Lisbon has a big expat population, so you will find some upmarket, modern dining options in the city. Sam and I, however, actively sought out the classic tasca / taberna style of restaurants in keeping with our love of traditional haunts. For most of May 2025 we were lucky enough to get a couple of catsits in Lisbon, which essentially allowed us to ‘live’ there while working remotely during the week. Besides the free catsits, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Saldahna Plaza booked with a generous Quidco bonus and Cozy and Sunny Apartment in Anjos.
We then spent our weekends eating in restaurants, drinking vinhos and cervejas, eating custard tarts, and watching futbol. These are, in our professional opinions, the best restaurants in Lisbon…
Tasca Ze de Cornos – best Lisbon restaurant for a locals vibe
The first of Lisbon’s best restaurants on our list is probably my personal favourite. We turned up to Ze de Cornos on a Friday lunchtime, and the place was too busy to seat us. We got in line for a few minutes before realising that we actually needed to sign in first. Oops. The bartender was kind enough to serve me a couple of tiny beers to drink outside on the stairs while we waited. Inside, the tables were occupied exclusively by locals, and in particular older men who were dining solo or with their friends (sorry wives!).
The nibbles waiting on the table for us were delicious. We ordered their house specialty ribs and a second plate of pork to share. I treated myself to a remarkably large serving of house Vinho Verde given the price. Including the nibbles, two mains, wine, and a few beers, the bill came to less than €50.
O Velho Eurico – best modern tasca in Lisbon
This restaurant was #1 on Sam’s list, but had been closed for renovations for the past eight months. Sam had been tracking its re-opening, which was “some time in May.” By the time he saw the announcement on Instagram that they were re-opening, maybe 12 hours after posting, O Velho Eurico was already fully booked until July. We noticed that they only accepted lunch bookings for 12pm, and dinner bookings for 7:30pm. Odd.
Sam managed to snag a cancellation on the Saturday they re-opened at 12pm and we jumped on it, even if it did seem to be slightly on the early side.
The restaurant was a great blend between modern and upmarket while still being classified as a classic tasca. The menu was full of classic Portuguese dishes prepared to an exacting standard and made with excellent ingredients. It was more expensive than a classic Tasca, but a cut above and still excellent value. We ordered several dishes to share, and the standout was definitely the Prego sandwich. When I get around to it, this will surely feature on my list of Best Sandwiches in the World. A rare beef fillet sandwiched in between a fresh bun and more melted butter than I want to think about. We ordered it for ‘dessert’ and it couldn’t have been a better end to the meal.
As we were eating, people were lining up out front – it’s actually very easy to get a seat in the restaurant, as they only book for their first seating, and the rest of the seatings are walk-in only. So if you want to be in the second seating, turn up exactly at 12pm or 7:30pm to get your name on the list. When we left, a large crowd of people were waiting for their tables having a beer in the sun. We opted to join them.
The bill came to €70 including three large beers, four small, and a glass of wine. Not included on the bill: house made shots served generously to everyone in the restaurant out of a gigantic few jugs.
Galeto – best for a unique experience
Located in the northern Saldanha neighbourhood, we walked past Galeto on the Tuesday night we arrived. It was, well, a Tuesday and past midnight. There were locals having an absolute ball just out front and inside. We knew we had to return.
Established by Brazilians, this is a neighbourhood institution going back nearly 60 years (even if the menu does say 50). The inside of the restaurant is a series of sit up bars staffed by a couple of staffers. We returned on a Saturday and while there was seating for a good few hundred people, it was pretty full, and we had to walk to the back of the restaurant to find a couple of empty stools at a bar.
Each pair of stools had their own condiment set, which was a weird but cool touch. We ordered their classic ‘Bife’ and a plate of Iberican pork to share. The Bife was a juicy beef cutlet topped with ham and a fried egg, served next to a huge plate of fries with an enormous side of green puree (we never did figure out what the green puree was).
We started with a couple of beers and then ordered a bottle of their house Vinho Verde. It was rainy and cold out, so we sat there for quite a while, and our bill came to €75 or so. Perhaps not the *best* value restaurant but certainly not bad, and truly a unique dining experience in Lisbon.
Tascardoso – best classic tasca in Lisbon
We rocked up to Tascardoso’s main door, not knowing that there was a 2nd door. It was extremely… quiet. Cutlery against plates as a soundtrack quiet. We questioned whether we should be there. Fortunately there weren’t any seats available and we sat outside waiting for a table. With a couple of beers.
When we were brought in, we were taken around the corner to a lower level restaurant which had a lot more of a vibe. It was full of locals drinking from terracotta jugs of wine. This was a classic Tasca, and so we stuck to their classic dishes, including fresh sardines. For three of us, each having had a beer, a wine, and two of us having had a glass of port, the bill came to €80 – super reasonable.
Ramiro (from 2021) – best seafood restaurant in Lisbon
Ramiro is an institution in Lisbon. The lineup to get in usually wraps around the block, even at off peak hours. Reading the latest reviews, it sounds like it is now mostly packed full of tourists. Fortunately Sam and I visited on our Great Covid Escape trip of spring 2021.
While we didn’t really have to wait, the restaurant was still full. Pick your shellfish, cover it in butter, and enjoy alongside some finos of Sagres. And before you leave, just like O Velho Eurico above, their famous dessert is the Prego sandwich!
As Bifanas do Afonso – best bifana sandwich in Lisbon
Not quite a ‘restaurant’ but worth a shout out is As Bifanas do Afonso. This tiny corner window serves up truly delicious bifana sandwiches filled with slow braised beef for €3 a pop. The catch? The line when we went at the off peak time of 3:30pm took over 30 minutes!
We also fortunately had cash on us – waiting for that long only to find out you can’t buy a sandwich would have been devastating!
