The best vegetarian restaurants in Lisbon

When Ceri, the Canadian owner of Eight – The Health Lounge, was little, she liked to stay inside her house, cooking instead of going to school. Many years later, she created the menu for this vegan lounge on Praça da Figueira, with a matching shop on the first floor. “I wanted the menu to include fast-food items - smoothies, bowls, toasties - but very nutritious,” she says, so she filled the menu with smoothies, wellness shots, panini, salads, energy balls and sweet snacks without sugar or honey - only fruit.

Don’t feel fooled by the logo with the pig at the entrance. The new project of television host João Manzarra is housed in a former butcher shop. He "Veganized" Antigo Talho (than means Old Butcher in Portuguese), near the Marquês de Pombal area, and opened a cafeteria for lunches and snacks and a multi-brand store, all entirely vegan. Every day there is a different dish on the menu led by chef Filipa Ruas. You are  likely to find a couscous of vegetables, dried fruit and baba ganoush, or a Thai curry or a Vietnamese pho. The menu also has wraps and quiches (which change weekly), sliced cakes, energy balls, juices, kombucha and craft beers.

At Catarina Gonçalves’ restaurant (who was already known for opening the vegetarian venue Nomalism in Campo de Ourique, now defunct), you will find beetroot or lentil hamburgers (€7.50), bifanas made with thyme and lemon seitan (€5) and toasties made with bolo do caco (Madeira’s famous bread) and vegan cheese (€6). Don’t leave before biting into the raw dried fruit tart, which is sugar-free and sweetened with dates and agave syrup (€4.50).

Larissa Abbud eats meat, but she arrived from Rio de Janeiro and opened the Quintal de Santo Amaro with a daily lunchbox (8€) and other vegan delights - from floral toasts to cakes and raw pies. All the food is served in biodegradable packaging for take-away, and she tries to sell mainly organic food. All this in a cozy little corner in São Bento.

Just because you’re on a diet, detox or health kick – or need coeliac-friendly, dairy-free or paleo-style dishes to figure on the menu – doesn’t mean that you can’t still dine out in style. 

If you are a fresh fish lover, Lisbon is probably one of your top destinations. And if it isn’t yet, because you’ve never been here and you’ve just arrived at this page because you were cruising on the internet, pay attention to what we have to say. 

Here it is, a countdown of Lisbon’s most coveted plates. No more need to agonise over the menu; dive straight in as we reveal dishes to die for at Lisbon’s best restaurants and cheap eats. Our top 20 list picks out sophisticated signature dishes, indulgent desserts, sweet treats and finger-licking street food. Take a look at our selection of the top 20 dishes to try in Lisbon.