If you have read our guide to Porto, the Douro and beyond, you already know that Portuguese people are some of the most friendly and helpful people you will come across in your travels. They all seem to speak good to excellent English and are almost always trying to help if they are trying to get your attention. Use that to your advantage instead of fighting to do something yourself. Even in a city like Lisbon where it sometimes feels like tourists outnumber the locals, it seems Portuguese people are just as friendly and happy you are there as can be.
Especially important in Lisbon in the fact that when it comes to CFB, Portugal is a lunch country. On Saturday or Sunday especially if you don’t have a reservation for lunch then you will be waiting for a table. Also there are not really any “grab-and-go” type places for lunch; almost everywhere worth eating lunch will be a proper restaurant with table service and everything. This was a very difficult reality for me to grasp so don’t fall into the same trap I did—plan where you want to eat lunch (especially on or around the weekends) and make reservations.
See our guide to Porto, the Douro and beyond for more basic Portugal knowledge, but see below for all the best coffee, food and booze Lisbon has to offer!
Don’t miss
Enoteca De Belém – Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar
Definitely go here if you like wine and elevated food and service. It’s small so make reservations or be willing to walk around for a while, especially if it’s the weekend, but the food is awesome, the wine is excellent and everything about the service is perfect, including their English. It’s a wonderful choice in otherwise touristy Belém.
Alma – Lisbon – Restaurant
Legitimately one of the best meals of my life. The only miss was this weird shrimp appetizer that tasted like it was made from three-day old shrimp. Other than that the food, wines and service were all amazing and the meal—while very expensive if you spring for the big tasting and wine pairing—was well worth the price paid.
A
Cevicheria – Lisbon – Restaurant
Totally delicious and worth the wait (for about 45 minutes or
so, anyway). Small settings and small portions to match but the food is extra
delicious. The host is very friendly and you can have a drink on the sidewalk
(lol, Europe) while you wait. Plus your wife can get that Instagram shot of the
octopus hanging from the ceiling that she has been dying to get, so that’s good
too.
Gaspacho 
Ceviche 
BBQ Pulpo
REAL Slow Retail Concept Store – Lisbon – Shopping
Put your name on the list for A Cevicheria and head on over to check out this haunt. An adorable concept shop with everything from shoes and beach bags to jewelry and sunglasses. Everything is well merchandised and their price points are all realistic (woohoo!). I got an amazing pair of suede espadrilles for around $50 USD.
Manteigaria Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata – Lisbon – Pastry Shop
I figured they would not live up to the hype…I was wrong! These pasteis are the best I have tried in all of Portugal, including the Pasteis de Belém. Fresh out of the oven they are basically heaven and they seem to always be fresh out of the oven. Unlike the Pasteis de Belém, these are worth waiting in line (at least for a little while) for.
The Wine Cellar –
Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar
No relation to the Wine Barrels in Porto (see above), but still have a good
selection of wines from Portugal including many choices by the glass. Some can
be a bit on the expensive side but the staff is friendly and helpful and will
try to get you what you are looking for at any price point. They also speak
excellent English. No matter what you’re drinking, order the cheese board; all
six cheeses (all from Portugal) were fantastic. It’s small so come early or
make reservations.
FÁBRICA COFFEE ROASTERS/FÁBRICA COFFEE SHOP – Lisbon – Coffee
Five stars for the coffee—one of the best shots of espresso I’ve had in a long time was pulled from their black La Marzocco. All the flavor components of the coffee were noticeable and harmonious; very well done. I do wish they had a stronger savory breakfast game; some toast and jam with poached eggs would be perfect. The roastery location (on R. das Portas de Santo Antão) was a bit better than the shop (on R. das Flores) in my experience.
AMO Brewery – Lisbon – Brewery/Tap Room
Super low-key spot to hang out on Thursday or Friday nights. There are literally just like two tables but basically everyone kind of makes it work; it could not be more chill. It’s in a very residential (i.e. not touristy) area of Lisbon which is a nice respite. The people who work there are also awesome—super friendly and chill. Plus the beer is legit, especially the Chocolate Porter if they still have any left.
Dear breakfast – Lisbon – Breakfast/Brunch
The coffee is solid but NB for Americans a “cappuccino” here (and I guess elsewhere in Lisbon?) has chocolate in it. Not bad, but if you want something like what you get at home when you ask for a cappuccino then ask for a latte. The food is also solid if not amazing, but I think the real draw for most of the people here is the beautiful, Instagram-worthy interior. Staff is really friendly and speak excellent English. Makes it into “Don’t Miss” because of the strong coffee game.
Wish Slow Coffee
House – Lisbon – Coffee
Five stars for the flat white—probably the best I had in Lisbon. Did not
try the food but the espresso from their Kees Van Der Westen is definitely
legit.
bikeiberia Tours
& Rentals – Lisbon – Bicycle Rentals
Very friendly and helpful service to rent some bikes for the day to cruise
along the river. Reserve ahead or show up early, especially for the weekend.
Cash only.
Lisbon Bike Rentals –
Lisbon – Bicycle Rentals
Nice bikes, friendly and helpful staff that speaks great English. This is
place to rent a nice road bike for a ride to Sintra or Cascais (as opposed to
bikeiberia above for just tooling around the riverfront for the day).
If you have time/maybe not for everyone
Livraria Sá da Costa
– Lisbon – Bookstore
Cool old with old books and an interesting selection of very old (though
possibly fake, based on google maps reviews?) maps. I would probably not buy
anything here but it’s a cool place to wander around.
Bistro 100 Maneiras – Lisbon – Restaurant/Cocktail Bar
I’m very torn about this place. On the one hand, excellent cocktails as well as delicious and creative elevated bistro fare. On the other hand, the service was very weird with long pauses in between drink orders but almost no time in between courses. The servers themselves seemed competent but it just seemed like maybe they were short staffed and maybe the kitchen was overstaffed or something? It was a very weird experience to get the main course so quickly but to have the second round of drinks to go with the main course take so long. I would go back since there is a lot of promise, but I would make sure to arrive 30-45 minutes early to have a cocktail at the bar and just order a bottle of wine with dinner ; )
Azul – Lisbon –
Restaurant
Good place to get your gooseneck barnacle fix! Conveniently located in the
TimeOut market. They were pretty cool and actually quite delicious. I can’t say
for sure about the quality or deliciousness of anything else they serve but I’d
go back for more barnacles.
Pasteis de Belém – Lisbon – Pastry Shop
The pastries are good and this place is a sight to behold in just its sheer size but honestly they are not so special you need to wait a long time for them. Plus if you are like me then the chaos inside this place will drive you crazy. Note there are lines for take-away that snake outside and a different line way inside the dining area for table service. Apparently the table service line is usually shorter.
Instituto dos Vinhos
do Douro e do Porto – Lisbon – Wine Bar
Don’t come here expecting help (or any form of service) from the servers,
but do come here hoping they have a glass or bottle of a port you love because
if they do then it will be available at the best possible price. Maybe the only
place in all of Portugal where we got some attitude for not speaking
Portuguese.
Ze MOURARIA – Lisbon
– Restaurant
I guess this is a traditional Portuguese restaurant, so if you want to experience
what that is like then this could be your place. The food is fine: tasty but
nothing to write home about (except that the portions are obscenely large).
Very friendly and accommodating staff with at least some servers speaking good
English but if you are trying to come on a weekend at prime time (around
1:00p-2:00p) then make sure you have a reservation.
Duque Brewpub –
Lisbon – Brew Pub
Good selection of beers on tap but only one was brewed in house? I thought
this was a brewpub : ) Anyway, the beer I tried was a bottle of bourbon vanilla
porter but it was pretty lackluster. The meat board was solid though. All in
all a solid if unspectacular place to get some craft beer in Lisbon…I’d just
recommend sticking to what’s on tap.
Garrafeira Alfaia –
Lisbon – Wine Bar
Fairly touristy-seeming, small wine bar of no major interest. Nothing bad about this place just nothing
outstanding either. Could be a good place to drink a bottle while waiting for
something else (a table somewhere maybe)?
Lisbon Winery – Lisbon – Restaurant/Wine Bar
Decent wine bar with large list of bottles though a little on the expensive side. Food was lackluster, I would just drink here or maybe go for something safe like a meat and cheese board.
Don’t bother
Boi Cavalo – Lisbon –
Restaurant
Maybe this restaurant is an elaborate practical joke on foodies? If so,
then bravo. Not only was the service so disjointed that it was uncomfortable,
but the food coming out of the kitchen was totally lackluster and almost
non-sensical. The first course tasted like nothing because the two components
themselves tasted like nothing. The second course tasted like nothing because
the three components had nothing to do with each other and all the flavors just
got muddled together. The main course was rabbit chops, which are exactly as
tiny as they sound like they would be and exactly as annoying to eat as you
would assume. Not only that, but they were paired with whole beans (similar to
favas), snails and a fried dough kind of thing that is apparently traditional
in Portugal (?) There was nothing tying all these ingredients together, just
four ingredients on a plate, arranged somewhat artistically. It was just a
disappointment, from start to finish, which is sad because there is a lot of
potential here but it just seems like the kitchen is trying too hard to be
creative with flavors and ingredients instead of focusing on the things that
make a restaurant successful: delicious food and strong service.
Loja das Conservas
Petiscos – Lisbon – Tapas
Creative idea, but just not hitting on the execution. It wasn’t bad—in fact
some petiscos were enjoyable (tuna pate, samosas) and the staff was very
friendly and spoke very good English—but overall it was just not anything
special, and it’s not like there is a shortage of better places for a drink and
a snack in the area.