Ever seen a moray eel up close? No, I hadn't either, until I took a stroll through a Portuguese food and fish market in Lisbon. Come take a walk with me through some of the sights of the Mercado da Ribeira, an old market on the waterfront in Lisbon, Portugal.
I spent a week in Lisbon last fall, and I found it a city easy to fall in love with. It is a very old city, with a faded glamour and a modest, gentle pace of life. The city rises late and stays up very late indeed. The food scene is simply wonderful (I showed you a few typical rustic dishes here).
I made a few new friends, too — an American expat named Deb, who rents vacation apartments in the city, and her friend Paulo Reffóios, who owns a restaurant and runs cooking classes for Deb's guests.
• Deb's apartments: Visiting Portugal
• Paulo's restaurant: Chaminés do Palácio in Lisbon
• Cooking classes in Lisbon: Lisbon Gourmet
Together they took me on a tour of the Mercado da Ribeira, a huge indoor market in downtown Lisbon. Now, this isn't the only or even the best place to buy seafood and produce in town, but it is frequented by chefs and many locals, and it offers an enormous array of the best of Portuguese food. If you love seafood, this place is a dizzying feast.
I saw eels curled in bundles like ropes, and I saw the Portuguese staple, bacalhau, salt cod, stacked high like so many planks of wood. There were bins full of sardines, and monkfish slit open, their glistening insides spilling out.
The thing about wandering a market like this is seeing how little you know, really, about cooking, and how many tastes and bites go uneaten because you simply do not know they exist.
• Visit the website: Mercado da Ribeira
It was a treat to walk through, and of course I want to go back as soon as I can. Take a spin through the photos for more, and see captions for a little explanation.
Have you ever been to Portugal? What did you think of the food there?
Related: Snapshots of Portugal: Fresh Seafood, Perfect Potatoes
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Although its high on my list, I've never been to Portugal. This mercado reminds me of La Boqueria in Barcelona somewhat, an equally dizzying feast.
That's a Portuguese market all right! :) And Mercado da Ribeira is the most famous of them all.
Gowing up I spent most summers in Portugal. I had very relaxed parents so I was free to wander both in and around Lisbon, and I agree that there is something very special about that city, its people, and the food. The Portuguese diet is an intersting mix of salty cured meats, and incredibly fresh sea food (with a good amount of wine, bread, and cheese thrown in for good measure).
The third photo from the last row is definitely octopus... and the second one isn't sardines, but mackerels. Little ones that people in Portugal eat fried in oil, after coating them in flour. :) If you need recipes with cod or so, let me know! I'm portuguese and would love to contribute!
We went to Portugal almost two years ago, and though it was a beautiful, interesting country with an intriguing mix of cultures and architectures, I found the food to be absolutely horrible.
It was totally perplexing; close to Spain & the ocean, why couldn't we get anything resembling tasty food? I'm still perplexed. We visited local restaurants, those recommended by guidebooks, etc - everything was tasteless & bland.
Has anyone else had this experience? Other travelers I've spoken to have, but I still can't understand.
I actually went to a McDonald's in Portugal, and it was the best value meal I ate there - and I NEVER eat at McDonalds, let alone while traveling.
As soon as we crossed the border to Spain, the food was great?! Other than the food (which is important to me), I thought Portugal was a beautiful country...
All traditional markets look the same. As a Spaniard, I truly appreciate what you get in your local market. I had the pleasure of visiting that one in Lisbon two years ago and I was surprised of the excellent quality of the food there.
Remember to visit any market (not only the excessively touristy plagued Boqueria in Barcelona) whenever you travel to any southern European country.
Elsewhereclaire I can't believe that you didn't have good food in Portugal. I have to say that some people expect Iberian food to be spicy, which is not, but my experience in Portugal is always having really honest and good food. I just can say that maybe you went to too recommended places. We usually go where our guts tell us that we have to go (or we ask local people!)
Oh, I loved a yellow bean soup in Lisbon that most restaurants had on their menus; I haven't found a recipe that would approximates it yet. Malasadas made up a disproportionate share of my diet while there; the ones at the fancy pastry shop off the Restauradores had perhaps one pound of pudding inside them, and were absolute heaven.
Mercado da Ribeira!! I go there every week :D