Nowadays in Lisbon, everything changes at fast pace, so our sugestions might be quickly disappearing or changing abruptly, still …here it goes, our honest suggestions for Lisbon:
Where to stay:
You in Lisbon | in case you are looking for a sophisticated and unique experience,
Casa Calma | trendy place
Dining and shopping
Dining:
– Damas (my favorite)
vibrant atmosphere… sometimes what puts me off on some of the trendy restaurants in Lisbon is how pretensious they are, in Damas they are so welcoming and warm, the price is great and the food is perfect, tasty, cooked with passion; inspired in portuguese traditions. The place doubles as a concert and dance hall, so it’s great to go out at night if you are lacking the patience to go trough all the steps, the dinning room of this place already feels like a night out experience and it will easily transform in to one.
– Cervejaria Ramiro (Ramiro Beerhouse)
best seafood, best atmosphere, not expensive, long queues, go before 6pm or after 11pm (door closes at 12pm)
must try: percebes (goose barnacles), gambas (boiled prawns), tigres (grilled tiger prawns), sapateira (stuffed brown crab) and of course, finish with what we call sobremesa (dessert), the best prego in town (steak sandwich with lots of garlic)
– Taberna da Rua das Flores
cozy, small, traditional/modern fusion amazing petiscos (tapas) to share. go early, no reservations, gets packed
must try: they change the menu a lot, depends on what’s in season. we always go for the picadinho de carapau (minced horse mackerel) and the amazing savel com açorda de ovas (shad with bread and roe mix)
– Estrela da Bica
cozy, kind of small french style eatery in a traditional neighbourhood with uncomplicated dishes to share. good and friendly service, young staff and cooks
must try: beef cheek tacos, smoked bean rice, good red wine selection
– Cantinho do Aziz
mozambique food, cheap, outdoor seating, lively atmosphere. go there for lunch (book ahead)
must try: crab curry, moamba de galinha (african chicken stew), samosas
– Cozinha Urbana
chef used to live in Macao, now cooks a small number of oriental-inspired dishes, plus the best burger in town (the one with miso). seats about 16 people, great view to the castle
must try: miso burger, beijing burger (duck), duck salad
– Carvoaria Jacto
meat restaurant, popular, cheap, great wine selection
must try: espetada à carvoaria (beef and prawn skewers), posta mirandesa (huge veal steak from northern portugal with olive oil, vinegar and garlic sauce)
– Mercado da Ribeira (Time Out Market)
looks a bit like a mall food court, but most of the well-known local chefs have their own small spin-off place there.
try the restaurants on the sideways, where you can sit at the bar and eat, like Sea Me (modern fish restaurant, great oysters)
Shopping for ingredients:
(all of the following are located around the Intendente area, the hip(sterized) part of town where we live, in the city center, a 5 minute walk from downtown)
– Desi food store
Indian wholesaler (they are the main importers for local indian/bangladeshi/nepali restaurants) which also sells to the public. all kinds of spices. cheap
– A prestigiosa
cheap nepali (?) grocery with every spice / sauce / ingredient you can think of
– Chen supermarket
quite large chinese supermarket. all kinds of noodles and rice (japanese, thai, chinese), sauces, vegetables (pak choi, etc)oim and all kinds of stuff (cuttleware!). cheap!
Things to do:
Our favorite thing to in Lisbon, long before it was a trendy city was to walk around and discover unexpected beauty in it’s narrow streets and old buildings.
Cabeça da Cabra Casa de Campo 