My guide to Lisbon 🌞
From cool local brands to restaurants and bookshops, these are my favorite spots in town. For touristy things to do, look elsewhere!
Gather ‘round, current and future Lisbon locals and visitors! As someone who has lived in the city for almost 10 years, I have amassed a couple of favorite locations over the years. For your convenience, I’ll keep the yapping to a minimum and focus on providing a straightforward list you can come back to whenever you like. I will do my best to keep it updated as time goes by.
🥘 Restaurants
Adega da Tia Matilde for traditional Portuguese food. I’m not the best person to recommend traditional Portuguese food spots in the city, because I believe Lisbon is the worst place in Portugal to eat traditional food; everywhere else tends to be better and cheaper. If you leave the city and find yourself in Mafra, I recommend Adega do Convento.
Koppu Ramen for delicious ramen and the best gyosas in town.
Leonetta is one of my favorite italian restaurants in Lisbon, though I’m not the biggest fan of their recent menu changes. I still highly recommend it, though.
Dallas makes the best burgers in town.
Sumaya for delicious Lebanese food and a beautiful outdoor area.
For bagels, Rhodo and Raffi’s are both winners; for pastrami sandwiches, Let’s Pastrami.
Boa Bao is another Asian food restaurant I love. Everything they make is delicious, you can’t go wrong!
Ha Noi Xua is a safe bet for delicious Vietnamese food.
For sushi, I love Nómada.
All the locals rave about Kefi for Greek food (I haven’t been yet).
For food you can share, Pomme Eatery and Zazah.
🍰 Cafes, pastry shops & brunch spots
The best pastéis de nata can be found at Manteigaria (cinnamon on top is a must!).
Shakar Coffee is my favorite brunch spot; their chicken waffles and breakfast tacos are unreal.
Speaking of waffles, Heim does waffles really well too.
I love Fauna & Flora’s matcha pancakes and Dear Breakfast’s eggs benedict.
No place in the world makes better donuts than Scoop ‘n Dough. Try their original. And they’re vegan!
Let’s get this bread (and by bread I mean Gleba’s bread).
I’ve been wanting to visit doBeco and Marquise (their pastries look delicious).
More beautiful cafes for the coffee lovers: Neighbourhood, Copenhagen Coffee Lab, Paleio.
Need some boba tea in your system? I love Oxygen.
The best gelato can be found at Nannarella (try the pistachio!).
🍸 Bars
Pharmacia Felicidade, which is also a restaurant, is one of my favorite spots for a late afternoon cocktail (or mocktail) in the city. They have a lovely outdoor area where you can chill, have a drink and read your book for a couple hours.
Cinco Lounge is another cool spot to visit on a night out if you’re into signature cocktails.
Machimbombo is the pink bar that hosted my first ever book swap party. Besides serving some delicious cocktails, it’s a cool spot to snap some photos.
Pavilhão Chinês is one of the most beautiful places in town. The door is usually closed, and you can easily miss it if you’re not looking for it. Ring the bell!
Red Frog, Foxtrot and Pensão Amor (an old brothel) are three emblematic bars in town.
Four fairly recent additions: O Bar Mais Triste da Cidade, Bacchanal, Papoila and Lulu.
For drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) with a view, try Catch Me.
And speaking of rooftops and views, you can also add Ruby Rosa and Mama Shelter to your list.
Comadre is very, very instagrammable.
📚 Bookshops
If you have a membership card, I highly recommend bringing it with you and checking out the ever-growing list of partners in town.
Besides being an English bookshop with a lovely book selection, Fable is also a wellness café that serves delicious food and drinks all day. It’s a great spot to chill for a while and enjoy your book. If you happen to visit Lisbon at the end of any month, you might want to join my monthly book club meetup there!
Good Company Bookstore just opened a few weeks ago and it is well worth a visit for the incredible book selection (mostly in English) and their beautiful café.
Greta Livraria is an independent bookstore focused on feminist texts and works by women, with a busy calendar full of book presentations, discussions and events.
80-year old Livraria Buchholz is beautiful and packed full of books. Another must-visit!
If you’re into illustrated books, you’ll find a plethora of titles for readers of all ages at Baobá Livraria and Tinta nos Nervos.
To find hidden gems and out of print editions, try Tantos Livros, Livreiros and Stuff Out.
Salted Books is an English bookstore with an incredible selection of books across all genres, but especially literary fiction.
Then there’s Bertrand in Chiado, which just happens to be the oldest bookstore in the world. No biggie!
Livraria Ler Devagar is one of the most beautiful bookstores in town. Its name was also famously mispronounced by Addison Rae in He’s All That.
For magazines, I highly recommend Under the Cover.
💎 Second-hand shops
Arquívo has two spots in town now (with a third on the way!), and is heaven for anyone looking for dreamy Guess handbags and the occasional designer gem. Pop Closet is another great spot for high-end second-hand clothing.
Feira da Ladra and Humana are for those excited to thrift, thrift.
A Outra Face da Lua is a pretty spot and one of the most iconic second-hand stores in town, though it’s pretty overpriced.
Also worth a visit are Amor Fati, Boudoir Boutique (where I got that Brat t-shirt!), Retro City and Ás de Espadas.
Looking for a by-kilo shop? Madame Surtô and Flamingos are your spots.
I haven’t been yet, but I’ve heard good things about Dona Ajuda.
If you prefer markets, try Anjos 70.
🛍 Cool stores
Ever since I started buying tea at Companhia Portugueza do Chá, I can’t drink tea from anywhere else. I highly recommend their Sencha Sakura, and they have a delicious Christmas special if you love cinnamon teas (ask the staff, it’s not on display during spring/summer but they usually have it in stock).
Kintu Studio is a beautiful concept store championing Portugal-based brands and craftsmanship, and they sell a little bit of everything, from clothing to jewellery and decor. The curation is always 10/10. If you meet owner Sylwia, tell her litulla sent you 🤓
Parlamento is a clothing store selling the coolest brands, both national and international. A must-visit if you’re on the lookout for cool independent designers. They have some skincare and jewellery too.
Cerâmicas na Linha is where I buy 90% of the ceramics for my home. They sell beautiful, colorful pieces made here in Portugal.
Portuguese brands I 💗
Do yourself a favor and buy some basic tees at Isto.
If funky graphic tees are more your thing, you owe Mustique a visit.
Beatriz Jardinha is one of my favorite Portuguese jewellery brands out there; her creations are beautiful, whimsical and dainty. The brand is stocked at another cool concept store, House of Curated.
Constança Entrudo and Béhen are two local independent clothing brands I LOVE.
If you’re into ceramics, Bordallo Pinheiro is the perfect brand for a souvenir.
🧴 Beauty
Need to freshen up your manicure? For nail art, Heirs of Venus is the place. Friends also love Nailcore studio.
With my hair (and blonde coloring especially), I trust Moscow Beauty Bar.
Looking for niche perfume and skincare brands? Add a visit to Skinlife to your checklist.
If I was visiting, I’d fill my suitcase with Benamôr, my favorite Portuguese skincare brand. They have a delicious handcream that smells like pastel de nata and a beautifull store in Príncipe Real. You can’t go wrong with any of their products; I buy them for family members almost every Christmas.
We also have lots of soap brands here - remember to stop by Claus Porto and Castelbel.
If you’re looking for the perfect souvenir, Next Memory allows you to customize your solid perfume, from choosing the fragrance to every detail in the packaging.
🌳 Green areas
The Gulbenkian garden is perfect for a stroll or for hanging out with your book.
Parque Eduardo VII is one of the most emblematic in town, though not necessarily my favorite as it’s too noisy and central. But it has some lovely corners and a beautiful greenhouse.
Jardim da Estrela, Jardim do Príncipe Real and Praça das Flores are busier urban gardens with cafés.
For breathtaking views, Jardim do Torel. Tapada das Necessidades is lovely too (but beware of the assassin geese).
Botanical gardens: Lisbon Botanical Garden, Tropical Botanical Garden, Ajuda Botanical Garden.
🎨 Some of my favorite museums
There are many more, though, so do your research; here’s a list and here’s another list.
Lisbon is one of my favourite cities! And I love that you mentioned ISTO. They recently opened a location here in Berlin.
Some of my other favourite food spots in Lisbon are:
- Prado
- Faz Frio
Love this! I would add places like Maria Food Hub (delicious food, great vibes), O Pif (wine bar right next Maria), Ecolonco (cafe/restaurant with bulk grocery and terrace), the new Canto - Anti-brunch (brunch place with a twist and even has a dish for dogs!) and Basilio (it is my favourite place from the Nicolau family)