O Cartaxeiro — Restaurant in Lisbon

This place was a recommendation from my friend John, whose taste in food I trust. I tried to go there for dinner on a weekend, only to find out they're only open for 3.5 hours five days a week. Now that is interesting. If you can run a profitable business in this area by only being open 17.5 hours a week, you probably have some really good food.

I could call this place a hidden gem, and it wouldn't be false, but it also wouldn't be accurate. This is a small (apparently) family-run restaurant in a recessed corner of a plaza with only 10 two-person tables outside (don't worry, there are more inside). It's easy to overlook given the sea of tables from other restaurants, which also have people vying to get your attention so they can try to convince you to eat at their restaurant. This place doesn't have that, which is usually a good sign.

But the good indications didn't stop there. The menu is only in the native language, yet another good indication. Only locals are eating there (based on the conversations, which were loud and not just between the people at their playable, but between tables and guests waiting in line) and waiting in line for a table here despite there being plenty of tables free at other places on the plaza, further signs this is a good restaurant.

With so many good indications, I would be surprised if the food wasn't good. Yet I was surprised, by how great it actually was.

Make sure you have Google translate on your phone, so you can use the camera function within the app to translate the menu. Or ask the server for a recommendation. I narrowed down my choice to two options but didn't tell the server that when I asked for their recommendation. Turns out, their recommended dish was one of my two, and it was amazing.

Also, make sure you have cash, as they only took Portuguese cards the last time I was there (they tried any).

You may be tempted to linger here and savor the atmosphere. DON'T BE THAT TOURIST. You've just had a great meal at a local treasure, don't take that away from the...

It is a fantastic restaurant ( not very big, with about 8 tables on the terrace) where you can eat either meat or fish. The staff dont speak English but they found a super way to explain to the tourists what fish they can cook (see the photo). We ate sardins, squids and other fish. It is served with fried potato and you can also order salad (small & big portion). It is very delicious and we kept going there to have lunch!. I will definitely go there when I am back to Lisbon again! The price is very reasonable. A lot of locals also visit this restaurant. Thank you for tasty fish! 100% you should go there...

This restaurant was the highlight of our trip. The food was fresh, perfectly seasoned and a lot of it. We also ordered the squid but I forgot to photograph it.

The menu is only in Portuguese, we ordered off the pictures and we got the sea bass recommendation from the waiter.

For your reference the restaurant is in the main square of Alfama district. In front of the fado museum.

All of these food plus soft Drinks was about €36 and so worth it. You won’t find a meal like this in the main tourist areas on this...