Quick answer: Portuguese food is the Atlantic on a plate: bacalhau in 365 disguises, grilled sardines in summer smoke, the custard-tart pilgrimage to Belem, francesinha excess in Porto and vinho verde that costs less than water and tastes like holiday.
Pasteis de nata, properly
Warm from the oven, cinnamon optional, at the famous Belem original or the brilliant pastelarias everywhere else: eat them daily; they are practically a food group. The blistered top is non-negotiable.
Bacalhau: the national obsession
Salt cod in endless forms: a bras (shredded with egg and crisp potato), com natas (gratinated in cream), grilled with smashed potatoes. Order a different one each night and understand the saying: a recipe for every day of the year.
Sardinhas & the grill culture
Continue planning your Portugal trip
June festival season fills Lisbon’s Alfama with charcoal smoke and sardines on bread: but all summer, beach esplanades grill dourada, robalo and squid to lemon-oiled perfection.
Porto’s francesinha
A sandwich gone gloriously rogue: layered meats, melted cheese, beer-tomato sauce and a fried egg. One per trip is medically advisable and spiritually mandatory.
Seafood rice & the cataplana
Arroz de marisco (brothy, saffron-stained, prawn-stacked) and the Algarve’s clam-and-pork cataplana steam open at the table: Portugal’s great one-pot theatre.
Wine, port & ginjinha
Vinho verde’s spritz, Douro reds that rival anywhere, port lodges in Gaia for the education: and a one-euro shot of ginjinha (sour-cherry liqueur) at a Lisbon hole-in-the-wall counter for the culture.
Eating Portugal well
The couvert (bread, olives) is optional: wave it away or pay for it; daily pratos do dia at lunch cost less than dinner starters; and the further from the cathedral you walk, the better and cheaper the bacalhau gets. Coffee is a bica, drunk standing, after everything.
The best food in Portugal: what to eat
Portugal punches far above its size on food — seafood-rich, generous and brilliant value. The dishes to seek out:
- Bacalhau — salt cod, said to have 365 recipes; try bacalhau à brás.
- Pastéis de nata — warm custard tarts, best in Belém.
- Grilled sardines — the soul of summer, especially at Lisbon’s June festivals.
- Francesinha — Porto’s outrageous meat-and-cheese sandwich in beer sauce.
- Caldo verde — kale-and-potato soup with chouriço.
- Piri-piri chicken — flame-grilled and spicy.
Wash it down with vinho verde, a glass of port in Porto, or a strong bica espresso. Eat where the locals queue.
Best Food In Portugal FAQ
What is Portugal’s most famous dish?
Bacalhau (salt cod) — with hundreds of preparations — alongside the iconic pastel de nata.
What should I drink in Portugal?
Vinho verde, port (in Porto), and a bica espresso.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.