The best places to eat sandwiches in Lisbon, from bifanas to pregos
Most people have their own markers of summer. Elderflower trees blossom into white spidery nets, parks fill up and tops come off, the Premier League finally ends.
But for sandwich lovers, the sign of supposedly warmer days ahead comes in the form of an Instagram post by Farringdon-favourite Quality Wines. Word quickly spreads: The bifana and Super Bock combo is back for summer. This sandwich of thinly-sliced pork drenched in piri-piri oil and a bracing slick of mustard is one of the best in London. And for only £12 with a beer, it sort of feels like you’re on holiday even as the 63 bus trundles past to St Pancras. A little corner of the Iberian peninsula.
In Lisbon, the sandwich and beer combo is king, as integral to the city’s identity as the tram or the knee-breaking climbs up its vertiginous streets. Locals and tourists alike will be found hunched over bread and meat at lunchtime – and here are three sandwiches to try:
Bifana
The ubiquitous king of Portuguese sandwiches is probably also the most simple. Sheets of lean, hammered out pork simmered with garlic in wine and then stacked into ‘papo saco’, a crispy, airy roll. Depending on the spot, the oil and mustard is often on the table for you to add. The popularity of the bifana cannot be overstated (McDonald’s sells the McBifana). A tip is to go early to avoid queues – a bifana and beer for breakfast is not dissimilar to a bacon sandwich… and beer.
As Bifanas do Afonso: Hugely popular spot with tourists but for good reason. It’s cheap (€3) and delicious. No more than a hole in the wall, this is a safe bet for an on-the-go pick-me-up. With all the hills in Lisbon, few other cities demand such constant re-fuelling. Prepare to queue. Another popular spot that can come with a wait but has seating is O Trevo.
Ginjinha Popular: Right in the middle of the centre, this is a proper Lisboa snack bar. Often full of men watching the news or gossiping at the counter, the vibe here is probably better than the sandwich. The bifanas are bracingly salty, simple and totally comforting and cut through with a perfectly pulled Super Bock. It’s the best place to escape the thronging crowds on a hot day.
Tasca do Fonseca: A typical tasca, or tavern, in the north of the city. This place churns out bifanas, soups and Super Bocks from 8am to 12am. A perfect spot to sit outside on the cobbled, colourful square.
Sandes de leitão
The pork threat continues in perhaps an even more delicious sandwich – the sandes de leitão, or suckling pig. Fatty hunks of meat with caramel-crisp skin served in a floury roll. It’s like a stripped-back hog roast, when the meat provides all the texture: chewy, crispy, unctuous. A lot of places serving bifanas will also have a leitão sandwich, but it’s worth seeking out specialist restaurants. Leitão is most closely associated with the wine region Bairrada in central Portugal, where milk-fed pigs are fired in wood ovens and served on large platters. In Lisbon, the sandwich form is the heartier sibling of the bifana.
Afonso dos Leitões: This restaurant in the Belém neighbourhood – just a few minutes away from the eternally busy nata-slinging Pastéis de Belém – is a porcine paradise. A winking pig above the door welcomes you. The sandwich is served with a dipping sauce of the roasting liquid, pepper and vinegar. It’s a deeply funky, aromatic jus that lifts the lip-coating sandwich. Crisps on the side can be added Lineker style for a little extra crunch. Here you eat to the rhythmic thud of the butcher’s cleaver. Not one for the faint-hearted – but perhaps this sandwich never will be.
Nova Pombalina: A more central spot, Nova Pombalina is just down the road from Bifanas do Afonso if you fancy two porky pit stops. The leitão here is wonderfully crunchy and the bread a little darker, which adds a nuttiness that works nicely with the pork. In addition to beer, you can also have your sandwich with a wide array of freshly squeezed juices. Health, after all, is wealth. Especially a couple of pounds of pork down.
Prego
The final sandwich takes us back to Farringdon. The Eagle – the pub known for being London’s first ‘gastropub – is just across the road from Quality Wines. Here they serve a ‘bife ana’, a Portuguese steak sandwich, which has become their signature dish and one of the capital’s most famous meat-in-bread artefacts. Their version piles the steak high – but at £18, it’s more sacrosanct than it is good. In Lisbon, the sandwich is a more restrained affair. Prego comes from the word ‘nail’, referring to the way the steak is pounded out and then cloves of garlic nailed into the sheets of meat. It’s marinated in beer and other aromatics to tenderise the beef. The thinness of the steak means it will normally be cooked well done (especially in Portugal), but the best pregos will be tender with a little bite and full of flavour.
Cervejaria Ramiro: This is a famous, upmarket three-floored seafood restaurant above the Moorish Quarter. It also serves an excellent prego for pudding. Which is a little weird, but after plates of buttery shellfish, the ferric sandwich really hits. And for those without a sweet tooth, it’s proof the perfect pudding does exist.
A Parreirinha do Chile: This tiny spot is more known for its bifanas, but the prego is just as good. It’s a no frills, cheap snacking sandwich. For €1.30 you can order a cup of a wine to wash down the prego, which, like the sandwiches, is filled to the brim.