A Merendeira — Restaurant in Lisbon

In Portuguese ‘A Merendeira’ translates to English literally as ‘the Lunchbox’ or ‘The dinner lady’. I rate this ‘Lunchbox’ due to the traditional Portuguese food, the fair prices and buzzing atmosphere. These components make it an authentic part of the Portuguese capital. It functions as a convenient place to grab a quick snack, beverage, or a meal for the people of Lisbon, and it's frequented by all walks of life, as it stays open most of the night and into the early hours. You can order from a short range of traditional Portuguese dishes, alcoholic beverages (beer and wine), or soft drinks. Also note that water is free, and they have toilets towards the far wall on the right.

A word of warning for vegetarians/ vegans. Note that most dishes contain Pork , Fish, or Dairy; Choriço Bread (Pão com chouriço) contains pork, Caldo Verde (which contains chouriço slices) also contains pork, whereas in the case of the Pão com Legumes, despite the name suggesting otherwise, the 'vegetable bread' does not only come with vegetables, as my tastebuds recount to you that fish was also present. They also sell Pastel de Nata, and Arroz Doce, both of which, I believe contain...

This place is a landmark in Lisbon as far as I'm concerned. Back in the day, I used to go there with my friends after our nights out. After many years I went back there recently, and it warmed my heart to find out that not only it still exists, but also that it has the same cozy environment now that it had then. It's such a chilled place to hang after going out and before you head back home. You might find a lot of drunken and annoying people, especially now with all the tourism in the city. So please, don't be one of those people. Go for the food and the coziness of the place, respect the people who work there and the other customers, enjoy the experience and don't be one of those stupid tourists. The menu, which costs 6.5€ includes soup - caldo verde, typically Portuguese - , the famous bread with chouriço, a drink, a dessert and coffee. It all tastes delicious and you really can't beat this price. I can't...

I ate here on November 2023 at 11am

There was practically no one at the shop and food was coming out fresh from the traditional ovens. While the reviews say that this is a place for curing a hangover, I don't see why it couldn't be a place to hurt habe a great meal!!

The two ladies at the counter were really friendly and were very patient while I chose what I wanted to get and answered some of my questions about the sweets that were available that day.

Finally, on food, I ordered the cod bun with caldo Verde and really liked what I ordered! The bun was fresh out of the oven and the cod was well seasoned. I know the meat bun is the most popular thing here but the cod did not...