Portuguese food: 30 traditional dishes to try in Portugal

Portuguese food doesn't try to impress you with technique. It impresses you with ingredients: fish that was in the Atlantic this morning, pork from acorn-fed pigs in the Alentejo, olive oil poured generously over everything, and bread good enough to make a meal on its own.

This guide covers the traditional Portuguese food worth seeking out, from seafood and stews to sandwiches, desserts and the coffee that ends every meal. Whether you're visiting for a week or moving to Portugal, use it as a checklist.

Quick picks if you only have a few days:

• Bacalhau à Brás – salt cod with eggs and crispy potatoes
• Grilled sardines – best in June and July
• Francesinha – Porto's famous meat-and-cheese sandwich
• Arroz de marisco – soupy seafood rice
• Pastel de nata – the custard tart Portugal is famous for

What Makes Portugal Food Different?

Traditional Portuguese food is Mediterranean in spirit but Atlantic in practice. A few things define it:

• Seafood everywhere. Portugal eats more fish per person than almost any country in Europe.
• Bacalhau obsession. Dried, salted cod is imported (mostly from Norway) yet considered the national ingredient. Locals say there are 365 ways to cook it, one for each day of the year.
• Simple cooking. Grilling over charcoal (na brasa) and slow stewing are the main techniques.
• Spices from the empire. Cinnamon, piri-piri, and coriander arrived via Portugal's trade routes and stayed.
• Regional variety. Food in the Minho is very different from food in the Algarve, Madeira or the Azores.

Bacalhau (Salt Cod) Dishes

You can't talk about Portuguese food without bacalhau. Order at least two of these.

1. Bacalhau à Brás

Shredded cod mixed with matchstick fries, onions and scrambled egg, finished with black olives and parsley. A Lisbon classic and the easiest bacalhau dish for first-timers.

2. Bacalhau com Natas

Cod baked in a creamy béchamel with potatoes. Comfort food, often served at family lunches.

3. Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá

A Porto recipe: flaked cod layered with potatoes, onions, boiled egg and olives, baked in olive oil.

4. Pastéis de Bacalhau

Small fried cod cakes (called bolinhos de bacalhau in the north). Perfect as a snack with a cold beer.

5. Bacalhau à Lagareiro

A thick piece of cod roasted and drowned in garlic-infused olive oil, served with batatas a murro (punched potatoes).

Fish and Seafood

6. Sardinhas Assadas (Grilled Sardines)

The smell of grilling sardines is the smell of Portuguese summer, especially during the Santos Populares festivals in June. Eat them on a slice of bread that soaks up the juices.

7. Arroz de Marisco

A soupy, tomato-based rice packed with prawns, clams, mussels and sometimes crab. Usually ordered for two.

8. Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

Clams cooked in olive oil, garlic, coriander and lemon. Mop up the sauce with bread.

9. Cataplana de Marisco

An Algarve speciality cooked in a clam-shaped copper pan. Seafood, pork, peppers and tomato steam together into something wonderful.

10. Polvo à Lagareiro

Tender roasted octopus with olive oil, garlic and potatoes. One of the best dishes in Portuguese cuisine.

11. Caldeirada

A fisherman's stew with several kinds of fish, potatoes, peppers and tomato.

12. Espetada de Lulas

Grilled squid skewers, common along the coast.

Meat Dishes

13. Francesinha

Porto's heavyweight sandwich: bread layered with steak, sausage and ham, covered in melted cheese and a spicy beer-tomato sauce, often with a fried egg and fries. Not light, completely worth it.

14. Cozido à Portuguesa

A boiled feast of meats (beef, pork, chicken, chouriço, blood sausage), cabbage, carrots and potatoes. A Sunday-lunch dish.

15. Leitão à Bairrada

Suckling pig roasted until the skin crackles, from the Bairrada region near Coimbra. Served with orange slices and fries.

16. Carne de Porco à Alentejana

Pork and clams cooked together with paprika and garlic, served with fried potato cubes. Surf and turf, Portuguese style.

17. Bifana

A thin pork steak marinated in garlic and white wine, served in a bread roll. Portugal's favourite fast food.

18. Prego

Like a bifana but with beef. Often eaten at the end of a meal in a seafood restaurant (prego no pão).

19. Frango Piri-Piri

Grilled chicken basted with chilli oil. The town of Guia in the Algarve claims to be its home.

20. Alheira

A smoked sausage originally made with poultry and bread. It's said to have been invented by Jews hiding their faith during the Inquisition. Usually served fried with an egg and fries.

Soups and Petiscos (Portuguese Tapas)

21. Caldo Verde

Potato and kale soup with a slice of chouriço. Simple, cheap, and on almost every menu.

22. Sopa da Pedra

"Stone soup" from Almeirim: beans, meats and vegetables in a hearty broth.

23. Petiscos

Small plates meant for sharing: pica-pau (beef strips in sauce), moelas (stewed gizzards), chouriço assado (sausage flambéed at the table), pimentos padrón, and local cheeses like Queijo da Serra and Queijo de Azeitão.

Portuguese Desserts and Pastries

Portuguese desserts are built on eggs and sugar, a legacy of convents that used egg whites to starch clothes and turned the leftover yolks into sweets.

24. Pastel de Nata

The famous custard tart with flaky pastry and a caramelised top. The original version, Pastéis de Belém, is still made in Lisbon to a secret recipe. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

25. Arroz Doce

Creamy rice pudding flavoured with lemon and cinnamon. A staple at Christmas and family celebrations.

26. Pão de Ló

A light sponge cake, sometimes served slightly undercooked and gooey in the middle (pão de ló de Ovar). If you're looking for a traditional Portugal cake, start here.

27. Bolo de Bolacha

A no-bake biscuit cake layered with coffee-soaked Maria biscuits and buttercream.

28. Travesseiros de Sintra

Puff pastry "pillows" filled with almond and egg cream. Buy them at Piriquita in Sintra.

29. Ovos Moles de Aveiro

Sweet egg-yolk filling wrapped in thin wafer shaped like shells and fish.

30. Bola de Berlim

Portugal's doughnut, filled with egg custard and sold on beaches by walking vendors.

Other Portuguese pastries worth trying: queijadas (small cheese tarts), pastel de Tentúgal, bolo rei (Christmas king cake), toucinho do céu, pudim flan, and serradura ("sawdust pudding").

Portuguese Coffee: How to Order

Coffee is part of every Portuguese meal. Knowing what to ask for helps — and it's a good first step in learning Portuguese:

Most cafés charge under €1 for an espresso if you stand at the counter.

Regional Specialities

• Porto and the North: francesinha, tripas à moda do Porto, caldo verde, Vinho Verde.
• Lisbon: bacalhau à Brás, ginjinha (cherry liqueur), bifanas, pastel de nata.
• Centre (Coimbra, Aveiro): leitão, chanfana (goat stewed in wine), ovos moles.
• Alentejo: porco preto, açorda (bread soup), migas, sheep's cheese.
• Algarve: cataplana, grilled fish, Dom Rodrigo sweets, figs and almonds.
• Madeira: espetada (beef on bay-leaf skewers), bolo do caco, espada com banana, poncha.
• Azores: cozido das Furnas (stew cooked in volcanic ground), queijo São Jorge, pineapples.

Tips for Eating in Portugal

• The bread and olives aren't free. The couvert placed on your table is charged if you eat it. Send it back if you don't want it.
• Prato do dia. Look for the daily lunch special, often €9–€14 with soup, main, drink and coffee.
• Lunch is big. Many restaurants close between 3pm and 7pm.
• Tipping is not expected; leaving 5–10% for good service is appreciated.
• Half portions. Ask for meia dose – portions are generous.
• Tascas (small family-run taverns) are often the best place for traditional Portuguese food.

Final Thoughts

The best way to enjoy Portuguese food is to keep it simple: find a busy tasca, order the fish of the day, share some petiscos, and finish with a pastel de nata and a bica. Try one new dish every day and you'll understand why so many visitors come back for the food alone.