Time Out Market Lisbon poses a challenge for food travelers who enter its doors – too many choices. Find out our favorite things to eat and drink at Lisbon’s most popular food hall and where to find them.
What are food travelers to do when grounded due to a global pandemic? Well, if their grounding is in Portugal, one answer is to conquer Time Out Market Lisboa.
A top Lisbon attraction, the Time Out Market typically swarms with hungry crowds queuing for food and filling tables, especially during the warm summer months. Tourists love the market for what it is – a safe, clean place to sample a variety of dishes without the stress of translating menus, navigating maps and leaving tips.
Pro Tip
Unlike the USA, tipping in Portugal is neither required nor expected at restaurants. Round up your bill and hand the extra amount to your server if you are satisfied with his or her service.
Our History with Time Out Market Lisboa
After we moved to Lisbon, we avoided eating at Time Out Market Lisbon. While we appreciated the market’s culinary concept of curating food from first-in-class restaurants around the country, we chose to spend our time exploring the city’s vibrant restaurant scene instead.
→ Read about our impressions of living in Portugal.
Don’t get us wrong. The Time Out Market is NOT a tourist trap but it’s definitely more popular with people visiting Lisbon than with locals. As Lisbon residents, we’re able to easily find authentic dining experiences with cloth napkins and flowing wine for a fraction of the price.
But times are different now. Since we’re staying local while tourism takes a sabbatical, we’ve embraced the lack of crowds at normally packed destinations like the Pena Palace in Sintra and the Time Out Market.
Seeing a window of opportunity to visit Timeout Lisbon without crowds, we jumped. In other words, we made it a mission to eat our way around the popular Portugal market to find our favorite dishes. But we didn’t stop there. We’ve returned again and again to make sure that our recommended stalls remain open.
Pro Tip
During normal times, Time Out Market Lisbon is packed from the minute it opens until the time it closes. Visit at off-peak hours to avoid the largest crowds. Better yet, arrive when the market opens and grab a table right away.
After visiting Time Out Market numerous times during our mission, we’re now fans. The food is better than we expected and the location is supreme. In other words, we’ll return after the pandemic – just not at peak hours.
Where is Time Out Market Lisbon?
Time Out Market Lisbon co-occupies a grand 19th-century market hall in Lisbon’s riverfront Cais do Sodré neighborhood. This building is conveniently located across the street from both the ferry terminal and a metro station. It’s also accessible by tram, bus and Uber.
Mercado da Ribeira, the building’s original tenant, occupies half of the building. With a history dating back centuries, this traditional Lisbon food shed was a major shopping hub in the city after the devastating 1775 earthquake.
Today, most Lisbon locals shop at neighborhood markets, chain grocery stores and Saturday bio markets like the Mercado Biológico do Príncipe Real. You’ll see locals filling up bags of fresh produce at Mercado da Ribeira but not as many as in prior years.
Pro Tip
Shop early in the day and bring a canvas bag if you plan to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables to enjoy at your Lisbon hotel or apartment.
What Is Time Out Market Lisbon?
Opened by Time Out Lisboa Magazine in 2014, the Time Out Market isn’t a typical Lisbon market. Instead, it’s a modern food hall with dozens of stalls serving savory food, sweet desserts and liquid libations.
Some of these stalls showcase cuisine created by innovative Michelin starred chefs. Other stalls feature more humble Portuguese dishes and even eclectic global cuisine.
Pro Tip
Bring your credit card when you eat at the Time Out Market. The market is currently a cash-free zone. During our recent visits, we were able to use our Visa card at all stalls except for L’Éclair which could only process our Portuguese credit card.
Most of the action occurs on the ground floor inside the market’s grand hall. Stalls line the periphery of the market while kiosks and tables fill the center.
Eating at Lisbon Time Out Market
Lisbon’s Time Out Market reminds us of sprawling food halls we’ve visited in cities like Amsterdam and New York. Though the vibe skews hipster, the range of food is varied enough to provide an introduction to the Lisbon food scene to all visitors regardless of age or hipness.
This is a market where a group of four can eat Bacalhau à Brás, Neopolitan Pizza, Pad Thai and Sushi at the same table while chugging Beer and sipping Port. It’s also a market where kids of all ages can munch on Pasteis de Nata and lick creamy Gelato cones.
In terms of pricing, we’d rate the market as moderate. Eating here won’t break the bank but it’s certainly not cheap compared to the city’s many value-priced tascas and Bifana stands. But it’s also less expensive than eating at the best restaurants in Lisbon, some of which have stalls at the market.
Pro Tip
Budget €20 per person for a dish, dessert and drink. However, you will spend more if you order extra items or if you order higher-priced items like sushi and pizza.
Lisbon Time Out Market Guide
We appreciate that the market’s diversity of options can be overwhelming to people unfamiliar with Portuguese food favorites and the country’s top chefs. That’s why we created this guide with market highlights and photos of the dishes that we’ve enjoyed eating at the Lisbon Time Out Market.
→ Discover our 33 Portuguese food and drink favorites.
For ease of use, we’ve separated our recommendations into the following six categories:
Since Time Out is a curated market, you can’t make bad choices. But some dishes are better than others. We suggest that you start with our favorites and then find your own.
Pro Tip
Use our guide as part of your meal planning process. You’ll be able to head directly to your chosen stalls and order food. Let’s face it, the more quickly you queue and pay, the more quickly you’ll be chowing down at a table.
Chef-Driven Cuisine
At Time Out Market Lisbon’s Chef’s Kitchen, four of the nation’s most prestigious chefs serve dishes at affordable prices. Their four stalls line the market’s north end and we recommend that you sample a dish from each stall.
Don’t be skeptical and think that these chefs are just lending their names without direct influence on the food. Au contraire. We randomly encountered two chefs overseeing their stalls while we were eating their food.
Pro Tip
There’s no need to limit your choices to large plates. Menus offer a mix of pesticos (snacks), large plates and sobremesas (desserts).
Alexandre Silva (Stall #9)
Alexandre Silva isn’t just a theoretical top chef. He literally won Portugal’s Top Chef competition in 2012. His restaurant LOCO earned its first Michelin star six years later.
Dinner at LOCO in Lisbon’s Estrela neighborhood is a show stopper requiring advance reservations and a healthy credit card limit. A meal at his Time Out Market stall is much easier to coordinate and less expensive in cost.
We enjoyed eating Silva’s Pork Belly confit with mashed peas and bok choi. While the skin could have used a bit more rendering and crunch, the pork belly was tender. Plus, the pea purée’s sweetness proved an excellent match to the melty pork.
What We Ate
Pork Belly Confit with Mashed Peas and Bok Choi – €11
Miguel Castro e Silva (Stall #10)
Miguel Castro e Silva studied piano as a child in Porto before trading musical art for culinary art. This switch paid off, with Silva achieving success and acclaim as a pioneer in modern Portuguese cuisine.
Eating at his Time Out Market stall provides an excellent opportunity to sample Silva’s food without traveling to Northern Portugal. Options include iconic dishes like Bacalhau à Brás and Francesinha sandwiches as well as two of our personal favorites – Arroz de Polvo (octopus rice) and Tartaro de Atum (tuna tartare).
We loved Silva’s version of the working man’s Francesinha. Silva serves a simple version with melty cheese topping layers of meat and bread smothered with ‘francesinha sauce’.
What We Ate
Francesinha – €12.50
Henrique Sá Pessoa (Stall #11)
Chef Henrique Sá Pessoa keeps busy helming multiple Portuguese restaurants, making TV appearances, publishing cookbooks and winning awards. Alma, with two Michelin stars since 2019, may be the star of his culinary portfolio, but don’t count out his self-named Time Out Market stall.
Unlike our €€€ meal at Alma in Lisbon’s Chiado neighborhood, a meal at Sà Pessoa’s market stall won’t cost an arm and leg. Popular dishes include the chef’s suckling pig and his 64° celsius egg served with prosciutto, asparagus and truffle oil potato purée.
What We Ate
64° Slow Cooked Egg with Truffled Potato Purée, Prosciutto and Asparagus – €11.50
Marlene Vieira (Stall #12)
Marlene Vieira is a champion of Portuguese cuisine. Her dedication started in Northern Portugal and continued when she cooked Portuguese food at a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York. Today, she shares her passion with customers at the Time Out Market in Lisbon.
Vieira proves that not all top Portuguese chefs are men while offering a fun selection of pesticos (snacks). Options include Pataniscas de Bacalhau (codfish fritters), Camarão Crocante (crispy wrapped shrimp) and Cogumelos Recheados (stuffed mushrooms).
What We Ate
Stuffed Mushrooms with Iberico Ham and Quail Eggs – €9
Traditional Portuguese Food
Eating traditional Portuguese food is a must for all visitors to Lisbon. Though the cuisine isn’t as famous as Italian food or Greek food, Portuguese food in Lisbon is accessible, affordable and downright delicious.
Time Out Lisbon Market is a great place for first-time visitors to sample traditional Portuguese food favorites. Dishes like Arroz de Pato and Bacalhau à Bras are available at the chef-driven stalls listed above. Another option is to try a dish or two at one of the following specialty stalls:
Manteigaria Silva (Stall #26)
More than an average delicatessen, Manteigaria Silva has been selling Portuguese products for over a century at its Baixia location and later at locations in Chiado, Belém and at the Time Out Market. Their offerings include cheese, charcuterie, bacalhau (salt cod), tinned fish and wine.
Visitors to Manteigaria Silva’s market stall can order charcuterie and cheese on boards, on salad and on toast. Channeling aperitivo sessions we’ve enjoyed in Bologna and Venice, we opted for a board with Presunto Grande Riserva and with a duo of Portuguese cheeses – Azeitao, a classic torta sheep cheese, and Brejo de Gaia, a red wine washed goat cheese.
Depending on your appetite, you can upgrade the size of your board. You can also choose a board with luscious pata negra ham if your budget has some squiggle room.
What We Ate
Mista Platter with Dry-Cured Ham and Cheese – €12
Café de São Bento (Stall #7)
If you really wish to understand the Lisbon restaurant scene, the clubby Cafe de São Bento, ‘hidden in plain sight’ just across the street from the Assembleia da República, Portugal’s Parliament building, is a great place to start. The restaurant’s claim to fame is its Bife Cafe de São Bento, a seemingly simple filet topped with a fried egg.
Eating the award-winning steak bathed in a rich white sauce at the market is a great option if you don’t score a reservation at the original location. We like to order ours medium rare at both spots. We also like the cafe’s Prego sandwiches.
What We Ate
Bife do Lombo à Portuguesa – €17.50
Monte Mar (Stall #5)
Not every visitor to Lisbon has time to take a day trip to Cascais and eat fresh seafood with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Monte Mar solved this problem when it opened two locations in Lisbon including a stall at the Time Out Market.
Eating Monte Mar’s Garlic Shrimp metaphorically transported us to the beach without the necessity of taking a train ride. The only two things missing were a view of the ocean and a spoon to scoop up the sauce.
What We Ate
Shrimp with Garlic, Olive Oil and Parsley – €11
O Prego da Peixaria (Stall #14)
Opened by the team behind Sea Me (see below) in 2013, O Prego da Peixaria sells traditional Prego sandwiches in Príncipe Real, Saldanha, Avalade and Algés, but that’s just part of this sandwich story. In addition to filling artisanal bread with meat, the local Lisbon chain sells a vegetarian Prego as well as Pesquetarian Pregos with tuna, cod, salmon and shrimp.
During our visit, we went old school and ordered a classic Prego with sirloin and herbal butter. Carnivores can go for Motard, Dandy, Geek, Yuppie or Hipster Pregos while truly adventurous eaters can try Pregos filled with various fruits of the sea.
What We Ate
Classic Prego – €9
Sea Me (Stall #8)
Open in Lisbon’s Chiado neighborhood since 2010, Sea Me embraces Portuguese snack traditions but with a nod to Japan and that country’s seafood precision. Diners at this upscale petisqueira (snack bar) can start their meal with Grilled Sardine Nigiri and end it with Tuna Prego sandwiches.
At the Time Out Market, no dish better fuses Portugal’s love for snacks and seafood than Sea Me’s Octopus Hot Dog. Easily eaten without utensils, this sandwich is unique. We liken it to a Portuguese take on a lobster roll.
What We Ate
Octopus Hot Dog – €13
Croqueteria (Stall #6)
Croqueteria stands out from the rest of the stalls inside the Lisbon Time Out Market. Not only is Croqueteria the only stall that sells an array of tasty croquettes, but it’s also the only stall that secured its spot via a competition.
While the entrepreneurs behind Croqueteria won the coveted prize, we felt like winners while sharing a trio of croquettes including both traditional and creative renditions.
At the time of our most recent visit, Croqueteria offered seven original flavors plus three special editions on its menu. We opted for two of the former and one of the latter.
While we enjoyed the inky cuttlefish croquette and meaty cozido croquette, we both agreed that the goat cheese croquette was our favorite. The combination of tangy goat cheese and sweet caramelized red onions made us happy.
What We Ate
Cozido à Portuguesa Croquette – €2.10
Cuttlefish Croquette – €1.60
Goat Cheese Croquette- €1.60
Global Offerings
It’s inevitable. Food travelers eventually crave familiar foods from home after traveling for a while. We had the same experience when we were nomadic for three years.
The following stalls serve global cuisine that’s popular around the world and probably in your hometown too:
Confraria (Stall #17)
Japanese chefs create the best sushi in the world which makes sense based on the Asian country’s passion for raw fish. Despite its 7,000 mile distance from Osaka, Cascais’ Confraria does a fine job with sushi using locally sourced fish. The popular sushi restaurant also has a Lisbon restaurant plus a stall at the Time Out Market.
Choosing what to order at Confraria’s stall can be a challenge for sushi fans like us. Tempted by the stall’s colorful, reasonably priced combo platter, we instead ordered two signature rolls – the Acevichado Roll with tuna, avocado and a crunchy tempura center and the Confraria Roll featuring raw and grilled salmon plus Japanese mayo.
Mixing things up, we sampled the sushi stall’s tuna taco during our most recent visit to the upscale food market. The taco was a fun way to eat raw fish without any utensils required.
What We Ate
Acevichado Roll – €5.90
Confraria Roll – €4.50
Tuna Taco – €6.90
Ground Burger (Stall #18)
Ground Burger gets our approval with its menu focused on “Oldschool American Burgers and Craft Beer”. The popular burger joint slings burgers every day of the week at the flagship São Sebastião location as well as at the Time Out Market.
We’re partial to Ground Burger’s cheeseburgers classically made with Black Angus beef patties, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard. When we’re extra-hungry, we order double cheeseburgers with grilled onions for double the yum.
What We Ate
Double Cheeseburger – €12.95
Pizzeria ZeroZero (Stall #16)
After opening successful pizzerias in Lisbon’s Príncipe Real (2015) and Parque das Nações (2017) neighborhoods, Margarida and Rui Sanche opened their third Pizzeria ZeroZero location at the Time Out Market.
As the name suggests, Pizzeria ZeroZero makes its thin, crunchy pizza crust with a mixture of flours including Double Zero as well as Moida à Pedra and Semolina. Pizzaiolos bake each pie in a wood-fire oven to achieve their desired level of crispiness.
With a more limited menu, the market location offers ten pizzas as well as desserts and drinks. We enjoyed our Diavolo pie topped with huge (somewhat overgrown and slightly tough) basil leaves and spicy salami.
Each pie is big enough to share but you might want to eat one all by yourself. We won’t judge you either way since ZeroZero is one of the best pizzerias in Lisbon.
What We Ate
Diavalo Pizza – €17
Desserts
Travelers with a sweet tooth or two will not be disappointed by the sweet choices at the Time Out Market. Not only do many of the food stalls offer a sampling of Portuguese dessert options, but a handful of stalls exclusively sell desserts.
→ Discover our 33 Portuguese dessert and pastry favorites.
Stop by the following stalls if you want to start or end your visit with dessert:
Crush Doughnuts (Stall #25)
New to Time Out Market Lisboa in 2021, Crush Doughnuts sells handmade American donuts that are big, bold and fun. They’re also more expensive than any donuts we’ve ever eaten in America. And we’ve eat a lot of American donuts from sea to shining sea!
We first encountered these donuts on steroids at the original Ground Burger and were pleased to see them at Time Out. The stand offered 15 flavors, including Red Velvet, Crême Brûlée and Pink Summer, at the time of our most recent visit.
What We Ate
Pink Summer Donut – €5.99
Gelato Davvero (Stall #19)
Gelato Daverro is the real deal. We’re not just saying this because daverro translates to really in English and realmente in Portuguese. We’re saying this because Daverro’s gelato is some of the best ice cream in Lisbon and favorably compares to scoops we’ve licked in Italian cities like Bologna, Naples, Venice and Verona.
Originally opened in 2013 around the corner from the Time Out Market, Gelato Daverro now has multiple locations including one inside the market. The local gelateria chain sources many of its ingredients at the Mercado da Ribeira.
In other words, the strawberry gelato is just as fresh as it tastes. Really.
What We Ate
Medium Cup with 3 Scoops (Ricotta Walnut Honey, Strawberry & Pistachio) – €3.50
L’Éclair (Stall #46)
L’Éclair was high on our list at the Time Out Market. Considering that we’ve visited 40+ of the best patisseries in Paris, it’s fair to say that we love Parisian pastries – especially pastries handmade with ingredients like Valrhona chocolate, Iranian pistachios and Algarvian oranges.
Similar to the original L’Éclair that debuted in Lisbon’s Saldanha neighborhood in 2014, L’Éclair’s market stall sells a variety of filled choux pastries in flavors like salted caramel, lemon and raspberry.
Tempted to order a macaron, we stuck to our plan and ordered a wonderful Saint Honoré éclair. The crunchy caramel patê a choux pastry was topped and filled with cream. It was a good decision.
What We Ate
Saint Honoré Éclair – €4.50
Manteigaria (Stalls #49+50)
Manteigaria bakes what many consider to be the best Pasteis de Nata in Lisbon. The über-popular pastelaria originally opened in Lisbon’s Bica neighborhood near Chiado in 2014 and later opened its second location at the market.
→ Read our Lisbon Pastel de Nata guide.
Don’t feel guilty if you start or end your Time Out Market experience with two natas instead of just one. Not only does each Portuguese egg tart only cost €1.10, but fresh ingredients include real butter instead of trans-fatty margarine.
Since manteigaria literally translates to buttery, we wouldn’t expect anything less.
What We Ate
Pastel de Nata – €1.10
Pudim do Abade (Stall #47)
Although the Pastel de Nata is undeniably Portugal’s most famous dessert, it’s far from the only Portuguese dessert that spans the centuries. Pudim do Abade sells one of Portugal’s ageless desserts and it’s a pudding.
Similar to the Pastel de Nata, Pudim Abade de Priscos was invented by clergy and contains a lot of egg yolks. However, unlike tarts, this dessert requires utensils. We say pick up a spoon and dig in – this dessert is definitely spoon-worthy.
Miguel Oliveira updated the 19th-century recipe which included typical ingredients like egg yolks and sugar as well as less typical bacon fat. Based on the miniature pudding that we shared, we can’t imagine that the Abbot of Priscos’ original version of this custardy dessert was this good. Or was it?
What We Ate
Miniature Pudding – €6
Drinks
Time Out Market Lisbon has enough drinks to quench the inevitable thirst that comes from eating salty Portuguese food. Keeping to theme, the best kiosks serve Portuguese drinks.
These are our favorite kiosks in the market for liquid libations:
Beer Experience Super Bock (Stall #27)
“The beer that goes beyond your expectations”
Super Bock, the most popular beer in Portugal, is super easy to find in Lisbon. Most bars sell the beloved lager by the keg, with locals typically ordering an Imperial (20 cl) for a euro or two.
Beer Experience Super Bock sells Super Bock Stout, 1927 Bavaria Weiss, 1927 Bengal Amber IPA and 1927 Munich Dunkel in addition to lager. Not sure what to order? The kiosk’s computer will help you pair your meal with a complementary beer.
This beer kiosk also allows customers to pull their own beer. It’s a full beer experience after all.
What We Drank
2 Imperial Sized Super Bock Lagers – €1.80 each
Licor Beirão (Stall #31)
“Licor Beirão, the liqueur of Portugal”
Originally imbibed in Portugal’s Beira region in the 19th century for medicinal purposes, Licor Beirão, a sort of Portuguese amaro, is the most popular spirit in Portugal today. The liqueur’s distinctive flavor has an herbaceous quality due to a double distillation of seeds and herbs grown in Portugal and in former Portuguese colonies.
We were excited to see the kiosk at Time Out Market. We’d been wanting to try Beirão but weren’t sure how to drink it.
After sampling the basic sweet version plus the more refined complex Beirão d’Honra, we know what we need to do… buy a bottle of Beirão for cocktails and a bottle of Beirão d’Honra to sip. Any other decision would be wrong.
What We Drank
Beirão and Beirão d’Honra Samples – Free
O Bar da Odete (Stall #28)
The critic has spoken! Or, in this case, the critic has poured the wine!
As we discovered while ordering glasses of white wine to drink with our lunch, O Bar da Odete‘s owner ‘Odete Cascais’ is Time Out Lisboa‘s wine critic. She (assuming she’s actually a she) also has a wine bar in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto neighborhood near Praça dos Restauradores.
Just like the wine bar, Odete’s market kiosk exclusively serves Portuguese products. Red, white, rosé and bubbly – it’s all produced in Portugal. The same applies to ‘her’ Pata Negra Presunto (black Iberian ham) and cheese.
What We Drank
Glass of Vinho Verde – €2.80
Glass of Alvarinho Blend – €3.50
Taylor’s (Stall #30)
Taylor’s has been producing Port in Vila Nova de Gaia since 1692. Their kiosk at Time Out Market opened more than 300 years later.
Visitors who stop by this kiosk can sample a variety of Ports by the glass or as part of a curated Port tasting. Just like you can pick your Port, you can also pick your tasting.
Taylor’s offers five different tastings currently ranging in cost from €9.50 for basic non-aged ports, €28 for a duo of vintage ports and all the way up to €65 for a ‘century’ tasting of barrel-aged vintages. A range of ports varying in price, quality and age are available by the glass.
Not in the mood for a fine Port during the day? Try a cocktail instead. We’re partial to the Porto Tonico made with White Port and Tonic Water. This is one of our favorite cocktails to drink at home.
What We Drank
Nothing Yet But We’ll Be Back
Souvenirs
Food travelers can kill two birds with one stone during a visit to the Time Out Market. Not only can they eat Portuguese food, but they can also buy authentic Portuguese souvenirs, both edible and otherwise.
A Vida Portugesa (Stall #45)
A Vida Portuguesa has been selling Portuguese products since it opened its first shop in Lisbon’s Chiado neighborhood in 2007. Since these products include kitchen utensils and edible treats, the store is an ideal fit for this Lisbon food market.
Plan to stock up on souvenirs and gifts when you pop into this market stall. Tiny tins of conserved sardines travel particularly well, but other portable options run the gamut from piri piri sauce to bath soaps.
What We Bought
Ceramic Serving Bowl – €15
Proposed Menu for Your Visit
Feeling overwhelmed with so many tasty choices? Let us make the tough decisions for you.
Bom Apetite! Now go eat…
Time Out Market Lisbon is located at Av. 24 de Julho 49, 1200-479 Lisboa, Portugal.
Hungry for More Food in Lisbon?
Check out our guides for the best Coffee, Pizza, Pasteis de Nata, Ice Cream and Restaurants in Lisbon.
Pin It for Later
About the Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.