Vegan in Lisbon
Lisbon is surprisingly vegan friendly with some great restaurants and cafes to try. I don’t know if I’ve gained a vegan restaurant automatic detection sensor through my obsession with finding good places, but just wandering the streets I seemed to just stumble across vegan spot after vegan spot!
Ao 26 Vegan Food Project
Tip number one of your stay in Lisbon: book ahead with this one! I turned up at 7.30pm when the restaurant opened to find a queue almost around the corner of people also hoping to get a table and they were already fully booked. They were full but luckily managed to squeeze us in the following day. And it was no surprise that they get full every day, the atmosphere is super cosy and the food delicious! It’s one of those menus where you really just want to politely ask for one of everything so coming with a companion who’s open to sharing is key.
Delicious sliders make a great start to the meal. For mains, seitan steaks with mushrooms sauce and sweet potato wedges and polenta with mushroom sauce. While the local dish Franceshina, a portuguese sandwich made with ham, sausages and covered with melted cheese and a tomato sauce, is an absolute sharing must. Desserts of oreo, peanut and chocolate raw tart and chocolate mousse just top everything off. My only regret was not trying the cheese board, it looked fantastic and is no.1 on my list next time I’m in town.
Jardim dos Sentidos
Good to know ahead here, this is more than just a restaurant. A therapeutic area offers dining experiences with a massage each followed by a meal for 2, which I was absolutely devastated to find out half way through my meal! The restaurant has a zen feel to it along with a patio garden at the back, perfect for summer evenings.
Another mouth-watering menu left me struggling to decide. Stuffed mushrooms, vegetable and nuts stroganoff, tempeh shawarma and the absolute highlight, portobello mushroom lasagna. The food here was some of the best I’ve ever had, a great little vegan spot in Lisbon.
This was one of the spots that I happily stumbled across while wandering the labyrinth of Alfama. Serving home-style international dishes, it’s a great place for lunch, with a slightly limited but still very tasty menu. But you absolutely have to come here for a vegan Pasteis de Nata that makes your Portuguese experience complete.
Colourful smoothie bowls ready for Instagram are served at Eight - The Health Lounge, which combines its plant based cafe with a small shop of ecowears made by local designers. Their products don’t contain anything that would be addictive, so no sugar in drinks or treats and no caffeine. The Vanilla Sky Latte, with almond milk, dates, blue natural flavour and vanilla is a great alternative to a caffeine latte. Products are mostly raw that are mixed to create energizing flavour. Beautiful bowls, salads, toasts, paninis, juices…its a tough decision.
The Food Temple
A small restaurant tucked away in the labyrinth of alleyways dominating a small square in historic Mouraria. Outdoor tables are set up on the stone steps with small wooden tables, cushions and fairy lights making for a special outdoor experience. The menu changes daily with a selection of tapas to share and just one main dish each day, plus a few options for desserts. They serve local organic wines that have been specially selected, artisan beers and a range of teas. The restaurant has a very family-feel to it and being tucked away in amongst the maze of streets makes you feel as though you’ve stumbled upon a local gem.
Bowl Lisboa
Healthy food without sugar served in bowls is on the menu at Bowl Lisboa. Famous for their smoothie bowls including açai as well as their warm porridge bowls, all filled with colourful fruits and nut butters, this is the place to come for your bowl fix. They also have variety of colourful waffles and toasts with toppings if bowls somehow aren’t your thing.
Vegana Burgers
Vegan burgers brings fast food to plant eaters in the most colourful way possible; pink burgers, green burgers, blue burgers, black burgers. And focusing on vegetable-based patties make them as healthy as they are beautiful.
Green Beans Eco Vegan Store
In Barrio Alto, stumbling across this little gem was an absolute treat. The front half of the store sells a range of vegan clothing and accessories including shoes. Whilst in the back is an all vegan market with fresh products and groceries including VioLife cheeses, Vegusto sausages, Oatly milks, tofu, seitan, vegan wine, it felt as though they stocked everything your wildest vegan dreams could imagine. They also have a small cafe with great vegan treats to enjoy while you shop.