Lisbon is a treat: never has the food scene in Portugal’s capital been more enticing – and more varied

The smell of sardines wafts through the streets of Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood.

“Why sardines?” I ask, ordering three from a grill in front of the Republica Portuguesa restaurant on Rua dos Cegos.

“For St. Anthony our saint,” said the chef, throwing the silverfish on the grill and sprinkling coarse salt over it.

“When he preached in Rimini he didn’t have the best time because everyone ignored him, then he went to the sea to preach and the sardines swam to listen to him.”

He tells this story in such an uncomplicated way that it must be true. And the fish, once cooked, with a salad and a salted baked potato is perfect.

Food tourism in Lisbon has thrived in the wake of the pandemic, with Jose Avillez’s Michelin-starred bel canto the city’s hippest spot.

It must be expensive, so I go to the more accessible and cheaper Bairro do Avillez, housed in the former Municipal Theater of São Luiz.

Of the multi-meal options, the most interesting is the minibar, a gourmet bar hidden behind a bookshelf. “See if you can find a potion in the flower,” said the waiter and handed me a long-stemmed rose.

As if by magic, I see an edible cocktail in the folds of the petals – an apple roll infused with lychee and pink margarita.

Kate says the smell of sardines wafts through the streets of Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood, Alfama. Above, the fish appears in a traditional Portuguese spread (file photo)

Another unusual restaurant is at the Museu da Farmacia, where I wander through an exhibition of apothecaries through the ages, including a collection of medieval medical instruments and linen condoms. It’s almost, but not quite, enough to distract me from my lunch – a testament to the delight in the orange and duck croquettes and melon gazpacho I have on the lawn of the Pharmacia restaurant overlooking the Tagus River look out, savor.

A cycling Lisbon bike tour starts from the grand Praca do Comercio square and continues along the Tagus River, past old quays that have been converted into nightclubs and stylish restaurants. We drive past the brick-red 25 April Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in Europe) and on to the Belem Tower, a 16th-century fortress that was an arrival point for Portuguese explorers, ending at the Time Out Mercado da Ribeira, ‘ a gourmet dining room and produce market on the Western Waterfront.

Here, 24 of Lisbon’s best chefs offer their food at a fraction of restaurant prices and for €11 I can get a black seaweed risotto with scallops from chef Alexandre Silva.

Kate eats orange and duck croquettes and melon gazpacho at the restaurant, housed in the Museu da Farmacia pictured

For dessert, there’s pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) from the Manteigaria bakery, where butter is pounded into the dough before being rolled up and folded over and over to create the flakiest bite.

I am staying at the AlmaLusa hotel in one of the most beautiful squares in the capital – the historic Praca do Municipio – which is housed in a former naval arsenal. Delfina delicatessen specializes in Portuguese classics, so I order bacalhau a bras, the country’s ultimate comfort food: cod baked with match potatoes, onions and egg.

“You can get some more tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” jokes the waiter when I tell him how delicious it is. “There are 365 ways to cook it, so you’re good for a year.”

A bike ride with Cycling Lisbon takes Kate past the brick-red 25 April Bridge (above)

Kate stops at Belem Tower, a 16th-century fortress that was a port of call for Portuguese explorers

Kate tries a pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) from Manteigaria Bakery, pictured

The Time Out Mercado da Ribeira, a gourmet food hall and vegetable market on the Western Waterfront

For an evening combining fado music (traditional songs from the 1820s characterized by mournful melodies and lyrics) and dinner, I head back to Alfama to the Real Sociedade.

A bottle of Torre de Vila Nova (a young green wine), characteristically light and often with a slight sparkle, goes perfectly with arroz de marisco (seafood rice) – a moist version of Spanish paella with a thick tomato sauce, prawns, mussels and clams.

The heartfelt songs (with lyrics about lost loves and difficult lives) continue into the wee hours until shots of ginjinha, a sticky cherry drink that locals swear by as a quick “pick-me-up,” are downed to give an energy boost. give for the journey home.

Kate’s base is the pictured AlmaLusa Hotel, where double rooms are available from £142

The AlmaLusa Hotel is located in one of the most beautiful squares in the capital: the historic Praca do Municipio

AlmaLusa Hotel’s delicatessen deli Delfina (pictured) specializes in Portuguese classics

The last word must go to chourico (pronounced shoo-ree-zoo), Portugal’s favorite sausage. Made from pork shoulder, with less paprika than its Spanish rival and more garlic.

Served for breakfast with eggs, in soups and stews, and as the star in the traditional cataplana de marisco (a dish of water fish, seafood and sausage), the most theatrical way to serve it is a bombiro (on the burning) when the sausage is placed with a hiss turn to the table.

In the tree-lined courtyard of the Lautasco restaurant, while my chourico is aflame, I thank St. Antonio that he still owns my eyebrows.