Lisbon restaurants to eat Portuguese food on Sunday and Monday
Working in the hospitality industry is hard and everyone deserves a day off. That’s why many of Lisbon’s restaurants are closed on Sunday and also on Monday, after having a busy weekend. This rings particularly true when it comes to tascas and family-run establishments, as these are simple eateries that are often run by a small team, with the management also in the kitchen or waiting tables, so shifts and extra employees for the sake of being open seven days a week makes no sense.
When you’re traveling in Lisbon, you should be able to eat and eat well no matter what the day of the week! That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite restaurants open on Sunday, Monday or both days, so that you have great options which are indeed representative of Portuguese cuisine.
From taverns to fine dining, these are the best Portuguese restaurants in Lisbon open on Sunday and Monday:
Best Portuguese restaurants in Lisbon open on Sunday and Monday
Bairro do Avillez
José Avillez, one of the fathers of Portuguese contemporary cuisine, is not only a renowned chef but quite a restaurateur too. In Lisbon alone, chef Avillez has more than ten restaurants, including Bairro do Avillez, which translates as Avillez’s neighborhood. More than a straightforward restaurant, this is “Avillez’s land”, a fancy food court of sorts, where under the same roof you will find different concepts mostly focusing on Portuguese food. At Taberna you’ll be able to sample lots of good Portuguese petiscos, while at Páteo the menu focuses more on fish and seafood. For a more elevated experience, head to gastro bar Mini Bar. All good options any day of the week. Of course, just don’t expect Avillez to be there, as we’ve heard rumors he lives in a different bairro.
📍Rua Nova da Trindade 18, 1200-303 Lisbon
Cantinho do Avillez
Those who may not be able to afford dining at Belcanto, José Avillez’s Michelin star restaurant, could go to Bairro do Avillez above or, perhaps even better, to Cantinho do Avillez. Here, the chef presents a menu based on Portuguese dishes with a twist, inspired by his international travels. This is a great place to, for example, try codfish fritters with tomato naughty rice. From Monday to Friday you can take advantage of their lunch menu which offers great value for money.
📍Restaurants in Chiado and Parque das Nações:
A Casa do Bacalhau
No matter what the day is, you should always be able to eat good salted cod dishes in Lisbon. After all, bacalhau is one of the most representative ingredients in Portuguese cuisine, and taking a trip to Portugal as a food lover without sampling this salt cured fish, wouldn’t simply be right. At A Casa do Bacalhau, which translates as “the home of salted cod”, the so-called “faithful friend” of Portugal is king and it’s served in almost every dish, except desserts and a couple of meat and vegetarian options. Here you’ll find typical Lisbon dishes like bacalhau à Brás, but also out of the box cod centered creations like salted cod curry, or cod with cured ham and mayonnaise.
📍Rua do Grilo 54, 1900-706 Lisbon
Cervejaria Liberdade
If you’re a seafood lover and you have a wallet to match your exquisite taste, treat yourself at Cervejaria Liberdade, a restaurant located inside Tivoli Avenida Liberdade hotel. Dining at Cervejaria Liberdade sure comes at a hefty price, but the experience is bound to be flawless, with beautiful food and perfect service to match. We suggest asking for a variety of crustaceans and shellfish, which are often very simply prepared so as not to take away from the true flavors of such magnificent ingredients, followed by something a little heavier like the fried fish filets, as to comfort your stomach. Bom apetite!
📍Av. da Liberdade 185, 1269-050 Lisbon
www.tivolihotels.com/pt/tivoli-avenida-liberdade-lisboa/restaurants/cervejaria-liberdade
Sea Me Peixaria Moderna
As the name clearly points out, Sea Me is a “modern seafood house”. This means that the menu isn’t entirely Portuguese but, instead, breathes in international influences, namely from Asia. Here you can have a delicious prego de atum, which is a sandwich which replaces the usual beef steak with a juicy cut of tuna, but also some sardine nigiri, a tribute to Japan carried out with a very Portuguese ingredient. Sea Me’s main restaurant is in the address we share with you here, but you can also find them inside the popular Time Out Market (Av. 24 de Julho 49) gourmet food hall – which is also a good place to eat in Lisbon any day of the week.
📍Rua do Loreto 21, 1200-241 Lisbon
https://peixariamoderna.com/en
Pharmacia Felicidade
What if there was a pharmacy that could sell us happiness? This is the premise at Pharmacia Felicidade, a restaurant by chef Susana Felicidade, one of Portugal’s most acclaimed contemporary chefs. Instead of cough syrup, at Pharmacia Felicidade you’ll find soothing cocktails, but also delicious dishes, with special focus on appetizers and small plates ideal for sharing. When the weather is sunny, ask for a seat outdoors and enjoy the lovely food with views of the Tagus river to match.
📍Rua de Santa Catarina 2 e 4, 1249-069 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/chef_felicidade
Taberna Sal Grosso
If you’re a fan of eating tapas or petiscos style, that is, enjoying little plates of a variety of typical foods, and trying as much as you possibly can, you should most definitely come to Taberna Sal Grosso! As the tavern’s team explains, they focus on traditional Portuguese recipes, and keep things “rustic but sophisticated”. Sal Grosso stands for coarse salt, a basic ingredient in the Portuguese kitchen, along with white wine, bay leaf and garlic, which along with olive oil are at the base of many of the flavors we identify with our national dishes. Don’t expect to try obvious petiscos when you visit Taberna Sal Grosso. Instead, keep an open mind and an open mouth to try delicacies such as quail escabeche, duck liver or watermelon and regional Alentejano cheese salad – all surprising flavors that work so, so well.
📍Calçada do Forte 22, 1100-256 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/tabernasalgrosso
A Valenciana
Just like you should be able to eat bacalhau any day of the week, the same applies to frango de churrasco, internationally known as peri-peri chicken. This is perhaps the dish more international travelers associate with Portuguese food, at least before they start to read further about this subject. This is simple food at its best: succulent chicken, charcoal induced smoky flavors, and the heat of spicy piri-piri sauce, which combine in your mouth for a true explosion of flavor. Sunday or not, A Valenciana is one of the best places in Lisbon to eat grilled chicken – don’t miss it.
📍Rua Marquês de Fronteira 157, 1070-294 Lisbon
Pomar de Alvalade
We have previously highlighted Pomar de Alvalade on our travel guide for food lovers for the neighborhood of Alvalde. Indeed this is one of the best places to eat in the area but if you happen to visit on a Sunday, you’ll get to enjoy a very particular local atmosphere. This is the day when many families from the neighborhood go out to eat, sometimes gathering several generations around the table. As such, chances are you’ll get to experience a different atmosphere than if you visit during the week. No matter when you go to Pomar de Alvalade, this is an ideal spot to try hearty dishes like cozido à Portuguesa and, during summer, indulge in a cold beer and a serving of braised snails as a snack any time of the day.
📍Rua Marquesa de Alorna 21C, 1700-300 Lisbon
https://pomardealvalade.eatbu.com
Galeto
Galeto is often mentioned when talking about Lisbon restaurants which are open until late. Not only is Galeto open from 7.30AM until 3.30AM, it does so every single day of the week. As it’s situated along one of the main arteries of Lisbon, Avenida da República, where a lot of offices concentrate, you’ll find Galeto has customers any time of the day or night. Whether you’d like to have a more complete morning meal than most typical Portuguese breakfasts you come across in pastelarias or, why not, care to have a steak or a more elaborate codfish dish at 3AM, Galeto delivers.
📍Av. da República 14, 1050-191 Lisbon
https://lojascomhistoria.pt/shops/galeto
Brilhante
Brilhante is a newcomer to Lisbon’s dining scene, but it exudes out old school Lisbon vibes all the way! This is a restaurant decorated with elements that take us back to Lisbon’s classic cafés, which used to work as meeting points for intellectuals and the bourgeois. If you visit Brilhante and you’re into meat, we’d invite you to order the bife à Brilhante, which is a steak inspired in the old (and almost extinct) recipe of bife à Marrare, very typical from Lisbon, where the meat’s flavor is enhanced by the powers of garlic and bay leaf. For an even more lavish treat, choose the arroz de lavagante, a delectable lobster rice that ought to be enjoyed mindfully.
📍Rua Moeda 1H, 1200-275 Lisbon
Dote – Cervejaria Moderna
Dote is a chain of “modern beer houses” with presence all over the city, seven days a week. It’s a good bet to enjoy a no-frills meal that always hits the spot, with a fair price to match. Besides the usual cervejaria items one has come to expect, such as prego sandwiches with meat or fish, Dote has gained quite a reputation for their Francesinha. This is a typical sandwich from Porto, which isn’t that easy to come by in Lisbon. It consists of two slices of bread stuffed with an outrageous variety of fresh and cured meats, covered with a special beer and tomato sauce, melted cheese and a fried egg. Fries are almost mandatory with your Francesinha and, even though they’ll get soggy drenched in all that sauce, they’ll taste so, so good!
📍Several restaurants around Lisbon:
Gambrinus
A true classic of Lisbon’s dining scene, Gambrinus offers a very different experience than most restaurants do along the uber popular street of Portas de Santo Antão. Gambrinus first opened in 1936 as a charcuterie. It afterwards became a beer house and, only after, a proper restaurant. The fine Gambrinus we know today has existed since 1964, and we can’t say that it has changed all that much ever since. It’s an iconic Lisbon spot to try a meat croquete with mustard as an appetizer, before you indulge into more complex dishes which embrace influences of French cuisine, specifically of classic French cuisine from some decades back. Coming to Gambrinus is a food experience, but it’s more than this. This restaurant is like a time capsule bound to take you to an elegant Lisbon of the previous century.
📍Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 23, 1150-264 Lisbon
Damas
On the other end of the spectrum from Gambrinus, we find Damas, a space which is part restaurant, part cultural venue. Ask around young folks of Lisbon, and they’ll tell you Damas is a place to catch bands perform live or dance the night away with a live DJ set. But the truth is that the restaurant side of Damas shouldn’t be neglected as it offers very good options of Portuguese contemporary food, which keep rotating every day according to what’s available on the market. A perfect place for a drink, a bite, and right after to burn all the calories you ingested hitting the dance floor.
📍Rua da Voz do Operário 60, 1170-039 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/damas.lisboa
Where to eat out in Lisbon on a Sunday
Pap’Açôrda
One of our favorite restaurants in Lisbon, Pap’Açôrda’s kitchen is run by chef Manuela Brandão, one of the greatest Portuguese female chefs you should definitely know! Chef Manuela’s work has been incredibly consistent as she’s been cooking for Pap’Açôrda’s loyal customers and newcomers who’ve heard about this great Lisbon restaurant that’s been running for over 35 years. This is an awesome place to try typical Portuguese food, yet a little more elevated than in your usual tasca. If you’re a fan of chocolate, Pap’Açôrda’s chocolate mousse is often highlighted as one of the best in town.
📍On the 1st floor of Time Out Market, Av. 24 de Julho 49, 1200-479 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/restaurantepapacorda
Mestrias Tasca Nova
We’ve highlighted Mestrias as one of the best restaurants in the neighborhood of Ajuda, and it’s also a great option for a Sunday away from Lisbon’s touristic center. Do something a little different and hop on the tram to Ajuda, a very local neighborhood where on Sundays you’ll see local families roam around and go for lunch at places such as Mestrias Tasca Nova. Even though this is a self proclaimed tasca, their food is more elegant and not as straightforward as in most old school taverns around Lisbon. Good food, good value and a lovely terrace for you to enjoy your food while people-watching, at least when the weather is nice and sunny enough for that.
📍Largo da Paz 22B, 1300-450 Lisbon
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063595002953
Boi-Cavalo
Hands down, this is one of Lisbon’s best Portuguese contemporary restaurants. Chef Hugo Brito’s mission is to highlight not only Portuguese food, but traditional food from Lisbon, and blend it with influences from the wider world, namely from the international communities which have found a new home in our city. This results in exceptionally creative dishes which keep changing according to the seasonality of ingredients. Think creations like Iberian pork chop with labneh dust and caviar, Azorean Veal and Castelfranco radicchio stuffed with Joselito ragout, or bread-sealed oysters, Portuguese pico de gallo and Fennel pollen. If you’re an adventurous eater, this is one of the “compulsory” restaurants you should most definitely visit while in Lisbon.
📍Rua do Vigário 70B, 1100-616 Lisbon
Adega das Gravatas
Adega das Gravatas is one of the best restaurants in Benfica, a neighborhood known to retain a very local flare which is often missing in Lisbon’s city center nowadays because of heavy tourism. Its name translates as “the cellar of ties” and this is something that certainly doesn’t go unnoticed, as the ceiling of the restaurant is full of hanging ties which give it a very unique vibe. This is a good spot to try many of the dishes from the traditional Portuguese food repertoire, as well as naco na pedra, which consists of a generous piece of high-quality beef, placed on your table on a hot stone for you to cook as per your liking.
📍Tv. Pregoeiro 15, 1600-588 Lisbon
Cervejaria Ramiro
International travelers rejoice as Ramiro, the most popular of all seafood restaurants in Lisbon, is also open on Sunday! Fame aside, Cervejaria Ramiro is indeed one of the greatest places to indulge in a seafood feast while in Lisbon, if possible, not thinking too much about the bill which will come at the end. This is no place for a quick lunch. Instead, take your time to savor the many delicate species of sea creatures which will land on your table, from fairly straightforward clams and prawns, to stellar scarlet shrimp and huge crabs. Do like the locals do, and end your meal with a medium-rare steak sandwich: order a Bitoque.
📍Av. Alm. Reis 1 H, 1150-007 Lisbon
O Velho Eurico
O Velho Eurico keeps reinventing itself, and it has never been as relevant to Lisbon’s dining scene as it is today. It used to be a traditional tasca, but it is now run by a group of young chefs who’ve embraced the spirit of Portuguese taverns but added their own creative flair. The menu keeps changing and the dishes are announced on a blackboard by the entrance. Expect extremely well-cooked traditional Portuguese meat and fish dishes, and a bacalhau à Brás which is, arguably, one of the best in town.
📍Largo São Cristóvão nº3, 1100-179 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/ovelhoeurico
Casa do Alentejo & Taberna da Casa do Alentejo
Food aside, Casa do Alentejo is worth visiting for the sake of the Moorish inspired architecture which you’d never guess existed before entering the building. At Casa do Alentejo you’ll find two very different options for a meal. Casa do Alentejo, on the upper floor, is a medium-fancy restaurant with some of the Alentejo’s most acclaimed regional dishes. On the ground floor, the more humble Taberna da Casa do Alentejo is ideal for petiscos and sharing a few drinks with friends. Up or down, the essence of the Alentejo can surely be felt and tasted around here.
📍Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 58, 1150-268 Lisbon
Lisbon restaurants open on Monday
Cervejaria Boa Esperança
Another great option in Benfica, Cervejaria Boa Esperança is a simple establishment when it comes to looks, but its food is honest and very flavorful. They specialize in Portuguese petiscos, offering a wide range from seafood platters to prego meat sandwiches. As it’s not located in an obvious place, this isn’t the kind of restaurant you’ll simply stumble upon while walking around. But considering it tends to be full of locals, you know that this is the sign that good things are cooking around here.
📍Av. Gomes Pereira 3, 1500-328 Lisbon
www.facebook.com/boaesperanca.cervejaria
Café de São Bento
Decorated in a classic and inviting style, Café de São Bento serves one of Lisbon’s most famous steaks. It has been open since 1982, having gathered quite a reputation, particularly thanks to the quality of its meat, which you can savor leisurely until 2AM. You can also find Café de São Bento inside Time Our Market, where you could also try bife à Portuguesa, a thin pan fried steak served with cured ham and a fried egg Portuguese style, or the even more iconic bife à Café de São Bento, their original recipe since 1982, which is also inspired by bife à Marrare, the most typical way of cooking steak in Lisbon during the 18th century, just like Brilhante’s steak above.
📍Rua de São Bento 212, 1200-821 Lisbon
Taberna Faz Frio
Taberna Faz Frio, in the hip Lisbon neighborhood of Príncipe Real, has been serving traditional Portuguese food since 1872. While most of Lisbon’s old and iconic food establishments keep shutting down in the city center, to give way to new eateries and other real estate developments, it’s quite a win that Taberna Faz Frio still manages to keep its doors open and consistently serve good local food. Even though the space was renovated a few years back, the essence of Taberna Faz Frio stays true to its origins, both looks and cuisine wise.
📍Rua Dom Pedro V 96, 1250-094 Lisbon
Jorge d’Amália
Bitoque is, quite probably, Portugal’s favorite way of eating steak. It consists of a thin piece of meat which is seasoned with garlic and bay leaf, and pan fried in olive oil. It’s served with a fried egg on top (this is what takes a simple bife and turns it into a bitoque), and sides such as fries and, in some cases, rice and salad. Jorge d’Amália in the neighborhood of Ajuda serves legendary bitoques, which are a great way to start the week in lisbon.
📍Calçada da Memória 20, 1300-396 Lisbon
www.instagram.com/jorgedamalia
Casa da Índia
Last but not least, Casa da Índia is always a safe beat for a good value for money meal in downtown Lisbon. Open until late, Casa da Índia serves traditional Portuguese fare, and also grilled chicken, which you can see they’re cooking over charcoal by the window, something bound to attract hungry travelers passing by. The service is old-school Lisbon, practical and unrefined, but the food is good (not stellar) and this is the kind of place many of us would go to for a meal during the week, so it’s certainly representative of how locals eat like in Portugal.
📍Rua do Loreto 49 51, 1200-471 Lisbon
www.facebook.com/Casadaindiarestaurante
As always, we want to make sure you are well-fed with delicious Portuguese food, no matter what the day of the week. We wish you happy travels in Lisbon and we look forward to seeing your food photos on Instagram – please tag us: @tasteoflisboa #tasteoflisboa
Feed your curiosity on Portuguese food culture:
Best things to do in Lisbon when it rains
Best restaurants to eat contemporary Portuguese food in Lisbon
Itinerary for the perfect weekend in Lisbon
Real people, real food. Come with us to where the locals go.
Signup for our natively curated food & cultural experiences.
Follow us for more at Instagram, Twitter e Youtube