Simmering, searing, and sauteing in the shadow of Spain, its more famed Iberian neighbor for decades, the food in Portugal is finally savoring its moment in the spotlight.
From the tiniest tasca, typically small, family-run eateries, to the ever-growing clutch of Michelin-celebrated restaurants, the country’s dining scene delights. Just-caught marisco, ancestral acorn-fed Iberian pork recipes, and the internationally loved creamy, crispy, custardy egg tarts are only a few of the country’s culinary highlights.
Pairing perfectly with the nation’s award-winning wines, sampling Portugal’s scrumptious menu is a staple of any visit. Whether you prefer a table piled with petiscos, small sharing plates similar to Spanish tapas, or a volcano-steamed filling feast, these are the most unmissable Portuguese foods.
Cozido das Furnas
Cozido das Furnas
All of Portugal’s regions have a variation of cozido, a one-pot stew that utilizes every cut of meat. But there’s only one location where you can have it steamed in a volcanic-powered underground oven: the town of Furnas, on the Azorean island of São Miguel.
Elevating one of the most austere Portuguese foods to a unique, visit-worthy experience, the town is in a valley defined by bubbling geysers and thermal springs.
Every morning, the local restaurateurs mound the island’s celebrated beef, offcuts, cabbage, and potatoes into an earthenware pot. Once sealed, it’s lowered underground and steamed by the geothermal heat for around six hours. The result is a juicy, filling Azorean dish made all the more remarkable as you dine watching wisps of steam rising from the underworld.
Cataplana de Marisco
Cataplana de marisco
With the Atlantic Ocean on two sides and over a dozen islands across its archipelagos, it’s unsurprising that the food in Portugal is seafood-heavy. Freshly grilled fish, such as robalo, or bass, and dourada, or bream, feature on nearly every menu.
Yet, for a more unique, local flavor, order a cataplana de marisco. Originating from the Algarve, Portugal’s southernmost region, the dish is named after the clam-like cooking pot that was likely introduced during the Moorish rule.
The seafood—usually shrimps, clams, monkfish, or mussels—is sealed inside the air-tight pot with a tomato, pepper, and onion base and left to slow steam. The result is a juicy, flavorsome stew served to share.
Francesinha
Francesinha
If you only try one dish in Porto, make it the francesinha, a meat-heavy, seriously stacked sandwich. Its name, “Little Frenchie,” refers to its Croque Monsieur inspiration, not its size.
Created by a Portuguese emigrant who returned from France eager to recreate a similar, affordable sandwich, the plated dish places cured ham, cheese and sausage inside two thick bread slices, topped with a sunny-side-up egg and a rich beer gravy.
Heavy? Yes. Delicious? Very much. Head to one of Porto’s typical cervejarias, beer houses that also sell food, and you’ll often find a few variations chalked on menu boards. For the original, make a reservation at A Regaleira, the downtown restaurant where the recipe was concocted.
Bacalhau
Bacalhau
Salted codfish, or bacalhau, is one of the most ubiquitous foods in Portugal, so you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s in abundant supply. However, cod isn’t caught locally—it was first imported from Canada during 15th-century expeditions.
Nowadays, most cod served in Portugal hails from the Nordic nations. However, the ancestral salt preservation method, used to ensure it survived the long Atlantic crossings home, remains the Portuguese preferred way, though it’s soaked before cooking.
Some of the most famous interpretations are à Lagareiro, a straightforward preparation doused in olive oil, and Bacalhau à Brás, Lisbon’s long-standing favorite of shredded cod mixed with thinly sliced potatoes and an egg. Bolinhos de Bacalhau, small, snackable creamy cod balls, are found in most cafes.
Lapas Grelhadas
Lapas grelhadas
Clinging to the wave-ravaged rocks of Portugal’s two autonomous archipelagos—Madeira and Azores—are countless lapas, or limpets. Harvested by hand, these prized mollusks are a regional specialty.
The classic preparation is grelhada, or grilled, with the lapas laid out in a griddle pan and coated in a generous blend of butter, garlic, and lemon.
Served sizzling in the pan, there’s no better treat on a warm, sunny day while marveling at the endless Atlantic Ocean than these clam-like mollusks—especially when paired with one of the Azores’ volcanic Pico wines.
Açorda
Açorda
Soups are nearly as much of a staple in Portugal as couvert, the bread, olives, and spreads served at the start of each meal. Yet, far from being your typical watery tomato or vegetable choice, Portuguese soups can sometimes be a complete meal.
Açorda, an almost stew-like soup hailing from the Alentejo’s hinterlands, is a prime example. A traditional dish that makes the most of the nation’s bread basket, Açorda’s base is shredded, stale bread slowly soaked in olive oil, garlic, and cilantro-infused boiling water.
Hearty, filling and having provided farmers with substance for centuries, the dish has recently seen a revival in kitchens across the capital, keen to add a more contemporary twist. Make a reservation at Pap’Açôrda in Lisbon’s Time Out Market for an elevated take with plump king prawns.
Sardinhas Assadas
Sardinhas assadas
From Porto’s fishing dock to Lisbon’s labyrinth-like Alfama, the city’s oldest district, the scent of chargrilled sardines is unmissable between May and September.
Such a beloved staple, sardinhas assadas are particularly prevalent in both cities during June’s Santos Populares, or Popular Saint’s Street Festivals, when they become the de facto substance throughout the celebrations.
Follow your nose towards any family-run restaurant grilling the fish al fresco, and you’ll soon see why the seasonal, plump sardines are so cherished. With just a sprinkling of salt and a side of boiled potatoes, the unfussy preparation lets the sardine’s briny flavor take the spotlight.
Ameijoas à Bulhão Pato
Ameijoas à bulhão pato
One of the few foods in Portugal named after a person, this ameijoa, or clam dish garnered its moniker from the 19th-century poet Raimundo António de Bulhão Pato.
Reportedly, the wordsmith would always request his local clams—harvested from Lisbon’s Tagus River—bathing in olive oil, garlic, cilantro, and lemon juice, and the simple preparation struck a chord, remaining a nationwide staple more than a century after his death.
There’s arguably no better place to enjoy Pato’s preferred dish than his home city, especially when paired with a lightly sparkling Vinho Verde wine—a splash of which is sometimes added to the dish when cooking.
Polvo à Lagareiro
Polvo à lagareiro
Octopus, or polvo in Portuguese, is believed to have been a prized catch since Phoenician times. In the southern lagoons, rich in molluscs as a food source, octopuses are sometimes still caught in traditional clay pots as they have been for centuries.
Nowadays, the delicacy is prepared in myriad ways countrywide. Yet, as with most food in Portugal, the most uncomplicated method is often best as Polvo à Lagareiro, boiled until tender and then baked in olive oil, proves.
Arroz de Pato
Arroz de pato
Rice, or arroz in Portuguese, regularly appears in time-honored recipes and long-grain Carolino rice is cultivated nationwide.
It’s typically turned into arroz de marisco along the coast, with seafood. Yet, for a change from fishy flavors, opt for de pato, a duck rice dish hailing from the northern city of Braga but found nationwide.
Cooked all together, the rice soaks up the fatty flavors of the shredded duck, creating an indulgent and oily meal. Unlike a risotto – and indeed, the seafood version often served more like a stew – a quality arroz de pato should be relatively dry and is usually topped with sliced chouriço.
Madeira’s Exotic Fruits
Mercado dos Lavradores, Funchal
Portugal’s islands have distinct climates compared to the mainland, allowing exotic produce, largely introduced during the empire-expanding Age of Discovery, to thrive.
On the Azores, you’ll find sweet pineapples and, most unusually in Europe, a tea and coffee plantation. Yet Madeira’s melange of colorful and intriguing fruits is most interesting—especially as pairing fruit with fish is commonplace.
To easily witness and taste the whole array, head to Mercado dos Lavradores in Funchal, where stalls are piled high with peculiarities.
Curubas
Curubas, which look like a banana but have a passion fruit-like interior, and monstera deliciosa, a long, green fruit from the Swiss cheese plant that in itself tastes like an entire fruit salad, are two of the most notable. The islanders even regularly combine flavors—scabbardfish with banana is one of the island’s signature dishes.
Read: Best Things to Do in Madeira
Porco Preto
Porco preto
The Iberian hinterlands have long produced some of the world’s best pork. Many of the finest cured hams—Spanish jamón and Portuguese presunto—come from these rural corners.
Yet Portugal’s grassy hills and oak-coated landscapes are just as prized for nutty porco preto, quality Iberian black pork from acorn-fed, free-roaming pigs.
Try it grilled as plumas, thin, low-fat strips, or seek out Carne de Porco à Alentejana, a countrywide beloved dish that combines diced pork and small clams in olive oil.
Pastéis de Nata
Pastéis de Nata
If one Portuguese food has won over the world, it’s the pastel de nata. These petite tarts that Portugal is famous for, which encase a rich egg custard filling inside flaky, crispy pastry, are criminally decadent, especially if enjoyed warm with a little cinnamon sprinkling.
You’ll find them in every café. But make a beeline to Lisbon’s Belem district for a pastry rite of passage. In this leafy, river-hugging suburb, the 18th-century monks of the now UNESCO-listed Jerónimos Monastery first conceived the recipe.
Nearby, institutional Pastéis de Belém continues to bake thousands of sweet treats daily, ensuring a never-ending, fresh-from-the-oven supply.
Chicken Piri-Piri
Chicken piri-piri
When it comes to unfussy comfort food in Portugal, chicken is usually the answer. At simple churrasqueiras, or grill restaurants, rows of spatchcocked chickens are found sizzling above charcoal.
But the real magic happens when the frango, or chicken, is coated in a fiery piri-piri sauce. Blending bird’s eye chilis with oil and garlic, Portugal’s signature hot sauce has its roots in the country’s former colonies, mainly Mozambique. Just pour it sparingly—some have quite the kick.
Bifana
Bifana
Portugal takes its bread seriously. Most municipalities have a traditional style of bread, ranging from thick Broa de Milho, a cornbread, to the more common, airy Pão Alentejano. As such, Portuguese sandwiches are an upgrade on typical triangular-shaped options.
Order a bifana, a sandwich of thin pork slices simmered in garlic and wine, for a quick and easy lunch. Usually, it comes in a papo seco, a fluffy crusty roll. But on the islands, it should be served in one of the circular, cake-shaped, muffin-like breads—Madeira’s bolo de caco or the Azores’ bolo lêvedo.
Queijo São Jorge and Queijo de Azeitão
Queijo São Jorge
One of the most common sharing board foods in Portugal is queijo, or cheese, often also served as an appetizer. From the creamy mountain cheeses of Seia to the Trás-os-Montes’ goat specialties, the Portuguese take their cheese seriously.
Queijo São Jorge and Queijo de Azeitão are two of the most acclaimed. The first is a semi-hard cow’s cheese named after its island of origin, São Jorge, in the Azores, though it’s sold nationwide.
Meanwhile, Queijo de Azeitão is produced less than an hour south of Lisbon. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to have a small wheel of the semi-soft sheep’s cheese presented as part of the couvert when dining in the capital.
Caldo Verde
Caldo verde
On the occasional days when the sun isn’t shining in Portugal, the perfect way to warm up is with a bowl of caldo verde.
One of the most familiar foods in Portugal, this humble soup uses thinly sliced Galician cabbage as its base. Smoked sausages, onion, garlic, and potatoes are added for flavor and to thicken the broth. It’s filling, making it flawless for a lighter lunch between sightseeing.
Conservas
Conservas
Canned goods, called conservas in Portugal, have long been an integral part of the country’s diet—a tinned trend currently enjoying a renaissance far beyond its borders.
Some typical Portuguese foods packaged into tins are sardines, mussels, and anchovies. You’ll find them on wine bar menus as a snack, sometimes as restaurant appetizers, and retailing in shops as a colorful souvenir.
One of the most long-standing brands is Pinhais, which has been preserving seafood in Matosinhos, near Porto, since 1920. If you’d like to lift the lid on the tinning experience, visit the factory on a guided tour and you’ll come away with your own-labeled conserva.
Tripas à Moda do Porto
Tripas à Moda do Porto
Food in Portugal is so culturally ingrained it’s not uncommon to name a city’s residents after a dish. Lisboetas can be called alfacinhas, or little lettuces, while Porto’s residents are dubbed tripeiros, or tripe eaters.
The term can be traced to the 15th century when the impoverished dish of Tripas à Moda do Porto became commonplace, reportedly all that was left once the locals had gifted all their best meat to sailing explorers.
Nowadays, as tripe has fallen out of fashion, the rustic recipe of veal, white beans, vegetables, and sometimes smoked sausage is harder to find. However, if you’re intrigued, Porto’s O Buraco usually has it chalked on the menu.
Peixinhos da Horta
Peixinhos da Horta
For a quick, vegetarian, wine-accompanying snack, you can’t go wrong with a petisco portion of Peixinhos da Horta, translating to “little fish from the garden”—in this instance, green beans.
The beans are dusted and fried in a light flour coating to produce a satisfying snack. Sounds similar to Japanese tempura? That’s because the Portuguese introduced the snack to Japan in the 16th century, leaving their legacy in the form of one of the nation’s most popular dishes.
Arroz Doce
Arroz doce
Portugal’s sweets are indulgent. Whipped chocolate mousse, eggy flans, and layered honey cakes are popular, but arroz doce, or sweet rice, still retains top billing on most dessert menus.
While it’s a typical dessert in many countries, Portugal’s take on arroz doce tends to be more flavourful thanks to the generous amount of cinnamon added to the rice, sugar, and milk base.
Read: Best Places to Visit in Portugal
Lisbon
Is your mouth watering at the thought of these delicious regional dishes and seafood specialties? Peruse Celebrity’s cruises to Portugal to plan your next foodie adventure.
