A Taberna do Mar: The Most Reasonable Tasting Menu in Lisbon

As you may know, Dan and I have spent a lot of time in Portugal, including getting married there in 2017! We tried a fantastic and inexpensive seafood tasting menu on our last trip, and it was one of our best finds yet! Yes, I’m talking about A Taberna do Mar or, in English, The Sea Tavern. It really just sounds much better in Portuguese. This is my review of Taberna do Mar!

A Taberna do Mar is a tiiiiiiny restaurant in Graça are of Lisbon (think Alfama). The chef, Filipe Rodrigues, learned to cook from family in the Algarve and has worked at a number of Japanese restaurants in Lisbon. As a result, A Taberna do Mar offers a small menu of local seafood prepared in a cross between Portuguese and Japanese technique. The menu changes regularly, but often features similar things, and offers ordering a la carte and a tasting menu. The tasting menu was only 25 euro per person during our visit (yes, you read that correctly!) so we opted for that! Everything was fantastic, but the menu is almost exclusively seafood, FYI for non-seafood eaters.

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Photo Essay: Ericeira, Portugal in the Summer.

Nope, that’s not a Gray Malin picture, that is a photograph of Ericeira, Portugal!! As you may know, Dan and I got married near the famous surfing destination of Ericeira, Portugal last summer! I was originally going to write a post about Ericeira in the Summer as a follow up to Ericeira in November, but Ericeira is really just a small Portuguese beach town that acts as a beach getaway for Lisboetas and serious surfers. Ericeira is also beautiful, so here are some of my favorite pictures from Ericeira!

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The colorful flowers in Ericeira are unreal and everywhere!

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Blue & white tiles everywhere.

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Restaurant Review: Casa do Alentejo, Lisbon, Portugal

Casa do Alentejo is a gorgeous, albeit touristy, restaurant in central Lisbon, very close Rossio Square. Dan and I went here on a food tour years ago, and I remember thinking it was so, so beautiful!  Casa do Alentejo is set an an old palace with Moorish feature, the most stunning tiling, and palm trees! So old school Portuguese, and just want you want to experience in Lisbon!  So, when we were planning our pre-wedding weekend in Lisbon, we made a dinner reservation for 13 on our first night in Lisbon!

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The foyer of Casa do Alentejo!

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Restaurant Review: Mini Bar by Jose Avillez, Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal is definitely an underrated foodie city!  Lisbon offers both delicious cheap meals and creative upscale food experiences that rival those of Barcelona, Paris, and London.  

Lisbon’s most famous chef is certainly José Avillez.  Avillez runs a handful of restaurants in Lisbon, with his Michelin-starred Belcanto being his most well respected (it was just named the 70th best restaurant in the World in 2017!).  Dan and I ate at Belcanto in 2014 and while it was really, really, really delicious and creative with excellent service, it was quite pricey and came with all the stuffiness that one usually expects at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

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One of many courses at Belcanto circa 2014.

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