24 Hours in Lisbon

Planning a city trip to Lisbon, Portugal? Then we have plenty of food tips for you. So many, in fact, that we could hardly choose. In the end, we went for this string of spots. You can thank us later.

Breakfast: Tartine
Tartine was once a simple bakery, but by now it has grown into a full-fledged breakfast restaurant. If you’re in the mood for lots of sweet treats, this is definitely the place to be. You can choose from dozens of pastries, cakes, croissants and pancakes. If starting the day with cake feels a bit much, at least take the lemon meringue with you and eat it later.

Rua Serpa Pinto 15A

Snack: Quiosque de Refresco
All over Lisbon you’ll find small kiosks, surrounded by a few chairs and tables. The bright-red kiosk on busy Príncipe Real is one of them. Order a mazagran, iced coffee with lemon, or go for a tiny sip of ginjinha – a Portuguese cherry liqueur. If you’re lucky, it will be served to you in a chocolate glass. You can eat that afterward, so it’s a win-win.

Praca do Príncipe Real

Lunch: Maça Verde
For lunch, you should definitely go to a tasca: small, inexpensive restaurants where the locals all gather around midday. Avoid tascas with menus in several languages, and instead choose one where the menu features only local dishes such as pastéis de bacalhau and croquetes. At Maça Verde, you’re definitely in the right place; go for the pork with clams, a typical dish from the region – and absolutely delicious.

Rua dos Caminhos de Ferro 84-86

Snack: Confeitaria de Belém
Walking around makes you hungry. A good time to try a pastél de nata, right? Or maybe two, or simply ten. Because once you’ve had one, you’re hooked. A pastél de nata is a small, round Portuguese pastry made from puff pastry and filled with a kind of custard. You’ll spot them at virtually every bakery, but if you want the very best ones, head to Belém. At this bakery, they’ve been baking pastéis according to a traditional recipe for almost two hundred years. You’ll just have to queue for a while.

Rua de Belém 84-92

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Ice cream: Gelato Therapy
Hot, right? If you’re looking for the ultimate refreshment, head to Gelato Therapy. There you can choose from shaved ice in a variety of flavors. A scoop of ice cream isn’t a bad choice either, because besides a few regular flavors, there are also some special ones on the chalkboard: lemon with honey and rosemary, vanilla with basil, fig with walnut…

Rua da Madalena 83

Dinner: Taberna Rua das Flores
In Chiado there’s a little restaurant you might normally walk right past. Don’t, because the food is fantastic. At Taberna Rua das Flores, you order small dishes to share. Highly recommended are the utterly perfect and light take on spaghetti carbonara (see the photo below) and the Picadinho de Carapau (a tartare of raw tuna with seaweed salad). It’s a good idea to arrive early: reservations aren’t possible, and the small restaurant is always packed.

Rua das Flores 103

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Dessert: Royale Café
Still in need of dessert? Then walk on to Royale Café. There you’ll find the city’s very best chocolate cake, with a scoop of ice cream and red fruit on top. Take a seat in the small, green courtyard and try it for yourself. We once got the tip from a simple city-trip guidebook and did exactly that. And guess what? Best. Cake. Ever.

Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 29

Drinks: Noobai
From Noobai’s trendy rooftop terrace, you have an incredibly beautiful view over the Tagus, the river Lisbon sits on. Yes, especially in the evening, as the sun goes down and all the lights come on one by one. Sink into a seat and order a large pitcher of ice-cold sangria – it can be a classic, but also a variation with, for example, pomegranate and basil. Or go for homemade iced tea; that’s an excellent choice too.

Miradouro de Santa Catarina