# 20 Delicious Ways to Eat Your Way Through Portugal > Discover 20 delicious ways to eat in Portugal: local cuisine, wines and traditions. Find out what to try and fall in love with the country. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/20-smachnykh-sposobiv-poisty-v-portuhalii/ - Language: en - Published: 2024-10-15 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Restaurants, Portugal, Food & Drinks, Parties --- Portuguese cooking rarely travels well. The cuisine of continental Europe's westernmost country is deeply rooted in the freshest local ingredients. Superb seafood, sun ripened fruit, lamb raised on flower strewn meadows, pigs left to roam free and fatten on acorns beneath the oak forests. Without them, it simply doesn't taste the same. So while visitors the world over crowd into Italian trattorias, French bistros and Spanish tapas bars, Portuguese restaurants abroad tend to serve homesick emigrants trying, in vain, to soothe their longing for the comfort food their mothers once made. That is changing, though. The success of Portuguese chefs such as George Mendes in New York and Nuno Mendes (no relation) in London is stirring up global excitement around the cuisine of their homeland. Regulars have known the secret for years, but here are 20 reasons why Portugal belongs on every food loving traveler's list. ## 1. Fish perfection In Europe, only Icelanders eat more fish than the Portuguese. Superstar chef Ferran Adria says the seafood from Portugal's Atlantic waters is the best in the world, and he's Spanish. The markets dazzle with an astonishing variety, from tiny cuttlefish to tuna the size of a submarine. If your idea of food heaven is fresh sea bass, expertly grilled with hints of lemon, garlic and olive oil, then this is the place. It's best eaten by the sea, at restaurants like Sao Roque in Lagos, Restinga in Alvor, Furnas in Ericeira, Azenhas do Mar or Restaurante da Adraga west of Sintra, Ribamar in Sesimbra or Doca do Cavacas on the island of Madeira. ## 2. Liquid gold ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-118-1-2024.jpg) Driving the back roads of the Alentejo, Beira Interior and Tras os Montes regions, you'll pass endless olive groves. Olive oil is the backbone of Portuguese cooking, used to slow cook salt cod, stirred into soups or simply soaked up by hot bread straight from the oven. Exports have quadrupled over the past decade as the world wakes up to the quality of Portugal's liquid gold, whether from big producers like Gallo and Oliveira da Serra or artisanal oils made on individual farms. The latest accolade: a gold medal for the organic Olmais oil at the "World's Best Olive Oils" competition in New York. ## 3. The national one pot dish Portuguese cuisine is fiercely regional: meaty and hearty in the north, Mediterranean in the south. One dish, though, unites the country: cozido. Best enjoyed as a big family lunch, it's a one pot boiled dish that packs in a chunk of beef, various cuts of pork, sometimes chicken, always cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips and an assortment of sausages, including paprika spiced chourico and cumin scented blood sausage. There are regional twists: in the Algarve they add chickpeas and mint; expect mutton and pumpkin in the Alentejo, sweet potato in Madeira. In the Azores, cozido is slow cooked by a volcano in underground pits. ## 4. Lisbon's culinary awakening A new generation of chefs is shaking up the capital's dining scene with ultramodern takes on gastronomic tradition. Leading the charge is Jose Avillez. His restaurant Belcanto, across from the Sao Carlos theater, earned a second Michelin star in 2014. His menu features braised red mullet with a liver sauce, clams and cornmeal; oxtail with foie gras, chickpeas and creamy sheep's cheese. Among the rivals is Alma, the new restaurant from Henrique Sa Pessoa, tucked around the corner and wowing diners with dishes like hake with charred leek and hazelnuts; or Joao Rodrigues, named chef of the year, with his seafront restaurant Feitoria. Sa Pessoa and other celebrated chefs offer affordable, fun alternatives in the food hall of the Ribeira market. ## 5. King cod They say Portugal has 365 recipes for cooking salt cod. In truth, there are many more. Bacalhau is served "a bras" with scrambled eggs, olives and fries; as fish cakes (pasteis de bacalhau) with black eyed peas; grilled, oven baked or simply boiled with cabbage and carrots and then drizzled with olive oil. Crumbled with cornbread in the university town of Coimbra, baked under mayonnaise Ze do Pipo style in Porto, sliced into a beloved Lisbon salad with chickpeas and onions, bacalhau is always close to the Portuguese soul. It's available everywhere, but Lisbon's Laurentina restaurant arguably serves the best. ## 6. Say "Queijo" ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-118-2-2024.jpg) It's a mystery why Portuguese cheeses aren't better known. True, Amarelo da Beira Baixa (a herby blend of goat's and sheep's milk) was voted the world's best at a tasting organized by Wine Spectator and Vanity Fair a few years ago. Even so, the creamy Serra da Estrela, made from the milk of sheep raised in Portugal's highest mountain range; the firm, sharp cow's milk cheeses made on the steep slopes of the mid Atlantic island of Sao Jorge; or the pungent Terrincho, produced in remote Tras os Montes, remain largely unknown. Such dairy delights can be served as appetizers or after a meal with red wine or port, sometimes alongside quince jam (marmelada). ## 7. Porto's tasty trinity In the 15th century, patriotic Porto gave up all its meat to Prince Henry the Navigator to feed his soldiers as they sailed off to battle in Morocco. Left with only the offal, they came up with a dish that remains the city's signature: tripas a moda do Porto. It's not for the faint hearted: a stew of beans, calves' feet, pigs' ears and spicy chourico, plus tripe, the chewy white lining of a cow's stomach. Ever since, the residents of Portugal's second city have been called tripeiros, the tripe eaters. Porto's other famous dishes: slices of grilled octopus and huge meat sandwiches smothered in a spicy sauce and called francesinhas, or little French girls. ## 8. Going with the grain The Portuguese are Europe's biggest rice eaters, ahead of the Spanish and Italians, yet while paella and risotto are everywhere, Portuguese rice dishes are unfairly overlooked. Arroz de marisco is wonderful: soupy rice cooked in a garlicky, coriander soaked tomato sauce and loaded with a wealth of seafood that might include lobster, crab, clams and shrimp. You can try top notch versions at Cantinho do Mar in the seaside resort of Praia da Vieira de Leiria; O Faroleiro, overlooking the stunning Guincho beach in Cascais; or Marisqueira Rui in Silves, the old Moorish capital of the Algarve. Other rice classics: arroz de pato, oven baked with duck; arroz de cabidela, which includes plenty of chicken blood; and the sweet, cinnamon flavored arroz doce for dessert. ## 9. Wild pigs Portugal enjoys some of the juiciest pork and tastiest ham in the world as a byproduct of its thriving cork industry. Semi wild black pigs fatten up on a diet of acorns dropped by the cork oak forests across the southern Alentejo region. The resulting porco preto is marbled with fat and packed with flavor. The cured ham (presunto) made from these animals, especially from the border town of Barrancos, rivals the finest of Spain or Italy. The Alentejo's most distinctive dish pairs clams with pork marinated in garlic and red pepper. ## 10. Old school Practically every provincial town has at least one old school restaurant serving time honored dishes unique to its region. Examples: Porto Santana, which serves a vinegary soup made with spiny dogfish in the white town of Alcacer do Sal; Cafe Correia, famous for its stuffed squid in Vila do Bispo; O Telheiro in Aveiro and its stewed eel; Solar Bragancano, whose seasonal dishes of partridge, pheasant and wild boar make the trip to Braganca worthwhile. Portuguese towns also have several informal restaurant categories: tascas are wine taverns serving hearty lunches; cervejarias are for seafood and cold beer; pastelarias are nominally pastry shops but also serve lunch dishes. ## 11. So much wine ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-118-3-2024.jpg) For a small country, Portugal produces a staggering variety of wonderful wines. Summery vinho verde from the green northwest. Full bodied reds and fruity whites from the Douro, Dao and Alentejo. Sparkling wine from Bairrada; the legendary vintages of Port and Madeira. Honeyed Moscatel from Setubal. Rare tipples from unlikely places like Carcavelos, Lisbon's surfing suburb. Or the World Heritage vineyards clinging to a volcano in the mid Atlantic on the island of Pico. ## 12. Legacy of empire Lisbon has been a culinary melting pot since the 15th century, the age of great discoveries. Portuguese traders brought chili to India and tempura to Japan. India's vindaloo curry traces back to vinha d'alhos, a marinade of wine and garlic. The influence runs both ways: fried chicken in a spicy piri piri sauce is a Portuguese favorite with roots in southern Africa. Lisbon is packed with exotic restaurants serving Cape Verdean cachupa, Angolan muamba, Brazilian moqueca and feijoada, spicy goat from Goa, coconut shrimp curry from Mozambique. ## 13. Little piglets Mealhada is a town built on suckling pig. The main street is lined with industrial scale restaurants serving hundreds of spit roasted piglets every day. To become leitao da Bairrada, the animals are basted in a garlic and black pepper sauce and slow cooked to produce tender pink meat wrapped in a crisp crackling. It's usually served with fried potatoes, orange slices and the local sparkling wine, though purists prefer the fine red wines of the Bairrada region. Where to try it? Pedro dos Leitoes and Meta dos Leitoes are reliable picks in Mealhada, while Casa Vidal in nearby Aguada de Cima is a favorite among many connoisseurs. ## 14. Festival of fruit Madeira bananas; pineapples from the Azores; cherries from the Serra da Gardunha mountains. Oranges, almonds and figs from the Algarve; melons grown on the sun scorched summer plains by the Tagus river. West coast pears; pale yellow apples from Esmolfe and striped red ones from Palmela; plums from Elvas; loquats that herald the arrival of spring; juicy peaches; passion fruit from the islands. The sun drenched climate gives Portugal a cornucopia of naturally ripened, locally grown fruit that is reassuringly bruised, oddly shaped and utterly delightful. ## 15. Holy sardines ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-118-4-2024.jpg) In mid June, Lisbon's old quarters erupt in an orgy of singing, dancing, wine drinking and sardine grilling. The Festa do Santo Antonio, honoring the capital's patron saint, is a citywide street party, and sardines play a starring role. Cheap, plentiful and freshly caught, the little blue fish are at their plumpest and tastiest by the start of summer. The smell of sardines sizzling on street barbecues is as much a part of the city's fabric as the mournful music of fado or the rivalry between the Benfica and Sporting football clubs. Serve with boiled potatoes and roasted red peppers. Tourists should beware, though: the only sardines any self respecting Lisboner eats outside the May to October season are the canned kind. ## 16. Edible oddities Some Portuguese foods can seem strange to outsiders. The lamprey (a bloodsucking, snake shaped fish that has been around since the age of the dinosaurs) is a seasonal delicacy. Goose necked barnacles (percebes) are delicious, once you pull the worm like innards out of their leathery shell. Cod tongues, pigs' heads and fried chicken gizzards are all popular. For dessert, how about morcela doce, a sweet blood sausage? Or pudim Abade de Priscos, a custard flavored with bacon and cinnamon? ## 17. Market magic Every Portuguese town has markets offering a daily show of fresh fish, local fruit and vegetables and an eerie selection of offal. The waterfront market in Olhao in the Algarve dates back to 1912 and is renowned across the country for its seafood. In the Madeiran capital of Funchal, flower sellers in colorful folk costumes compete with a kaleidoscope of subtropical produce. Porto's 19th century Bolhao market is a beloved landmark. The Mercado da Ribeira became Lisbon's second most visited tourist attraction after a renovation that added a gourmet food hall. One tip: on Mondays the markets are dead and there's no fish. ## 18. Rivals to the pastel de nata It's not that the pasteis de nata are outdated. The cinnamon dusted custard tarts, invented by monks in Lisbon's Belem district, are still delicious, but Portugal's pastry efforts go far beyond them. It's time to embrace Madeira's sticky treacle cakes; the fig, almond and carob creations from the Algarve; the puff pastry tubes with a sweet egg filling that hail from the village of Tentugal. The names of many sinful pastries reflect their origins in monastery kitchens, such as bacon from heaven (toucinho do ceu) or nun's belly (barriga de freira). In Portugal, there's a pastry shop on every street. Among the best: Casa da Isabel in Portimao, Confeitaria da Ponte in historic Amarante, Pastelaria Alcoa near the medieval monastery in Alcobaca, and Confeitaria Nacional, tempting central Lisbon since 1829. ## 19. Bifana vs. prego ![](/storage/image/prev/august-article-image-118-5-2024.jpg) To make a bifana, marinate thin slices of pork in white wine and garlic, fry them, tuck them into a roll and add mustard or hot sauce to taste. For a prego the process is much the same, but the main ingredient is beef steak. These are Portugal's finest snacks. Done right, with quality meat and the juices soaking into soft white bread, they're unbeatable. Wash them down with a cold beer. Pregos are also traditionally used to round off a feast of clams, shrimp or crab at marisqueiras, specialist seafood establishments. The ones at Lisbon's Ramiro are legendary. ## 20. Goats and other animals In a country so closely tied to seafood, it would be wrong to overlook the meat. Beyond the unrivaled pork, lamb raised on the Alentejo plains or the northern highlands is superb. The lean, fragrant meat of roasted kid (cabrito) is widely eaten during festive meals. Older goats are stewed in red wine to make chanfana, a regional specialty of Coimbra. Beef from the long horned Barrosa and Maronesa cattle that roam the north is rightly famous. In hunting season, there's plenty of wild boar (javali), deer (veado) and hare (lebre).