lisboa, portugal

food

I’ll start by saying that there isn’t too many vegan options on the menu in restaurants and I didn’t expect there to be. Lisbon is a city known for its seafood and fish. So we had to go digging and here’s what we found. 

Right on our door step in the heart of Saldanha, there were two vegan restaurants - The Green Affair and Tasca Fit. Unfortunately, we only discovered them on our last day and we didn’t get a chance to sit down and enjoy the grub. But we found vegan options in other restaurants! 

Udon, a Japanese restaurant in Saldanha, has a few vegan options on their menu. For lunch, we had vegetable gyozas with a soy dip and yakisoba noodles. This restaurant had great reviews online however, I was somewhat disappointed. i wasn’t very satisfied with the meal as there wasn’t much too it. None the less, it did it’s job and curbed our hunger. 

Not too far from where we were staying, there is a shopping mall called El Cortes Inglés and in the food court on the top floor, there is a Brazilian restaurant called Jakaré. There is a vegetarian menu and majority of the dishes are vegan. The portions are quite big and it’s quite tasty so I would definitely recommend. However, vegan options in restaurants were scarce so we started making our own meals! Luckily we weren’t in a hotel - staying in an AirBnB meant we had our own kitchen to whip up our own dishes!  

In the basement of El Cortes Inglés, there is a huge supermarket and fruit stall. There was a lot of exotic fruits available as well as dairy alternatives. The exotic fruits were on the pricey side so if you plan to eat raw, come prepared. Near Saldanha, there’s also a health store called Biomédica, directly opposite the Japanese restaurant Udon. You can find vegan yogurts, milks, ice creams and there is a small restaurant inside.

art

Lisbon is so rich in art and culture. despite being there for a short time, we managed to squeeze in a few museums. 

1. Museu de Arte Popular

at the moment, there is an exhibition called "Escher" on until mid-september and it is outstanding. It is an excellent display of the graphic Artist's work, escher. His work usually represents metamorphoses - geometric patterns that turn into completely different shapes. it is quite mind-boggling. 

2. Center of Modern Art of Lisbon

There are stunning botanical gardens surrounding this museum. go for a scroll and read a book in there. if you plan to visit, prepare for a long stay. This museum is rather big so you'll need the time to fully digest its main collections.

3. Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

The architecture of the museum building is absolutely beautiful. It is surrounding by much greenery and water, so on a hot summer's day, it is a lovely sight. at the moment, there is an exhibition on called "Post-Pop. Beyond the commonplace" until semptember. If you happen to be in Lisbon this summer, it is definitely work a visit. 

things to do

other than eating lots of food, shopping and visiting multiple museums, we took two days out to visit Cascais beach and belém. 

1. cascais beach

if you plan on visiting here, come prepared. stock up on the snacks. being by the sea, majority of the restaurants are focused on seafood and fish. However, in the back streets we found a small moroccan restaurants that had a tasty veggie tagine. 

2. Belém 

This is a historic town with many iconic landmarks. Visit the belém tower and enjoy the great architectural and historical sights. I can imagine on a summer's evening, the sunset would be beautiful. 

All in all, Lisbon is a great city break for those who are looking to simply relax and explore. If you're an individual who loves nature, walks, culture and food, be sure to do your research on the history of the city so you know which museums you'd like to visit. Also, be sure to research vegan restaurants. Even though we only managed to find two vegan restaurants, we discovered many more online. There is definitely a vegan scene growing in Lisbon.