Vegan Lisbon

Lisbon’s pastel de nata (custard tart) comes from the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, who turned leftover egg yolks into sweets, and the bakery next door has sold their recipe since 1837. The city now bakes a vegan version too, and Lisbon is one of the best vegan cities I have ever been to.

The plant-based cooking goes well beyond pastries, with vegan francesinhas, seitan bitoques and fermentation tasting menus spread across Chiado, Cais do Sodré and Anjos. Below are my picks for where to eat, what to order and when to book. For more cities, browse all my vegan travel destinations.

Vegan Lisbon at a Glance

• Best Portuguese classics: Kong
• Best francesinha and cheese board: Ao 26 Vegan Food Project
• Best special-occasion dinner: O Gambuzino
• Best terrace lunch: Organi Chiado
• Best pastel de nata: Vegan Nata
• Best sushi: Legumi Sushi Vegan
• Best budget dinner: Plant Base
• Best all-day kitchen: The Green Affair

Best Vegan Restaurants in Lisbon

1. Kong: Portuguese Classics Made Vegan Vegan

Order the bitoque, the Portuguese café plate of steak, fried egg, rice and chips, rebuilt here with tender seitan in a rich gravy and a plant-based “egg” on top. Diners also rave about the charcoal-grilled “salmão” (salmon), a tofu fillet in lemon butter sauce with crushed potatoes, and say the fish dishes come uncannily close to the originals.

Save room for the cheesecake, which turns up in review after review, and add the cheese board if there are two of you. Kong cooks the dishes Portuguese families eat at home, so it is the place to taste everyday Lisbon food without the meat. Portions run modest for big appetites, so order a starter as well.

💡 Tip: Kong opens daily from 12PM to 11PM, and until 11:30PM on Friday and Saturday. Dinner books out, so reserve a few days ahead.

📍 Rua do Corpo Santo 2, 1200-129 Lisboa | Cais do Sodré | ☎️ +351 21 346 0076 | 🌐 kongvegan.com | 📸 @kongveganfood

2. Ao 26 Vegan Food Project: Francesinha and a Famous Cheese Board Vegan

Order the francesinha, Porto’s famous layered sandwich smothered in a spiced beer and tomato sauce, made fully vegan here. One diner called it the best they had ever eaten. The house cheese board of handmade cashew and nut cheeses is the other bestseller, and I would get it: it is one of the finest things I have eaten in Lisbon.

The ravioli and the polenta main both get raves, and people still talk about a fried “egg” so convincing it startled them. Finish with the chocolate and peanut tart, which non-vegans at the table tend to steal. The restaurant sits below street level on Rua da Horta Seca, a two-minute walk from Praça Luís de Camões (Camões Square).

💡 Tip: Ao 26 opens daily from 12:30PM to 6PM and 7PM to 11PM. Book dinner ahead, because it fills fast.

📍 Rua da Horta Seca 5, 1200-213 Lisboa | Chiado | ☎️ +351 967 989 184 | 🌐 26veganfoodproject.com | 📸 @26veganfoodproject

3. O Gambuzino: A Fermentation Tasting Menu in Anjos Vegan

Book the tasting menu. Diners describe around ten small courses, beautifully plated and full of contrasting textures, and several call it one of their best meals in Lisbon. Dishes that keep coming up include king oyster mushroom “scallops”, soy croquettes and a fermented gazpacho (chilled tomato soup), and the menu shifts with whatever the kitchen has fermenting.

Order the house drinks too: the ginger beer, tonic and elderflower kefir (a fizzy fermented drink) are all made in-house. The à la carte menu suits a lighter dinner, though one diner found the portions small, so go hungry for the tasting menu. O Gambuzino sits in Anjos, around the corner from Largo do Intendente, a square lined with bars and terraces.

💡 Tip: The kitchen runs daily from 7PM to 10:30PM, with tasting menu seatings at 7PM and 9:15PM. Doors open at 5:30PM, so come early for a cocktail during happy hour.

📍 Rua dos Anjos 5A, 1150-032 Lisboa | Anjos | ☎️ +351 21 820 8406 | 🌐 ogambuzino.com | 📸 @ogambuzino

4. Organi Chiado: Organic Plates on a Chiado Terrace Vegan

Start with the soup of the day, because diners rave about them, and one called the summer watermelon soup the best they had ever had. The lasagne is a regular favourite, and the menu builds on organic produce from local farms, with dishes like lentil curry and a plant-based feijoada (Portugal’s bean stew, normally made with pork).

Order the burger for something heartier, and ask about the daily dish, since the menu changes with the seasons. Desserts are made without refined sugar, and the pecan pie is the one to get. The cooking follows macrobiotic ideas (whole grains, seasonal vegetables), so you leave full and light. Grab a table on the terraces off Calçada Nova de São Francisco.

💡 Tip: Organi serves lunch from 12:30PM to 3:30PM and dinner from 7PM to 10PM, staying open until 11PM Thursday to Saturday. Lunch is the easier table to get.

📍 Calçada Nova de São Francisco 2, 1200-300 Lisboa | Chiado | ☎️ +351 21 606 5121 | 🌐 organi.pt | 📸 @organichiado

5. Vegan Nata: Custard Tarts Without the Eggs Vegan

Order a pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tart) warm, dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar. Fans describe a crisp, flaky shell around a creamy filling that is not too sweet, and plenty say they could not tell it from the egg version. Most people eat one at the counter and leave with a box of six for later.

Pair it with a coffee or the vegan hot chocolate. The shop is tiny, with a few bar stools, so treat it as a quick stop between sights. It sits on Rua da Misericórdia, two minutes from Praça Luís de Camões, which makes it an easy dessert run after dinner at Ao 26 or before a drink in Bairro Alto.

💡 Tip: Vegan Nata opens daily from 9AM to 11PM, so a late-night nata after dinner is entirely possible.

📍 Rua da Misericórdia 9, 1200-208 Lisboa | Chiado | ☎️ +351 21 162 8143 | 🌐 vegannata.pt

6. Legumi Sushi Vegan: Sushi Boats in Santos Vegan

Get the sushi boat, a wooden platter piled with rolls and nigiri (rice topped with a single ingredient), and work through it slowly. Diners praise the creative, well-balanced flavours and the presentation, and order gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), edamame and vegetable tempura alongside. Several call it the best sushi they have eaten anywhere, vegan or otherwise.

The tasting menu opens with a miso broth, then moves through edamame and gyoza to a loaded boat, which suits a first visit. One diner felt it repeated the regular menu at a higher price, so order à la carte if you know what you like. Legumi is small and sits in Santos, a short walk up from the river.

💡 Tip: Legumi opens for dinner only, 6:30PM to 10PM Monday to Saturday, and closes on Sundays. Book ahead for Friday and Saturday.

📍 Rua Vicente Borga 75, 1200-863 Lisboa | Santos | ☎️ +351 920 440 495 | 🌐 legumisushivegan.com

7. Plant Base: Burgers, Momos and Cocktails in Carmo Vegan

Order a burger with fries, which diners rate highly, or the momos (Nepalese steamed dumplings), which reviewers call filling and good value. The menu runs from pizzas and tacos to nachos and vegan fish and chips, and the prego (Portugal’s steak sandwich) gets a plant-based version too. The tiramisu is nut-free, which people with allergies love.

Prices are some of the friendliest in central Lisbon, so this is the easy dinner after a long day on the hills, with classic cocktails to match. Plant Base sits on a small street off Largo do Carmo, the square beside the roofless Carmo Convent, left in ruins by the 1755 earthquake, between Chiado and Bairro Alto.

💡 Tip: Plant Base opens daily from 12:30PM, and from 12PM on weekends. Ring ahead late in the evening, because closing times move between 10:30PM and 11:30PM.

📍 Rua da Oliveira ao Carmo 9, 1200-307 Lisboa | Chiado | ☎️ +351 21 603 4111 | 📸 @plantbaselisboa

8. The Green Affair: Cauliflower Wings and Seitan in Saldanha Vegan

Order the cauliflower wings and the seitan ribs, the dishes regulars come back for. The seitan steak and spinach croquettes also get warm mentions, the burger is a solid pick, and the vegan tiramisu and pumpkin desserts round things off. The menu borrows from cuisines all over the world, with everything on it plant-based.

Stick to those house favourites, since the wider menu is less consistent. The Green Affair runs all day without a break, which makes it handy for a late lunch in Saldanha, Lisbon’s business district of wide avenues. Staff are friendly and quick, and the dining space is calm and modern.

💡 Tip: The Green Affair opens daily from 12PM to 11PM, holidays included. The Gulbenkian Museum and its gardens are a short walk away, so pair lunch with a visit.

📍 Avenida Duque de Ávila 30A, 1000-141 Lisboa | Saldanha | ☎️ +351 967 472 286

Lisbon’s Miradouros: Free Views From Every Hill

Lisbon spreads across seven hills, and nearly every one has a miradouro (a public viewpoint terrace) at the top. They are free, open all day, and many have a kiosk selling coffee and wine. Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara in Bairro Alto looks across to the castle and sits a few minutes uphill from Plant Base and Vegan Nata.

In Graça, Miradouro da Senhora do Monte is the highest of the lot and the classic sunset spot, while Miradouro de Santa Luzia in Alfama looks over terracotta roofs to the river. Pack a box of natas, climb up before golden hour, and eat them with the whole city spread out below you.

Vegan Lisbon: What to Know Before You Go

• Bread, olives and butter placed on the table when you sit down are the couvert (cover charge), and you pay for whatever you eat. Send back anything you do not want.
• Vegetariano means vegetarian and vegano means vegan. In traditional restaurants, caldo verde (kale and potato soup) usually comes with a slice of chouriço (smoked sausage).
• Bacalhau (salt cod) turns up everywhere in tascas (small family restaurants), including the fried pastéis de bacalhau (cod fritters) on the counter, so assume any fried snack contains fish unless it is labelled.
• The calçada (white limestone cobbled pavement) gets slippery on the hills, especially after rain, so wear shoes with grip.
• Lisbon eats late: most dinner kitchens open at 7PM, and many restaurants close for a few hours between lunch and dinner.
• Tram 28 is packed by mid-morning, so ride it early or walk the same route through Graça and Alfama.

When to Visit Lisbon

Spring (April to June) and early autumn (September and October) bring warm days and thinner crowds than midsummer. July and August are hot and busy, and some family-run restaurants close for a few weeks of summer holiday, so ring before you go.

June is festival month: on the night of 12 June, for Santo António (Saint Anthony), the old neighbourhoods fill with street parties and grilled sardines, and the smoke drifts down every alley in Alfama. Winter is mild, rainy and quiet, which makes it a good season for long lunches at Organi Chiado and Kong.

Vegan Lisbon FAQ