Many of our guests want to see more than just the Algarve during their trip to Portugal. They fly to Lisbon and take some days to travel south – either by the sea or through the beautiful landscapes and historic towns of the Alentejo. Before hitting the road, they usually stay a day or two in Lisbon and frequently ask us where and what to eat (and drink). This is why we have compiled a totally subjective and incomplete list of our favourite restaurants and wine bars in and around Lisbon.
As Lisbon’s restaurant scene is rapidly changing, this is only a snapshot last updated early 2026. Some of our previous favourites – Taberna do Calhau, Boi Cavalo, Chez Chouette, Comida Independente – had to close. At the same time new and exciting spaces are popping up. It is hard to keep up with this dynamic. So if you feel like trying out one of our recommendations, please check whether it still exists.
Besides the incredibly good seafood, fish and meat restaurants, we also include places where you can have petiscos (the Portuguese Tapas), some classics of the Lisbon restaurant scene, new restaurants with a modern spin on the Portuguese cuisine, restaurants with vegetarian options, restaurants with a panoramic view of Lisbon, the best fast food (which isn’t fast anymore because the queues are endless, and, last but not least, our favourite wine and cocktail bars.
Seafood
- Ramiro (Lisbon – $$): An institution. Loud and crowded. No reservations after 7pm. Excellent seafood at reasonable prices. Try everything … and Gamba Média Grelhada. Locals order a Prego, a beef on a bun, to round off the meal. The wine list is short, but impressive. You won’t find another restaurant in this world where a bottle of the fantastic white Cartuxa is priced at less than 20€, a bottle of Ruinart Champagne costs 48.33€, and the famous Barca Velha sells at around 400€. For the nouveau riche there’s Petrus 2013 for an unbeatable 2453€. Ask your local wine store if they can match these prices and at the same time offer you the world’s best seafood. But in the end you will probably settle for a fresh and cold imperial.
- Mar do Inferno (Cascais – $$–$$$): Unfortunately, our favorite “Mariscada Especial” is no longer on the menu. But the seafood is fresh and well prepared and the atmosphere is nice. Try to be seated in the last room with the sea view.
- Nunes Real Marisqueira (Belém – $$$): Located near the Jerónimos Monastery, Nunes arguably offers the freshest and best seafood in the Lisbon area. If you’re adventurous, try a plate of Percebes (goose barnacles in English) whose strange and pre-historic appearance corresponds to their authentic sea flavor. Once you start eating them, you’ll understand why the waiters bind a bib around your neck. In 2022 Nunes moved to a new location with a completely different design. Expect an exuberant space with coloured glass ceilings, velours covered armchairs, gold plated wine racks and bass driven late 1990s house music playing from powerful, yet hidden, surround speakers. If you are allergic to the word “traditional” this is your place.
The freshest fish
- Neptuno (Praia das Maçãs – $$): Excellent fresh fish. Watch the surfers ride the ocean waves while your kids play in the sand.
- Último Porto (Port of Lisbon – $): Only lunch, mostly fresh grilled fish, clams or cuttlefish. Between shipping containers, next to an abandoned maritime station, office workers enjoy a sunny and tasty lunchbreak.
Meat
- O Arêgos (Lisbon – $): There seems to be an unwritten law that makes visitors eat nothing but fish and seafood while in Portugal. What you miss out are the tastiest barbecued beefs you will have eaten in years. One of the best, albeit simple and relatively unknown, places is Arêgos in the Santos-o-Velho district. Try the “Naco na Pedra”, a beef tenderloin that will be brought to your table on a hot stone, with salad and French fries. They also serve fresh fish and an excellent grilled bacalhau.
- Soajeiro (Lisbon – $): Famous for its grilled Madeiran beef skewers. Only lunch, no reservations, always full. Try the Madeiran garlic bread “Bolo de Caco”, the mixed salad with grilled peppers, “Espetada Madeirense” or the “Naco de Vaca”.
Petiscos: the Portuguese tapas
- Da Noi (Lisbon – $$): Very small modern and lounge-style restaurant in the tiny streets of Madragoa bairro. Excellent choice of innovative petiscos as well as some full dishes. Great for sharing. Elecontric and house music is part of the concept and you can listen to their playlists on Spotify. Make your reservation online or ask for one of the very few seats at the counter in the back of the restaurant to see your food being prepared. Small, but good selection of less common wines. By the owners of Skizzo.
- Taberna da Rua das Flores (Lisbon – $$): Tiny restaurant in the centre of Lisbon next to Praça Luís de Camões. Beautifully arranged and very tasty petiscos. Always full, no reservations, be prepared to wait for an hour or more.
- Pharmácia (Lisbon – $$): Beautifully located at the Santa Catarina viewpoint and sharing a building with the national pharmacy museum, Pharmácia is a stylish place to have an afternoon drink and enjoy a modernized version of the traditional Portuguese petiscos (the Portuguese version of “Tapas”).
Traditional Portuguese
- Gambrinus (Lisbon – $$): In a street crowded with bad restaurants, Gambrinus almost goes unnoticed. An old Lisbon classic, it seems awkwardly out of time with its wood paneled walls and red carpets. The food is old-fashioned, but still very good. The dark and elegant dining rooms feel like an António Tabucchi novel. But the real place to be are the stools on the counter. Start with a small plate of presunto ibérico, then try a croquette with Colman’s mustard, then a prego no pão. Accompany with draft beer and finish with a unique café de balão brewed in front of your eyes in their old, laboratory-style, siphon coffee maker (you have to ask for it, otherwise you might get a normal coffee).
- Zapata (Lisbon – $): [Zapata has been closed for over a year now. Hopefully it will reopen soon.] Loud and always full. Serves simple and authentic Portuguese food. Everything from the tasty alheira sausage to octopus and small shrimps caught in the Portuguese Atlantic. If you try the tenderloin (Bife de Lombo) you’ll understand why Argentinian steak houses are not catching on in Portugal. Zapata still slightly resembles what normal Lisbon restaurants looked like 30 years ago (including the eye-soring neon light). This, together with Arêgos, Ramiro and Soajeiro, is where we take our non-portuguese friends.
Modern Portuguese
- Canalha (Belém – $$-$$$): Chef João Rodrigues left his Michelin-starred fine dining career at Feitoria to create this vibrant neighborhood restaurant on Rua da Junqueira. The name means “scoundrel,” hinting at the relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere that has quickly made this one of Lisbon’s most sought-after reservations since opening in 2023. The marble-topped counter facing the open kitchen is where the action happens, though tables fill up just as quickly. With chef Lívia Orofino running the kitchen, the focus is on exceptional Portuguese and Iberian products displayed in the front showcase and handwritten daily on the blackboard. Standout dishes include Arouquesa beef carpaccio with crispy potatoes, tortilha aberta de camarão (open prawn omelette), and their celebrated squid with sheep’s butter. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand for good quality cooking at accessible prices. Portuguese rock music plays while you share plates and watch football on the planned television screens – exactly the neighborhood vibe Rodrigues intended. Book well in advance as the restaurant is small an the demand is huge. Open Monday to Sunday, 12:30pm-11pm. Rua da Junqueira 207. Phone: (+351) 962 152 742.
- Familjen (Madragoa – $$-$$$): Swedish chef Petter Nyström brings his 25 years of Nordic culinary experience to the historic Madragoa neighborhood with this intimate restaurant that feels like an extension of the family table. Familjen (“family” in Swedish) serves bold, creative sharing plates that blend Nordic philosophy with global flavors and peak-season Portuguese ingredients. The menu changes regularly but standout dishes include their celebrated oysters, beef tartare, “Not a Caesar Salad,” and kale tempura. Nyström’s kitchen thrives on contrasts – heat meeting acidity, umami balancing brightness – while maintaining the Nordic emphasis on seasonality and simplicity. The natural wine selection perfectly complements the food, and the relaxed atmosphere in this cozy space makes it feel like dining in a friend’s home. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm to midnight. Reservations essential for this neighborhood spot that’s quickly becoming one of Lisbon’s most talked-about restaurants. Rua do Machadinho 56. Phone: (+351) 213 900 496.
- Skizzo (Lapa – $$-$$$): This contemporary Mediterranean restaurant brings impressive wood-fired cooking to a quiet corner of Lapa. Everything on the menu gets kissed by fire – from flatbreads topped with arugula, pesto, and stracciatella to charred scallops and lobster à guilho with chili butter. The team behind this hip spot spent years learning fire-cooking techniques from passionate chefs across Europe, and it shows in dishes like their celebrated pesto flatbread, roasted peppers with chimichurri and anchovies, and perfectly grilled octopus. The atmosphere features vinyl DJ sets, natural wines curated by owner Michael, and an open kitchen where you can watch the culinary theater unfold. The menu changes seasonally, emphasizing generous sharing plates made from scratch. With its marble tables, vibrant energy, and serious approach to both food and wine, Skizzo has quickly become a sought-after place to be. By the owners of Da Noi. Rua das Trinas 22. Email: restaurante@skizzolisboa.
- Prado (Sé – $$-$$$): Chef António Galapito and his partner Inês Pereira transformed a former canning factory near Lisbon Cathedral into this stunning farm-to-table restaurant where plants literally grow from the high ceilings. After a decade working alongside Nuno Mendes in London, Galapito returned to Portugal in 2017 with a mission to showcase the country’s finest seasonal produce. The name means “meadow,” and the bright, plant-filled space lives up to its pastoral inspiration. Galapito spent months traveling Portugal to establish direct relationships with farmers, fishermen, and winemakers, resulting in a menu that changes daily based on what’s in season. Expect dishes like cockles with spinach, coriander and fried bread, hispi cabbage with goat’s cheese whey and walnuts, or Iberico pork loin with chard. The impressive wine list focuses on organic, biodynamic, and natural Portuguese bottles, many available only in small batches. And contrary to most Portuguese restaurants, the cellar offers a wide and excellent choice of French and international wines. The Michelin Guide recommends both the evening tasting menu and à la carte options. Travessa Pedras Negras 2. Phone: (+351) 210 534 649.
- Salón de Lisboa (Santos – $$) : This restaurant and wine bar occupies the former space of Comida Independente on Rua Cais do Tojo, keeping the original floor and adding school chairs, a central bar, and walls covered in paintings by one of the founders – an Argentine artist whose work gives the room its character. The kitchen has an Argentine hand behind it, seasoned by stints in Paris and elsewhere in Europe before landing in Lisbon, and the touch is light but unmistakable: oysters from Ria Formosa, anchovies, empanada de camarão, a couve with béarnaise and toasted breadcrumbs, or a beef tartare with cured egg yolk – with a constantly changing menu. The food is Portuguese in its ingredients and Argentine in its confidence. The wine list runs to over 80 references – national and international – but the list is a starting point rather than a ceiling: the rack holds bottles that never made it to the menu, and it is worth asking. We were lucky to drink the last bottle of a 2023 Bourgogne Aligoté les Petits Lieux, which is the kind of thing that happens when whoever is buying wine does so out of genuine curiosity rather than category management. Rua Cais do Tojo 28, Santos.
Vegetarian
- Mezze (Lisbon – $): Restaurant run by Syrian refugees serving 6 excellent combinations, two of which are vegetarian. You can also order à la carte. Loud and beautiful space in the Arroios market hall.
- Encanto (Lisbon –$$$): The food is probably excellent, but we never went there. Encanto has this sterile Michelin-Star-Dark-Polished-Wood-Flair that is the same all over the excessively affluent parts of this world. While Belcanto is Michelin Chef José Avillez’ flagship, Encanto is the vegetarian addition to his culinary empire.
Panoramic views of Lisbon
- Atira-te Ao Rio (Almada – $$): Take the ferry from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas on the other side of the river. From there it’s awalk along the Tejo, passing by abandoned or squatted warehouses, always with a panoramic view of Lisbon. Make a reservation and go there early in order to see the sun going down over Lisbon. Ignore the restaurant’s name – Atira-te ao Rio means Throw yourself into the River – and take the ferry back together with dozens of youngsters heading for the Lisbon nightlife.
- Ponto Final (Almada – $$): Right next to Atira-te ao Rio. The view is the same, but the bright yellow Portuguese “Gonçalo” terrace chairs make the most beautiful contrast with the dark blue of the Tejo river (see photo at the top of this page).
- The Locomotiva bar is less known, but it’s views of Lisbon definitely have the best soundtrack.
Fast and good
- Triângulo da Ribeira (Lisbon – $): A tiny bar with the best Bifana no Pão, fresh Chamuças, Rissois and a very cold beer. Tastier and more authentic than any of the more pretentious places in the touristy Time out Market on the other side of the street. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who think so. The queue is getting longer every day.
When you just want to have a glass of good wine, a beer or a cocktail …
- Insaciável (Santos – $$): This natural wine bar on Rua da Esperança brings a distinctly French approach to Lisbon’s wine scene, evident in the menu’s rillettes and pâtés alongside Portuguese specialties. The establishment focuses on hard-to-find Portuguese and international natural, but also some traditional, wines, with an extensive selection served by the glass and knowledgeable staff offering tastings and recommendations. The food emphasizes seasonal ingredients with sharing plates that might include fresh oysters from Setúbal, Portuguese regional cheeses, and various vegetarian options. The terrace provides outdoor seating that’s particularly popular during mild evenings. The wine list spans whites, reds, sparkling, orange, and rosé wines, with many organic and biodynamic options, often sourced directly from small producers. This has become a neighborhood fixture for wine enthusiasts seeking both familiar and unusual bottles in a relaxed setting. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to midnight. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Rua da Esperança 156.
- Cascavel (Santos – $$) : This bar occupies the former warehouse of the Tachadas restaurant next door to Insaciável. The minimalist architectural design and exceptional lighting create an atmosphere where every guest appears illuminated like a performer on stage. While the cocktails are excellent and form the main offering, the wine selection deserves attention with a small but well-chosen collection of Portuguese bottles – three whites, three reds, and at least one sparkling available by the glass or by the bottle. The bar also offers a small but creative selection of dishes. Open daily 5pm to midnight. Rua da Esperança 170.
- A Viagem das Horas (Arroios – $) : This wine bar near Mercado de Arroios may well be one of Lisbon’s first listening bars where carefully selected vinyl records provide the soundtrack to natural wines and creative petiscos. The space is decorated with record covers on the walls and wine bottles lining the shelves, reflecting the dual focus on music and wine. The predominantly jazz-focused playlists set the mood while the seasonal menu features dishes named after songs. The wine selection emphasizes natural and organic producers with bottles available by the glass. Open Monday to Friday 5pm-11pm, it attracts people who can imagine a life beyond a performance-oriented mindset. Regular Spotify playlists extend the experience beyond the physical space. Rua José Ricardo 1.
- Salty (Lisbon – $): This small natural wine bar opened in 2025 in the Poço dos Negros area, featuring 50-70 selected natural, organic, and biodynamic wines. The tiny space centers around a tiled counter where staff guide guests through a selection that’s mostly Portuguese by the glass. The focus is on working directly with producers who prioritize quality and minimal intervention winemaking. The clientele is largely international. Open Monday 4pm-10pm, Tuesday-Wednesday and Sunday 3pm-10pm, Thursday-Saturday 3pm-11pm. Rua do Poço dos Negros 34.
- Salty Floor (Belém – $) : Salty’s original location near Jerónimos Monastery offers over 100 natural wine references in a setting that combines wine bar and shop. The establishment provides a quiet alternative to Belém’s busy tourist areas, with both indoor seating and a terrace. Staff provide expert guidance through Portuguese and international natural wines, with an emphasis on bottles from small producers practicing organic and biodynamic viticulture. Food focuses on local, seasonal ingredients served as shareable snacks. The venue also functions as a retail shop for those wanting to take bottles home. A good spot for wine education paired with quality Portuguese products. Opening hours vary, but between 3pm and 10pm you should be on the safe side. Rua dos Jerónimos 18C.
- Rude (Anjos – $$) : This 35-square-metre wine bar occupies a former charcutaria on the corner of Rua de Macau and Rua do Forno do Tijolo, and has retained enough of the original bones – marble countertop, red walls, bare windows – to make the name feel earned rather than chosen. The concept is straightforward: 40 to 45 rotating references of Portuguese natural, biodynamic and low-intervention wines, prices written in chalk directly on the bottles, everything visible from the street. Producers include Filipa Pato, Niepoort, António Maçanita, Cabeças do Reguengo and a rotating cast of smaller names the team actively seeks out. The food offer, developed with input from the 100 Maneiras kitchen, is deliberately cold and minimal – pickles, anchovas Don Bocarte, tártaro maturado, pastrami on Bosnian somun bread – designed to accompany rather than compete with what is in the glass. Open Tuesday to Saturday 5pm–midnight. Rua de Macau 2A.
- O Pif (Anjos – $$) : This 40-square-metre wine bar sits at the corner of Rua Maria and Rua Maria Andrade, with large bay windows that blur the boundary between bar and street – a design choice that makes the tram passing outside feel like part of the offering. The wine list features Portuguese references – whites, reds, rosés and the occasional sparkling – most from small producers working with minimal intervention, available by the glass from around €4. A sliding library ladder gives access to the upper shelves, which tells you something about the seriousness with which the space was designed. The food is simple and well-judged: burrata, rillettes with pickles, raw black pork chouriço with kimchi, cheese, bread from Terra Pão – things that accompany a glass rather than demand attention. O Pif also functions as a distributor, delivering bottles across Lisbon and the south bank, which suggests the bar is less a commercial venture than a neighbourhood project that happened to find a business model. Open Tuesday to Saturday 5pm–11pm. Rua Maria 43A.
- Locomotiva (Barreiro – $): This bar occupies the clubhouse of the Grupo Desportivo Os Ferroviários, the railway workers’ sports association, on the Avenida do Batalhão de Sapadores dos Caminhos de Ferro – a street name that leaves nothing to the imagination about where you are and why. The building sits roughly five minutes from the fluvial terminal that connects Barreiro to Lisbon, and its terrace looks directly across the Tejo towards the city and the Seixal shoreline. The bar has been a fixture of Barreiro’s cultural life for years: beer, cocktails, and a crowd that is predominantly local and entirely unbothered by the fact that most of Lisbon has no idea this exists. The music runs from post-punk to 80s synthwave, taking in one-hit wonders and no-hit cult bands along the way – totally eclectic, and held together with the quiet consistency of someone who simply knows what belongs in a space and what doesn’t. Food runs to simple bar snacks. Open Tuesday to Thursday 4pm–midnight, Friday to Saturday 4pm–2am. Av. Batalhão de Sapadores dos Caminhos de Ferro, Barreiro.
- Vago (Santos – $$): The bar occupies a semi-basement space on Rua das Gaivotas that may originally have served the adjacent Almada-Carvalhais Palace, a 16th-century listed monument – a provenance that explains the vaulted brick ceiling and solid stone walls running the full length of the interior. The 2021 renovation by DC.AD architects worked with rather than against this fabric: polished concrete platforms step down from the entrance in a shallow amphitheatre, the bar counter sits as a central island accentuating the room’s depth, and custom speakers are positioned in the four corners of the vault. A darkened antechamber with a glass block wall and a curtain separate the street from the main space, a transition that takes about three seconds and feels considerably longer. The copper-hued plaster on the walls echoes the brick tone above, the leather sofas pick up the same reddish register, and the result is a room that sounds as good as it looks. Inspired by Japanese listening bars, the programming is curated by the owners, who are themselves DJs – funk, jazz, techno, electronic, disco, funaná – with vinyl running through the night. The food offer is creative and taken seriously. Open Tuesday to Saturday 7pm–2am. Rua das Gaivotas 11A.
- Casa do Comum (Bairro Alto – $): This three-floor cultural centre on Rua da Rosa occupies a building that belonged to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia and previously served as a recreational society for workers at the Imprensa Nacional – a history that suits it well. It was conceived by the founder of the Ler Devagar bookshop as a non-commercial cultural space planted in the middle of one of the most gentrified neighbourhoods in Lisbon. The ground floor holds a secondhand bookshop, a bar with marble tables salvaged from a demolished cervejaria in the Baixa, and a tiny dancefloor where bands play and DJs put on music; the first floor has a Ler Devagar bookshop with a focus on independent publishers and a room with hammocks and beds called the Museu da Preguiça; the top floor serves as a performance and cinema space. The programming moves freely between concerts, film screenings, book launches, reading clubs, talks, DJ sets, and theatre – with no apparent hierarchy between any of them. Rua da Rosa 285, Bairro Alto.