Why the food in Lisbon is so exciting and good-value, and 7 of its best restaurants and bars to try – if you can score reservations

“Portugal has a wide variety of landforms, climatic conditions, soils and a long coastline,” says Avillez, who believes in buying local wherever possible for his string of restaurants. “As such, each region has access to a repertoire of exceptional products.”

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Lisbon benefits from its proximity to the sea and the countryside, he says. “This gives access to a diverse range of high-quality produce like wine, cheese, olive oil, meat, fish, shellfish, pork, lamb, vegetables and fresh fruit.”

Indeed, superstar Spanish chef Ferran Adrià once said the fish and seafood from Portugal’s Atlantic waters is the “best in the world”, and a meal at one of Lisbon’s many seafood restaurants and tascas (taverns) will confirm this.

Read on for the ultimate Lisbon food crawl.

1. Belcanto

In the Bairro Alto (Chiado) district, José Avillez’s Belcanto, on the grounds of a former convent, features a soaring stone ceiling, arched doorways and high windows. The majesty of the space sets the tone for Avillez’s contemporary Portuguese cuisine.

Using mostly local produce, and paired solely with Portuguese wines, the multi-course tasting menu includes goose barnacles from the rugged coast of Sesimbra, served on a rice cracker with caviar. The bread service comes with hand-whipped butter from the Azores.

In a course of suckling pig from Negrais, Avillez doles out a profoundly savoury crispy “sandwich” with a black pepper garlic sauce, orange purée for contrast, puffed potatoes and grilled lettuce heart. Despite the quantity and quality of the food, a dinner will set you back no more than €200 (US$219).

2. Pastéis de Belém

No one comes to Lisbon without making a pilgrimage to one of the city’s pastel de nata (egg tart) joints.

The options for these sweet, creamy and crispy pastries are plentiful, but the most iconic is at Pastéis de Belém, where they are still produced according to the 1837 recipe created by the monks from the Jeronimos Monastery (a five-minute walk from the bakery).

You could buy the pastries to take away, but part of the allure here lies in taking a seat in one of the tea rooms, some decorated in white and blue azulejo (Portuguese tiles).

Rua de Belém 84-92, 1300-085 Lisbon, Portugal, tel: +351 21 363 7423

3. Red Frog Speakeasy

Arguably Lisbon’s hottest cocktail bar, Red Frog is sequestered deep within Monkey Mash, another cocktail bar specialising in sugar cane and agave spirits.

Dimly lit, intimate and vibey, Red Frog conveys a Prohibition ambience, but its drinks are decidedly modernist, usually a twist on the classics.

Instead of a Margarita, they serve a riff on it named Tommy’s Margarita – clarified lime juice and lime tapioca pearls with Don Julio Blanco and salted agave.

Chase it down with small bites, including cubes of 50 month-aged Sao Jorge cheese. A reservation is a must.

4. Taberna da Rua das Flores

A vintage tasca in Lisbon’s Chiado neighbourhood, opened in 2011 by chef and local food personality André Magalhães, Taberna da Rua das Flores serves homestyle Portuguese with an inventive twist.

The tavern is an advocate of small-batch-produced local ingredients and uses them creatively to rehash local classics such as meia desfeita (cod with chickpea salad, onion, garlic, boiled eggs and parsley), and traditional recipes such as iscas com elas (sliced and marinated beef liver fried and served with boiled potatoes with beef spleen sauce).

The menu changes daily, so don’t be surprised to see your favourites vanishing and reappearing from time to time. With only 10 tables in the house, seats at this no-reservation tavern are hard to come by.

5. O Velho Eurico

Meaning “the old Eurico”, O Velho Eurico is named after the proprietor who founded the original tasca in the Mouraria neighbourhood decades ago.

Now helmed by Zé Paulo Rocha, who spent a year learning the ropes at Taberna Sal Grosso before he took over the lease from Senhor Eurico, the restaurant’s menu is updated seasonally, and announced on a handwritten chalkboard.

Scoring a reservation at this small and cramped tavern is a feat. If you do succeed, don’t miss Rocha’s squid in orange sauce and piri piri shrimps.

Largo São Cristóvão nº3, 1100-179 Lisbon, Portugal

6. Cervejaria Ramiro

Now 67 years old, Cervejaria Ramiro – a 500-seat restaurant operated by third-generation owners – is arguably Lisbon’s most recognised seafood spot.

Despite its age, this marisqueira (seafood place) still dazzles, and with good reason. The seafood (mostly caught in the Atlantic) is fresh and the preparations kept simple so that you taste the ocean.

Stone crab from northern Portugal (named “edible crab” on the menu) is blanched and served as is, with its creamy tomalley left unadulterated in its carapace. Similarly, goose barnacles are boiled in seawater and served chilled, while Sado oysters arrive with nothing more than a wedge of lemon (and a bottle of Tabasco).

To keep the focus on its glorious seafood, there are no rice or pasta dishes on the menu, but you can order the excellent garlic bread and use it to mop up the crab tomalley and the garlic-perfumed olive oil that drowns the shrimps al Ajilho.

Cervejari Ramiro has grown from a small restaurant to one that serves 2,000 guests a day (5,000 on weekends).

7. Prado

For a taste of Portugal’s rich but little-known terroir, you can’t do better than Prado in Baixa, set in a once-derelict 19th century jam factory.

Prado means “meadow” in Portuguese and the lush and airy, warehouse-like restaurant brings to the fore pristine Portuguese produce from the land and sea such as organic olive oil from Meirinho and acorn-fed pork from Alentejo..

Leveraging a decade spent working with Nuno Mendes (who has just opened Cozinha das Flores) in London, chef António Galapito has created a set of à la carte and tasting menus of contemporary sharing plates that highlight Portugal’s bounty.

Shelled cockles from Aveiro are served with chard in a deliciously smoky butter broth with crispy fried bread cubes, while a wedge of roasted butternut squash from Alpiarça arrives in goat’s milk whey perfumed with brown butter, edible flowers, toasted pumpkin seeds and crunchy brioche crumbs.

Book early to avoid disappointment.