Hello
Our family of 6 are so excited to travel to Lisbon, Algarve, and Porto in a month! My question concerns my allergy of shellfish and seafood. It looks like Portugal LOVES its seafood (I do too. It just doesn't love me). Has anyone successfully navigated eating out with the same concerns? Of course I am planning to communicate this to every server etc. Are there any restaurant recs that are delicious and safe that I should know of?
Posted by
11218 posts
We didn’t find the food in Portugal especially good. We don’t like baccalau and that was the prevalent seafood offered.
Posted by
Bend, OR
826 posts
In Caiscai we had wonderful chicken tacos and amazing beef cheeks at outdoor restaurants on the yellow street. In Lisbon we did an Eating Europe Food tour and the African samosas were wonderful. I’m not crazy about fish but managed to find some great meals.
Posted by
Portsmouth
5302 posts
I was in Lisbon two weeks ago and found plenty of non fish and seafood dishes. I love seafood but the majority of my meals were meat or cheese based and very good they were too.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6338 posts
We're big seafood eaters, and were surprised at all meat-heavy menus in Portugal. Bacalhau, yes, but we actually had to actively search for seafood.
Are you allergic to fish as well as shellfish? I know this can get complicated. A friend is dangerously allergic to shrimp, crab, and lobster, but can eat any other seafood, as well as any kind of fish.
If you can eat fish, do try the bacalhau dishes. I expected to not like them - dried salted cod? Really??? Yes, really. We had it so many ways, all of them delicious.
But pork, chicken, sausages, and stews abound. You'll be fine. Try a bifana sandwich: meltingly tender marinated pork. Mmmmm...
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1037 posts
I’m really surprised at people saying they were disappointed with the food in Portugal. I always find it to be great. There are still a lot of small restaurants serving simple but tasty homemade dishes. Admittedly, I love seafood and tend to go in that direction. The seafood rice is amazing!
Posted by
Portsmouth
5302 posts
I’m really surprised at people saying they were disappointed with the food in Portugal.
So am I. Portugal is widely known for its excellent food and I'm in agreement. Sure, you can find some poor restaurants as anywhere but on the whole it's definitely one of the better countries where food is concerned.
Posted by
Massachusetts
869 posts
Piri piri (also known as peri peri) chicken is popular dish in Portugal. You should be able to find restaurants that serve it. Steakhouses (known as churrascaria) are also popular. I ate at one in Porto but can't remember the name. So avoiding seafood is possible.