|
If you know where to look, Lisbon is a food lover’s paradise.
Despite the fact that there are excellent local eateries on every
street corner, many of the best restaurants’ well-kept secrets
are known only to some of the locals. Hans van der Put lifts the
lid.
All around the Portuguese capital, you’ll find inexpensive
restaurants serving traditional Portuguese food such as grilled
fish, seasoned only with salt and lemon, accompanied by potatoes,
vegetables and wine from the barrel in a terracotta jar. But there
are also gourmet restaurants and the fashionable, trendy places,
some with live music, which are perfect for a special “dressed
up” night in the town. In a recent article in the New York
Times, entitled Finding Big Flavors in Small Places”, food
journalist Jacqueline Friedrich wrote that she had been disappointed
only in some of Lisbon’s larger, well-known, establishments.
She was thrilled, however, with the food she had been served in
the smaller, less-known eateries. Here’s some of the best…
Nariz do Vinho Tinto (Rua do Conde, 75, tel: +351 213 953035),
in the chic but picturesque Lapa
district, is an example of a small restaurant with a splendid, traditional
but light Portuguese cuisine. Seating only forty, it is owned by
self-confessed foodie and food writer José Cristovao, who
prefers to call Nariz do Vinho Tinto “an establishment where
food is made” rather than a restaurant. “The term restaurant
already implies an industrial approach,” he said, “and
that is the opposite of what we aim to do here. Even semiindustrially
made products we won’t use in our cooking here.” Dishes
served at Nariz do Vinho Tinto include Fillets of Grouper with Shellfish
Rice, Codfish Roasted in the Oven and Hare Alentejo Style. Mr. Cristovao
is happy to advise you on which of his 150 different wines will
go best with the dish you have chosen. Average price here is €30.
Other Lisbon restaurants rarely written about but well worth a visit
include 1º de Maio (Rua da Atalaia, 8), Tasquinha da Adelaide
(Rua do Patrocinio 70-74, tel: +351 213 962 239),Os Corvos (Beco
do Aslfurja, 4, tel: +351 218 884 508) and 5 do 10 (Avenida da Republica
63-A, tel: +351 213 141 393), all quite inexpensive.
Not small, nor little-known – nor inexpensive, for that matter
– is Pap’Açorda, in Lisbon’s historic Bairro
Alto area. It is a must for every visiting food lover. Stylishly
decorated, the restaurant has been offering high quality traditional
Portuguese food for more than twenty years. It takes its name from
one of its main dishes, Açorda Real with Lobster and Gambas.
A popular dish in Portugal, açorda is a kind of bread pudding.
Lisbon probably is the best place in Europe to have seafood. In
fact, restaurants from Spain and other countries buy their seafood
at Portuguese markets. One such market is the lively, historic Mercado
Ribeirinha, located close to Lisbon’s Cais do Sodre railway
station. If you go there early in the morning, you will see what
the fishermen caught in their nets along the Portuguese coast the
previous night: different kinds of lobsters, crawfish, several kinds
of crabs, shrimps, giant prawns and more, many of them still alive.
Connoisseurs will tell you that Portuguese mariscois among the best
in the world: the waters along the Portuguese coast are relatively
cold, which enhances the taste of the crustaceans and other sea
animals who have their habitats there.
An exciting and relatively inexpensive place to have seafood in
Lisbon is Ramiro (Avenida Almirante Reis, 1, tel: +351 218 851 024).
The restaurant is a favourite of Government Ministers, well-known
artists as well as “the man in the street”. Special
about the long-existing establishment is the fact that it serves,
literally, only seafood. You will find that the shrimps, crabs or
lobster on your plate are not even accompanied by potatoes or vegetables!
Similar is O Palacio (Rua Prior do Crato, 142, tel: +351 213 961
647). Here, however, meat and other dishes are also featured on
the menu.
Very good, but more expensive, is Porto de Santa Maria (Estrada
do Guincho, tel: +351 214 879 450). Locally very well-known, it
is attractively located on the coast in the Guincho area, near the
resort town of Cascais, about 25km West of Lisbon. It has been an
upmarket seafood favourite for almost thirty years, for the last
twenty of which it has been awarded a star in the Portuguese edition
of the Michelin guide.
The Guincho area boasts about a dozen quality restaurants, most
of them with splendid ocean views. There is one more Michelin star
establishment among them: Fortaleza do Guincho, inside the hotel
of the same name. It offers French cuisine, prepared under the supervision
of French chef Marc le Oudeq.
Lisbon’s trendiest eatery is Bico do Sapato (Avenida Infante
D. Henrique, Armazem B, tel: +351 218 810 320), located on the Tagus
riverfront opposite Apolonia station, next to the city’s most
fashionable club, Lux (see our bar feature on page 82). American
actor and Portugal lover John Malkovich is a co-owner of both establishments.
Two of Bico do Sapato’s other owners are also the proprietors
of the restaurant Pap’Açorda. Bico do Sapato is made
up of three restaurants: one for international food, one featuring
modern Portuguese cuisine and, on the first floor, one serving Japanese
dishes.
Attractive mainly for their locations in beautifully restored
old buildings are Espaço Lisboa (Rua da Cozinha Economica,
16, tel: +351 213 610 212) and Terreiro do Paço (Praça
do Comercio, tel: 210 312 850. Both restaurants serve traditional
Portuguese cuisine, the latter with a modern touch. While in Lisbon,
do visit the historic Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, in the Belem
area. It is home to the legendary pastéis de nata(custard
tarts). On busy days, people queue patiently outside in the street
for a chance to place their order!
|