Taberna Sal Grosso — Restaurant in Lisbon

Genuinely one of the best meals I had in Portugal. Sal Grosso is an adorable, cozy, hole-in-the-wall taverna serving up some of the best traditional Portuguese food I’ve had in Lisbon. It can be a smidge hard to spot; it’s tucked away in a little side street, with a simple, unassuming wooden sign marking their storefront. I probably would have walked straight on by if it weren’t for the giant line of people forming as we all waited for the taverna to open at 7 PM. Given how popular it is, you absolutely need to make a reservation; even though we got there right at opening time, we heard several groups get turned away because the place was fully booked out for the night. Thankfully, we had a reservation, and we were invited into the coziest little restaurant; the simple, rustic wooden tables were pretty tight together, with just barely enough space to shimmy through the tables. The menu was displayed on a giant chalkboard, which spanned an entire wall.

And the menu was as delicious as it was expansive. Sal Grosso serves small plates, so our server recommended that we get 1.5-2 plates per person. My mom and I ended up getting four plates to share, which included their fried baby squid, aubergine with chili yogurt, garlic prawns, and octopus with sweet potato. The plates came out as they were prepared, starting with the baby squid, which was fried to a perfect, crispy, golden brown, and tasted wonderful with a hint of lemon or the dipping sauce they offered on the side. Next came the garlic prawns, which were perfectly tender and had a TON of garlic flavor — I swear there must have been an entire head of garlic in there. The sauce was pretty light, making it the perfect accompaniment to the fried baby squid and to the more unique, heavier flavors that came with our remaining plates.

Next came the two stars of the show — the aubergine and octopus. The aubergine (or eggplant, for my fellow Americans) was insane…genuinely one of the best ways I’ve seen someone prepare a vegetable. Mind you, I’m typically an aubergine hater, so I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this. The eggplant was perfectly cooked to be tender and soft, and entirely lacking in the bitterness or weird mushy texture that aubergine so often has. This soft center paired wonderfully with a perfectly crispy shell, almost as though it was flash fried. The exquisite combo of textures was almost rivaled by the balance of flavors; the eggplant itself was coated in a delightful chili sauce, which was salty, spicy, and umami, and it was all served on top of a bed of yogurt. The creaminess and tang from the yogurt was yet another texture and flavor to even further level up the combo the eggplant had created on its own…truly one of the most life changing vegetable side dishes I’ve ever had.

Equally life changing was the octopus. Sal Grosso offers a giant serving of octopus, with two lovely tentacles served over a bed of sweet potato mash and topped with chopped tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and a light broth. I always find octopus to be a bit of a risky order, since it can be amazing when done well, but chewy and rubbery if done even slightly incorrectly. But, that wasn’t a concern at Sal Grosso…they absolutely knew exactly what they were doing. The octopus was SO tender, while still retaining a bit of springiness and a great bite. The broth was delightful, and the tomato / garlic / herb mixture on top offered a great pop of freshness. I loved that neither accoutrement overpowered the octopus and really let the natural flavors of the seafood shine. It also paired wonderfully with the sweet potato mash, which was rich and creamy, with a few small chunks of sweet potato left unmashed; the sweet potato was remarkably easy to eat — I could’ve easily downed multiple plates of it — and made a great texture and flavor break in between bites of octopus.

All in all, I truly cannot recommend Sal Grosso enough. If you want a delicious meal with a traditional Portuguese taverna experience, Sal Grosso needs to go on your Lisbon...

Lovely place. This is the second time ive been here, the last time was last year February. It seems they do change their menus but a few classic dishes were kept such as the pork cheeks, cod confit and olive oil chocolate mousse.

First of all, a huge thank you to the server who kept our seats eventhough we are 15 minutes late due to bad weather! This is definitely somewhere where you need to reserve a table, especially for dinners.

Food was overall good, some was a hit but there were misses. Service was amazing and each tables gets on the house shots which taste quite pineapple-ly. Its very popular among american tourists compared to other restaurants in lisbon so i feel like more attention was given to american tourists but thats probably just me being alittle picky!

Price wise, it has definitely gotten abit more pricier compare to the last time i came but theres inflation and its probably much more popular now too.

Now to the dishes, we ordered quite abit for 4 people. Octopus- amazing, one of the best grilled octopus ive eaten on the trip. The sweet potato mash is to-die-for. Must order! Honestly, i might even go there a third time just for the octopus.

2.fried baby squid- this is just okay and it might be a little burnt but probably that is how it was supposed to be. However, we have tried better ones elsewhere.

3.coriander rice- I love it and its an interesting fusion dish but word of caution, when they meant coriander rice, they really meant it. Unapologetic burst of coriander in every bite so stay away if coriander is not your thing.

Mushroom rice- wonderful dish. It tastes like a really good mushroom soup with rice in it. Taste really buttery, rich and creamy but probably not the most inventive dish on the menu.

5.Duck and orange salad: really like the orange salad, well balanced flavours and i supposed its fresh oranges due to orange season. However, the duck was alittle bit dry and salty.

6.cod confit- ordered by accident but it was good that happened so i could compare the quality of dishes after a year. To be fair, im not sure what to feel about it. Overall, it tasted alittle better and more well seasoned BUT personally i think they have not mastered the right balance. The last time i had it, it was abit underseasoned but honestly it felt like more effort was put into the dish compared to the latest reinvention of the dish. The confit this time was alittle too oily for us and it was quite dry but the cod was amazing.

Tomato miga- unfortunately, there has definitely been a drop of quality with this one. This one we had this time was abit too sour and the flavor was missing something compared to the last time I had it.

Now dessert- the passion fruit creme brulee- LOVELY, this was amazing. Easily, one of the best creme brulee i have ever tried! Must order!

The pork cheek was good the last time i came and its very popular. We just did not ordered it this time because we had too many pork cheeks...

Honestly one of the best dining experiences of my life. Incredible, homely Portuguese food in a tiny resto that’s a must visit for any tourist. Booked it after seeing it in the Topjaw YouTube video.

I suspect their menu changes a lot but some of the old favourites probably remain. For example, the octopus is a must order- unbelievably tender and flavourful with a stunning red pepper based sauce that I wanted to lick off the plate, served over top of some delicious ?celeriac purée. Another stunner is the pork cheek (or oxtail as apparently they’re braised in the same cooking liquid)- incredibly tender, flavourful, and served with a delightful tomato miga that balances the richness of the pork with a really nice acidity and subtle sweetness. Some wonderful sides included the fried aubergine with smoked yogurt- crispy on the outside and super soft and fluffy inside with an nice sweet and sour glaze, rolled on top of incredibly smoky Greek yogurt, and the broccolini with confit garlic- perfectly cooked with just the right amount of remaining crunch while being a bit soft and flavourful from the butter and garlic treatment. The wild boar and brioche was basically a super rich pulled pork sando that was a bit on the greasy side but delicious nonetheless. The only miss of the evening for me was the roast beef- a new cold dish that benefits from the nicely marinated mushrooms and charred goat cheese, but is hindered by the leanness and chewiness of the beef that could have been mitigated by a fattier cut and/or thinner slices. Unfortunately we were far too stuffed to try the desserts.

Short and simple wine and sangria selections that are nonetheless very pleasant drinks. Service is impeccably friendly and informative. If it were possible, we would have come here multiple...