This is a trick question– how to make recommendations when there are so many good restaurants, it’s hard to go wrong. There are plenty on the main tourist streets where you can get local food or home comfort food, these’ll do in a pinch, but like everywhere, they cater to tourists so they are a little overpriced, less authentic, and less value for your money than finding more off-the-beaten-path local places. On the plus side, you’re assured to find waiters who speak English.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for something more local and you’re up for the challenge of a lot of arm waving, pointing, and Google translating, here are a few suggestions (I’m mostly kidding, all of the waiters I had spoke some English, and it really wasn’t a problem).
Overall, all of the wait-staff I interacted with were friendly and helpful. I have a serious food allergy and always expect a challenge in explaining it when I go out to eat, but all of our waiters took the time to listen and check to make sure my food would be safe for me. If they didn’t understand me, they found someone who did. I didn’t have any issues which is always a huge relief.
Portofino
R. Morais Soares 97 C, 1170-293 Lisboa, Portugal.
This is a small, hole-in-the-wall pizza place that was on the main street near my Airbnb. When I first arrived in Lisbon, a new city and new country, I just needed something familiar and pizza always fits the bill. My food was fresh, homemade, and reasonable priced. I was able to sit outside and watch people and cars go by and just get situated to my new surroundings, which was exactly what I needed. I only went once, but I was happy to know it was there, close to home, in case I needed that crutch again during my stay.
Primavera
R. Morais Soares 101, 1170-293 Lisboa, Portugal.
This is another restaurant in my Airbnb’s neighborhood that specialized in grilled chicken. It’s only a couple doors down from Portofino, and definitely felt local. I went with my mother when she visited, and when we walked in, everyone looked around surprised by the obvious non-locals. Our waiter didn’t speak English, and had to track down the one waiter who spoke a little to tell us the difference between two chicken dishes. But the food was incredible, with large portions and a local price tag.
Time Out Market
Av. 24 de Julho 49, 1200-479 Lisboa, Portugal.
This is not a local place per-se, but a high-end food court. It has plenty of options for lunch or dinner, as well as a bar and desserts. You can find the local pastel de nata (egg tarts), American-style donuts, and also stalls for all types of local and non-local food. It’s busy, but has plenty of seating inside, or take your food to go and have a picnic in the park right outside.
O Piteu da Graca
Largo da Graça 95-96, 1170-165 Lisboa, Portugal.
This was an unexpected and lucky find. I was supposed to meet a friend and some other people she knew at a fancy restaurant she wanted to try on my last night in Lisbon. She checked online that no reservations were needed, but when we arrived, they told us we needed a reservation and they were full that evening. So we wandered around a little looking for another option, and eventually asked someone for a recommendation. They directed us to O Piteu de Graca. We were a little skeptical but a lot hungry, so we took their advice and we were so glad we did. We sat outside in a small local square. When the sun went down and it got cold the waiters brought us blankets. The restaurant specialized in local fish, and we tried a few different dishes which were all excellent. It was a great last, local dinner.
O Prego
18, Largo Rodrigues de Freitas 14, 1100-375 Lisboa, Portugal.
After my last dinner with my new friends, we decided to find someplace else for dessert. We stumbled upon O Prego. We only had dessert and port–which were excellent–but they also had full meals. To our surprise we also stumbled upon a Fado show. The show was not put on for our benefit, but was the restaurant owner and locals performing for themselves. They folded us right into their evening, pulling some of our group up onto “stage” with them. The whole place had great ambience and it was a perfect way to end my time in Lisbon.
Solar do Kadete
Cais do Sodré 2 e 4, 1200-130 Lisboa, Portugal.
This was a local place recommended by the tour guide on my Alfama tour. It seemed out of the way and we were dubious when we got there, it was on a corner in what seemed like a commercial area but there was no one at the restaurant. Though to be fair, we were there late afternoon for a really early dinner. This was one of those places where we used lots of pointing and Google translate to place our order. But the food was excellent, the waiters were very friendly and helpful and we had a great meal. I ended up back in this same area a couple weeks later when I went to find the Pink Street (which was disappointing) and noticed that at a normal mealtime, a good number of the outdoor tables were full.
Frade dos Mares
Av. Dom Carlos i 55A, 1200-647 Lisboa, Portugal.
When my mother visited we wanted to go out to a nice dinner, and she told me to pick. Having no idea what “good” restaurants there were, I turned to Google. I got lucky to find this place. Frade dos Mares means Friar of the Sea. I don’t know about the friar part, but I had a great piece of fish. Mom decided she was fished out and went for something land-based, but both of our meals were excellent. And considering this was our “fancy” dinner, it was still very reasonably priced. The staff was also very friendly and helpful. If you give this a try, make a reservation. They filled up and were turning people away.
Cantinho do Avillez – Chiado
R. Duques de Bragança 7, 1200-162 Lisboa, Portugal.
When my mother visited, the concierge at her hotel recommended this restaurant. Most of the other customers were also speaking English, so it might not be as “local” as some of the others, but the food and experience were excellent and the staff was friendly. I had a delicious mushroom risotto which I am still thinking about months later.
Madam Bō Handmade Dumplings
R. Maestro Pedro de Freitas Branco 26B, 1250-158 Lisboa, Portugal
I stumbled on this hole-in-the-wall near the Botanical Gardens wandering around my first week, and saw that it was a tiny place, with no open tables when I first found it, but I made a note to come back. I’m so glad I did. My mother and I returned during her visit and managed to snag the last table in the tiny restaurant and enjoyed a sampling of all their homemade dumplings. Not local Portuguese food, but still amazing and varied dumplings. Again, my food allergy could have been an issue here, but the friendly staff was patient and made sure my food was safe for me to eat.
These are just a few suggestions but as I said, there are plenty of options for whatever kind of cuisine you want in Lisbon! If you give any of these a try, let me know what you think of them! I will for sure be returning to these spots the next time I’m in Lisbon!