Where to eat Contemporary food in Belem: The Best Restaurants and Bars

May 3, 2020 Weston Hennigan

Find out what Contemporary restaurants to try in Belem. Just four miles from the center of Lisbon, Belem (or Santa Maria de Belem) is best known for Belem Tower (or Torre), a 16th-century fortified lighthouse built to guard the port. This was, after all, the port from which famous Portuguese navigators like Vasco de Gama set off to explore the world. The area is also home to Belem Palace, built in the 16th century by King Manuel and now the official residence of Portugal’s president. Belem is also home to the magnificent Jerónimos Monastery.
Things to do in Belem

9. ALMA Henrique Sa Pessoa

Rua Anchieta 15 Chiado, Lisbon 1200-023 Portugal Mediterranean, European, Portuguese, Contemporary Lunch, Dinner Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service [email protected] +351 21 347 0650 http://www.almalisboa.pt/en
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4 based on 903 reviews

ALMA Henrique Sa Pessoa

In the heart of Chiado, Henrique Sá Pessoa’s Alma restaurant is one of the greatest gastronomic references in Lisboa. The chef and his team were awarded by the most known gastronomy guide. A chef’s cusine, a wide room, elegant and comfortable, perfect for

Reviewed By Corkber

We enjoyed the intensity of the flavours, especially in the early snacks and surprises. We felt we were attended by too many different people and the dishes were served in swift succession. Sometimes in a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, a chef may come to the table to serve one particular dish. In this place, however, we were served by several waiters and sommeliers. We were greeted and shown to the table by someone who was not a maitre d as such. We were shown out by a different person and, in between we were served by six or seven different people. Everybody gets the same treatment and script. You can overhear the food introductions at other tables, before these are delivered to you in precisely similar terms. I felt this made our experience formulaic rather than special. To sum up, the first few surprise dishes were very enjoyable but the main courses were served too quickly and the experience fell flat half way through. When we were leaving, the person who showed us out the door asked if we had enjoyed ourselves. I replied that in our country the top restaurants advise setting aside two and a half to three hours to enjoy a tasting menu. She responded with disdain that their service takes one hour and a half which is sufficient.

8. The Mill

Rua do Poco dos Negros 1, Lisbon 1200-335 Portugal Cafe, Contemporary Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Drinks Takeout, Seating, Wine and Beer, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Serves Alcohol [email protected] +351 21 157 5220 https://www.facebook.com/themillpt/
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4 based on 423 reviews

The Mill

An Australian-Portuguese breakfast and brunch café that serves specialty coffee and the best Portuguese produce, all served with a fresh, Australian twist. Our goal is to serve our customers great coffee, delicious food and excellent Portuguese wine in a

Reviewed By davidfL7115SO

Great breakfast/brunch spot and worth schlepping up the hill for. Small place with the obligatory queue outside the door for places like this on a pleasant October Wednesday morning. Clientele comprising mostly visitors to town. After a 15 minute wait enlivened by passing vintage trams packed to the gills with tourists we were seated at a bench table with a number of other people. Full 'Irish' breakfast for moi and granola and banana bread for my companion were swiftly delivered together with pretty decent white coffees. The Portuguese bacon in my breakfast was particularly noteworthy and the listed fried egg was substituted by a scrambled one with no fuss. Great setup for the day. Highly recommended but be prepared to wait. My guess is it'd be even worse at weekends.

7. Zazah

Rua de Sao Marcal 111, Lisbon 1200-420 Portugal Mediterranean, European, Portuguese, International, Contemporary Lunch, Dinner, Late Night, Drinks Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Wine and Beer [email protected] +351 21 134 4468 http://www.zazah.pt/
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4 based on 457 reviews

Zazah

Reviewed By copernic2012

We visited Zazah with my partner after someone we knew recommended the place. The restaurant is modern and has a very nice and fresh atmosphere. I always book before I go somewhere and I also let them know that is my partner's birthday. On arrival the staff was friendly and they took us to our table. We were offered the food and wine and cocktail list. Good variety of wines, many local ones too which is worth to try and nice cocktails, very well made. After selecting the drinks we went to the important stuff, the food. For starters we had the Cevicehe and the sauteed prawns with garlic. Both delicious and I think the ceviche was the best I ever had. For main I went for the ESCONDIDINHO DE BACALHAU, very rich and tasty dish. Creamy but you can taste the fish. I liked it but is a personal taste. If you want something lighter go for my partner's option , the TATAKI DE ATUM 220G. Amazingly made, very tasty and great quality tuna. For desert you have to have the BABA DE CAMELO DO ZAZAH. Very addictive, which I will not tell you what it is cause you have to try it. A note I would like to make is that with the desert they brought a candle for my partner's birthday and I appreciated the fact that they paid attention to my note. You must have experience a lot going to good restaurants , stating a special occasion and they just ignore or forget. Must visit restaurant , which I totally recommend. Thank you Zazah.Thank you for your review. We are delighted to know that your experience was really good and that you had such a nice time! We really thank you for your compliments. We work hard looking for this level of satisfaction. Hope to see you back soon. Zazah team.

6. Restaurante Drogaria

Rua Joaquim Casimiro 8 Lapa, Lisbon 1200-696 Portugal European, Portuguese, International, Contemporary Dinner, Drinks Reservations, Table Service, Highchairs Available, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards [email protected] +351 21 014 5528 http://www.drogaria-restaurante.pt
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5 based on 27 reviews

Restaurante Drogaria

Espaço acolhedor onde a elegância encontra a mestria de uma culinária portuguesa contemporânea que aposta nos produtos sazonais, regionais e biológicos.

Reviewed By JorgeGamito

Excelent!!!Must visit.A perfect environment, with a top service and an excellent cuisine.The Adega23 red wine was priceless!Will come back, for sure.Jorge

5. LOCO Restaurante

Rua dos Navegantes 53B, Lisbon 1200-730 Portugal Mediterranean, European, Portuguese, Contemporary Dinner Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service [email protected] +351 21 395 1861 http://www.facebook.com/locorestaurant
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4 based on 274 reviews

LOCO Restaurante

Reviewed By pgraffman

I must say that we were very disappointed in the restaurant. You can tell that the staff is very thoughtful serious about service and the cuisine. Sustainable and non-wasteful are prominent in their introduction. But execution is another matter. Flavors tend to be on the over extracted side. Specific examples are using cod skin and shrimp heads in their broths and foams, lend them self to over extracted “fishiness” And OMG, do they like foams. Sometimes I felt like I was having cappuccino with foamed milk infused with odd flavors, and couldn’t taste the coffee, so to speak. Most of the courses, I would want to forget. But some worked amazingly well. The shrimp ceviche was amazing as well as the lamb. Lots of dishes with lots of intense flavors, but that was the problem. When you have a dish, you should be able to taste the main ingredient. When they served cod, with foam made out of cod skin, the over fishy taste of the cod skin in the intense creamy sauce over- powered the cod. I might have been eating pickled herring, without the pickling spices.The sommelier was great. She had unusual pairings. Some great white wines. Portuguese wines are somewhat of a mystery, even to a “wine guy” like me. She served interesting wines that we enjoyed. She asked me if there are any wines that we don’t drink, and I jested with her by saying “Orange Wines”, she looked me square in the eye and said “Why not?” I told her that I was just joking and she served us a very interesting orange wine that paired perfectly with 4 of the many courses. However, the best wine of the evening was a 2006 vintage of some red wine. ( Another pet peeve, they wouldn’t give us a list of the wines they were serving us, nor any of the food items they served us while dining) That wine was excellent, but they should have decanted it. I can’t remember any time that I have been to a Michelin restaurant that they didn’t decant a wine, of that caliber, before they served it. We have eaten at so many great restaurants in Lisbon. Our bill was ~800 euros for 4 of us. We had a mush more amazing meal with four bottles of wine at “Lisboa Há Mesa”, last evening for 143 Euros. Granted it was not the service experience, or the ambience, but in our book it is “All about the food, baby”. We have eaten at Michelin restaurants all over the world, and it is the experience that we had in this restaurant and, more recently, others, that are causing us to frequent Michelin restaurants less and less. It seems that the focus is more on “smoke and mirrors” as opposed to food with well-integrated flavors. In this case it wasn’t smoke and mirrors, but the foam with odd flavors that mostly prevailed over the basic ingredient of the dish. It troubles me to post a review like this because it can hurt a very serious establishment as Loco. I am hoping this review can be constructive in making their restaurant better in the long run. Intense is not a word that pairs well with food.

4. Vermelhosa

Calcada da Estrela 26, Lisbon 1200-664 Portugal Deli, Contemporary, Portuguese, Cafe, European Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch Takeout, Seating, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Reservations, Wheelchair Accessible +351 964 519 829
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5 based on 120 reviews

Vermelhosa

Breakfast - Lunch - Saturday brunch - Afternoon break - A lot of pastries - and so much more ! Daily Home made with local fresh products

Reviewed By AlanandLyn

After slogging our way up and down some of the hills of Lisbon we lingered outside this establishment and decided it was time for lunch. A great decision.We ordered from the menu (rather than the display) and everything seemed to be prepared to order. My wife had an avocado and ham sandwich with Angel Tea; she said it was delicious and will go hunting for the tea now we're home. I had avocado and smoked salmon toast, equally delicious and accompanied by sencha (green tea). A great place and we'll seek it out again next time we're in Lisbon.Dear AlananLyn, thank you very much for this review!Tea lovers are always more than welcome here :-)

3. Clube de Jornalistas

Rua das Trinas 129, Lisbon 1200-857 Portugal Mediterranean, European, Portuguese, International, Contemporary Lunch, Dinner, Late Night Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Private Dining, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service [email protected] +351 21 397 7138 http://restauranteclubedejornalistas.com/
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4 based on 2501 reviews

Clube de Jornalistas

We will be open for dinner on Sunday, the 14th of February.

Reviewed By SuartA

We visited Clube de Journalistas three years ago and decided to go back with some trepidation - we have frequently been disappointed when revisiting restaurants and hotels. Fortunately, we weren't disappointed; Clube de Journalistas was every bit as good as we remembered. The food is excellent and the service efficient and friendly. If the weather is good (and it nearly always is in Lisbon), the sunken garden is a lovely place to have dinner, with a calm and relaxed atmosphere.It was a bit quieter than we remember, it deserves to be full every night. We would thoroughly recommend Clube de Journalistas if you are looking for slightly special occasion that won't break the bank,

10 Things to Do in Belem That You Shouldn't Miss

2. Enoteca de Belem

Travessa do Marta Pinto 10, Lisbon 1300-390 Portugal Mediterranean, Contemporary, Portuguese, Wine Bar Lunch, Dinner, Late Night Reservations, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Wine and Beer, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service [email protected] +351 21 363 1511 http://www.facebook.com/EnotecaBelem/
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4 based on 1321 reviews

Enoteca de Belem

Our sommelier Nelson Guerreiro was the winner of Best Portuguese Sommelier 2017 contest! The "Enoteca de Belém" Wine Bar and restaurant is a place dedicated to experimentation and to be a meeting place, for people and flavours, in an artistic and cultural

Reviewed By 763jerryq

Just thoroughly enjoyed my dinner tonight at Enoteca. We got a recommendation from friends who visited last week while they were in Lisbon and this place did NOT disappoint. The started, entree and dessert were all perfectly cooked, visually engaging and tasted so so yummy. I would come back here again when I am in Lisbon. The wait staff was so nice and helpful which made the experience so enjoyable for our family. THANK YOU Enoteca!!!! We will see you again soon.

Where to Eat in Belem: The Best Restaurants and Bars

1. Pigmeu - Campo de Ourique

Rua do 4 de Infantaria 68, Lisbon 1350-274 Portugal Portuguese, Contemporary, Fusion, European Lunch, Dinner Serves Alcohol, Reservations, Seating, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Table Service, Television, Highchairs Available, Full Bar [email protected] +351 21 825 2990 http://www.pigmeu.pt
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4 based on 86 reviews

Pigmeu - Campo de Ourique

Reviewed By IsabelR3215

In the heart of Campo de Ourique, a neighbourhood in Lisbon, this small restaurant/bar is big in hospitality. A very pleasant and cosy place where you can go either with your family or friends. My family and I have decided to order different snacks, so as to try as much as possible. I loved the soups (yes, I’ve tried both) and the diversity of ways the chef handles pork meat: starters, sandwiches, salads and a different range of snacks (“croquetes de bochecha” still make my mouth water), combining ingredients in order to produce so tasty results.This original concept evidences the respect for this type of meat, so important in Portuguese cuisine. The restaurant is a great option for meat lovers or others (there are also vegetarian choices), who want to have a snack in an informal, relaxing environment.You are too kind! We hope that you return soon! :)

Most Popular Portuguese food in Belem, Central Portugal, Portugal

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