![\"Discovering](\"https:\/\/assets.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/best-food-in-Lisbon-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSeasoned with nothing more than rock salt, fresh grilled sardines<\/a> are a typical summer dish. However, high demand has led a lot of restaurants to include them on the menu regardless of seasonality. Off season, sardines will be frozen so beware if the restaurant advertises them as fresh. Most family-owned restaurants, the typical tascas<\/em>, will be upfront about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grilled to a light golden color, a sardine should be eaten on top of a slice of bread, moistened by the fish\u2019s dripping fat. Optional side dishes include grilled bell peppers, a tomato, lettuce and onion salad, or boiled potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re in Lisbon in June for the Santos Populares<\/em> festivities<\/a>, any improvised tasca<\/em> in the streets of the Alfama neighborhood is a great place to eat grilled sardines. The rest of the year, look for places that serve only Portuguese cuisine\u2014none of those restaurants in touristy areas with laminated menus serving Italian, Indian, and Portuguese food all in one place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insider tip:<\/strong> Do as locals do and leave the fork and knife aside and dig in with your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legend has it that a Bairro Alto tasca<\/em> owner invented a dish with shredded salted codfish, fried potatoes, thinly sliced onions, and scrambled eggs topped with a handful of parsley and roughly the same amount of black olives. The bacalhau \u00e0 Br\u00e1s<\/em> (or Braz<\/em>) was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a typical dish of special lunch menus, but there\u2019s only one place in Lisbon that will cook it upon request even if it\u2019s not listed as a daily special: Varina da Madragoa (Rua Madres 34)<\/em>. Most locals agree they serve the best bacalhau \u00e0 Br\u00e1s<\/em> in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insider tip:<\/strong> The perfect bacalhau \u00e0 Br\u00e1s<\/em> is the right mix of crisp and moist, so stay away from dishes where the egg looks overcooked and the fried potatoes too soggy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not quite a full meal, not quite a snack, petiscos<\/em><\/a> are great at every time of the day, except breakfast. There\u2019s a temptation to call them \u201cPortuguese tapas\u201d as a way to simplify the concept and explain it to foreigners. However, at Devour Lisbon we believe that\u2019s an oversimplification of what\u2019s both a type of food and a lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a nutshell, petiscos<\/em> are simple dishes, flavorful and quick to cook, meant to be shared and preferably paired with a great house red wine or a cold beer. Some are finger food and some are not, but all are a great complement to lingering conversations at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s hard to narrow down what petiscos<\/em> to try but top contenders for best food in Lisbon include peixinhos da horta<\/em> (deep-fried tempura green beans), picapau<\/em> (bite-sized chunks of beef, typically fried with lots of garlic), and past\u00e9is de bacalhau<\/em> (deep-fried salted codfish cakes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insider tip:<\/strong> Look for a place that lists petiscos<\/em> as such on their English menu instead of the translation \u201cPortuguese tapas.\u201d A Maria N\u00e3o Deixa, at Cais do Sodr\u00e9, is a good place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most famous pastry in Lisbon, you’ll find past\u00e9is de nata<\/em> in practically every caf\u00e9 in the city. The easiest, most affordable mid-morning or mid-afternoon go-to snack is an espresso and the custard-filled pastel<\/em>. Despite the name (nata<\/em> is the Portuguese word for cream), the main ingredients in this pastry are egg yolks, milk, and sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you coming to Lisbon?<\/strong> It\u2019s a sweet treat of many versions and many recipes, some of them secret, but with only one perfect way to eat it: sprinkled with powder cinnamon and sugar. The question of where to eat the best custard tart in Lisbon<\/a> divides locals as much as a soccer match between Sporting and Benfica. Some will vouch for the famous place in Bel\u00e9m<\/a>, while others will swear Manteigaria<\/a> has the best past\u00e9is<\/em> in the city. The best way to solve this feud is to taste as many as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insider tip:<\/strong> to make sure your pastel de nata<\/em> is really handmade, look for the spiral in the bottom. The pastry of a handmade pastel<\/em> is carefully thumbed down into the mold, one by one, before being filled with the custard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo credit: Sandra Henriques Gajjar<\/a>, Text overlay: Devour Lisbon Food Tours<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Grilled sardines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/devourlisbonfoodtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/best-food-in-lisbon-grilled-sardines.jpg\")
2. Bacalhau \u00e0 Br\u00e1s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/devourlisbonfoodtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Best-seafood-lisbon-bacalhau-a-bras.jpg\")
3. Petiscos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Pasteis](\"https:\/\/devourlisbonfoodtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/best-food-in-lisbon-pasteis-de-bacalhau.jpg\")
Photo credit: Christian Benseler<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n4. Past\u00e9is de Nata<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Don’t waste a single meal\u2014check out our ultimate foodie guide to
where to eat in Lisbon<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Custard](\"https:\/\/devourlisbonfoodtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/25205852926_1684eee548_z.jpg\")
Photo credit: tak.wing<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n