If it isn’t really your cup of tea to eat goat meat (like me), you could try another special dish called “Leitão à Bairrada”, which is famous as “Typical Portuguese Food” today, but its origin is exactly from this Central region.

What is “Leitão à Bairrada”?

“Leitão” means “Baby pork” or “Piglet”
“à Bairrada” is the regional style of cooking.

In short, this is spit-roasted whole piglet!

More correctly, this is the specialty of a small town called Mealhada near Coimbra. But it’s also common in Coimbra.

It’s quite hard to eat whole pork by the way, and if you try it in a restaurant which accepts the order as a main dish which you can choose which portion of pork you want, it would cost pretty much.
If you a solo traveler, it’d be more complicated, but why not give a try?

I’m going to show you the way to take this great traditional dish for a cheap price without feeling lonely in the restaurant.

Eating “Leitão à Bairrada” in sandwich

Simple and clear solution for any solo travelers!
You don’t need to hesitate to enter to the classy restaurant and you can save money.
Actually, the taste is the same and in my opinion, you won’t need a big portion of it because it’s normally so oily and fatty.

My recommendation is ”Porta Larga”!

Located in Baixinha district which is kind of downtown of Coimbra, Porta Larga is a small, local-atmosphere restaurant. (In Portugal this type of restaurant is called “Tasca”)

How to use Portuguese local restaurants “Tasca”? you will see in this article.

How to use local restaurant well in Portugal? Here’s some tips.

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Sandwich of roasted pork (Sandes de Leitão) costs only €3.5！
If you want to try other parts of pork, you can order for kilogram depending on which part like legs, intestine, or even head(!)

How it tastes like

Only 5 mins after my order, I got my sandwich! It actually looks like “Bifana” which is a popular Portuguese style hamburger.

One bite…

OINK OINK!
Juicy!
The pork skin is so crispy!

Really good. I have never tried the pork skin but I loved its crispy texture.
Putting some special sauce (made from pig fat, garlic, some spices) which comes with the sandwich, that’s way more tasty with salty-oily flavor.

It took me only a minute to finish because it was so good.
Thanks, piglet!

In this restaurant, the bread they use for sandwich is bought in a bakery in Mealhada, a small town which has the origin of this formidable dish.
The quality and price are both amazing. This is “the must go” eatery when you stay in Coimbra.

Some says “As Portugal is a European country, so meat dish covered with sauce and some bread.”

If you have that kind of image, it will be changed after reading this article!

Portugal has good weather, that means there’s enough sunshine to cultivate tasty vegetable. And its geography surrounded by the sea, you can easily taste fresh seafood.

Their cooking style is unique as well: simple seasoning with garlic and olive oil is the base, and they put different spices that they used to import from their old colonies in Africa, Asia, and South America. So for me, Portuguese cuisine is kind of ethnic food in Europe.

So, I’m going to show you 15 favorite dishes of mine that I ate and found really awesome. You must try as many as possible when you come to Portugal!

Snacks (Petiscos)

Pasteis de Bacalhau

All Portuguese people adore “Bacalhau” (cod fish)
They don’t eat it as raw though, it’s always dried cod fish that they use. They let this dried cod fish soaked in the water to cook, and this process is the key of good Bacalhau dish.

Pasteis de Bacalhau is Croquettes of codfish, which is made from mashed potatoes and of course, cod fish!
You will find them in any kind of restaurants and bars in Portugal.

When you put it into your mouth, you will be surprised at crispy-chewy texture, and you will taste salty codfish inside, which put a good accent on it.

Pica Pau

Stir fried pork or beef with garlic, pickles and coriander.
Juicy meat and pickles’ texture are a good combination.

Take it with some beer!

You can often find it in a snack-bar, rather than in a restaurant.

Bifana

This is absolutely the Portuguese national fast-food!

Bifana is Portuguese style hamburger, which is found anywhere in Portugal even in a snack-bar in a small village.
You must try it once when you come to Portugal!

Inside Portuguese style bread which is hard outside and soft inside, sliced marinated pork meat is put. (In Portugal, the meat means pork meat in general. The beef is rare.)

The seasoning of pork meat is really good, salty but a bit sweet, difficult to explain.

Don’t make it light even though it is a fast food. In Portuguese cuisine, the meat is seasoned and marinated before cooking so this Bifana isn’t exception.
This seasoning changes totally the taste of the Bifana, so each place has different taste.

Let’s try it some in different places, and find your best Bifana!

Meat dishes (Carne)

Carne de porco a Alentejana

I just want to say “You could never talk about Portuguese food without eating this!”
This is everything of Portuguese food.

To explain it simply, “Pork and clams”

Can’t imagine the taste?
Actually, this is the best combination. I really think Portuguese people are awesome because they found this amazing combination.

How to make this dish is respectfully followed to the basic of Portuguese cuisine.
Cut pork meat in dice and marinate it with white wine, garlic, lemon juice, paprika paste and olive oil and put it on the fridge for a night. Then put it on fire with some clams and finally put some coriander and fried potatoes.

Tasty pork meat meets clam’s taste…This is the best.

Though it’s called “Alentejo style (a Alentejana)”, the origin of this dish is in Algarve region which is located in south. They have fresh clams and they are more tasty than imported ones.

If it’s possible, you’d better to take this dish in a seaside restaurant in Algarve.

Arroz de Pato

Just think about this food, I can’t help myself watering in my mouth…

This is kind of “Duck rice” but not like Chinese one which consists of roasted duck meat and white rice.

Portuguese duck rice is like Risotto with duck meat and its bouillon. That’s sounds nice, isn’t it?

They cook rice with duck meat and put it into the oven to grill the surface. Sometimes cheese, bacon or sausages on it.

Taste of duck meat and duck flavored rice are a good harmony.

Churrasco

Maybe you know it, this is a famous Brazilian food.  And in Portugal, it’s popular as well.

Churrasco is Brazilien style BBQ, marinated pork or beef grilled on charcoal.

It’s kind of familial party meal which the people do on holiday with friends.

Bitoque

Bitoque is Portuguese style beef steak, and you can find it in many restaurants.
Most of the cases it is served with the sunny-side egg on the top.

If you order simply “Bitoque”, you will get a beef steak. There are some variations as pork steak (Bitoque de porco) or chicken steak (Bitoque de frango).

Fish dishes (Peixe)

Bacalhau a Bras

I already talked about “Bacalhau (cod fish)”in the beginning, and this is one of the most popular Bacalhau dish.

It’s easy to make: Cod fish with onions, potatoes cut in fine strips, sauteed with eggs.

All Portuguese people know it as home cooking dish and each family has different recipe.

Sardinha Assada

Maybe you have an image for Portugal “the people like sardines” because you can find many sardines-designed souvenirs in shops. And that’s true. They love sardines!

The sardines in Portugal are really fat and delicious, especially in the beginning of summer. They grow up in Atlantic Ocean where the water flow and waves are really strong.

The best way to eat them is this Sardinhas Assadas (Grilled Sardines on charcoal).

In June, July, the people grill sardines on the balcony of their house with using small grill pot, and this is something that makes the people feel the beginning of summer.

How to season sardines is simple: put sea salt and that’s it!
But you will be surprised how tasty Portuguese sardines are, thanks to the freshness.

I recommend eating this dish in the restaurant which has charcoal grill outside.
They put sardines on grill just after your order.

Caldilada

Caldilada is so-called Portuguese style Bouillabaisse.
Bouillabaisse is a French origin seafood soup.

Portuguese bouillabaisse is dynamic: you will get a big casserole where you find a whole fish inside.

The red color of the soup comes from paprika paste, which is essential for Portuguese cuisine.
Many vegetables and fish make it really tasty.

Ideal way to taste Caldilada : On the terrace of a seaside restaurant feeling sea breeze. You will often have a Caldilada with fresh local seafood, and you will really feel that you are in Portugal!

It is normally searved for 2 persons and the portion is really gigantic so share it  with your friend!

Arroz de Polvo

Have you ever tried octopus?
It’s a famous food in Portugal. There are many ways to cook octopus as simply grill, put it in salads, marinate it and so on.
My recommendation for Portuguese octopus dish is this one, “Octopus Risotto”

Like other Portuguese dishes, seasoning is simple: garlic, white wine, olive oil, salt and pepper, that’s all. But that makes us enjoy the taste of octopus.

Bife de Atum

Different from Japanese cuisine, Portuguese people don’t often eat raw tuna. But I found grilled tuna was as delicious as raw.

Bife de Atum means “Tuna steak”
Thickly sliced tuna is cooked midium-rare. So outside is well grilled and inside is tender.

If you think Portuguese tuna steak doesn’t taste so much, go to Azores islands which is located in the middle of Atlantic Ocean.  Their tuna is completely different from continental Portugal’s one. Really tasty.

When I ate it in a restaurant in São Miguel Island, I was really impressed and I understood that the tuna steaks that I had eaten weren’t the real one.

If you have chance to go to Azores, you must try it!

Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

Clams cooked with white wine and duck bouillon.
Tastes really good with garlic, lemon juice and coriander.

Portuguese clams are big and tasty, mostly with brown shell.
If you see clams with white shell, they are imported ones called “Amêijoa Vietnamita” and as they are frozen, the taste is not the same.

In Lisbon or in Porto, it’s quite rare to have local clams, but in Algarve which is in the south, you would often have fresh tasty clams which are collected by local people in the morning when the tide is low, and sold by them directly to restaurants.

Arroz de Marisco

This is Seafood Risotto, that you must try when you come to Portugal. 

The risotto contains variety of seafood like octopus, calamari, crab, shrimp, shell fishes. Once you taste it, you will feel Atlantic Ocean inside your mouth, that’s not a joke!

The seasoning is perfect. Don’t put many things but take each ingredient’s taste as maximum.

You often find this dish as daily menu in seaside town.

Dessert (Sobremesa)

Pasteis de Nata

A pastry which represents Portuguese culinary culture is famous as the name of “Egg tart”

The crispy dough and melting sweet cream inside will fascinate you!

Especially, freshly baked egg tarts are something that you will never forget.

If you are a tourist, Pasteis de Belém, the most famous pastry shop of town may be already on your “To do list in Lisbon. Actually it’s not only tourists who like it but also local people.
The locals take it in a coffee shop with an espresso, putting some additional sugar or some cinnamon on it.

Some words to finish

In Portugal, you eat well with a reasonnable price.

The 15 dishes that I showed you was just a part of Portuguese dishes. And they have many reagional dishes so it’s impossible try everything.

I actually like local restaurants more than touristy restaurants, because they have authentic Portuguese dishes that the people est every day life.

If you’re interested in trying some local restaurants in Portugal, I have another article about it.

How to use local restaurant well in Portugal? Here’s some tips.

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Writing this article made me hungry and I want to eat a Portuguese dish that I haven’t tried yet!

How it works in this kind of restaurants are so similar to our countries’ so there won’t be any surprise.

However, not many websites or guidebook don’t tell you clearly how it works in more local-like restaurants in Portugal.
Generally speaking, the employees in local restaurants only speak Portuguese, not English or any other languages (they maybe understand you if you speak Spanish, but they don’t SPEAK it)

So, it makes you hesitate to give it a try because you don’t know the system of these restaurants and you don’t speak Portuguese?
I really understand your feeling. When I had just arrived to Lisbon, I didn’t know any Portuguese, and I was a bit nervous about going eat in a local restaurant. So in the beginning I always went to touristy restaurants in downtown expecting to communicate in English with employees, or went to Fast food restaurant!

But you are going to Portugal! There are many local restaurants and cafeterias where you can taste authentic Portuguese cuisine with cheap price, so why not?

Still, that’s cool to eat in a 5 stars restaurant where you can have an excellent service, modernized dishes which are really well decorated and…a surprise when you ask for bill.
I personally recommend local restaurants to have a great portuguese culinary experience, which is so simple and modest, and you will not have any surprise of your bill!

In this article, I’m going to talk to you about the restaurant culture in Portugal, including some useful tips about what you need to know before going there, and what you must do when you are at the place.

How it works in local restaurant in Portugal

Enter to the restaurant

Of course, you have to enter the restaurant to taste their great food!
However, not likely to our countries, you don’t need to wait the waiter to ask him if you can take a seat.
Nobody comes to you to say “Hello how are you?”

When you enter inside, you can directly choose a table and take seat.
Don’t forget to say “Bom dia” (in the morning) or “Boa tarde” (in the afternoon) to the employees, though!

Choose your dish
“today’s special” board. For me, it needs a big effort to read!

So you took a seat and the waiter brings you the menu after 5-10 mins (Tips: in Portugal, you need to wait for everything, all the time)

In the menu, everything’s written in order of

・Sopa (Soup)
・Entrada (Starter)
・Carne (Main dish of meat)
・Peixe (Main dish of fish)
・Sobremesa (dessert)
・Bebida (drinks)

Like many European countries, you should order drink, soup or starter, and main dish at this moment.
The waiter will come back when you will have finished your main dish, to ask you about dessert and coffee.

When you are in a local restaurant, worth trying daily menu : Prato do dia.

As this name says, you will have a main dish that changes every day, and almost all the cases this menu includes soup, dessert, drink and coffee!
Sometimes you have choices of main dish of this “Prato do dia”.

What they have as Prato do dia, you can see on a hand-written paper in the menu or on the wall. They do that like this because it changes every day.
In general, this special menu is written only in Portuguese even if they have an English menu.
If you want to ask about the ingredient or anything, you can ask the waiter but you may need some body language skill!

Starter and bread which aren’t free of charge (Entrada e pão )

After ordering, the waiter brings you some bread and small starter. (Always olives, sometimes some cheese as well)

Attention! It is not like in France or Spain where the bread is always served for free: you will have to pay later.
Though it costs just 1 or 2 euros so don’t be too stressed!

If you’re really sure not taking them, you can just say no thanks at this moment.

You could even put them aside on the table as well and later could decide if you take. If you don’t eat them, you won’t need to pay for them when you leave the place.

Drinks (Bebida)

For lunch, for dinner or no matter when, the people in Portugal enjoy alcohol. Many of them take some wine or some beer even when they are just in a small lunch pause of work. (What a beautiful life!)

Here you can try Vinho da casa, which means a glass wine (or even in pitcher). Of course, you can choose  red (tinto)or white (branco).
Obviously, that’s not the best wine in the world, but for its price (only 0.5 euro for a glass), the taste is good enough.

If you take the “Prato do dia”, which includes a drink, you can choose among Copo de vinho (glass wine), Imperial (glass beer) and soft drinks. Anything else or larger size will be charged extra.

Not like in Canada, there’s no restaurant where you can get free tap water so if you want some water with your meal, you have to order a bottle of water. (I think in many european countries that’s the same stuff )

Soup (Sopa)

If you ordered a soup, it comes after a short waiting time because they made their soup in a big casserole in the morning.
In Portugal, It’s so rare to order a starter besides main dish. Many people just take a soup before their meal.

There are many varieties of the soup in Portugal depending on the region, in my opinion, any soups are really delicious and differently made from our countries: you won’t have any chance to eat kind of pottage made from milk and cream. Portuguese soups are generally made with meat bouillon and vegetables. Simple is the best!

Main dish ＋ side menu (Prato e acompanhamento)

After the soup, it’s time of main dish!

Portuguese cuisine is relatively simple and not so salty. Garlic, coriander, olive oil and just a little bit of Piri Piri (hot sauce or powder) are the only basic seasoning.
They don’t have ketchup-and-mayonnaise culture so don’t ask for them!

Main dish always comes with a side dish of your choice.

・Arroz (Rice)
・Batata frita (Fried potatoes)
・Batata cozida (Baked potatoes)
・feijão (White or black beans cooked with garlic)
・Salada (Salad)

When you order, you choose one of these side dish but you can ask if you could have 2 or 3 of them with a small portion of each.
“Half rice and half fried potatoes”, “half potatoes and some salad,and also some beans”… They are generally opened to listen to you.

Dessert (Sobremesa)

↑Cheese cake covered with honey and a sweet prum on it
Portuguese desserts are generally so sweet and the portuon is big.
If you don’t want, you can skip it and take a coffee.

Even though Portuguese desserts are not really well decorated, you will love the simple and authentic taste of them. And the desserts are often home made!

Coffee (Café)

In Portugal, culturally, it’s not so commun to take coffee with a dessert: many people take coffee after finishing their dessert. So a cup of coffee means the end of your meal.

If you order simply “One coffee”, you will have an espresso. Local people put much sugar into it and drink it.

Some Portuguese people consider that other types of coffee than this espresso are not coffee, but if you prefer less strong one, don’t be shy to ask what you like.

“Galão”, Portuguese style Café Latte is made of single espresso and much hot milk. Always in a tall glass↓

You will also like “Abatanado”,an American coffee
is espresso with some hot water so it’s less strong.

P.S. In Portugal, “filtered coffee” doesn’t existe in the restaurants!

Bill (Conta)

For tourists who don’t speak local language and who don’t know so much about the system, paying the bill is always complicated.
In Portugal, actually, how to pay is different, depending on each restaurant.

In many restaurants, you can ask a waiter for your bill without leaving the table, and you will get your bill.
But maybe you already know, it takes so much time because it’s Portugal!

The simple and easy way to pay your bill is to go directly to the cashier.

If you didn’t take bread and olives, make sure that these things aren’t written on your bill.
In Portugal, Tax is always included. That means the total price of what you have taken is exactly the price that you pay.

About payment method, it’s better you have some amount of cash especially in small local restaurant. Because there’re few restaurants which accept international credit card for the payment. Even if they have a machine, it’s sometimes just for Multibanco card, kind of debit card which is used only in Portugal

When you pay, tipping is always the problem, isn’t it?

In Portugal, there’s no tipping culture!

If you are in a high class restaurant, or if you had a amazing service, that’s not the case. But in general, you don’t need to leave tips in casual restaurants.

If you want, of course, you can leave some tips even in a local restaurant though. Nobody will refuse and it’ll be appreciated. Even in this case, it’s not at all necessary to tip with 5 euros’ bill or more : just one or two euros small money will be enough.

To finish the discussion about the bill and payment, you need to know in some small local restaurants, you need to tell what you ate when you pay.
They have confidence in their customers and this is traditional Portuguese style. I found that so nice.

If you find this type of restaurants which still keep this billing system, you are really lucky. But be honnest!

To know more about Portuguese restauration culture

Better to book in advance?

In Portugal, it’s not necessary to book a table before, except high grade ones or touristic ones.
Many local restaurants don’t even accept booking.

Sometimes, you see popular restaurants for local people are full, in this case, you won’t have any choice other than to wait for your turn. Welcome to Portugal!

Around what time Portuguese people take meal?

Compare to the dearest neighbor, Spain which is known for taking their meal so late (called “Spanish Time”), in Portugal, the people take meal a bit earlier.

However, as the sun goes down later in Portugal than other countries in Europe, meal time is relatively later than these countries.

Here’s the general mealtime for each meal:

・Breakfast (Pequeno almoço) ～10h

・Lunch (Almoço) 13h～15h

・Dinner (Jantar) 20h～22h

Between lunch and dinner, many people take their “Lanche (Snacks)” with small sandwich or some sweet pastries and cofee.

If you don’t want to wait for your meal long time in the restaurant, avoid these hours and try to eat earlier than local people do!

The quantity of the dish is enough?

YES! It’s more than enough!

Sometimes, you will want to ask “Is it really for one person?”

If you are not alone, you can order a main dish and share it.

If you are alone, dependiong on places, you could ask a “Meia dose” ,which means a half size. But it’s also depend on which meal you want to order.

Even though it’s called a half size, the price isn’t half : only 20% – 30% cheaper than a full size of the meal.

Some words to finish

Many tourists think to go eat in a local restaurant will be a challenge, because in this type of restaurants, not many people speak English, and you can’t imagine what you are going to eat because on the menu there’s no photo.

Even though you don’t know Portuguese and the employee don’t speak English, they will generously try to understand you.

Now, you probably have an idea about how it works in local restaurants in Portugal, so it’s time to try!
That opportunity will make you discover a different and authentic culinary culture.

So, what is Alcatra？

Generally, Portuguese people eat more often pork than beef or chicken, but in the Azores, beef is pretty popular as well.
You will see many many cows in the farms in the Azores and that’s why their milk, butter and beef are popular all over in Portugal : these azorean products are kind of good brand for Portuguese. Azorean butter, azorean meat…mmm sounds good!

Alcatra is a local dish of Terceira, which is made of this famous azorean beef : they cook beef ribs with lot of olive oil, garlic, paprika paste and white wine. It’s like Terceira-style beef stew.
If you are a meat lover, you will surely be crazy for it!

Where to eat Alcatra? A place “Must go”

As Alcatra is pretty famous local dish of Terceira, many of the restaurants there have it on their menu, and the taste and style is quite different from one to another.

In Angra do Heroísmo, which is the center of tourism, or in Praia de Victória, a beach side resort town in east part of the island, you will find many restaurants, but they are relatively touristic, so sometimes your Alcatra in these places is not really good as it should be because some of them make big portion of Alcatra in the morning and put it into the microwave and serve it…

If you want to taste authentic traditionally-cooked Alcatra, go to a small town of Biscoitos, located north part of the island. A bit far but it’s worth!

I really recommend this snack-bar-like local restaurant : Casa de pasto o Pedro.
Their Alcatra is really “The must” and appreciated by locals as well as tourists.

Here, Alcatra is served in a heated traditional pottery. They start to heat the pottery and cook just after taking the order so it takes time, but you will have a really hot one and the food inside will be still warm when you will have finished.

When I was there and at the moment my dish came, I was really surprised because in the pottery, the oil-based soup was boiling like it was on eruption!
This soup which contains juicy meat broth is really oily and you won’t be able to finish but not too salty. The beef inside is carefully cooked and when you put it in your mouth, it melts!

I was alone there and for me the portion was much enough or too much, so that’s better you share it with others if you’re not alone. Anyway, it costs only 9 euros. Really cheap.
What do you drink with this meaty dish? I think Biscoitos local wine is really a good option. This small town is known for its good quality of wine. They even have a small wine museum!

What to do in Biscoitos

↑Peaceful town of Biscoitos, where you can see the Atlantic Ocean in front

As I said, Alcatra has a big portion and so heavy that could make you lazy after the meal.
If you are not a busy traveler, it would be nice to walk around this small town and take some rest.

You can find in this town the most famous natural pool in Terceira island, which is often featured in guidebooks or tourism web sites, and that is a perfect choice to have a relaxing afternoon after your meal.

Although the waves are generally high in other natural pools in Terceira, this natural pool of Biscoitos is geographically well protected by natural rocks so the waves don’t come into the pool so much.
There are even children who enjoy in this shallow swimming pool.

If you still have time, why don’t you try Biscoitos wine museum?
This is a small local winery-museum which have interesting collections of equipment for wine production, and this place lets you learn about traditional way of wine brewing and of course you can taste their local wine

In the end

If you are traveling, tasting original local food is a great way to know the place and its culinary culture.
Alcatra is not a light meal and maybe it’s not the healthiest dish of the world, but once you taste it, you won’t forget its original flavor and you will certainly want to taste it again.
When you go to Terceira for traveling, don’t forget to put it on your bucket list!