2024 was, for me, a year of travel, with just about as much time spent outside of Lisbon as inside. When I spend a lot of time on the road, I feel even more compelled to cook when I’m at home, so some of my best bites this year were things I prepared myself. But in the course of reporting for Culinary Backstreets and other outlets, I visited Lisbon restaurants both new and familiar, and scanning through an iPhone library of dishes both homemade and cooked by the pros, the following stood out. – Austin Bush
Stewed pears at O Cantinho do Alfredo
Perhaps my favorite Lisbon restaurant discovery of the last couple years is O Cantinho do Alfredo, an almost militantly no-frills restaurant in the city’s Campolide area. The cook here is able to coax disproportionate amounts of flavor from simple ingredients, and one of the best examples of this is the restaurant’s peras bêbedas, or “drunken pears.” They take the form of pears that have been peeled and simmered in red wine made fragrant from sticks of cinnamon and sweet from sugar. The purple hue that results provides O Cantinho do Alfredo with some much-needed flair. – Austin Bush
Portuguese-style gaspacho
After three years in Lisbon, I still take great pleasure in the seasonality of ingredients in Portugal. Spring, with all the wonderful green things that accompany it – asparagus, fava beans, peas – is a favorite. And it was only this year that I learned the pleasure of Fall grapes. But my perennial favorite is most likely Portugal’s summer tomatoes, and my favorite way to prepare them is almost certainly gaspacho. If you’re familiar with Spain’s gazpacho, you may not recognize its Portuguese sibling. Here, the various items – those tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumber, chunks of bread – are diced rather than processed, and the result is not unlike a bowl of the most delicious, mildest salsa in the world. – Austin Bush
Queijo da Serra at Gambrinus
Even after more than a decade of eating there, Gambrinus, a Lisbon classic, is one of those places that continues to reveal surprises. I profiled the pleasures of its bar, and the “secret” repertoire of dishes available there, all of which I thought I knew until a recent visit. I asked the bartender what he recommended, and he suggested queijo da serra, sheep’s milk cheese from inland, mountain Portugal. He then pulled out a large platter of the cheese, kept at room temperature, and practically drizzled it onto a plate. The texture was meltingly soft, distinctly pungent and utterly delicious, and the order is now part of my repertoire there. – Austin Bush
Camaroẽs de Espinho
Fist-sized, vermillion-colored deep-water prawns or massive crabs get much of the press at Lisbon’s seafood restaurants, but one of the items I’ve come to enjoy the most are the pink, pinky-sized camaroẽs de Espinho. The tiny shrimp, which are caught off the coast of the eponymous northern Portuguese town, are boiled and served cold, sprinkled with coarse salt – that’s it. They require work to peel, and the sharp shells tend to cut your lips, but I love the sweet flavor and appreciate the opportunity to slow down. – Austin Bush
Aulas Abertas at Pigmeu
Having lived most of my life in Thailand, a country where wine is a luxury item, I’m making up for lost time in Portugal. Home to what is said to be the largest scope of grape varietals, Portugal’s wine scene can be a bit intimidating. But the regular Aulas Abertas, “Open Classes,” wine tastings-slash-lessons in oenology hosted by Pigmeu, have served as my education in Portuguese (and, occasionally, other countries’) wine, not to mention being delicious and a lot of fun. – Austin Bush
This year, like most lisboetas, I was so enthusiastic after my first visit to Canalha I couldn’t resist going back. Mainly this was for the tortilha de camarão e cebola (shrimp and onion tortilla), a dish I recommended to everyone during every visit – my colleagues, cousins, and even my mother. The thin, soft egg layer of the tortilla is topped with onions, shrimp and chives and decorated right on the counter in front of us by chef João Rodrigues. Of course, I could have chosen many other dishes at Canalha – João has produced a genius menu – but this choice is also personal, a memory of a favorite childhood dish in a restaurant south of Lisbon, where my brother and I would enjoy a similar tortilha with my parents and grandmother. Another favorite at Canalha is the apple tart with vanilla ice cream. When you think you have tasted all the apple tarts, this one surprises with unusual layers; a truly delicious pastry. – Célia Pedroso
Another highlight of the year was experienced far from Lisbon, in the northern Trás-Os-Montes region. Forno de Jales is an extraordinary restaurant, founded one year ago by the young couple João Pires and Rita Gomes. In two visits I was blown away by their expertise, friendliness and high-quality produce. After much thought, my favorites were a starter made with soft beetroot with pistachio cream and maronesa beef pastrami (an indigenous breed from Trás-os-Montes), and, for dessert, the rabanada. This is a sophisticated take on the northern Portuguese version of the French toast: brioche baked with walnuts and hazelnuts, topped with apple, cinnamon and favaios moscatel (a fortified wine from the Douro). The surprising beetroot and the comforting rabanada alone are worth the trip, not to mention all the other seasonal dishes served by the fireplace in a cozy stone-walled room. – Célia Pedroso
Finally, there’s Prado, where another couple, the incredible António Galapito and Inês Pereira, make magic happen, season after season, dish after dish, with António in the kitchen and Inês in the dining room. Prado recently made some changes in its back room and also on the menu, both with excellent results. Their starter of sweet potato, mussels, and curry is as clever as it sounds and may be one of the most delicious ways to eat sweet potato. When the ideas are as fresh as the ingredients you can’t help licking your fingers and hoping for more. – Célia Pedroso
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