Portugal’s ancient capital, Lisbon, has so much to offer, from the hilltop castle to the Belém Tower, old trams, picturesque neighbourhoods and plenty of good food. After walking around this amazing city for a few hours, we never struggled to find good food…And drinks, with streetside bars all over the place.
Pastel De Nata
At the top of every list for a reason, pastéis de nata are a delicious mix of pastry, egg and cinnamon. You’ll find them in most bakeries, but there are also entire shops dedicated to these sticky treats.
One of the most iconic bakeries dedicated to these treats is Pastéis de Belém, located in the centre of Belém near the tower and just after the Jerónimos Monastery. It’s a great place to pop into after visiting either of these attractions, but it is said to have the best pastel de nata in Lisbon, so it does get busy, super busy. Luckily, there is a takeaway window to one sid,e so you don’t have to queue for the actual cafe if you don’t want to.
Ginjinha: Berry Liquer
One morning, we walked down to St. Dominic’s Square by the Church of Saint Dominic and spotted a small hole-in-the-wall shop that looked like it was giving out testers. After reaching for one of the little cups, my partner was abruptly stopped by the seller and told that they were not free, but you could buy a shot to try it. They were pretty rude, so we moved on without giving it much thought.
The next day, we stumbled upon a great little wine shop selling port and again saw the strange red liqueur for sale and asked the owners what it was. Ginjinha, it turns out, is made by mixing ginja berries (sour cherry) with sugar and fermenting it.
Octopus in Lisbon
This tentacular beast is one of my all-time favourites, and the Portuguese sure know how to do it justice. For polvo grelhado, the octopus is either boiled or wrapped in a cloth and beaten to soften it up, before getting grilled with a delicious sauce of olive oil, parsley and garlic.
In my opinion, the octopus in Lisbon is the best in the world, whether it’s grilled with potatoes, chilled in a salad, mixed with rice or fried in a fritter.
Be sure to look for it on the menu and head to traditional seafood restaurants like the ones you can find all along Rua das Portas de Santo Antão.
Cheap Food Lisbon
If you’re down for cheap eats, and who isn’t? Then you’ve chosen the right place. I always thought Greece and Spain were the cheaper European countries, but Portugal puts up some good competition.
For lunch one day we went to a buffet with traditional Portuguese food at Rosa da Rua for €19.40 and were super impressed by the lamb, salads and seafood.
You’ll also find some great late-night food in Lisbon. We visited a small bar near the Lisbon Cathedral that served better food than any Sydney local I’ve been to at half the price. You can even get a beer for €2 to €3, something you could only dream of in Aus.
Why Foodies Should Choose Portugal
For a cheap European country, Portugal is incredibly developed, clean and easy to travel around. Take this for example: in Barcelona, you need a tourist pass for buses and trains (excluding the airport train, of course) that either lasts for a day or two and is stupidly overpriced, in Lisbon, all of the metro and inner city buses take contactless and you can get to the airport for a few € easily.
I’ve spent years in Spain and regret not visiting Portugal sooner, the streets are so much cleaner, the same stuff in Lidl is cheaper, and there aren’t layers of bureaucracy for getting a train or museum ticket. Sorry Spain.
Paying for It all
First and foremost, avoid the blue and yellow ‘Euronet’ ATM’s at all costs, they are everywhere in touristy areas and will give you cash, but the fees will be exorbitant, and the exchange rate is terrible, we tried a couple and some of them don’t even state what their fees are, it’s a shame they are somehow legal.
My advice is to pay with a travel card or just a normal debit card from your home country that has no exchange fees. In Australia, Upbank, ING, and others have cards like this, or you can use Wise/Revolut to load currency beforehand. In Lisbon, there were a few occasions when restaurants didn’t take cards, so having some cash is handy; try to get it from a local bank’s ATM and don’t use their exchange rate–your home bank will almost always be better.
