12:30–3pm, 7:30pm–1am; Sun 12:30–3:30pm. Metro: Cais do Sodré.
Monte Mar PORTUGUESE/SEAFOOD In summer, diners flock to this fish restaurant’s deck jutting out over the river Tagus. This is the little sister of a famed seashore restaurant in Cascais and shares its reputation for serving the freshest Atlantic seafood in a stylish waterfront setting. You can eat fish for cheaper in Lisbon, but it’s hard to match the river views, or the quality of seafood. The house specialty is tempura-style hake with cockle rice, but other fine choices include squid and shrimp on a skewer, or swordfish steak, as well as the catch of the day grilled, oven-baked, or salt-baked. Among the meat selection, iscas (liver) is typically Lisbon. They also operate a riverside oyster bar through the summer. There are other offshoots in Troia and Time Out Market.
Rua da Cintura, Armazém 65. www.mmlisboa.pt. 96/334-29-83. Mains 17€–32€; Tues–Sun noon–11:30pm. Metro: Cais do Sodré.
Pap’ Açorda PORTUGUESE To dodge the crowds at the Time Out Market food hall, head upstairs to this airy space on the first floor of the old market building. Hip since the 1980s, when it was based in the Bairro Alto, the Pap’Açorda serves top-notch Portuguese dishes with a dash of innovation. It moved downhill to the market in 2016, taking up a space designed by the trendy Aires-Mateus architectural team. You can order rice with baby cuttlefish and Azores cheese or paprika-spiced black pork tenderloin, but chef Manuela Brandão’s signature is naturally açorda, a traditional mash of bread, seafood, eggs, coriander, garlic, and olive oil. Finish with their famous chocolate mousse, thick and rich and oh so good.
Mercado da Ribeira, 49, Av. 24 de Julho. www.papacorda.com. 21/346-48-11. Reservations recommended. Mains 14€–36€. Sun, Tues, Wed noon–midnight; Thurs–Sat noon–2am. Metro: Cais do Sodré.
Inexpensive
Café Buenos Aires INTERNATIONAL Founded by an Argentine-Portuguese couple, the interior of this cozy cafe resembles a Parisian bistro. Lit by yellow street lamps, the terrace offers romantic views over the Baixa. Dishes reflect the owners’ origins, like Argentine steak with chimichurri sauce or Portuguese salt cod in olive oil with sweet potatoes. There are occasional live tango nights. Fresh salads and pastas make it a great stop for a light lunch, too.
Calçada do Duque 31 B. www.cafebuenosaires.pt. 21/342-07-39. Mains 10€–26€. No credit cards. Mon–Fri 6pm–1am, Sat–Sun noon–1am. Metro: Baixa/Chiado.
João do Grão PORTUGUESE Take care dining in the Baixa district. While good traditional restaurants survive, there are plenty of rip-off joints with hidden charges and substandard food. This place, whose name translates as “Johnny Chickpea,” is the real deal. It’s been serving honest Portuguese comfort food for well over 100 years. Nobody seems to be sure exactly when it opened up under the building’s 18th-century arched ceiling, but it featured in a popular 1940s musical hit. It fills with die-hard regulars, families from the suburbs, and tourists. They enjoy an ever-changing menu featuring seasonal specialties, but the salt-cod (bacalhau) dishes are a fixture, including mixed with scrambled egg and fries (à brás) or plain boiled with those chickpeas (cozido com grão).
Marítima de Xabregas PORTUGUESE Since 1966, hungry families have been gathering in this warehouse-sized dining space tucked away in the docklands between downtown and the Parque das Nações. The three amigos who pooled their funds to launch the place are still in charge over half-a-century later. They oversea huge charcoal-fired grills that are constantly filled with favorites like steak on the bone or slabs of codfish to be served with smoky skin-on potatoes. The more adventurous can try eel stew, a specialty from up the Tagus or (on Thurs only) cozido—Portugal’s cherished boiled meat dinner. Portions are big, ordering a portion to share between two is the norm.
The Old House CHINESE Lisbon has become a popular European base for wealthy Chinese, with the happy consequence that the city has grown a number of very good Chinese restaurants. This one serves gorgeously presented Sichuan cuisine in a stylish dining hall decorated with red lanterns and blue ceramics, private rooms and a shady riverside terrace. The owners see themselves as ambassadors for Chinese culture and their encyclopedic menu features dishes hard to find in Europe, like tea shrimp or chicken with Chinese yam. Appropriately, its address translates as “pepper street.”
Senhor Peixe SEAFOOD “Mr. Fish” is the name and fish is very much the game in this riverside restaurant that opened 20 years ago out among the modernist architecture of the Parque das Nações district. Its slogan is “Setúbal in Lisbon,” a reference to the southern port whose famed fish market is the source of the piscatorial pleasures served up here. Most people go for charcoal-grilled catch of the day, be it seabass, gold-eyed bream, red mullet, or whatever, but there are other specialties such as a sloppy pasta stew with wreckfish (cherne, a highly-prized white fish), or Setúbal favorite fried cuttlefish with fries.
Rua da Pimenta 35. www.senhorpeixe.pt. 21/895-58-92. Mains 15€–28€. Tues–Sun noon–3:30pm, 7–10:30pm; Sun noon–3:30pm. Metro: Oriente.
Inexpensive
Cantinho do Aziz MOZAMBICAN This backstreet, family-run restaurant serves up the exotically delicious cuisine of Mozambique, a coconut and chili infused blend of African, Indian, and Portuguese flavors. It’s been a favorite in the hillside Mouraria district since the 1980s, and Chef Jeny Sulemange launched her own cookbook in 2019. Try crab curry, shrimp with okra, or baby goat with toasted coconut. Three things that are hard to resist but
12:30–3pm, 7:30pm–1am; Sun 12:30–3:30pm. Metro: Cais do Sodré.
