Biting into a pastel de nata isn’t a bad way to start the morning. Not the healthiest way of course but when in Rome Lisbon…
What to Eat in Lisbon
I was wondering what to eat in Lisbon so I was pleased when our guide Paulo gave us the scoop. For starters, he assured me the locals have a pastry with their coffee four or five times a day but I’m still not sure if you was pulling my leg or not.
After a bit of sightseeing in the Bairro Alto and surrounding neighbourhoods we crossed the water to get a view of Lisbon’s Golden Gate-esque bridge and to try the local cuisine in Almada. Here we were treated to plates loaded with seafood and a couple of glasses of Portugal’s famous vinho verde.
Back in the old town we stopped at the peaceful Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara which is almost hidden away above the city.
This was the perfect place to recuperate from all the walking with a refreshing glass of limonada followed by sangria.
We were getting a bit peckish again and even though we were heading out to dinner later we all voted to take a detour and try Portugal’s famous spicy piri piri chicken at Restaurant Bonjardim. I love their Portuguese chicken and indulged on two other occasions while in Lisbon!
With our walking tour over, we put on our helmets and hopped on the back of a motorcycle for our sidecar tour. These kinds of tours are so much fun, especially if you’re in a group. I was surprised at the attention we got from tourists and locals alike as we made our way around Lisbon’s streets in vintage sidecars.
The tour finished with us overlooking Lisbon as the sun was setting.
Seeing as we hadn’t eaten enough pastries that day, we stopped off at the most famous pastry shop in Portugal, Pasteis de Belem. These are like designer pasteis de nata and only pastries from this one shop can use the protected Pasteis de Belem name.
To finish our Lisbon foodie adventure we headed out for a night of food and fado at Mesa de Frades. I must admit to having no knowledge of fado before that night but it turned out to be quite an experience. Here’s an example of fado from Lisbon’s ‘Queen of Fado’ Amalia Rodrigues.
After a long day of discovering what to eat in Lisbon we returned to our cosy Lisbon apartment. Special thanks to HouseTrip for treating us to a great stay in the Portuguese capital.
