Portuguese Tinned Fish: What to Try and Where to Buy

In Portugal, tinned fish (conservas) isn’t a cupboard emergency: it’s a delicacy, beautifully packaged and served in bars with bread and wine. Portugal has been canning sardines for well over a century, and today the colourful tins make one of the best souvenirs you can bring home. Here’s a guide to Portuguese tinned fish.

Quick answer: try sardines in olive oil, mackerel, octopus, tuna belly and cod roe. Buy them in the specialist tin shops of Lisbon and Porto for the packaging, or in supermarkets for the best prices. Eat them on toast with a glass of vinho verde.

Why tinned fish?

Portugal’s first cannery opened in 1853 in Vila Real de Santo António, and the industry boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with factories all along the coast, from Matosinhos to Setúbal and Portimão. By 1900, Portimão alone had more than 20 canneries. Most closed in the decades after the Second World War, but the best survivors still pack fish by hand at the peak of the season.

Good tins in olive oil keep for years, and some producers sell vintage-dated sardines that fans say mellow with age, a little like wine. Portimão’s museum, in the former Feu Hermanos cannery on the riverfront, tells the story. See Portimão.

What to try

• Sardines: in olive oil, tomato, lemon or spicy. Sardines in olive oil are the classic to start with.
• Mackerel (cavala): rich and meaty, and often cheaper than sardines.
• Octopus (polvo): in olive oil and garlic.
• Tuna belly (ventresca): silky and luxurious, especially from the Azores.
• Cod (bacalhau) and cod roe.
• Squid in its ink, mussels and clams. Mussels in escabeche, a tangy vinegar marinade, are a good one to start with.
• Sardine pâté: often served with bread in restaurants as part of the couvert (which you pay for if you eat it).

How to choose a good tin

• Read the label: “azeite” means olive oil, while “óleo vegetal” means a cheaper vegetable oil.
• Look for the origin: most good brands say where the fish was caught and packed.
• Price is a guide: a supermarket tin usually costs a few euros, while premium or vintage tins in specialist shops cost much more. You’re partly paying for the packaging.

How to eat it

• Straight from the tin with crusty bread, a squeeze of lemon and some salt.
• On toast with tomatoes and herbs.
• In bars: some petisco bars serve tins with bread, salad and wine.
• With a drink: vinho verde or a cold beer. See vinho verde.
• Use the oil: mop it up with bread, or dress a salad with it.

Build your own tasting

For a cheap and easy dinner in your apartment, buy three or four different tins, a loaf of fresh bread, some olives, a tomato and a bottle of local wine. Try one fish in olive oil, one in tomato and one spicy, side by side. It’s a fun way to find your favourites before you buy tins to take home.

Where to buy

• Specialist shops in Lisbon and Porto sell tins in colourful retro packaging, often arranged like a library. Great for gifts.
• Conserveira de Lisboa: a family shop on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros in the Baixa, open since 1930. Tins are still wrapped in paper at the counter. See shopping in Lisbon.
• Supermarkets (Pingo Doce, Continente) have excellent tins at a fraction of the price.
• Markets and delis for small producers. See Lisbon food markets.

Watch out for the flashy tin shops with fairground-style decor in tourist areas. The tins can be good, but prices are high, so compare before you buy.

Canning towns to visit

• Matosinhos: just north of Porto, still home to working canneries, including Ramirez, which traces its history to 1853. It’s also famous for grilled fish restaurants. See Matosinhos.
• Portimão: the cannery museum and riverside sardine grills.
• Setúbal: once one of the biggest canning centres, now known for fried cuttlefish and boat trips to see dolphins.

Taking it home

Tins are light, sealed and travel perfectly in a suitcase. In hand luggage, they may count as liquids because of the oil, so check your airline and airport rules, and check your country’s import rules. A few tins and a bottle of olive oil make a great gift box. See the best souvenirs from Portugal.

More: Portuguese seafood and what to eat in Portugal.

See also: grilled sardines.

Prices and details change, so please double-check before you travel. Spotted something out of date? Tell us in the groups.