As I continue to slowly get through the large list of review drafts I wrote when I was in Portugal,…read moreat this point, a bit over 3 months ago, in no particular order... this was one of two places that ended up on my list of places I had to try a famous bifana sandwich when I was in Lisbon, the other being O Trevo the next day. To both of them equally I say, there are very few places I'd be willing to stand in line for an hour for, and few of them involve meat on bread. Luckily, being the off-season, I didn't have *any* wait to order a sandwich. Unluckily, being the off season, that's also because it kept raining off and on, and this is a strictly take-out affair. So I ended up eating the sandwich under a nearby awning. In nicer weather conditions, though, there are plenty of nearby benches to sit on right there. Would i wait in a long line? I would not. But it was a legitimately great sandwich, great fluffy bread, great cheese if you splurge on cheese (as of a couple months ago, they were 3.5 euro without cheese, 5.5 with cheese), and solid, juicy, meaty meat, even if I do *personally* prefer the thin-sliced version like the other place I went, did. For how filling they are, that'd make them pretty darn affordable, if you don't add cheese, which I would probably keep doing anyway if I lived here, I'd just go when it was the off-season and not busy, *and* not raining*. At least as of when I was there, being a takeout place, they didn't have much in the way of drinks, but there was an unrelated business in the next alcove over selling cheap large glasses of beer and large blended fruity pineapple drinks. p.s. Make sure to absolutely douse your sandwich in mustard and chili oil, if you like spicy food like I do. They're self-serve, and great.

Two years running this was our favorite bifana…read more Location was a bit challenging as only the door leading into the restaurant was for locals while the window on the other side served all others. The challenge was the limited sidewalk in front and the lines extend across the street. People don't always realize they're standing in the middle of a street until they get honked at by a car. Menu was posted on the left behind the window. Plain and with cheese bifanas topped the menu but there were other choices as well like carne asada, egg and fish. Cash was the only tender accepted. The pork in the bifanas was constantly simmered and pulled out to make each sandwich individually. The bread was chibatta like and quite soft that enveloped the strips of pork. I added piri piri aauce and yellow mustard (big squirt bottles available on the counters to each side of the window) which gave it more flavor. A simple but great local sandwich. To avoid lines come at odd hours. I also came a little after lunch hour in moderate rain and there was just one person ahead of me.

The family and I walked up the hill in the Baixa neighborhood to arrive at this comfortable,…read moreslow-paced cafe, which now calls itself Paleio Cafe. My large latte was long on the finish and dark roast flavorful, and my Nutella croissant buttery and only lightly crispy. For me it was the perfect size. But my family ordered what turned out to be surprisingly large salad portions and only made their way through them dutifully. My brother felt the out-of-stock quinoa that the back of house regretfully omitted removed a vital textural and flavor element that would've set off the avocado and absorbed the dressing. My mom criticized the mild vinaigrette on her salmon and walnut salad and felt the lox was too abundant. Still, we three hung out for an hour here, in downtown Lisbon, for €35 after tip, which is pretty excellent value.

My favorite place to go for a coffee, matcha and pastry or lunch…read more Feels like home and the service is friendly and professional.

This place was one of my favorites to visit and enjoy the Portugal experience. In the morning, I'd…read morewalk over while the city was waking up and enjoy my well prepared latte and delicious pastry. Here is where I'd reflect on the beauty and energy of Lisbon. I was grateful to be here at this time watching people engaging in conversations and living. The service here was always great and the ambiance was wonderful. I'm returning again to relive the experience. The baguette sandwiches were tasty. Prices were reasonable. In

A great place to stop by for an afternoon pastry. I was able to get a table around 4:30pm when it…read morewasn't too busy. The service was great! The pastries were delicious, particularly the pastel de nata and gourmandise.

Fábrica da Nata focuses on doing one thing extremely well: Portuguese custard tarts…read more The pastéis de nata are served fresh and warm, with the signature caramelized top that gives way to a smooth, creamy custard center. The custard strikes a great balance -- rich and eggy but not overly sweet. The pastry shell is where these really shine: thin layers of laminated dough baked until they're deeply golden and crisp. The result is that perfect textural contrast: crackly pastry on the outside and silky custard inside. Like most Portuguese pastry shops, the setup is straightforward. You order at the counter, the service is quick, and the focus is on getting the tarts to you while they're still warm from the oven. Cinnamon and powdered sugar are available to sprinkle on top, which adds a nice extra layer of flavour. Lisbon has many places competing for the title of best pastel de nata, but Fábrica da Nata holds its own. The quality is consistent, the tarts are fresh, and it's an easy stop whether you're looking for a quick snack or a traditional Portuguese pastry with coffee.

This was our first stop for natas after arriving in Lisbon. Last time we ate upstairs with seats…read moreoverlooking the street but this visit we took them to go since we wanted to get back to our hotel due to the weather. Service was quick and both packed together in a paper sack. They were nice and warm. We had to remove them to add our cinnamon and powdered sugar in the store so that was one of the drawbacks of ordering to go. Luckily our hotel was just minutes away and the natas were still warm when we got back. Overall our mouths enjoyed the flaky, crunchy crust and creamy texture of the egg tart but it seemed bit too soft this time. Still in our top 3 places to grab pasteis de nata in Portugal.

Solar was one of the stops on our street food tour. It is far from fancy but it's absolutely tasty…read more We enjoyed bifana which despite the pronunciation (bee-fah-na) is made with pork. A traditional bifana sandwich is typically "stand-up" food, eaten at a snack bar counter and with a small beer (cerveja pequena). I had this one here and another later on my trip. They were quite similar. Served on a fluffy white roll with the thin-sliced pork, it is accompanied by two condiments - mustard and peri peri sauce. I enjoyed both but the spicy peri peri was my preference. This is a tiny shop with just a few seats inside. You're not going to be lingering at Solar da Madalena. Eat and go. Which is fine - that's the Portuguese tradition for such a restaurant. Enjoy! [Review 19001 overall - 199 in Portugal - 2525 of 2022.]

Bifana was on my bucket list while visiting Lisbon and Solar da Madalena floated to the top of that…read morelist. For those who haven't had one, the bifana is a staple of tender, simmered meat (usually visible somewhere in the restaurant) and placed between a fresh piece of bread. Traditionally just meat and sauce from the vat of simmering meat juices. This was close to the Rossio section of Lisbon, making it very convenient to various attractions. They also had other meat pies, codfish cakes and French fries. Staff were very friendly (and spoke English for those visiting) with a chill and casual vibe. Perfect for a quick lunch close to the square to sit and enjoy a lunch or light dinner.

Avocado HIT was delicious! So healthy and wonderful. My husband and I are on vacation visiting from…read moreSan Diego. So glad we stopped here for a bite.

Great ambiance and coffee! The service was very good and everyone was friendly. The bathrooms were…read morealso really nice

The restaurant is tucked away on a steep hill with stairs. It has outside and indoor seating no…read morea/c. We sat inside and it has restrooms. We ordered the Salmon and 2 eggs. It was tasty. The service was prompt and courteous.

Fantastic food and ambiance. Very friendly staff. Progressive slant to traditional Portuguese…read moredishes. Highly recommend. Difficult to find--use google maps. Apple Maps did not work for this place.

Breakfast here was very good. I had the shakshouka with gluten free bread. My husband had egg on…read moretoast with a side of pancakes. Beware the pancakes are huge lol bacon was amazingly crispy. The inside of the restaurant is adorable and has a breezy open air vibe. We were very happy with the service and food we received.

Excellent service! A super cute little cafe with only a few tables and chairs but the lines move…read morefast. The ingredients and menu items overall were made of fresh ingredients and presented well. The fresh squeezed orange juice was refreshing! The kimchi mayo that the burger came with was amazing. The chips with the burger were delicious and some of the best we've ever had. The only thing is that the burger patty itself was a little too overcooked for our liking. Overall we were happy with our breakfast here!

So here's the interesting thing - this was one of *many* places to get pastel de nata that made to…read moremultiple lists of places you had to stop, which meant I obviously had to stop at as many of them as possible over the course of the couple weeks I was in Portugal, a couple months ago, in both Porto and Lisbon (also to a lesser extent, Coimbra). This means I can now say who made them best, and more importantly, why. The interesting thing is, I didn't think the pastel de nata here were particularly great, on any dimension - fairly flimsy, doughy crust, with a pudding-like, drippy filling that was too sweet and not quite eggy enough. Don't get me wrong, I'd still eat them any time someone offered, they were still tasty, you just have a ton of options nearby, some of them notably better than the ones here. I also tried one of their fancy-looking cookies, which definitely looked fancier than it tasted. Was just a cookie. Dessert-wise I was unimpressed. They were also always fairly busy, which made ordering feel a bit rushed. So why am I still giving this bakery 5 stars, and why did I come back here a couple more times, including to get food to-go the morning we left, to get food to take on the plane with us? For exactly one reason, and it's a weird one: oddly enough, the samosas here are the best samosas I've ever had, and by a wide margin. You'd think the best samosas ever would come from an Indian restaurant or bakery, but nope, they're here. The other small savory food items we tried were also pretty good, but the samosas are the juiciest, meatiest, most perfectly bursting with spices samosas I've had. Who knew? They also had pretty solid espresso and pretty solid free-squeezed orange juice, but those aren't hard to find in Portugal (I miss seeing inexpensive fresh squeezed OJ all over the city... especially *truly* fresh squeezed, to order, from whole oranges. Portuguese OJ definitely was the best. Though obviously not *better* than other places you can get the same thing around - probably indeed the same oranges. Definitely better than anywhere you can get fresh OJ for a few bucks in the US, though, if you can find such a place. :p)

The perfect rest stop in between exploring. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, which…read moremade the experience even sweeter. I tried the African coconut cake and the lemon éclair--both were delicious, perfectly balanced, and clearly made with care. A must-stop spot if you're craving great pastries and warm service.

Bacadillo/Bifana Meal - 8/10…read more I got a sandwich, drink, and pastel de nata all for less than €10 (even gas station food in the US is more expensive and the quality is subpar). This was a very yummy sandwich and super filling too. The mayo/aoili sauce was the star of the show and really brought everything together. The baguette and sandwich toppings were super fresh too.

Hands down, the best pastel de nata in Lisbon--Period…read more We fully committed to the research--sampling at least four spots a day (a tough job, but someone had to do it)--and somehow kept circling back to this place. Why? Because the tarts come out hot, fresh, and straight-up addictive--Truly the Krispy Kreme of pastel de nata. Yes, we were those people who packed up boxes and flew them 4,000 miles back home... and yes, they were STILL incredible after a quick spin in the air fryer. That flaky crust, that custardy center ‍ They're sweet on their own, but if you absolutely pile on the cinnamon --Chef's kiss. Pure perfection.