Food & Drink

Portuguese Food: What I’d Eat & What I’d Skip (From Someone Who Has Eaten Everything Here)

I’ve eaten a lot of Portuguese food. Some of it I’d fly back for. Some of it I ate once, understood, and never ordered again. This is my honest list. Reality check first: Portuguese food is simple, fresh, and comforting. It is not spicy and it is not sauce-heavy. If you’re expecting Thai or Mexican “boom-pow” flavor at every meal, you’ll think it’s plain, and you won’t be entirely wrong. But if you lean into great ingredients, charcoal grills, stews, …

A plate with a sandwich made of ham, cheese, and a croissant sits next to a glass of frothy coffee on a saucer with a spoon, and two packets of sugar on a dark marbled table.

In Portugal, life revolves around coffee. People drink it from first thing in the morning right up until late evening — it’s not uncommon to finish a meal at 10 or 11 pm and still order a coffee afterward. If you’re visiting Portugal from countries like the United States, UK, Australia, Canada, or France, you’ll find that the coffee culture here is quite different from what you’re used to. For Europeans, the main difference is the coffee types. For North …

A sugared pastry on a white plate rests on a marble surface. The pastry has a golden-brown crust and is rectangular in shape, reminiscent of the delectable treats found in Portugal.

When it comes to Portuguese pastries and cakes, most people have heard of the pastel de nata (or Portuguese custard tart as it’s often called outside of Portugal). It’s probably the best Portuguese cake, but it’s far from the only one. There are hundreds of different Portuguese cakes and pastries, and that’s before you take into account regional variations. I’ve tried lots of them (hence all the photos) and I’m here to share some of my favourites. The following is …

A slice of chocolate cake dusted with powdered sugar on top sits on a white plate. The cake appears dense and moist, and a silver fork rests beside it on the plate.

“Would you like to see the dessert menu?” is a question that doesn’t need to be asked in Portugal. Why? Because it’s just assumed you will be having dessert: a meal, and especially a meal out, just wouldn’t be a proper meal if it didn’t have dessert as well. The dessert menu usually has around 5-10 items on it, and the menus don’t tend to differ hugely from one restaurant to another. Desserts like pudim flan and molotov almost always …

A group of fresh broad beans, some in their pods and some removed, displayed on a dark textured surface. One pod is open, revealing three light green beans next to it. The beans and pods have a natural, slightly uneven shape.

Portugal can be a fantastic place to live as a vegan or vegetarian. But you have to do your research. On one hand, somewhere like Lisbon has some of the best vegan and vegetarian food you will find anywhere in Europe. You can find vegan pastéis de nata, vegan versions of Portuguese dishes like alheira, arroz de pato, bitoque, and even arroz de polvo, along with plant-based bakeries, brunch spots, specialty shops, and cafés where oat milk or soy milk …

Portuguese Food: What I’d Eat & What I’d Skip (From Someone Who Has Eaten Everything Here)

Coffee in Portugal: What to Order, What Not to Order, and Why It Matters

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