Trip to Lisbon, Portugal

Oliver

May 6, 2022 • 4 min read

Restaurants

Kong - Food with Compassion

Situated close to Baxio, Kong is a King Kong themed restaurant not being busy at all when I went there on a Monday evening. The staff was super nice and spoke English. The food (I had a traditional portuguese dish with "Fish", Rice and Beans in a Tomato Sauce with salad. It was pretty mediocore to be honest, the Rice and Beans tasted bland and almost as if it was from a can. For dessert I had Salted Caramel Cheesecake, and wow, it was really good! So I'd definitely recommend the cheesecake.‌‌ Place accepts credit cards.

Scoop 'n Dough

I wasn't prepared to taste the BEST. DOUGHNUTS. I'VE. EVER. EATEN. Located in midst of restaurants trying to lure customers in (hint: tourist traps), it's a wonderful little vegan cafe (outdoor seating only), with the staff being fully vegan too! I had the Tiramisu doughnuts and it was to die for, the "mascarpone" actually tasted like real mascarpone, and wasn't overly sweet or drenched in coffee. Just perfect! I was a little disappointed when I ordered a Macchiatto with it (expecting a tall glass) and got a shot sized paper cup. The staff explained to me that in Portugal a macchiatto is actually just a shot of espresso and a shot of milk, and if I really wanted something bigger, I'd generally have to order a "Latte" or "milk coffee". Speaking of the staff, they were SOO nice and made sure I was absolutely satisfied with my order. Since they were all vegan, I took the opportunity to ask for recommendations for other vegan places.

Without further ado, here's the list they gave me:

Ao 26
Horacio Trattoria (italiano) strongly recommended
Plantbaselisbon
Honest Greens
Green Affair
Vegan Junkies
Arkhe
O Botanista
Vegan apati
Graca 77
Jardim dos sentidos
Legumi Sushi
My Mothers Daughters
Mother Burguer
Kong
PSI
Las Vegan
Manjerica
TetesBurritos
Shree Ram
Dona flor bristo
Vizza Nem Age Pizzabar
Bao bao
Jay's
Café Garret by ohana
Amelia Lisboa
Miss Saigon
Ohana by Nas
Café pizzeria by Sandra
Os Tibetanos
Terra
O bosque
Jardim des cerejas
Temple Food

Legumi Sushi / Machimbombo

Sadly they don't have a dine-in option anymore and only do delivery. They do have a partnership with a Bar (Machimbombo) just across the street though, where you can order their Sushi and someone actually comes over to serve it to you. So this will be a review of both places together.

Machimbombo is a bar specialized on cocktails (which I learnt after I went there, and only got a coke), with pink neon color being the main theme. The music (RnB?) was too loud for my liking and made me want to leave ASAP, if they jazzed it up and lowered the volume it would be way more fitting.

Legumi Sushi is delicious and definitely worth a try! Just maybe try the delivery option to have a more relaxing experience lol.

The Metro

Described as "under-utilized" by the Locals is a huge understatement. It isn't as crowded as Tokyo, but it's used quite heavily, by both Locals and Tourists. The station announcements in the train itself are incomprehensible - but the next station is shown on a screen, so that's a start. The ticket machine is quite confusing, as not all of them offer an English option. With no Portuguese skills I managed to get a ticket within a minute, but always wondered why the ticket machine was presenting me with a number pad after I paid - couldn't even figure out where the "Cancel" button was. Turns out, the locals each have their own tax identification number, and can probably deduct their tickets from their taxes? As a tourist you just have to press the uppermost button next to the number buttons. (it's black I think)