Eating Vegan In Lisbon: Recommendations for Travellers.


Lisbon, in my experience, is a city of lovely weather, people & food. I would head back in an instant. Something about the warmth of the Portuguese, the city's winding streets & the persistent sunshine made for a really magical trip.

I was also very pleasantly surprised by all of the amazing vegan food options on offer. Though I did research pre-holiday & also got lots of recommendations [thank you to anyone who sent me suggestions!], I had seen mixed opinions as to whether I'd be catered for - considering I was travelling with a non-vegan [who was happy to eat vegan but not exclusively]. But to my surprise, I found that not only were there loads of vegan options, I also ate some of the best vegan food I've ever had the pleasure to put in my mouth ! So here I am to share the good, the bad & the ugly of the eateries we tried out.


My top recommendations are sorted under the absolute ~must-go~ locations, whereas further down this blogpost are some places that served vegan options but were pretty average & weren't anything to write home about.

- the BEST FOOD spots -
  
BEST VEGAN ICE CREAM IN LISBON


GELADOS FRAGOLETO 
Rua da Prata 61, 1100-41, Lisboa

This ice cream was mega. For real. I'm always wary of heading to ice cream parlours which have 'vegan options' according to Google / TripAdvisor because, 9 times out of 10, those vegan options are lemon sorbet. Which is fine. I like lemon sorbet! But it's not ice cream, y'know? Sorbet is great & all but when you're expecting ice cream and instead get sorbet, it's a bit disappointing.

This place is right near the beach and is on a main stretch with lots of other shops. It doesn't look too fancy inside but it has a small eating area where you can sit out of the sun & cool off. With probably around 35 flavours overall, maybe 10 of them were vegan? Plus, each day they have different extra vegan options up on the board.

My recommendation? Try the cashew flavour !! I was expecting something quite bland and icy - but oh my GOODNESS, it was glorious. Even the most ~simple~ of flavours had so much depth it's unbelievable. Other flavours they had when we visited were vegan pistachio, caramel, cinnamon, strawberry, lemon - lots more but I'm struggling to remember. I definitely had a chocolately one that was honestly sublime. I would travel back to Portugal just for this one gelato shop. The staff were really lovely too - in fact all of the service we had in Lisbon was incredibly nice, which makes all the difference!


BEST VEGAN PIZZA IN LISBON

M'ARRACREO PIZZERIA
Tv. Inglesinhos 36, 1200-223 Lisboa, Portugal.

Who would've thought I'd have the best Italian pizza in Portugal? Not me. But I did! Well, it was the best vegan pizza I've ever tried as the last time I was in Italy I was only vegetarian - but still a great contender! So much better than any vegan pizzas I've had over here - Franco Manca, Zizzi's etc.

This restaurant is on quite a small street & has indoor seating only - but with nice airy open doors. The staff were so lovely & the bar serves bangin' blackcurrant mojitos which went down a treat [their different flavoured cocktails seem to change daily]. It was pretty busy for a Monday day so maybe book ahead if you're keen to go.

We had bruschetta to start which I could have easily eaten 12 slices of... so incredibly fresh. I mean I know that you can't really go too wrong with bruschetta, but it was seasoned to perfection. Then for main I had a pizza Margherita because I'm a vanilla gal. Everything about it was perfect - the sauce, the dough, the vegan cheese was the best I've ever tried! I think it's soya-based cheese as opposed to the coconut-based alternative that most pizza restaurants use in the UK. Also had strawberry sorbet for dessert! Which wasn't anything to rave about but was pleasant.

Overall, a 10/10 meal and decently priced too. The people dining next to us were visiting the city too and they had eaten there the night as well only to return again, because it was that good!



BEST BRUNCH IN LISBON

HEIM CAFE
R. Santos-O-Velho 2 e 4, 1200-109 Lisboa, Portugal.
Our flat was literally around the corner to Heim cafe - a really quaint and beautifully decorated cafe with lovely staff and lovely food. It was the first eatery we went to when we landed & the last place we ate at before heading back to the airport on the way back.

They have vegan options on the menu - avo on toast, granola etc. and are super accommodating to vegans too. Defo try the ginger lemonade!! 

The coffee is nice - I would avoid the oat milk because I tried it in Iced Lattes in a couple of places & it tasted of dish soap. The soya / almond are better options in my opinion. Beware - there is likely to be a waiting list if you get there 10.30ish onwards (peak brunch time) but it is well worth the wait.


BEST AFFORDABLE & WHOLESOME VEGAN MEAL

AO VEGAN FOOD PROJECT
R. Vitor Cordon 26, 1200-484 Lisboa, Portugal.

AO Vegan Food Project serve some amazing, wholesome meals which are really good value for money. The menu has lots of interesting burgers, sandwiches, salads & daily specials. I went for the mung bean lasagne which was absolutely SUBLIME! 10000/10, would recommend to a friend. Would even travel back to Lisboa just to eat here. Plus my meal only cost me €8!

BEST VEGAN PASTEL DE NATA IN LISBON

ZARZUELA
Tv. R. Bernardino Costa 21-23, 1200-052 Lisboa.

This delightful little bakery sells vegan / gluten free Pastel de Nata! What a treat. The traditional Portuguese tart is usually made with eggs, whereas a selection of pastries sold here are egg free, dairy free, gluten free and there are even low-sugar options for diabetics. A very inclusive eatery this. The inside is nothing fancy, it looks like a canteen - but the prices are decent as are the pastries. 


- BEST DRINK SPOTS -

TOPPO
Centro Comerical Martim Moniz 6 Esq, Praca Martim Moniz, 1100-341 Lisboa.

This rooftop bar is on top of hotel Martim Moniz. Definitely one of the best mojitos I've ever tried with one of the nicest views I've ever seen. So fresh & perfectly mixed. They serve food too - I tried the risotto & nachos, which were okay but nothing amazing. I would recommend only getting a drink here as the food was expensive and the service was quite slow (the staff were lovely just really busy/over stretched). So yeah, I wouldn't necessarily recommend eating here, but it's such a nice spot for drinks at sunset.

PARK BAR

OK this is a total cheat mention because we actually didn't make it to this bar - it's a hidden bar on the rooftop of a carpark (I imagine similar to Franks in London). Alas, I left it to my boyf to navigate us to Park one evening & he lead us to......... a park....... and then to a random university car park.... and it took so much hill walking that we just threw in the towel & ambled home. Good times.


- other less yummy places -

PISTOLA Y CORAZON
Rua da Boavista 16, 1200-275, Lisboa.

The service in this restaurant was lovely - our waiter was so sweet & recommended a load of rooftop bars to check out. He adapted the menu well for vegan eating - but the food was really average. We had the tacos - which were soft shell not crunchy, which was odd. The waiter also let me mix dishes and try one of each of the vegan options - refried beans, peppers & mushrooms. It was all pretty bland to be honest.. either the cheese that I asked to be removed really made the dish, or it was just a dud meal. Kind of disappointing. Also the frozen margarita machine was broken - which are apparently to die for.


HAMBURGUERIA GOURMET
Rua da Alfandega 114, 1100-016 Lisboa.

This place is a cool concept - it serves burgers without any bread. Kind of like the filling of the burger is the bun, if that makes sense. They have a few vegan options & I went for the lentil burger. Each burger comes with two from a salad (AMAZING dressing!), chips or rice.

They also serve homemade ketchup, which was music to my ears, until I realised that it wasn't ketchup at all, it was a sweet salsa. I love salsa, but it's not ketchup. My burger was pretty bland (definitely in need of Mr Organic Tomato Ketchup!) but again, service was lovely. Wouldn't eat here again though.

Thanks for reading lovers. Enjoy Lisbon if you're visiting! Let me know if you hit any of these restaurants.

1 comment

  1. Hello! I'm traveling to Lisbon tomorrow and can't wait to check out some of the spots you've listed. Thank you so much for sharing, I'm so excited! xx

    Julia | www.juliadoes.com

    ReplyDelete

Bottled Blue. Theme by STS.