A couple of weeks ago, Hitchen and I and a couple of our friends spent a long weekend in Lisbon. Honestly, our plans for the weekend centered around eating as much delicious seafood and Portuguese tarts as possible – and we definitely weren’t disappointed. The city itself was beautiful and vibrant, the people were super friendly , and the weather was pretty good too!
Here are some highlights from the trip.
• A Cevicheria – Hands down the best meal of the trip! Incredible ceviche and tapas style seafood options, and a super cool atmosphere. They don’t take reservations, but you can wait outside at standing tables with a take-out bar, and enjoy some small snacks and the best pisco sours you’ve ever had.
• Mercado Da Ribeira (Time Out Market) – A fun restaurant-based covered market with over 20 restaurants and several bars. You pick up food and drink of your choice (it’s really hard to choose) and then find a seat at any of the long tables in the center. Super fun atmosphere and way too much good food to choose from. We went back three times…
• Doce Peixe – Amazing seafood restaurant just outside of city center, with a terrace right on the water. The waiter was awesome, and not only made great food suggestions based on the fish they received that morning, but gave us some great advice for places to go and things to see around Lisbon.
• Cantinho Do Avillez – We only stopped by briefly for appetizers and cocktails, but it was all delicious and I’d love to go back for a meal. Tasty food and drinks, and a great atmosphere.
• Cervejaria Ramiro – This place seems to be a bit of an institution. It’s big (three floors), bright, and loud, but has an incredible selection of shellfish. Our table setting included hammers, lobster crackers, and some other utensils I didn’t really know what to do with, but the food and service was great.
• Park Bar – This bar is completely un-marked, and located on the top floor of a parking garage. It really doesn’t look like anything at all from street level, but once you enter the bar at the top it’s actually rather impressive. It’s quite large, with a covered / inside area and a lovely outside terrace with tons of greenery. The view from the terrace is incredible (during the day or at night) and they have a great cocktail menu.
• ViniPortugal – A great place to sample a variety of Portuguese wines (from fun automated dispensing machines) at a reasonable cost, but the atmosphere is a little underwhelming.
• Rooftop Bar at Hotel Mundial – Nice relaxed atmosphere, and a super view. Great cocktails and service too.
• Torre de Belém – An impressive tower built in the 1500s, in the neighbouring freguesia (subdivision) of Belém. The walk from the train station to the tower takes you past the beautiful Jerónimos Monastery and Jardim (Garden) de Belém.
• Shopping at A Vida Portuguesa – Super sweet little store (there are several locations) selling all kinds of local Portuguese products.
• Walk around + take in the view at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara – Lisbon is such a pretty city , with all kinds of sights to take in (including the most beautiful tiles I’ve seen anywhere). Other than getting to and from the airport, and getting outside the city center to Belém, we skipped the metro entirely and walked everywhere.
We have another trip to Portugal planned for late March (though this time to the southern coast), and after our experience in Lisbon, I’m super excited to go back!
