🐠 The best things I ate in Lisbon
Ceviche, an Italian/Japanese fusion restaurant and so many pastéis de nata!
There's something about travel that really resets me. It’s too physically and mentally taxing to be restorative but there's something about being out in the world, exploring a new place that reminds me how big the world is and how inconsequential my problems are. As some old Buddhist Monk guy once said, "100 years - all new people".
This past weekend, my partner and I travelled to Lisbon. It rained incessantly the first day and I walked past the point of exhaustion, but it was still a great trip. My last round up of 'best things I ate while travelling' proved popular, so I've collected a few favourite meals below.
Our first night
Over dinner on the first night, I was remarking to my partner that our first meal in a new city is often the best one. That night we ate in Estrela Da Bica and the trend continued. We shared a bunch of dishes, and particularly enjoyed the roasted cabbage with blue cheese, a smorgasbord of mushrooms on a bed of polenta and steak served with pico de gallo and a soy/honey sauce.
Pastéis de Nata
I went to Lisbon on a mission to eat as many different versions of pastéis de nata as I could. The classic pastry is made up of a cinnamon-y, sometimes slightly lemony custard offset by flakey, buttery pastry. They were divine, especially the slightly burnt ones. We saw the bakery where they were invented, though it felt a little too touristy. My favourites were from Natas do Carmo, a cute bakery close to where we were staying. We also got a dozen from this famous bakery as a gift for friends.
Japanese/Italian fusion
I’d never heard of a Japanese/Italian fusion restaurant and to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on the idea. But it was bucketing rain and this place was a 2 minute sprint from the Contemporary Art Museum. Memorable dishes included:
Tártaro de Arum Eo, a thin pizza base topped with tuna tartar and pepperoncini
Makimono de pistachio, a sushi roll with pistachio, tuna tartar and fried onion
Gunkan Sake, a sushi with brazed salmon, blue cheese and pear jam.
The first two were delicious - a bit strange but moreishly tasty. The last one was just plain weird. Think: apple crumble with raw salmon, plus a pungent squirt of liquidy blue cheese. Not my favourite.
Other favourites
We enjoyed a hearty breakfast in this Instagram-y cafe. The food was good, though I did feel like an old lady complaining about the volume of music (especially this song!) and the kitschy decor. But as I said, the food and service were both very good.
Our friends took us to this Peruvian restaurant which was incredibly delicious. I was too busy scarfing the food to take pictures, but the menu is full of gorgeous images. I particularly recommend the Cebiche de Pescado ceviche and the tuna tacos.
As recommended by all the guides, we had lunch at the Time Out Market. The quality of the food varies hugely and I was disappointed with what I ordered. The service was also pretty sniffy, though in a place that often feels like a glorified cattle prod, that’s maybe not surprising.
A few more snapshots from our travels:
I loled at the glorified cattle prod remark!! What an image!!