Torres Vedras, a charming town near Lisbon nestled among hills planted with vineyards, is steeped in Portuguese history. Its castle helped defend the kingdom during medieval times, and the town served as the headquarters for the troops that fought against the Napoleonic invasions.
However, for us, Torres Vedras is synonymous with a Portuguese cornbread called broa. Some years ago, a friend brought us bread made with corn and rye flour from a pastry shop called São Pedro. Since then, we have made regular pilgrimages to satisfy our devotion to this delicious treat.
Despite our persistent attempts, the secrets behind São Pedro’s cornbread remain elusive. Over the years, our inquiries have been met with vague responses such as “It’s a traditional recipe from the north of Portugal.” The resulting mystery only adds to the cornbread’s allure, compelling us to keep returning to Torres Vedras.
Pastelaria São Pedro is located at Rua Dona Teresa Jesus Pereira 34-A, Torres Vedras, tel. 261 321 133.
In 1926, the Michelin Guide began classifying restaurants into “vau l’etape” (worth stopping), “vaut le detour” (worth going out of your way for), and “vaut le voyage” (destination restaurants).
We are often asked which are the destination restaurants outside of Lisbon and Porto. Here are our very own recommendations listed in alphabetical order.
Chef Julie Marteleira and her sister Jennie left successful careers in Toronto to open a restaurant near the Portuguese village where their parents married. Alta, at Praia da Areia Branca, offers the freshest ingredients, exceptional preparation, and stunning ocean views.
Located in Évora, a beautiful Roman town, this restaurant seats only eight people and takes no reservations. It is worthwhile to arrive early to feast on the traditional food from Alentejo prepared by Florbela Canelas and served by her husband Domingos.
A royal retreat built by King Charles I and converted into a luxury hotel in the early 20th century. This place has everything: a majestic setting, iconic wines exclusive to the hotel, and delicious food prepared by Nelson Marques, a talented young chef.
Brazilian chef Michele Marques has lived in Portugal for so long that she almost lost her Brazilian accent. But her approach to cooking food in Alentejo remains unique—a magical combination of authenticity and creativity that always produces memorable meals.
This restaurant is in Porto Covo, a seaside village so beautiful that it inspired an eponymous song by singer Rui Veloso. Chef Ana Moura offers a cuisine that is elegant, creative, and full of flavor, making every meal feel like a summer vacation.
Chef Ricardo Nogueira is renowned throughout Portugal for his delicious roasted suckling pig. His restaurant is a gathering place for great Bairrada winemakers like Mário Sérgio, Filipa, and Luis Pato. The restaurant offers their wonderful wines at modest prices.
The culinary queen of the kingdom of Algarve did not inherit the throne. She conquered it by cooking the pristine seafood of the Algarve with such reverence and care that every meal is like a prayer.
In the shade of the castle at Alter do Chão Filipe Ramalho, serves a delicious evolution of traditional Alentejo cooking. Do not miss his classic tart, cooked with farinheira sausage made with chestnut flour, topped with pears cooked in wine, quince marmalade, and chard.
Located in Ervedosa do Douro, surrounded by some of the best vineyards in the Douro Valley, Dona Graça and her daughter Rosário use almost forgotten recipes to make food that satisfies the soul.
Casa Tradição is located near Lisbon’s old cathedral, a neighborhood rarely visited by locals. The restaurant has rustic decor, so we went in expecting a traditional meal. But our waiter mentioned a tasting menu, and we tried it.
Dinner began with an assortment of bread served with creamy nut butter and fragrant olive oil from Porto de Mós, the hometown of the restaurant’s chef, Samuel Mota.
Then, the unexpected delights started. First, a martini glass brimming with ice held a slice of apple marinated in citrus and spices, evoking the essence of a frozen sangria. Then, a crisp mini baguette layered with Serra cheese and exquisite Pata Negra prosciutto.
But the clearest sign that this would be a memorable night came next: a pastry resembling a pastel de nata crowned with smoked codfish and filled with a blend that echoes the flavors of traditional creamed codfish.
We were still recovering from this moment of deliciousness when we were served a cabbage tempura stuffed with migas made from beans and olives. The rich and satisfying taste was reminiscent of a Portuguese sausage called alheira.
The seafood entrée was stunning: a delicately cooked large Algarve shrimp served with a broth and fermented lupini beans. The fish course was a perfectly cooked corvina with asparagus and açorda made with fish roe.
The seventh step to culinary heaven was faux cabidela rice. Traditionally made with vinegar and chicken blood, it was ingeniously reimagined as a beetroot risotto, subtly enhanced with raspberry vinaigrette, and served with succulent guineafowl cooked with bacon.
The meal concluded with a moist pão de ló and a foam crafted from Serra cheese. Chef Samuel’s five-year tenure at the acclaimed Belcanto helped prepare him to follow his imagination. Though rooted in tradition, his creations brim with innovative, delicious culinary ideas.
Casa Tradição is located at Travessa do Almargem, n. 4, Lisbon, tel. 967-340-913. Click here for their website.
We heard from the culinary rumor mill that a famous Lebanese chef had moved to Lisbon and opened a restaurant called Touta. So, on a warm spring evening, we climbed the hill from Estrela to Campo de Ourique to try it out.
Rita Abou Ghazaly welcomed us into the gracious dining room decorated with Middle Eastern motifs. She served us hibiscus and rose-petal kombucha while Lebanese music filled the air with the same microtones we hear in fado.
Dinner started with a basket of Lebanese bread and cheese bonbons—crispy cheese treats wrapped in phyllo dough. Next came a plate of hummus, a combination of chickpeas and tahini sauce that is a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine. This rendition was the best we ever tried. It was topped with soujak meat, pickles, and aquafaba, a sumptuous emulsion of chickpea water that resembles whipped egg whites. It was quickly followed by grilled cabbage with lentils and beetroots delicately seasoned with cured lemons.
We tried a delicious soup made with a local fish called mero. It reminded us of cação soup, a traditional Alentejo recipe. Finally, we had a spectacular grilled black pork served with black beans, carob marshmallows, and a barbecue sauce made from molasses. Dessert was a simply perfect sweet croquette.
“What made you decide to open a restaurant in Lisbon?” we asked Rita. “Ask Waël,” Rita said, laughing, “it’s all his doing.” Waël Haddad told us he has had a crush on Lisbon since his first visit ten years ago. “I kept returning and brought my friend Rita and my cousin Touta, a celebrated Lebanese chef. With every visit, our love for the city deepened, and so we started looking for a restaurant location. We explored various neighborhoods until we stumbled upon this perfect spot with a ‘for sale’ sign. Now, here we are, living our dream.”
Chef Cynthia Bitar, affectionately known as Touta, came to greet us. She inherited her passion for cooking from her mother, a famous Middle East caterer. Touta has always been obsessed with cooking. “When I was a child and went on play dates, I often cooked in my friend’s kitchens. I think about food during the day and dream about it at night.”
She returned to her family’s catering business after training at the Paul Bocuse Academy in Lyon. But, like Waël and Rita, Touta fell for Lisbon’s charms. She was drawn to the similarity between Lebanese and Portuguese cuisines, the quality of local ingredients, and the warmth of the people. “I found amazing produce in the farmers markets. Try this carrot.” She sliced a small carrot in half so we could experience its aroma and enjoy its sweet taste.”
Touta took us to the grocery store at the back of the restaurant. Its shelves are full of products from Lebanon and jars with pickles, jams, fermented drinks, and preserved citruses that she prepared. We stayed past midnight, bewitched by Touta’s sensuous cuisine, sampling everything from molasses and infusions to spices like sumac and za’atar.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, trade with Africa, Asia, and South America turned Lisbon into a hub for global talent. The diverse influx of people profoundly influenced Portuguese culture, cuisine, and art. It is wonderful to see Lisbon once more attracting people who will bring the city to new heights. Welcome, Waël, Rita, and Touta!
Touta is located at Rua Domingos Sequeira 38 in Lisbon 960 49 49 49. Click here to go to the restaurant’s website.
If you’re looking for a unique gift from Lisbon for a food-loving friend, we have just the thing. Can the Can, a restaurant in Terreiro do Paço, sells flasks of garum. This fermented fish sauce created by the Greeks was coveted throughout the Roman Empire. Like Asian fermented fish sauces, it enhances flavor, adding a rich umami taste.
The Troia peninsula in Setúbal is home to sprawling remains of piscinae, large basins used by the Romans for salting and fermenting fish. Along Portugal’s Atlantic seaboard, this region is ideal for garum production, thanks to its plentiful fish stocks and a climate favorable for fermentation.
Maria da Luz and Vitor Vicente, two entrepreneurs, revived the production of garum in Troia using mackerel (favored by the Greeks), swordfish, tuna, sea bream, octopus, mullets, and sardines (our favorite).
In the Roman Empire, garum was a symbol of extravagance. Pliny the Elder described it in his Natural History as a “liquoris exquisiti,” an exquisite liquor. Priced on par with the rarest perfumes, it was reserved for the tables of the affluent. Today, thanks to Can the Can, this nearly forgotten delicacy is both accessible and affordable.
Can the Can is located at Terreiro do Paço, 82/83 in Lisbon. Click here for their website.
The Portuguese are obsessed with clams. These bivalves star in two of the most important recipes of Portuguese gastronomy. The first, clams Bulhão Pato, is a simple preparation that produces delicious results: clams are cooked in olive oil, smashed garlic, and a dash of white wine until the shells open and then are sprinkled with coriander. The second, pork and clams Alentejo style, combines pork marinated in a pepper sauce called pimentão with clams and fried potatoes.
Among the myriad of clams, three stand out for their distinct characteristics. The Japanese clam, or ruditapes philippinarum, originally from the Pacific, thrives in Portuguese waters. Venerupis corrugata, known as macha, and ruditapes decussatus, or boa (meaning ‘good’ in Portuguese), are two notable local varieties.
Visually, each clam has its unique charm. The Japanese clam boasts the most attractive shell. Macha’s shell is elongated with shades of beige, brown, and grey. Boa clams, flatter and oval, have independent siphons that enhance their ability to search for nutrients. When the clams are in seawater, you can tell the boa variety by the way they stretch their siphons.
Regarding weight, macha clams have the heaviest shells and boa the lightest. A kilogram comprises approximately 120 macha, 130 Japanese, and 150 boa clams.
Flavor-wise, boa clams reign supreme. Their intense taste and pleasant texture, paired with the large size that fills the shell, make them a top choice for fine dining. Macha clams also fill their shells but offer a tougher texture and milder flavor. The Japanese clam is smaller and less firm and flavorful.
Each type of clam can taste differently depending on where it comes from in Portugal. And there are other varieties that deserve to be tasted. Exploring this diversity is a delightful culinary journey.
Extreme sports, like surfing giant waves, captivate enthusiasts with their exhilarating adrenaline rush. Hamilton Reis’ family wine project, Natus, offers this kind of thrill. The production is organic; the vines are not irrigated; the fermentation relies only on wild yeast and takes place first in the large clay pots that the Romans used and then in old oak barrels. The grapes are picked by hand and trodden by foot. Most modern winemaking techniques are set aside to produce wines with minimal intervention but meticulous attention to detail. Like a master surfer, Hamilton can afford to take these risks because of his extensive experience and depth of knowledge.
Natus means born in Latin. Hamilton chose the name to indicate that he and his family started this project from the ground up. They bought four hectares of land in Vidigueira, Alentejo in 2008. For ten years, Hamilton nurtured the soil so it could recover from decades of chemical abuse with herbicides and pesticides. During that time, he learned about the climate and the varietals planted in the region and talked to the elders about the local wine-making traditions. Those traditions are, for Hamilton, as much part of the terroir as everything else.
He built a house for his family in the middle of the field so he could take care of the vines as if they were part of his family. The cellar is invisible. It lies underground so that gravity can help unload the grapes.
An important aspect of the location is the absence of barriers between the land and the sea. The Mendro mountain, situated east of the property, forms a shell that keeps the cool air from the sea. The resulting climate produces elegant wines that are low in alcohol and yet rich in complexity, depth, and freshness.
These unique wines are difficult to buy because only about 6,000 bottles are produced in each year. Hamilton is determined not to increase production to a level that would compromise his ability to maintain personal control over every aspect of the process. However, to meet the demand for his wines, he has initiated a new venture named Intus, the Latin word for “inside.” This wine is crafted from grapes sourced from a select group of farmers who refrain from irrigating their vines and agree to adopt the rigorous biodynamic methods that Hamilton champions. Like Natus, Intus wines are characterized by their low extraction and alcohol content. However, they undergo fermentation in stainless steel, which preserves the pure essence of the fruit.
The Natus label has a secret. Those who discover it get a glimpse of what Hamilton sees every day: vines that produce wines made without compromises, perfectly in tune with nature.
The Natus vineyards are on Estrada da Cancelinha in Vidigueira, Alentejo. Click here for the Natus website.
Dining at Loco is like attending a jazz concert–there’s a feeling of excitement in the air. The restaurant lighting is soft, but the tables are lit like a stage, ready for chef Alexandre Silva’s performance.
We sat down and studied the interesting wine list curated by Mário Marques, an old acquaintance from Ceia and Cura.
The performance started with a series of delicious food riffs presented on a wide variety of backgrounds: stones, coal, shells, and much more. The tempo was fast, like John Coltrane playing Giant Steps. We recognized culinary motifs inspired by the classics of Portuguese cuisine. For example, there were disks of crispy chicken skin that tasted like the traditional roasted chicken with piri-piri sauce.
Then, the rhythm slowed down to a ballad tempo, like Thelonious Monk playing ‘Round about Midnight. A basket of artisan bread came with rich butters and a bowl with sauce from the traditional clams Bulhão Pato. There was also delicately cooked, perfectly seasoned black pork, pumpkin dumplings, and pristine fish dressed with colorful sauces.
The desserts were playful, pomegranate granita and supple ice cream topped with hibiscus crystals. Finally, there were some encores–miniature sweets that please the eye and charm the palate. It is a thrill to dine at Loco!
Loco is located at Rua dos Navegantes nº53-B, Lisbon, tel. 21 395 1861. Click here for the restaurant’swebsite.
It is so much fun to eat at ZunZum! The restaurant, headed by chef Marlene Vieira, has a great location, with the Tagus river on one side and the Pantheon on the other. The food is as wonderful as the location.
We sat for lunch in the esplanade under a large red umbrella on one of those perfect sunny days that Lisbon residents take for granted. The simpatico waiter suggested a rosé made from bastardo at Quinta de Arcossó in Tràs os Montes. It has nice acidity and flavors of cherry and tropical fruit. “Do you want to choose from the menu or be surprised by the chef?” the waiter asked. Surprised, we chose without hesitation.
The “couvert,” a set of delightful little bites that start the meal included codfish tempura (“pataniscas de bacalhau”) and a sourdough brioche.
The first appetizer was a luscious ceviche made with unusual ingredients: popcorn, red onion, and passion fruit. It was followed by tasty mini pizzas topped with trout eggs, a spider crab called sapateira, and avocado. The pizzas were coated with a traditional spider-crab filling.
Then came “filhoses de berbigão.” They are a feast, the cockles large and juicy floating on a star-shaped bed made from fried dough filled with a cream of cockle broth, coriander, and lemon.
The fish entrée was a bowl of creamy, savory rice made with clams, cockles, razor clams, and mussels. The rice, a carolino variety from Bom Sucesso, has large grains that soak the appetizing sauce made by the seafood.
The meat entrée was a slice of delicious black pork accompanied by fried corn and pickles made from cauliflower and celery.
Our first dessert was a yogurt parfait on a bed of strawberry jam. The fatness of the yogurt and the sweetness of the jam are a perfect yin and yang. The second dessert was “toucinho do céu” (bacon from heaven) a pudding made with egg yolks and bacon. It is so tasty that it could, indeed, be served in heaven.
We left ZunZum deeply satisfied and certain that if Robinson Crusoe could eat Marlene Vieira’s food on his desert island, he would never want to leave.
ZunZum is located ar Av. Infante D. Henrique, Doca Jardim do Tabaco in Lisbon, email hello@zunzum.pt, tel. 915 507 870. Click here for the restaurant’s website.
“You have to try my restaurant in Gaia at Espaço Porto Cruz. Stop by the terrace first and then come down to DeCastro Gaia to eat,” advised chef Miguel Castro e Silva.
A few days later, we stepped out of the elevator on the top floor at Espaço Porto Cruz and wow, what a view! The waters of the Douro river flowed quietly below, saying farewell to the city on their way to the sea. Porto, dressed in bright light, was trying to sway the river to linger a little longer. The river margins were decorated with “rabelo” boats, the traditional vessels that, in times gone by, brought barrels of precious ports to be stored in the Gaia cellars.
It was hard to leave the gorgeous view, but we were curious about the gastronomical experience created by Miguel at DeCastro Gaia. So we went down one floor and sat at a table overlooking Porto.
Before the meal started, our waiter brought us a seductive white Dalva port that put us in a festive mood. Then, a velvety vegetable soup prompted us to say the first of many “oh, so good!”
The waiter filled our glasses with Contacto Alvarinho, a lively green wine made by Anselmo Mendes. It paired perfectly with our next dish, a lush artichoke and goat cheese salad. More delights followed. The turnovers made from phyllo dough, spinach, and alheira were wonderful. At first bite, they resemble a Greek spanakopita, but then the allure of the alheira surprises the palate. The codfish fried in batter (“patanisca”) melted in the mouth. Finally, the rooster fish with clams was fresh and oh, so good!
The menu offers old classics of Portuguese cuisine and new classics created by chef Castro Silva. What the menu does not reveal is the freshness of the ingredients and the precision of the confection. The Portuguese have an expression “tudo no ponto” that describes food that is perfectly cooked, seasoned, and sauced. That is what DeCastro Gaia offers. What more do we need?
DeCastro Gaia is located in Espaço Porto Cruz at Largo Miguel Bombarda 23, Vila Nova de Gaia. Click here for the restaurant’s website.
