Archive for the 'Restaurants' Category

Aldeio do Meco: Restaurant/bar ‘Tropical do Meco’ excellent local gastronomy

Aldeio do Meco is a small rural village, about 1 km away from the fabulous and famous sandy Meco beaches, ca. 40 km from Lisbon. In Meco village you can find a few trendy bars and a number of restaurants offering the best local gastronomy, in particular seafood and fish dishes, but in case you love […]

Calçada do Duque from Bairro Alto down to Rossio: hundreds of stairs, restaurants & sex shops

From Bairro Alto you can walk to Rossio, stairs leading you down from Calçada do Duque starting in Rua Nova da Trindade, near a sex shop.

Rua Nova da Trindade, near Bairro Alto

Calçada do Duque is a street made of hundreds of stairs, lined with lots of traditional Portuguese restaurants (not cheap). Background: Saint George’s Castle (Castelo de […]

Quality Restaurant Café Martinho da Arcada & Fernando Pessoa’s table

Opening in 1782, Restaurant Café Martinho da Arcada, located in the corner of the Praça do Comércio 37  near the Tagus river, is the oldest café in Lisbon.

The terrace under the beautiful arcades. Movie Praca do Comercio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuLEkL0Ue4. Situated downtown, this cafe was once the ideal setting for the so called ‘tertúlia’s‘ (café talks). Well known names from Portuguese […]

Cheap restaurants: ‘A Tasquinha’ near St George’s Castle

Restaurant ‘A Tasquinha’ (Little Tavern) is located in a beautiful neighborhood in the historic district of Lisbon just down the hill from Castelo de São Jorge.

The taverns are the most typical and traditional restaurants in Portugal: tasty appetisers, irresistible cheeses, olives, salt cod rissoles with red pepper rice, sardines,  fried lamb chops, bean stew, beef with sauce.  […]

Restaurants: Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, a mecca for seafood lovers

Lisbon probably is the best place in Europe to enjoy seafood. There are a couple of ‘restaurant’ streets such as Rua das Portas de Santo Antão where you will find a wide selection of options.

The lively street just behind the National Theater on Largo de São Domingos, near Rossio Square and Restauradores, is a real mecca for […]

How to recognize cheap and really Portuguese restaurants

The Portuguese appreciate eating and drinking well. The influence of Portugal’s former colonial possessions is clear, especially in the wide variety of spices used, like piri piri (small, fiery chilli peppers), as well as cinnamon, vanilla and saffron. There’s also Arab and Moorish influences, especially in the south. The Portuguese cuisine is rich, filling and full-flavoured.

Lisbon, pastelaria (cafe/small […]

Bacalhau (codfish), Portugals’ dried & faithful friend (fiel amigo)

The Portuguese have a very long history with codfish: shortly after Columbus (about 500 years ago) discovered America, the Portuguese were fishing for cod near NewFoundland. They were the first Europeans to do so. The nickname of bacalhau is ‘fiel amigo’ (faithful friend).

Lisbon: shop Manteigaria Silva, Rua D. Antao de Almada 1-C and D
When you stay […]

Famous Cafe ‘A Brasileira’, Rua Garrett: bad service and inattentive staff

Elegant shopping street Rua Garrett, that leads from the Baixa to Chiado, is named after the author and poet Joao Almedia Garrett (1799-1854). The area is also an important cultural area, with several museums and theatres.

Rua Garett, June 2008. On the background cafe ‘A Brasileira’ terrace. You will see young locals here just socialising or window shopping.

The most famous street of Lisbon, […]

Restaurant ‘A Travessa’, one of Lisbon’s best & unique location

We had heard great things about ‘A Travessa’, a trendy restaurant located in a former convent in Bairro da Madragoa, and one of Lisbon’s best: from food, service to location.

The building used to be a 17th century convent. Set in the very peaceful quarter in Santo (Lapa) this is one of the most atmospheric restaurants in Lisbon. […]

Lisbon people: Viviane Durieu’s (Belgian) favorite places

Viviane Durieu is creator of ‘A Travessa’, one of Lisbons best restaurants, set in a 17th-century convent, with a picturesque courty yard.

“When I arrived in Lisbon in December 1969, two days before Christmas, I thought the climate and the light were fantastic. Especially because I had arrived from Belgium where it’s cloudy for nine […]