Portuguese restaurants in Europe
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A
Adega do Isaías
To enter this award-winning, rustic tasca (tavern), you pass by a sizzling grill cooking up tender fish, meat and Alentejan specialities. Inside, a wine cellar awaits, crammed with tables and huge wine jars.
reviewed
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B
Restaurante Taverna
Set in a former chapel (note the vaulted ceiling), and with drawings of Évora’s plazas along the stone walls, Taverna serves a solid menu (pork with Madeira, chicken with roasted capsicums) at fair prices.
reviewed
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C
Alcobaça
This simple, busy place is one of the best-value and most traditional restaurants in the old town. It serves hearty Portuguese fare including tasty caldo verde (cabbage soup), grilled sardines and garlicky clams.
reviewed
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D
Adega do Saloio
Popular with locals, Adega do Saloio has two outlets across the road from each other, both specialising in grills, but one more formal than the other. Both have bustling atmospheres and are decorated with strings of garlic.
reviewed
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E
A Forja
The secret is out. This buzzing place pulls in the crowds – locals, tourists, expats – for its overhearty, top-quality traditional food served in a bustling environment at great prices. Plates of the day are always reliable, as are the fish dishes.
reviewed
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F
Martinho da Arcada
Sizzling and stirring since 1782, this old-world restaurant was once a haunt of poet Fernando Pessoa. Dapper waiters bring pepper steak and grilled cod to the outdoor tables beneath a colonnade; prime people-watching territory.
reviewed
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G
O Faz Figura
This stylish restaurant feels like a well-kept secret. Polished wood, white linen and art-slung walls set the scene for seasonal Portuguese fare like stewed boar with wild mushrooms. The views from the conservatory are stunning.
reviewed
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Galo Chargrill Restaurant
The spicy chargrills like double chicken fillets with chilli are a burst of sunshine at this small Portuguese restaurant with a big reputation. On balmy days the front opens up like the lid on a can of anchovies.
reviewed
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H
Solar do Lago
This high-ceilinged restaurant exudes rustic charm with its chunky wooden tables and terracotta tiles. Tasty seafood dishes include garlicky caldeirada and grilled squid. A handful of outdoor tables overlook a quiet plaza.
reviewed
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I
Verde Perto
Shiny pink placemats and black wooden lightboxes along the wall lend a minimalist chic to this friendly restaurant. Huge, creative salads are tops here, though you can also opt for crepes, open-faced sandwiches or other light fare.
reviewed
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A Charrete
Touted as the town’s best eatery for its regional specialities, this place serves reliably good cuisine amid country rustic charm. A few favourites include cabbage with spicy sausages and an award-winning honey flan for dessert.
reviewed
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J
Café Alentejo
Housed in a 16th-century building, Café Alentejo is full of arches and smart decor (with beautiful floors). Not to mention the amazing aromas: a heady mix of red wine and herbs that hit you on entry. The rabo de boi estufado em vinho tinto (oxtail stew in red wine; €12.50) and arroz de pato (duck risotto) are both highly recommended.
reviewed
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K
Tacho Real
Take a pew on the cobbled patio or retreat to the 17th-century vaulted interior, bedecked with century-old azulejos, at this charming haunt. Dapper waiters bring specialities from juicy steaks to stuffed king crab to the table.
reviewed
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L
Restaurante Ponte Romana
Adjoining the Ponte Romana residencial, this basement restaurant has decorations – keys, cowbells and harnesses – as antiquated as its prices (which haven’t moved in years) and clients (ditto). Great value, hearty country fare.
reviewed
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M
Restaurante Tomaz
Popular with locals, this simple, appealing place has unbeatable prices plus a cosy tiled dining room and outdoor seating on a wide, leafy street.
reviewed
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N
Terreiro do Paço
Sitting pretty on Lisbon’s grandest square, this swish restaurant was once part of the royal palace. Today brick vaults and soft jazz set the scene for creative Portuguese flavours such as Azores tuna with mango compote and ginger soufflé.
reviewed
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O
Toma Lá-Dá-Cá
Get your tongue in a twist pronouncing the name of this Santa Catarina gem, where there’s often an anaconda of a queue. The inviting haunt rolls out Portuguese fare such as baked carp, plus Alpine classics like fondue – adding do-re-mi to the lá-dá-cá.
reviewed
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P
A Camponesa
This Santa Catarina hot spot attracts arty types with its poster-plastered walls, jazzy grooves and tables full of holiday snapshots. Savour home-grown flavours like Algarve oysters and cuttlefish with fried egg. There’s always one veggie option.
reviewed
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Q
Amo.te Chiado
Giggly Lisboetas adore this Sex and the City –style haunt, kissed with silver and jazzed up with bubble-shaped lights. Lounge music plays as hipsters sip strawberry-vodka cocktails and devour veggie couscous or octopus with roast peppers.
reviewed
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R
Porta d’Alfama
Tiny Porta d’Alfama serves simple fare like grilled sardines. But food is secondary at Saturday afternoon’s free fado vadio, where the family gathers for a gutsy warble . Take a pew on the sunny terrace with a pitcher of white wine and enjoy.
reviewed
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S
A Travessa
This 17th-century convent cranks up the romance with its serene cloisters and brick vaulting. António Moita whets appetites with fresh wood-fired bread and wild mushrooms in truffle oil, followed by delicacies like superb roast pork and walnut-prune semifreddo.
reviewed
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T
Atanvá
The freshest Portuguese produce lands on your plate at riverfront Atanvá – think thin and juicy steaks, creamy Azeitão sheep’s cheese and salt-crusted Atlantic sea bass. Grab a seat on the terrace to sip a glass of white and indulge in a little people-watching.
reviewed
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U
Rosa dos Mares
Marshmallow-pink hues and country-cottage beams aside, Rosa is more stylish than twee. If it swims in the Atlantic, it’s on the menu. Staff will help you navigate the seafood menu of lip-smacking morsels like shellfish rice and oven-baked bacalhau (cod).
reviewed
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V
Snack-Bar Restaurante A Choupana
This is a tiled, busy place where many locals opt to sit on stools at a long bar. There’s a TV, lots of knick-knacks and tasty, good-value daily mains (including generous half serves). Attached is an appealing restaurant served by efficient bow-tied waiters.
reviewed
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W
Pap’Açorda
Way too sexy for Bairro Alto, Pap’Açorda lures the beauty set with its cascading chandeliers, pink-champagne walls and Right Said Fred lookalike waiters. The signature dish is açorda (bread and shellfish stew), washed down with Moët, sweetie.
reviewed