While spending a week celebrating my birthday in Portugal, I learned a lot of random things. To name a few: how tiles on buildings are both decorative and control temperature, that cork trees are resistant to forest fires, and — most importantly — that Portuguese food is amazing. Everything we ate was delicious, but that makes knowing what to eat in Portugal more difficult!
Portuguese food is heavy on the seafood, especially cod and shrimp. In fact, per capita, Portugal has the highest fish consumption in Europe! But it’s also famous for pork, pastries, and Port wine, all of which must be enjoyed, too. Here’s what to eat in Portugal, including six must eat Portuguese dishes.
What to Eat in Portugal :: 6 Must Eat Portuguese Dishes
1. Cod
Supposedly the Portuguese have 1,001 recipes for cod. Yes, cod! A staple since the 15th Century, most cod is imported from Scandinavia so it’s eaten salted or dried. Known as Bacalhau, it’s boiled with potatoes, layered in casseroles, rolled into dough balls, and served by itself.
While spending a day in Sintra, we went to a restaurant where every dish on the menu included cod (except for the desserts). We had cod ceviche loaded with onions, fried cod cheeks skewered with shrimp, and cod filet. We even had a savory version of pastel de natas featuring cod! It sounds weird, but it was the best dish of the day.
Clearly there are plenty of ways to try cod in Portugal and I suggest finding as many creative dishes with it as you can.
2. Giant Red Shrimp
Another seafood staple found throughout Portugal is giant red shrimp, or Carabineros. The bright red prawns are the world’s largest, found in the deep waters near Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco, and are about 7-9 inches long! Flavor-wise they are more robust than regular shrimp, and their heads are considered a delicacy.
Often served whole in creamy sauces, the shrimp are delicious. During the 10-course tasting menu at Michelin starred Feitoria in Lisbon, servers brought out the giant red shrimp before they were cooked to show us the size and color. Later they returned with the cooked tails and made a sauce from the heads in a table-side machine. It was an impressive — and delicious — display.
3. Alentejo Black Pork
Portugal’s southern Alentejo region is famous for three things: wine, cork trees, and black pigs that feast on acorns from cork trees. (And it’s worth taking a day trip to Evora to experience all three!) The acorns give the black pork a nutty flavor with a high fat content, making them famously delicious — and unlike any pork I’ve ever tasted.
Menus throughout the Alentejo region — including Lisbon — are bound to have black pork on them, in various dishes. Order Carne de Porco á Alentejana for a traditional favorite of marinated and pan-fried pork with fried potatoes and clams all soaked in a garlic wine sauce. Or enjoy black pork simply fried with olives for a true taste of the delicious delicacy.
4. Francesinha
The Francesinha is a hot sandwich made with several different meats covered in cheese, sauce, and sometimes an egg. The exact ingredients vary by restaurant, but usually include ham, sausage, and roast beef or steak, stacked between two slices of bread (the thicker the better). The whole sandwich is then covered in sauce. Considered a chef’s secret, the sauce usually includes tomato sauce, beer, and spices, but varies in spiciness and flavor.
If the Francesinha reminds you of a Croque Madame, you’re on the right track. It was actually created by a French and Belgian emigrant who wanted to recreate the famous French dish using Portuguese flavors in 1953. Originating in Porto, the Francesinha has since taken off around Portugal’s northern region, available at most cafés and restaurants. It’s definitely worth tasting, but a word of warning. Most Francesinha sandwiches are quite large, so split one if you can!
5. Tinned Seafood
It may sound odd, but tinned seafood is practically a national icon of Portugal. Back in 1853, Europe’s first cannery opened in Portugal, exporting canned seafood around the region. And it goes beyond anchovies and sardines, with canned octopus, eel, cod, tuna, mackerel, roe, and more. Some are preserved in olive oil while others are packed with peppers, tomatoes, or other flavors.
Entire shops are dedicated to selling brightly colored tinned seafood and entire bars are dedicated to serving them. You can’t miss Conservas Portuguesas, a colorful circus-like shop selling nothing but tinned seafood. They make great souvenirs — and great snacks. We bought a few extra tins of sardines to munch on in our hotel room, paired with a can of chips from the mini bar and wine from our previous adventures. So whether you order them in a restaurant or take some to go, tinned seafood has to be on your what to eat in Portugal list!
6. Pastel de Nata
Perhaps the most famous Portuguese dish is the Pastel de Nata, the pastry named on every single list of what to eat in Portugal in existence! Like mini pies, the Pastel de Nata is made of egg custard dusted with cinnamon in a puff pastry. Honestly, I assumed they’d be overrated before trying them… and admit to loving them once I tasted them!
In the 18th Century Catholic monks created the Pastel de Nata to use egg yolks leftover from egg whites used for starching clothes. In the 1820s, monks sold the pastries as a source of revenue and, when the monastery closed in 1834, sold the recipe to the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém. They still serve the original recipe, but pastel del nata are served everywhere in Portugal. And I happily ate them whenever I saw them!
And you can’t forget Port Wine!
Port is arguably Portugal’s most well-known export, and has been since the 1700s when most of it made its way to England. That’s why many Port brand are named after Englishmen, like Sandeman, Graham’s, Taylor, and Croft. Port is a fortified wine, meaning it’s blended with a distilled spirit (like brandy). It makes it stronger and, in the past, able to withstand the journey to faraway places (like England). After blending, it ages both in wood (sometimes for decades) and in the bottle.
There are four types of Port: white, Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage. White Port, from white grapes, is unaged, with a fruitier, fuller-body best used in cocktails. Ruby Port, a mix of grapes and vintages, is young and vibrant. Tawny Port, aged in oak barrels, has a more mellow, nutty flavor (but still sweet). And Vintage Port is a mix of grapes and often vineyards, all from the same year, aged in oak and then in the bottle — sometimes for decades!
Port grapes are grown in Portugal’s Douro Valley, in the north, then are aged in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, in Porto. We took a day trip to Douro from Porto, then visited Sandeman cellars the next day. Both experiences were amazing! But if you can’t get there, make sure you have a glass of Port somewhere in Portugal. And better yet, bring a bottle home as a souvenir!
•••
These are just a few must-eat dishes in Portugal, but there are plenty more. If you really want to dive into Portuguese food, consider taking a food tour like this one in Lisbon.
Related :: Why Portugal is Perfect in Winter, a Day Trip to Douro Valley Wineries, and Touring Sandeman Cellars in Porto
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and I may receive a commission from them. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Whiskied Wanderlust.
