Forget the tourist-menu boards near the castle. Real Lisbon eating happens in the tascas — tiny family tabernas where the day's catch is chalked on a board and the house wine arrives without asking.
Start in Alfama with a plate of grilled sardines and broa bread, then climb to a tasca in Graca for bacalhau a bras, salt cod tangled with eggs and matchstick potatoes.
Finish in a Bairro Alto cervejaria over a bowl of garlicky clams and a cold imperial beer, the city tumbling downhill outside the door.
Lunch is the locals' big meal, so go midday for the prato do dia, and never leave a tasca without an espresso and a pastel de nata.
Good to know
- Go at midday for the locals' prato do dia, the day's best value.
- Order the house wine and whatever is chalked on the board.
- Never leave a tasca without an espresso and a pastel de nata.
