Mondego Lisbon

A breath of fresh air

Sara from Lisbon

About me I am a writer swimming in the IT ocean and rolling through life on my roller skates. You can also find me with a photo camera in one hand and creating pictorial scenes with the other. Despite that, I'm really not good at multitasking, but I'm always thinking about what to do next, how to reinvent myself. That is what brought me to Lisbon in 2016 to start a brand new life. ...
""Mondego" is a restaurant in Lisbon in a hidden corner behind Rossio that's a true breath of fresh air, despite being wholly traditional & Portuguese..."

The quest for a restaurant in downtown Lisbon seems to be reduced to one of two results: posh/gourmet trendy places where you can never get a place unless you make a reservation two months in advance and fast food and American franchises where you eat something other than real food - also crowded.

However, rising from a very hidden corner behind Rossio and pleased to give us a breath of fresh air from these two narrow choices, there’s Restaurante Mondego, where you can walk in on a Friday night and have some genuine Portuguese food cooked by a traditional cook and served to you by a real waiter who's happy to have you.

At Mondego, there won’t be any trendy dishes or decoration. In fact, you will be immersed in a truly Portuguese experience, filled with flavors, good wine and a wide range of traditional homemade desserts. If you're lucky, you might even have some Portuguese-speaking country's food, such as cachupa.

I was very glad – and a bit surprised, I must add – that Mondego survived the pandemic, amongst all these international Instagram-oriented places, but I believe that it was its authenticity that kept (and hopefully will keep) it going.

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Lisbon Spotter Sara

About me I am a writer swimming in the IT ocean and rolling through life on my roller skates. You can also find me with a photo camera in one hand and creating pictorial scenes with the other. Despite that, I'm really not good at multitasking, but I'm always thinking about what to do next, how to reinvent myself. That is what brought me to Lisbon in 2016 to start a brand new life. Why Lisbon Lisbon is the place where it all happens, so every day you have something interesting to do, whether it is a music concert, an art exhibition or an outdoor festival. Plus, Lisbon i...

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Nov 13, 2025

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