Autumn Flavors

The friendly managers of four spaces in Lisbon present below some of the treasures of national gastronomy.

Pastelaria Condes da Praia

After joining, as partners, to the own-made bakery and confectionery, Saquinho Dourado (located in Cascais and Caxias), Fabíola Landeiro and husband António Sales Nobre wanted to invest in something different related to Azorean sweets.

They chose the lesser-known cheesecake – Conde da Praia – because it was Fabíola’s favorite and because it was linked to her birthplace (the city of Praia da Vitória, on Terceira Island). Anita Rocha, confectioner who created the original recipe, was another important ally in introducing the delicious sweet to the world.

This was the starting point for, recently, opening a new pastry shop in Lisbon managed by Paula Mousinho and which is the only space in the capital that sells queijadas and where you can also find other traditional Azorean products such as bolos lêvedos (sweet bread) or Abelhinha liqueurs, made with honey-based wine brandy.

Largo da Graça, 98

Mercearia Alentejano do Bairro

The best of Alentejo can be found in the Benfica neighborhood, in a grocery store that has existed for several years and was owned by an Alentejo native. In 2021, when the former owner wanted to leave the establishment, Edgar Marim, also from Alentejo, born in Mina de São Domingos, decided to take over the business and invest in an old dream: selling products from his homeland.

The clientele is very varied, there are even those who come specifically from Barreiro to buy products that they no longer find not even in Alentejo. In this small but very welcoming space, the difficult part is choosing between the many specialties: Alentejo pies, torresmos do rissol, bread dough cakes, costas de torresmos, Gila bolêma, sericaia, cheeses, homemade jams, sausages, wines and bread , which arrives every day from different parts of Alentejo.

Estrada de Benfica, 522B | T.933 836 478

Charcutaria Pitéu Transmontano

Situated in a busy area, this traditional delicatessen, specializing in cured meats and sausages made with local ingredients and centuries-old artisanal methods, has been around for over a decade. Sara Lopes and her boyfriend João Martinho are, however, the most recent owners of the space that belonged to a cousin.

Sara has family roots in the Trás-os-Montes village of Macedo de Cavaleiros and João has always been linked to agriculture. This fact, combined with the desire to help small producers and the region of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, led them to invest in the project.

Of the many delicacies on sale, smoked products stand out – alheiras, butelos, sour and hams from Mirandela, Vinhais and the Barroso Region -, meat from Mirandesa, pastries from Chaves, covilhetes from Vila Real, shells or chasubles and also bread, olive oil, wine, cheese, chestnuts and Trás-os-Montes sour cherry and cherry liqueurs.

Largo Dona Estefânia 6A | T.910 947 215

Mercearia Poncha LX

After many trips to Madeira, Tiago Milheiro and Ricardo Costa, long-time friends, decided to bring the best Madeiran delicacies to Lisbon. The recent space, open since May this year, offers a selection of traditional sweets, such as honey and butter broas, paciências, beer sticks, different varieties of honey, anise candies, the iconic honey cake, tasty cheesecakes and , of course, Madeira wine and poncha.

When manager Joana Pires joined the team, the menu was enriched with “dentinhos”, free snacks that accompany drinks: seasoned lupins and peanuts, spicy sausage, bean salad or seasoned cheese. There are also pregos of beef and fresh tuna with onion and Madeira wine and Nikitas, a refreshing drink that combines ice cream with passion fruit or pineapple.

Here, all products originate from the “island of flowers”, from bottled water to soft drinks, even Coral beer.

Largo do Terreiro do Trigo, 12 | T.968 440 474