From sundowners to fine dining: 8 culinary highlights in Lisbon

1. Alma

Best for: fine dining

Set in the backlit, bottle-lined vaults of an 18th-century former book warehouse in Chiado, two-Michelin-star Alma is an ingenious ode to Portugal from Lisbon fine-dining titan Henrique Sá Pessoa. The chef’s tasting menus are ingeniously composed and artistically presented, with signature dishes including suckling pig confit with turnip-top puree, and Costa a Costa, a deep-dive into the sea with scarlet shrimp, pumpkin, harissa and black garlic.

2. Rossio Gastrobar

Best for: sundowners

On the seventh floor of the Altis Avenida hotel, this glass-walled, art deco restaurant captivates with views of the castle-topped skyline. If the sun’s out, snag a table on the terrace for a feast of exquisite small plates, courtesy of chef João Correia. Top billing goes to the likes of plump, sweet Algarve scarlet shrimp and tender lamb from the mountains of northern Portugal. The cocktails are sensational, too, with Grape among the standouts (gin, vermouth and fresh grape juice).

3. Gunpowder

Best for: fusion flare

Arriving on Lisbon’s food scene with a bang in spring, this vintage-cool restaurant delivers explosive flavours. Indian-inspired dishes spin together the freshest Portuguese produce with recipes and spices that whisk you to the coast of Goa and the backstreets of Mumbai. The big deal here is the seafood, which shines in dishes like silky Algarve oysters with a zingy hit of kachumber salad and razor clams seasoned with ghee.

4. BAHR

Best for: knockout views

Expect stunning views at Bairro Alto Hotel’s rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar. Subtly lit tables and an open kitchen form the backdrop for fine dining without frippery. Paying homage to Portugal and beyond, chef Bruno Rocha excites with petiscos (snacks) such as smoked barnacles on toast and buttery Algarvian tuna. These pique the appetite for mains like sea bass with Jerusalem artichoke and beurre-blanc dashi, and desserts like meringue with green-apple granita.

5. Seen

Best for: date night

Headed up by Portuguese star chef Olivier da Costa, hotel Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa’s glamorous restaurant is a sultry, glass-walled beauty. Lisbon glitters seductively below, a tree grows right through the bar, emerald-velvet sofas curve around marble-topped tables and DJs spin lounge beats to people nursing pre-dinner cocktails on the roof terrace. The menu dips into Portuguese, Brazilian and Japanese waters, with excellent sushi and sharing plates like ceviche tacos with guacamole, and Wagyu with leek, mushrooms and green curry.

6. CURA

Best for: local ingredients

The head chef at this Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Ritz Pedro Pena Bastos combs Portugal for exquisite farmed, fished and foraged ingredients, which he cooks with precision and flair to yield unusual flavours. Watch chefs prepare mini masterpieces for tasting menus — the likes of bluefin tuna with horseradish, turnip and smoked broth; turbot with barnacles and wild garlic; and parsnip with pine, heather honey and toasted milk.

7. Tapisco

Best for: light bites

Spanish tapas and Portuguese petiscos are the stars of the menu at this coolly understated space, with a menu overseen by Henrique Sá Pessoa. Banquette seating, cheek-by-jowl tables and a bar and open kitchen running the length of the restaurant create a buzzy vibe redolent of Barcelona’s tapas bars.Carefully chosen vermouths pair nicely with clean, bright flavours like octopus salad with paprika, marinated fish with lime, seaweed and Aljezur sweet potato, and cuttlefish tempura with lime mayo.

8. LUMI

Best for: low-key chic

Sunlit days ease gently into mellow nights at this rooftop restaurant at The Lumiares Hotel & Spa, with widescreen views of Lisbon, low, cushioned seating for casual al fresco dining and a boho, low-key feel. It’s a cracking spot for brunch (try the Lumi omelette with cheese, spinach and chilli or a fruit-topped açaí bowl). Return as Lisbon lights up for negronis and sharing plates such as oxtail croquettes with fava bean pesto, roasted octopus with padrón peppers and spicy pica-pau beef strips.