and politicians, such as two-time Portuguese President Mário Soares. The menu features traditional Portuguese food at affordable prices, including John Dory with Açorda, swordfish with garlic or fried rabbit with clams. Advance booking recommended.
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Located opposite Portugal’s Parliament building, A Galeria is much more than just a pizzeria. Milan-born chef and owner Augusto Gemelli described his cooking style to local newspaper Diário de Notícias as “creative Italian with aspects of fusion cuisine”. Gemelli likes to experiment with Portuguese products in his home country’s recipes. The result has made his restaurant “one of the most original and interesting in Portugal”, according to one connoisseur. To do honour to its [name], art exhibitions are held regularly at A Galeria. Open for dinner only.
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Set up some years ago by a Portuguese lady who lived in Portugal’s former colony Macau for 20 years. Staff at the spacious restaurant are all Thai, wearing traditional dress and give dance performances and demonstrations of fruit and vegetable carving during dinner. Always the perfectionist, owner Luísa Castanheira imports all ingredients from Thailand, as she does with decorative objects which she uses for her restaurant or offers for sale in the restaurant shop. Dishes include Thai curry, grilled tiger prawns, marinated beef, steamed sea bass with ginger, leek and seasoning and served with rhai sauce. There are secluded areas available for private dining.
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Situated on the riverside opposite Santa Apolonia Station and close to Lux nightclub, fashionable Bica do Sapato is the place to see and be seen. The eatery is made up of three sections: a cafeteria where less elaborate dishes are served at lower prices, a stylishly decorated restaurant featuring modern Portuguese cuisine and, on the first floor, a sushi bar. Popular is the sushi buffet night on Wednesdays, when reserving in advance is necessary. One of the Bica do Sapato’s owners is American actor and Portugal lover John Malkovich.
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O fiel amigo (the faithful friend) is the Portuguese term of endearment for what is considered to be their national dish bacalhau, or dried cod. The saying goes that the Portuguese have 365 recipes for bacalhau, one for each day of the year. More than 20 of these, from different regions of the country, are on the menu at Casa do Bacalhau, a restaurant almost entirely dedicated to the locally beloved dish. Examples are bacalhau Good Friday-style and bacalhau espíritual. There’s a different dish every day for lunch, at an attractive price.
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Cervejaria da Trindade is a restaurant and, at the same time, a monument. Established in 1836, it is Portugal’s oldest cervejaria or traditional beer hall. According to many, it is also the most beautiful one, mainly because of the spectacular 19th century azulejos (tiles) on the walls of the spacious, high-ceiling rooms. Formally part of the city’s cultural heritage, the historic eatery is open daily until 2am, which is why many use it for after-theatre supper. Specialities include various kinds of steaks, grilled fish and seafood.
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A year after it opened, Eleven was awarded a Michelin star, just like the restaurant’s eleven owners said they would. It is the first restaurant in Lisbon to conquer the coveted quality symbol after the Conventual lost its star in 1999. Stylish, but not posh or stuffy, and with a nice view of Eduardo VII Park and central Lisbon, Eleven specialises in acclaimed head chef/co-owner Joachim Koerper’s unique and artfully presented version of Mediterranean cuisine. Meanwhile, Koerper has given up his two-starred restaurant Girasol in Alicante, Spain, to be able to dedicate all his time to Eleven. The aim is to chalk up a second star in November this year.
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Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, concession holder of the Estoril Casino, close to Lisbon, set up the Mandarim inside the Casino some years ago because he felt that there was no Chinese restaurant that did justice to his home country’s cooking. Connoisseurs agree that presently the Estoril Mandarim is Portugal’s best Chinese restaurant, with an all-Chinese staff and a kitchen team headed by Peng Kuan U, one of the world’s best chefs of Chinese cuisine (according to the International Who’s Who in Cooking). Popular dishes include dim sum (lunch only), Peking duck, fried lobster, sautéed shrimps in a bird’s nest and swallows’-nest soup—all very reasonably priced.
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Flores is the trendy, attractively decorated restaurant of the new boutique Hotel Bairro Alto, which opened in May last year. Young head chef Henrique Sá Pessoa, who was elected Portugal’s Chef of the Year 2005, presents a fusion of Oriental, Mediterranean and Portuguese cuisine. Dishes served at lunchtime are less elaborate and therefore less expensive (around €15).
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French head chef Marc le Ouedec, who with his team in 2002 earned a Michelin star for Fortaleza do Guincho, went back to the three-starred restaurant Buerehiesel in Strasbourg, to resume his position under renowned chef Antoine Westermann there. Westermann is a regular visiting consultant for the Fortaleza restaurant, owned by the same people who run Europe’s biggest casino in Estoril. New chef is Frenchman Vincent Farges, also from Buerehiesel. The menu hasn’t changed much at the luxury restaurant, located inside the hotel of the same [name] on the wonderful Guincho coast. Cooking is still French, with strong Portuguese and Mediterranean influences.
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Established in 1936, Gambrinus is a Lisbon classic, much used by politicians, business people and lawyers. The decor is rustic, with lots of dark brown wood and a huge open fire place. House specialities are fish and seafood dishes (try the mixed grill), but duck with rice, roast suckling pig or even roast beef English style are also on the menu. Dishes served at the bar are less elaborate and less expensive. Open until 2am.
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Having dinner at Kais is an experience, and not only because of the food, which is classy international with a Portuguese touch. The sheer size of the place—a converted riverside warehouse—and its spectacular, industrial-chic decor are awe-inspiring. Kais, with live jazz music every evening, is on the first floor. On the ground floor there is a less expensive, all-you-caneat restaurant called Adega that offers traditional Portuguese fare.
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Centrepieces in this lively restaurant, set in a former fish market, are a long bench with all kinds of fish and seafood freshly out of the ocean and a giant charcoal-burning grill. Attracts a crowd of local celebs and other beautiful people who can afford the often high seafood prices. (Watch out, you pay according to weight.) Once you’ve chosen your main course, you can watch it being grilled to perfection right in front of you
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Set up in 1998 by Naples-born American chef Michele Guerrieri and his Portuguese partner, Mezzaluna is now one of Lisbon’s most appreciated Italian restaurants. Because of its location not far from the parliament, it has quite a few politicians among its clientele. Among the house specialities are such dishes of Italian haute cuisine as tagliatelle with shrimps in a vodka sauce, fillets of salmon with an orange sauce, and duck breast with a prune sauce.
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Creative Mediterranean is how chef-owner Olivier of the Bairro Alto restaurant of the same [name] describes his cooking style. It has brought him fame and people queuing in front of the 40-seat eatery almost every night. There is no fixed menu. Diners can choose from a selection of hot and cold starters and main dishes the gifted chef felt like creating that day. There’s only one dessert: a chocolate coulant to die for.
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One of the survivors of the modernisation wave that hit Lisbon in the 80s, Pap’Açorda is still one of the buzziest and busiest places in town. There is excitement in the air in this Bairro Alto classic, with its core clientele of local celebs, fashionistas and interior designers. Try the house speciality, Açorda Real, a bread and shellfish stew, or the entrecôte with a sauce of fresh herbs, or the lamb chops, all Portuguese style with a modern touch. Reservations are made for either 8.30 or 10.30pm, with the latter shift being most in demand.
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Wonderfully located on the seafront in the Guincho area in Cascais, Porto de Santa Maria is one of greater Lisbon’s three Michelin-starred restaurants. There are, in fact, quite a few affordable dishes on the menu here. The seafood dishes, including the house specialities crayfish and lobster, are what make the restaurant expensive.
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Situated high on a hill Restô offers international cuisine, especially South American (the chef is Argentinean) and breathtaking views. The latter are best enjoyed while sipping a Brazilian caipirinha on the esplanade. If it’s too cold, take lunch or dinner at a table near the window.
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First established in 1784, the Lisbon classic Tavares changed ownership two years ago and was entirely renovated. The present head chef is Philippe Preudenier, who last was sous chef at the three-starred restaurant Lucas Carton in Paris. Cuisine is sophisticated European international with Oriental influences. Go to Tavares only if you enjoy having dinner in a museum-like environment with lots of red velvet, gold lamé, mirrors and chandeliers. For a more casual experience, have lunch (€12) at the belle époque-style Café Tavares on the first floor.
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Housed in a former, wonderfully renovated post office, Terreiro do Paço is co-owned by its head chef, 1999 Chef of the Year Vitor Sobral. The restaurant is part of the Lisboa Welcome Centre, which makes it the city’s culinary calling card. Splendid modern Portuguese cuisine with the choicest local ingredients, offering dishes designed by the chef, a pioneer of the Portuguese nouvelle cuisine movement. Attention: the menu on the first floor (Paço) is more elaborate and therefore more expensive than that on the ground floor (Terreiro).
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One of Lisbon’s best restaurants, the Valle Flôr, is located inside the city’s most luxurious hotel the Pestana Palace, housed in a converted 19th century palácio. French chef Aimé Barroyer does wonderful things with the typical Portuguese ingredients he has learned to love and is still discovering. “We try to be international, but respect the country,” he told the Portuguese Review recently. An added bonus here is the wonderful romantic dining room with sleek pillars, palm plants, high ceilings and windows with a view of the hotel’s private botanical garden.
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