Lisbon is a city that eats well without making a fuss about it. The best meals here rarely come with white tablecloths — they come on a paper napkin at a marble counter, or wrapped to go from a doorway you'd otherwise walk straight past. This is our shortlist: ten things worth crossing the city for, roughly in the order we'd eat them across a perfect day.
1. Pastel de nata
Start here. The custard tart is Lisbon's edible signature: a shatteringly crisp shell, a wobble of egg custard, the top scorched almost black. The originals come from Pastéis de Belém, but you'll find astonishing versions all over the city. Dust it with cinnamon, take it standing, order a second.
2. Bifana
A pork sandwich that punches far above its price. Thin slices of pork are simmered in garlic, white wine and spice, then piled into a soft roll. It's messy, it's fast, and it is the great equaliser — students, lawyers and bricklayers all queue for the same thing.
3. Grilled sardines
If you visit in June during the Santo António festivals, the whole city smells of charcoal and sardines. Eat them simply: grilled whole, salted, laid over a slab of bread that soaks up the oil. Out of season, look for fresh fish grilled to order in Alfama and Cais do Sodré.
4. Conservas
Portugal turned tinned fish into an art form. Beautifully labelled tins of sardines, mackerel and tuna — some aged for years like wine — are sold everywhere from grand emporiums to corner shops. Buy a few, find a bench with a view, and eat them with bread and a cold beer.
5. Bacalhau
Salt cod is the national obsession, with a famous "365 recipes." Order it as bacalhau à brás (shredded with potato and egg) or à lagareiro (roasted with olive oil and garlic) for two very different but equally definitive versions.
6. Caldo verde
A humble green soup of finely shredded kale, potato and a coin of smoky chouriço. It's comfort in a bowl and the right thing to order on a grey Atlantic afternoon.
7. Ameijoas à bulhão pato
Clams steamed open with garlic, coriander, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. The clams are good; the broth at the bottom of the bowl, mopped up with bread, is the actual point.
8. Queijo da Serra
From the Serra da Estrela mountains, this sheep's milk cheese is so soft and ripe at its peak that you eat it with a spoon. Spread it on bread, pair it with a glass of red, and understand why the Portuguese guard it so closely.
9. Ginjinha
A sour-cherry liqueur sold from tiny hole-in-the-wall bars near Rossio. Order it com elas (with the boozy cherries in the glass), knock it back, and watch the square go by. It's a one-euro ritual that never gets old.
10. Travesseiro de Sintra
If your trip takes you to Sintra, find a "pillow" pastry: flaky puff filled with almond and egg cream, dusted in sugar. Eat it warm with a coffee while the mountain mist burns off the palaces.
How to eat like a local
Lunch is the big meal; many of the best tascas serve a daily special at midday and are quiet by night. Don't fill up on the couvert (the bread, olives and butter brought to the table) — it's not free, and the good stuff is still coming. And always, always leave room for one more nata.