Discreto — Restaurant in Lisbon

At the heart of a touristy area in Alfama but a bit hidden being in an alleyway, Discreto is a lovely restaurant with a good atmosphere, courteous service, and delicious Portuguese food.

We picked this restaurant to try on our last day in Lisbon because it was close to our hotel and got good reviews online. I think a reservation might be required if you want to eat later, but since we were there right at 7 pm when they opened, we were able to get a table as it wasn’t that busy yet.

The décor inside was lovely. The English menu was written out on a blackboard and put right in front of our table, which was a nice touch. We wanted to try their Garlic Shrimp starter, but it wasn’t available at the time, so we had the Fire Grilled Leeks and Portuguese Croquette (our server explained that it had meat instead of cheese fillings). Both were tasty. For the main course, we had Bacalhau à Brás (cod) and the Octopus Bean Stew. We liked the stew, but the cod was chef’s kiss.

The service was friendly but not intrusive. Our lovely server Tony got us to try the Portuguese wine vinho verde, which I liked so much that I’m seeking it out back home. At the end of our meal, he also gave us a shot of liqueur to try, one sweet and one spicy. I believe it might be ginjiha but I’m not sure. It was a nice gesture to conclude our lovely evening at the restaurant.

Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant if you are in Alfama and want some tasty Portuguese food and a pleasant time.

Shot out to Tony and I hope you get to travel around the world...

What an experience. You will regret eating somewhere else afterwards.

This will get you to another level of perfectly balanced dishes.

We went there twice in a row. Called on advance for a table. It is a busy but very cozy and small place. With waiters that see you and know what to recommend.

We had wines sparkling water 2 starters and 2 main dives every time.

The shrimp in tomato sauce were so good!!!!! I believe they first cooked them in a pan, used some (Porto?) to sauté them, peeled them, added garlic, tomatoes and herbs including Coriander. But not too much. It was just a delight.

The sardines on risotto were had every evening. Because a piece of the crispy fish (2 pieces) in perfectly cooked risotto rice (not sloggy and not too hard) with fresh vegetables inside and a bit of the homemade aioli is just the perfect “spoonful”. The experience of the texture in your mouth is awesome.

The shrimp in tempura on polenta already sounded good - but took your food eating experience to another level. The fresh taste of creamy corn polenta (they called it porridge - it was not hard or dry with lime (cest?) and the crunchy perfectly savoury shrimp is mouthwatering.

We further had the octopus stew with beans and chorizo. - also very good

But is the first 3 dishes I mentioned that I will never forget.

A trip to Lisabon is not complete if you habend eaten here.

We lived it.

Thank you.

We would love...

A wonderful restaurant whose service and food far surpassed anything else I sampled in Lisbon. The service was attentive, friendly and the staff spoke English. Atmosphere here was very cool, perfect for an evening with friends with chill, varied music. By contrast the menu was very simple with no English translations; if you ask for explanations they will help you! We tried the goats cheese and leek starter which was (for me) a unique flavour combination that I believe would have been better enjoyed if eaten in tandem with the octopus bean stew. Alone the starter was fine but nothing I would rave over. The stew itself was warm and comforting, I would not say it was spicy but equal effort was put into seasoning the beans as the octopus. The desserts were mediocre at best, you could find better in Lisbon's plethora of pastelarias (I'd recommend Santo António's pastel de nata.) The cherry madeira cake was tough, the cake that was similar to carrot cake was decent but nothing special and the chocolate mousse was a typical mousse with an assortment of nuts on top; it isn't specific to Lisbon if that's what you're looking for. The dining experience was very pleasant so even with the desserts being sub par I would still give 5 stars and would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Lisbon! Pics: 1. goats cheese and leak starter, 2....