Signature Dishes of Lisbon

Must-try dishes

Pastel de nata

Lisbon's defining sweet: a flaky puff-pastry shell holding a thin custard of egg yolk, milk and sugar, blistered black on top under high heat.

History: Perfected at the Jeronimos monastery in Belem long before the 1834 dissolution of religious orders, the custard tart recipe was sold to a sugar refinery next door after that closure. Pasteis de Belem opened in 1837 and has guarded the original formula behind a locked door for the four generations since. Manteigaria reopened the conversation in 2014 with a modern, lighter version baked every twenty minutes.

Where to try it: Pasteis de Belem, Manteigaria Chiado, Manteigaria Mercado da Ribeira, Manteigaria Belem, Confeitaria Nacional

Watch out for: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy

Bacalhau a Bras

Shredded salt cod tossed with thin-fried potatoes, sweet onion, garlic and scrambled egg, finished with black olives and parsley, eaten hot.

History: Invented by a Bras family tavern keeper in Lisbon's Bairro Alto in the late 19th century as a thrift dish, combining the new fad of potato chips with leftover bacalhau. The dish travelled the country in 20th-century cookbooks and now anchors lunch menus from family tascas to chef-led rooms.

Where to try it: Solar dos Presuntos, O Velho Eurico, Casa do Alentejo, Pap'Acorda

Watch out for: Fish, Eggs

Sardinhas assadas

Whole sardines salted, charcoal-grilled until the skin blackens, served on a thick slice of country bread that catches the dripping oil and juice.

History: The sardine has been Lisbon's summer fish since at least the 16th century, but the city-wide grill-out is tied to the festas dos Santos Populares each June, when neighbourhoods set up charcoal pits on every corner for the 12 to 13 June peak of the Santo Antonio celebrations.

Where to try it: Cervejaria Ramiro, Solar dos Presuntos, Cervejaria Pinoquio

Watch out for: Fish

Bifana

Thin slices of pork marinated in garlic, white wine and paprika, seared on the plancha and stuffed into a soft Portuguese papo seco roll, mustard optional.

History: The bifana grew up in Vendas Novas in the Alentejo in the early 20th century as roadside fuel for Lisbon-to-Madrid hauliers. It moved into the city after the 1960s as the canonical 2.50-euro working lunch, and O Trevo on Camoes has been most-cited since the 1990s.

Where to try it: As Bifanas do Afonso, O Trevo, Casa das Bifanas

Watch out for: Gluten

Ameijoas a Bulhao Pato

Live clams steamed open with olive oil, garlic, coriander and white wine, served at once in their broth with bread to soak it up.

History: Created at Restaurante Tavares in Lisbon in the 1870s and named after the poet Raimundo de Bulhao Pato, who ate there often. The dish became the canonical Portuguese clam preparation and now anchors every cervejaria from Pinoquio to Ramiro.

Where to try it: Cervejaria Ramiro, Cervejaria Pinoquio, Cervejaria Liberdade

Watch out for: Molluscs

Caldo verde

A puréed potato-and-onion soup with finely shredded couve galega (Galician collard) and a slice of chourico, drizzled with olive oil, eaten hot.

History: Caldo verde originates in the Minho region of northwest Portugal in the 15th century, where the dish moved south to Lisbon with rural migration in the 19th century. The dish is now the canonical Santos Populares supper, served in paper cups at street stalls during the June festivities.

Where to try it: Solar dos Presuntos, Casa do Alentejo, Cervejaria Trindade

Arroz de marisco

A loose, soupy seafood rice cooked in a tomato-and-shellfish broth, layered with prawns, clams, mussels and crab claws, finished with coriander.

History: Arroz de marisco came up the Atlantic coast from Aveiro and the Setubal peninsula in the 1960s, hitting Lisbon menus by the 1970s. The Lisbon version stays soupier than the Spanish paella tradition, and Solar dos Presuntos's wine-list bible recommends the dish over any other on the menu.

Where to try it: Solar dos Presuntos, Cervejaria Ramiro, Cervejaria Liberdade, Cervejaria Pinoquio

Watch out for: Crustaceans, Molluscs

Polvo a lagareiro

Octopus tenderised, boiled, then roasted in the oven with smashed potatoes (batatas a murro), garlic and a flood of olive oil until the skin crisps.

History: Polvo a lagareiro takes its name from the lagareiros, the men who pressed the olive oil in central Portugal. The traditional preparation pours the new-pressing oil generously over the boiled-then-roasted octopus, and the dish travelled to Lisbon menus as the most-ordered fish course outside of bacalhau.

Where to try it: Cervejaria Ramiro, Tasquinha do Lagarto, Cervejaria Liberdade

Watch out for: Molluscs

Ginjinha

A sour-cherry liqueur made by macerating ginja cherries in aguardente with cinnamon and sugar, drunk as a shot at standing-room counters across Lisbon.

History: Ginjinha was invented in 1840 by Francisco Espinheira, a Galician friar, at a tiny bar on Largo de Sao Domingos in Lisbon. The original A Ginjinha still operates from that same location, 1.50 euros a shot, with or without a cherry in the glass.

Where to try it: A Ginjinha, O Bom, O Mau e O Vilao

Acorda

A Portuguese bread soup of stale country loaf reborn in a garlicky broth with olive oil, coriander, poached egg and either shellfish or salt cod added.

History: Acorda originates with the Alentejano shepherds in central Portugal as a hot bread-and-water sustenance, and travelled north into Lisbon kitchens in the 19th century. The seafood version, acorda de marisco, became the city's most-celebrated take, with Pap'Acorda the canonical room since 1981.

Where to try it: Pap'Acorda, Pateo Bairro do Avillez, Solar dos Presuntos, Casa do Alentejo

Watch out for: Gluten, Eggs