Food in Portugal - What to Know and Eat

In Portugal, dining out is a national pastime. Local restaurants blanket cities big and small, offering long lists of well-prepared dishes at great prices and often-stellar service.

While dining hours aren’t exactly aligned with what Westerners are used to at home, they’re not as extreme as you might find in neighboring Spain. In Portugal, restaurants open for lunch starting at 12:00 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. but don’t usually fill up until around 1:00 p.m. Dinner is most commonly taken at 9:00 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., but restaurants do open as early as 7:00 p.m.

Dining out in Portugal is as quintessential to your travel experience as exploring Porto’s azulejo-tiled streets and the Algarve’s beach towns. Restaurants are the ultimate doorway into local Portuguese culture, and they’re not to be skipped!

These traditional Portuguese delicacies definitely belong on your must-try list:

• Pastel de Nata - Don’t leave Portugal without sampling this centuries-old dessert. Pastel de nata, an egg-custard tart dusted with cinnamon, was originally created by the Catholic monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in the 18th century.
• Caldo Verde - Caldo verde is an iconic Portuguese soup of potato, sausage and cabbage. You’ll find it on most menus throughout the country, but it originated in Northern Portugal in the area between Minho and Douro.
• Alheira - This pork-free sausage comes with a fascinating history. It was originally consumed by Portugal’s secret Jewish population as a way to prove they’d converted to Catholicism during the Inquisition. Today, alheira can be found at nearly every corner eatery. It’s made with bread and chicken or game.
• Bifana - Bifanas are to the Portuguese what hamburgers are to Americans. These pork steak sandwiches seasoned with garlic and spices can be found at corner eateries countrywide, and they’re typically consumed as a snack between meals.
• Polvo à Lagareiro - Polvo à Lagareiro, octopus that’s boiled and then oven roasted, can be found on menus throughout the country. This is a great plate to add to the rotation if you ever tire of grilled fish dishes.
• Sardinhas - Sardinhas, or grilled sardines, are a favorite food in the Portuguese diet. The dish is typically served with olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon on top.
• Bacalhau - Like sardinhas, bacalhau (salt cod) is a national obsession in Portugal. The Portuguese typically eat it as many as two or three times per week, and there are rumored to be more recipes for it than days in the year.

Across Portugal, you’ll find every city, town and village has its own lists of unique culinary specialties. Here are several region-specific dishes you don’t want to miss when passing through Alentejo, Aveiro or Porto:

• Porco Preto or Pata Negra - Portugal’s Alentejo region is known for its acorn-fattened black Iberian pigs. On menus, the pork is often listed by its Spanish name, pata negra, but porco preto is the correct Portuguese term. The pigs’ acorn diet gives the pork an almost nutty flavor.
• Caldeirada de Enguias - For the best eel stew in Portugal, head to Aveiro, a coast-hugging town located between Porto and Coimbra. The trip-worthy caldeirada de enguias in Aveiro is seasoned with saffron and accompanied by bell peppers.
• Francesinha - This signature dish of Porto consists of steak, ham, sausage and chorizo sandwiched between two slices of bread. It’s then covered in melted Edam cheese and drizzled with a tomato-based sauce. You can also order it with a fried egg on top.

Looking for some great Portuguese wine? Here's everything you need to know about Wine in Portugal. 
 

Or check out our Port Wine - Portugal's Famous Wine article.

Words to Know on the Menu

• Pão: Freshly baked bread
• Azeitonas: Olives
• Pratos do dia: Plates of the day
• Um acompanhamento: Side dish
• Um prato principal: Main dish
• Uma entrada: Starter
• Água fresca: Water served cold
• Água natural: Water served at room temperature
• Vinho da casa: House wine

Words to Know When Dining Out

While plenty of Portuguese locals speak at least a little bit of English, it’s always appreciated when you try your hand at a few local words and phrases. Here are a few to get you started at a local restaurant:

• The check, please.: A conta, por favor.
• What do you recommend?: O que você recomenda?
• I would like…: Eu gostaria…
• Thank you: Obrigado/a
• Bon appetit!: Bom apetite!

In Portugal, tipping is not common practice, unless you’re well within the tourist hubs or at some of the finer restaurants. If you do choose to leave a tip, however, 5 to 10 percent is enough. If a service charge has already been included in your bill, there’s no need to tip.

In Portugal, dining out does come with several not-so-intuitive quirks.

Unlike in restaurants in the States, that basket of bread or plate of olives dropped on your table at the start of a meal is not on the house. In fact, it’s safe to say you’ll wind up paying for anything sitting on your table—even if you didn’t order it. If you don’t want the snacks, simply ask the server to take them away at the beginning of your meal.

Another quirk is that local restaurants aren’t likely to make substitutions to your plate, and their menus probably won’t list what comes with each dish. You can, however, assume your dish will most likely arrive with potatoes, rice, boiled vegetables or a side salad.

Dining attire at most restaurants, from the local spots to the higher-end restaurants of Lisbon and Porto, is typically casual but conservative.

Read the full “Portugal: Travel Guide Overview”.

Established in 1979, Backroads is a pioneer in active, immersive and off-the-beaten-path travel. Now operating adventure tours in over 50 countries, our passion for discovery and our desire to experience the world in original ways continue to inspire our pursuit of new adventures. We hope this guide will be enlightening to you as you plan your next great Portugal adventure!