Wines and Food in Lisbon

Lisboetas are fiercely proud of their food and wine and tend to appreciate eating and drinking to the full. Traditional signature dishes, such as charcoal-grilled sardines, pataniscas de bacalhau (cod fish-cakes) and caldo verde (a soup of shredded kale in a smooth potato base) are inexpensive and almost invariably excellent. Bacalhau can be prepared in literally hundreds of ways, and it is usually considered the most typical Portuguese dish.

Other popular dishes include a bread-based seafood stew called açorda de marisco, peixinhos da horta (deep-fried green beans) or bife à Marrare, which is a steak with either a creamy pepper or a coffee sauce. Don’t forget to sample the mouth watering pastéis de Belém, close to the Jerónimos monastery, made according to a secret recipe handed down for generations. The famous roasted chestnuts, sold on street corners throughout the city during autumn and winter chestnut season, are also very traditional.

Portuguese are big on fresh fish and meat, especially pork, and rarely will you meet a local vegetarian (and thus there is mostly only a very limited vegetarian choice). You will also find that deserts and sweets are the order of the day and wine is usually on the table at meal times. Restaurants usually serve an initial bread, butter, cheeses and olives entrée, for which you pay extra. Daily specials and set lunch menus are usually the best option, especially the fish dishes. Remember that Portugal is a big wine producer and offers an amazing range of whites, reds and rosés.

Very unusual is the vinho verde; a fresh and zesty young wine with a naturally lower alcohol content (usually between 9 - 11%), and which is in the white version a light, sparkling, fruity and slightly acidic taste, especially good on warmer days. Although the name translates as “green wine”, it can actually be white or red. Red vinho verde seems an acquired taste, but you should definitely try it. The Vinho do Porto, produced in the north of the country in the Douro region, can be found in most restaurants in Lisbon and shops with Portuguese produce. To learn a bit more about the history and production of this Portuguese delight, visit the Instituto dos Vinhos do Porto e Douro in Rua S. Pedro de Alcântara.