Best-Ever Food Guide: Where To Eat And Drink In Lisbon

CAN THE CAN takes Portugal’s historic passion for canned food and turns it into a high-end gourmand experience. According to CAN THE CAN, canning is the “oldest and most beloved” industry in Portugal. The restaurant opened in 2012 with the goal of promoting its national canning industry, to show “that Portuguese tinned fish are an exclusive product, with an enormous tradition and quality, which can be used with a combination of fresh ingredients, highlighting the quality of preparation and presentation.”

CAN THE CAN offers a very distinct dining experience you definitely won’t find anywhere else, because all the products served are exclusively Portuguese. The restaurant produces all of the unique Portuguese fish products that aren’t widely-known, such as muxama, bottarga, fish liver foie gras and swordfish belly bacon. What you order might appear like a charcuterie board, but look again. Instead of cured meats, you’ll find cured cuts of tuna pastrami, swordfish and muxama (tuna loin) with pickles, fennels and roasted almonds. The Bottarga is one of the star must-try items on the menu. The high-end cuts of codfish roe cured in fleur de sel are rich in both flavor and texture.

The most cutting-edge product that’s on spotlight at CAN THE CAN is garum, a fermented fish sauce made with fish from Lusitanian waters by the in-house brand, Selo de Mar. Garum is a powerfully flavorful condiment which you can use to add distinct fish flavors such as cuttlefish, tuna, sardine and anchovies to dishes. The tartar is perfect for trying out the garum condiments. You can take a dropper to add small sprinkles of cuttlefish, sardine or anchovy garum to the tartar in order to give it an even more powerful taste of the ocean.

Other than the unique fish cold cuts, CAN THE CAN has a fantastic all-day menu which goes from breakfast to dinner. There are lots of fun tapas that are sure crowd-pleasers like octopus croquettes and tuna samosas. Main dishes include hearty comfort foods like an Azores cheeseburger, black linguini with shrimp and steak with black beer sauce. At CAN THE CAN, you can try experimental interpretations and elaborations of one-of-a-kind products that are undoubtedly Portuguese.

ZunZum Gastrobar by renowned Portuguese chef, Marlene Vieira, is a delight to dine in, day or night. The restaurant is housed in a bright, luminous space encased in glass. And in this space, you will experience some of the most fabulous cooking that Lisbon has to offer. Located between the Cruise Terminal and Santa Apolonia station, the immense flavors will be well-worth the slight detour away from the main tourist center.

Let just get one thing out of the way. You cannot go to ZunZum Gastrobar and leave without trying the traditional oven baked rice with duck leg. The duck leg is roasted to perfect with beautiful crispy skin on the outside and tender meat on the inside. The rice cooks and soaks up all the marvelous duck fat which you can enjoy with the tiny chunks of chorizo sprinkled in.  I repeat, do not leave Zunzum Gastrobar without devouring the oven baked rice with duck leg.

The menu is full of other colorful dishes and flavors. You can start with the Setubal oysters with clarified gazpacho and smoked eggplant. Then move on to the crispy tostadas with avocado, crab and trout roe. The pumpkin cannelloni with sage cream, cottage cheese, pear and chestnut are fresh and not too heavy. ZunZum also has a drink menu that offers a series of refreshing, floral and perfectly balanced cocktails to pair with the fabulous food. Overall,  ZunZum Gastrobar offers a bright, delectable dining experience that will make your tastebuds dance.

Any Lisbonite could tell you that Pap’Açorda is a local, and arguably national, institution. The humble restaurant which started in 1981, has gained illustrious status throughout the decades for its traditional Portuguese comfort food served in an elegant setting. Pap’Açorda has hosted the likes of the Portuguese president to Robert DeNiro, and many more artists, politicians and celebrities. Helmed by Chef Manuela Brandão for over three decades, the sprightly, effervescent chef continues to serve the people the classics they love.

The current Pap’Açorda is located in the highly desirable and stylish top floor of Mercado da Ribeira, aka Time Out Market Lisbon. While the space is relatively new after their move from Bairro Alto six years ago, diners will find all the same dishes that have been on Pap’Açorda’s  menu since 1981. Among the classics, you’ll find the John Dory fillets with the divine orange cream sauce, as well as the hearty açorda,  after which the restaurant is named. You also can’t leave without trying Chef Brandão’s chocolate souffle. Many diners will often pop into Pap’Açorda just to get a bite of Chef Brandão’s secret chocolate mousse recipe.

You can count on Pap’Açorda to take you on a grand tour of the best Portuguese comfort food which can be enjoyed in chic, airy setting above Time Out Market Lisbon.

The Decadente is the creative restaurant attached to the trendy Independente Hostel & Suites. This is the place to go when you’re looking for funky fresh flavors with pizzazz. The restaurant is hip and laidback, with warm, dim lighting, open kitchen and cute cow murals on the walls. It maintains a breezy intimacy which makes it the perfect place for a date or a night out with friends.

The food is where it gets really fun. The Decadente’s menu consists mostly of plates to share that are “unapologetically Portuguese,” each one featuring creative and surprising twists. The Algarve prawn is a must-try, constructed of fresh prawn tartar, flying fish eggs on top of crispy, salty chicken skin. The explosion of briny, salty flavors and textures perfectly illustrates what The Decadente’s innovative kitchen crew is all about.

The Iberian black pork with sheet-thin slices of smoked celeriac and nuts is another stellar dish. The bitter, crunch of the celeriac perfectly brings out all the juicy flavors of the Iberian pork. The Chargrilled Beef Cabbage is also a fond favorite of the restaurant staff. Charred cabbage which is crispy on the outside and beefy on the inside is smothered with a delectable savory almond sauce and sprinkled with panko for the perfect bite. For the main, don’t miss out on the sexiest chargrilled rib eye ever, topped with a garlicky walnut pesto with the perfect amount of marble to make your mouth water.

With an energetic and highly creative kitchen crew, The Decadente is there to provide “unapologetically Portuguese” dishes with new innovative flavors.

The Decadente is the creative restaurant attached to the trendy Independente Hostel & Suites. This is the place to go when you’re looking for funky fresh flavors with pizzazz. The restaurant is hip and laidback, with warm, dim lighting, open kitchen and cute cow murals on the walls. It maintains a breezy intimacy which makes it the perfect place for a date or a night out with friends.

The food is where it gets really fun. The Decadente’s menu consists mostly of plates to share that are “unapologetically Portuguese,” each one featuring creative and surprising twists. The Algarve prawn is a must-try, constructed of fresh prawn tartar, flying fish eggs on top of crispy, salty chicken skin. The explosion of briny, salty flavors and textures perfectly illustrates what The Decadente’s innovative kitchen crew is all about.

The Iberian black pork with sheet-thin slices of smoked celeriac and nuts is another stellar dish. The bitter, crunch of the celeriac perfectly brings out all the juicy flavors of the Iberian pork. The Chargrilled Beef Cabbage is also a fond favorite of the restaurant staff. Charred cabbage which is crispy on the outside and beefy on the inside is smothered with a delectable savory almond sauce and sprinkled with panko for the perfect bite. For the main, don’t miss out on the sexiest chargrilled rib eye ever, topped with a garlicky walnut pesto with the perfect amount of marble to make your mouth water.

With an energetic and highly creative kitchen crew, The Decadente is there to provide “unapologetically Portuguese” dishes with new innovative flavors.

Who’s the most consistent ubiquitous chef in all of Portugal? Chef José Avillez, of course! Chef Avillez, a prolific chef and businessman, has too many fabulous restaurants to count in Lisbon and beyond at this point. But our new favorite all-day restaurant is the seafood-forward Páteo at the center of Bairro do Avillez.

Páteo is that place you can count on to serve delicious snacks, entrees and drinks day or night. It goes from bright, Instagram-friendly solarium during the day to a convivial and lively food hall-like atmosphere at night. The atmosphere is airy and botanical, while the service is attentive and top-notch without being overly formal.

Seafood lovers will rejoice at the splendid selection of familiar favorites with a creative twist that Chef Avillez has whipped up for Páteo’s menu. Start with the Lettuce Tacos with octopus tartar, kimchi emulsion and pickles for a crunchy and tangy bite for a taste of Chef Avillez’s innovative cooking style. But also, don’t miss out on a straightforward dish like the Bulhão Pato Clams, steamed with the most perfectly balanced broth of lemon, garlic and white wine, to show you why the Portuguese know how to do seafood better than anyone else.

The Chargrilled Squid with black rice is a star main dish. Soft, succulent squid is served on top of black ink risotto with coriander sprouts, chorizo and kimchi mayonnaise for an extra kick. A must-try to lovers of squid ink risotto and tender squid. Páteo may be seafood-forward but that’s no reason to sleep on the meat dishes. The Spoon-Tender Veal is just that: “veal so tender it can be sliced with a spoon.” The veal is cooked in its own juices with chouriço then served on a soft bed of fluffy maize kernels. The earthy flavor of the maize goes well with the rich juices of the veal to bring out the flavors of the meat even more.

Be sure not to miss out on dessert to tie your fabulous meal together. Chef Avillez puts his own spin on Pastel de Nata by taking the iconic sweet egg custard and layering it in a crispy Mille-Feuille. There’s also the pretty Bairro Pavlova whose merengue layer you can crack to reveal the sweet whipped cream and fruits inside.

Whether you’re looking for a full-course gourmet meal or a lively place to enjoy some cocktails and snacks, Páteo is the most versatile all-day restaurant where you can try Chef José Avillez’s world-renowned Portuguese cuisine.