Eating
How a meal ends: coffee, the bill and what is not included
The last ten minutes of a Portuguese meal follow a sequence, and knowing it removes most of the small awkwardness.
Eating
Tascas, markets, pastry and the meals worth planning a day around.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Eating
The couvert, and the plates you did not order
Bread, olives and small dishes arrive before you ask for anything. They are chargeable, they are optional, and declining them is…
Eating
Salt cod is a technology, not a fish
A country with a long coastline built its defining dish around a fish caught in cold northern waters. The reason is preservation…
Eating
Grilled sardines belong to a few weeks, not to the year
The fish is fattest in high summer and thin the rest of the time, which is why the smell of charcoal is seasonal and why the…
Eating
The dish of the day is the best structure on the menu
One dish, cooked in volume, sold at lunch and gone by mid afternoon. It is the freshest thing the kitchen makes and the cheapest…
Eating
Soup comes first, and it is not a starter
A thick vegetable soup opens most meals here, at home and at lunch. It is a structural part of eating rather than an optional first…
Eating
Fish sold by weight, and how that bill is built
Whole fish and shellfish are priced per kilo rather than per plate. The number on the menu is not what you will pay, and knowing…
Eating
The convent sweets, and why they are mostly egg yolk
An entire family of desserts built from yolks, sugar and almonds, with names that sound religious because they are. The reason is a…
Eating
Why the cooking uses few spices and a great deal of three things
A country that ran the spice trade cooks with restraint. Olive oil, garlic and coriander do most of the work, and the reason is not…