What to Eat in Portugal: 25 Dishes and Drinks to Try

Portuguese food is one of the best reasons to visit: incredible fish and seafood, hearty stews, legendary pastries and very good-value wine. Here are the dishes our members say you can’t leave without trying, and where to find them.

Quick answer: start with a pastel de nata, a bifana (pork sandwich), grilled sardines (in summer), bacalhau (salt cod) and, in Porto, a francesinha. Wash it down with vinho verde or a glass of port.

Pastries and sweets

• Pastel de nata: the famous custard tart with flaky pastry, best warm with cinnamon. The original pastéis de Belém are in Belém, but great ones are everywhere.
• Bola de Berlim: a doughnut filled with egg custard, sold on beaches in summer.
• Ovos moles: sweet egg-yolk treats from Aveiro. See day trips from Porto.
• Travesseiros: almond pastries from Sintra. See our Sintra tips.

Fish and seafood

• Bacalhau (salt cod): Portugal’s national obsession, said to have hundreds of recipes. Try bacalhau à Brás (shredded with egg and crispy potatoes) or pastéis de bacalhau (cod fritters).
• Grilled sardines: at their best in early summer and the star of the June festivals. Eat them on bread.
• Polvo à lagareiro: roasted octopus with potatoes and plenty of olive oil.
• Arroz de marisco: a soupy seafood rice, made for sharing.
• Cataplana: an Algarve seafood stew cooked in a clam-shaped copper pan.
• Grilled fish in Matosinhos (Porto) or any fishing town: pick it from the display and have it simply grilled.

Meat and hearty dishes

• Bifana: thin pork slices in a garlicky sauce in a soft roll. A cheap, perfect lunch.
• Prego: a steak sandwich, the beef version of a bifana.
• Francesinha: Porto’s monster sandwich, layered meats under melted cheese and a spicy beer sauce, often with an egg on top and chips. Share one if you’re not starving!
• Frango piri-piri: grilled chicken with chilli, especially good in the Algarve.
• Cozido à portuguesa: a hearty boiled meat-and-vegetable feast. In the Azores it’s cooked underground by volcanic heat. See our Azores guide.
• Caldo verde: a comforting soup of potato, kale and chouriço.

Cheese and snacks

• Queijo da Serra: a rich, runny sheep’s cheese from the mountains.
• Chouriço assado: sausage flamed at your table.
• Petiscos: Portuguese small plates, perfect for sharing over drinks.

What to drink

• Vinho verde: a light, fresh “green” (young) wine from the north, perfect on a hot day.
• Port: the famous fortified wine from the Douro, aged in Vila Nova de Gaia. Try a port wine tasting tour.
• Douro and Alentejo reds: excellent and great value.
• Ginjinha: sour cherry liqueur, drunk in tiny bars in Lisbon or from a chocolate cup in Óbidos.
• Coffee: a bica or café is an espresso, and a galão is a milky coffee in a glass.

Eating out like a local

• Look for the prato do dia (dish of the day) at lunch. It’s great value in local tascas.
• The couvert isn’t free: bread, olives and cheese on the table are charged if you eat them. See money in Portugal.
• Half portions (meia dose) are often available and still generous.
• Dinner starts late, around 8pm. Book popular places at weekends.
• Walk a street or two away from the main squares for better food and prices.
• Markets: the Time Out Market in Lisbon is fun for trying lots of things. The Bolhão market in Porto feels more local.

Hungry for more? See the best restaurants in Lagos, try a Lagos food tour, or ask our groups for their favourite tasca.

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