What to eat in Portugal
A guide to Portuguese food from Lisbon to Porto: bacalhau salt cod, hearty regional sandwiches, pristine seafood, and custard pastries.

[ ] Try Bacalhau à Brás
    A Lisbon classic made from shredded salted cod sautéed with onions and matchstick fried potatoes, bound together with gently scrambled eggs. It is traditionally garnished with black olives and chopped parsley.
[ ] Try grilled sardines (Sardinhas assadas)
    Fresh Atlantic sardines sprinkled with coarse sea salt and charred whole over charcoal. Locals eat them resting on a thick slice of rustic cornbread, which catches all the flavorful rendered juices.
[ ] Try Francesinha
    Porto's legendary monster sandwich layered with steak, ham, linguiça, and fresh sausages between toasted bread, blanketed in melted cheese and drenched in a piping-hot beer and tomato sauce.
[ ] Try Caldo verde
    A comforting northern soup made with a pureed potato and onion broth packed with shredded collard greens. It is finished with a slice of smoky chouriço sausage and a glug of extra virgin olive oil.
[ ] Try Polvo à Lagareiro
    Tender boiled octopus tentacles roasted until crisped, bathed in an ocean of warm extra virgin olive oil and garlic. It is served with oven-baked crushed new potatoes known as batatas a murro.
[ ] Try Leitão da Bairrada
    A specialty from the Bairrada region near Coimbra: suckling pig roasted on spits in wood-fired ovens, seasoned with garlic and black pepper lard paste, resulting in crackling skin and melt-in-the-mouth meat.
[ ] Try Arroz de pato
    Rice simmered in rich duck stock, tossed with shredded slow-cooked duck meat, and baked in the oven until golden. It is garnished with crisp rings of chouriço and occasionally bitter orange.
[ ] Try Carne de porco à alentejana
    An iconic surf-and-turf dish marrying tender pork cubes marinated in white wine and paprika paste with fresh clams, fried potato cubes, and abundant fresh cilantro.
[ ] Try Cataplana de marisco
    A fragrant seafood stew of prawns, clams, squid, and fish cooked with tomatoes, peppers, and garlic inside a hinged clam-shaped copper vessel that steams everything in its own brine.
[ ] Try Bifana
    Portugal's quintessential fast-food sandwich consisting of thinly sliced pork cutlets simmered in garlic, lard, white wine, and paprika, tucked into a crusty bread roll.
[ ] Try Frango piri-piri
    Small butterflied chicken grilled over searing coals until charred and smoky, basted with an aromatic sauce made from African bird's eye chilies, garlic, lemon, and olive oil.
[ ] Try Serra da Estrela cheese (Queijo Serra da Estrela)
    Portugal's most revered artisanal cheese made from raw sheep's milk coagulated with wild cardoon thistle flower. When ripe, the interior becomes wonderfully gooey and pungent.
[ ] Try Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato
    Tender local clams steamed open in a skillet with abundant garlic, good olive oil, dry white wine, and fresh cilantro, served with lemon wedges.
[ ] Try Pastéis de nata
    Flaky puff-pastry tartlets filled with rich egg-yolk custard and baked at blisteringly high heat until caramelized on top, customarily dusted with ground cinnamon and powdered sugar.
[ ] Try Pão de ló
    A historic conventual sponge cake made simply with eggs, sugar, and flour. In regions like Ovar, bakers deliberately underbake the cake so the center remains creamy, molten, and rich.
[ ] Try Pastéis de Tentúgal
    A conventual pastry from the Coimbra region wrapped in paper-thin, crisp phyllo sheets rolled out by hand, encasing sweet egg-yolk custard and dusted with sugar.
[ ] Try Ovos moles de Aveiro
    A protected delicacy from Aveiro consisting of delicate wafer casings shaped like seashells, barrels, and fish, stuffed with sweet, golden egg-yolk cream.
[ ] Try Portuguese coffee: Bica & Galão
    Portuguese coffee culture is an institution: bica is a thick, dark espresso (called cimbalino in Porto), while galão is mild espresso layered with hot milk in a tall glass.
[ ] Try Mazagran
    A historic refreshing iced coffee drink made by mixing strong espresso with freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar syrup, ice cubes, and fresh mint.
[ ] Try Algarve fresh orange juice (Sumo de laranja do Algarve)
    Freshly squeezed juice made from sun-ripened oranges grown in the southern Algarve region, renowned for exceptional natural sweetness and lack of sour acidity.
[ ] Try Port wine (Vinho do Porto)
    World-famous fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley and matured in the riverfront lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia. Styles range from fruit-forward Ruby and nutty aged Tawny to dry White Port.
[ ] Try Vinho Verde
    A crisp, youthful wine from the verdant Minho region in the northwest. The name means 'young wine' rather than green color; it is light, mineral, and celebrated for a subtle spritz on the tongue.
[ ] Try Ginjinha cherry liqueur
    A ruby-colored liqueur crafted from sour morello cherries infused in aguardiente with sugar and cinnamon. Served in tiny glasses at historic hole-in-the-wall bars in Lisbon or chocolate cups in Óbidos.

Checklist from Unload: https://unloads.me/c/food-portugal