Lisbon guide · 6 min read
Where can you find the best sushi in Lisbon?
Lisbon has more sushi than it did five years ago, and the range in quality is wide. These are the signals we use ourselves when eating out in the city.
Look at the menu length first
A menu with a hundred items cannot be bought fresh every morning. Short menus are a sign the kitchen buys what the market offered that day and sells out of it.
At Maré de Lisboa the board is rewritten daily and rarely exceeds thirty items.
Can you see the kitchen?
An open kitchen is the strongest guarantee a restaurant can offer. When the fish is broken down in front of guests, nothing can be quietly plated from a fridge.
Ask for a counter seat. It changes the meal from a delivery of plates into a conversation.
Judge the rice, not only the fish
Good sushi rice is body temperature, seasoned with vinegar, and holds together until it reaches your mouth. Cold, dense rice is the most common failing in mediocre sushi.
What a fair price looks like
In Lisbon, expect around €5 to €7 for a pair of quality nigiri and €26 to €50 for a chef's selection. Considerably cheaper usually means frozen or pre-cut fish.
Frequently asked
- Do I need to book sushi in Lisbon in advance?
- For counter seats, yes - they are limited and go first. Tables at lunch are usually available for walk-ins.
- Is sushi in Lisbon made with local fish?
- The best places use Atlantic fish landed on the Portuguese coast - tuna from the Algarve, sea bass, mackerel and prawn - alongside a few imported classics.
Come and taste the answer
Fourteen seats face our open kitchen. Reserve one and watch your sushi being made.
Reserve a table