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Lisbon's dining scene has evolved dramatically in recent years to include any number of high-end dining opportunities, but amid the international fare, Michelin-starred restaurants, and molecular gastronomy, the city's simplest and most traditional restaurants still do a roaring trade. Meals generally include three courses, a drink, and coffee. Many restaurants have an ementa turistica (tourist menu), a set-price meal, most often served at lunchtime. Note that you'll be charged a couple of euros if you eat any of the couvert items—typically appetizers such as bread and butter, olives, and the like—that are brought to your table without being ordered.
Lisbon's restaurants usually serve lunch from noon or 12:30 until 3 and dinner from 7:30 until 11; many establishments are closed Sunday or Monday. Inexpensive restaurants typically don't accept reservations. In the traditional cervejarias (beer-hall restaurants), which frequently have huge dining rooms, you'll probably have to wait for a table, but usually not more than 10 minutes. In the Bairro Alto, many of the reasonably priced tascas (taverns) are on the small side: if you can't grab a table, you're probably better off moving on to the next place. Throughout Lisbon, dress for meals is usually casual, but exceptions are noted below.
The cool, colorful restaurant on the ground floor of the Internacional Design Hotel in the heart of the Baixa is as cheeky and irreverent as its name suggests. Expect the unexpected on the menu, which takes the country's culinary traditions on fantastic flights of fancy in dishes like octopus with sweet potato, Bourbon, kimchi, and black garlic. The restaurant and the adjoining bar welcome non-guests.
A tourist attraction in its own right, this tiny bar facing beautiful Rossio is the best place in the Baixa to sample Lisbon's famous ginja (cherry liqueur). Open since 1840, when the Galician Francisco Espinheira became the first purveyor of the spirit in Lisbon, the bar serves the sweet drink with or without cherries (opt for the version with fruit if you want to convince yourself you're getting some vitamins).
In an alley between Praça dos Restauradores and Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, this eatery known locally as Rei dos Frangos (King of Chickens) specializes in spit-roasted chicken served with a home-made peri-peri sauce that locals swear is the best in the city. One chicken easily serves two hungry diners, but leave room for the famously crispy fries.
In business for more than seven decades, Gambrinus has plenty of historical drama in its decor, including arched wooden ceilings and stained-glass depictions of beer-swilling royals. Prawns, lobster, and crab are always available, and seasonal choices like sea bream, sea bass, and sole are offered grilled or garnished with clam sauce.
On a street lined with tourist traps, O Churrasco is the local favorite and deservedly so. The paneled dining room serves top-notch peri peri chicken, sizzling steaks, and perfectly grilled fish.
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