Lisbon’s Post-Colonial Feast
Highlights
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Taste many dishes from: Cape Verde, Brazil, Goa and Angola
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Visit Mouraria neighborhood
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Explore diverse, residential neighborhoods
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Taste fish and seafood
Summary
A tour to study the cuisines, history and diversity of Portugal’s former colonies and meet the people in the kitchen keeping the traditions of these communities alive.
Tour info
Duration
5 hours - 6 hours
Group Size
7
Pricing (From)
Adult:
(13 years +)
€135.00
Child:
(6-12 years)
€67.50
Infant:
(0-6 years)
€0.00
Commentary
Meeting Point
Dropoff location
Why take this tour?
We will study the cuisines, history and diversity of Portugal’s former colonies. Get a taste of Cape Verdean cachupa, Brazilian pastries, Goan samosa and Angolan piripiri sauce and meet the people in the kitchen keeping the traditions of these communities alive.
we will explore the complex story of post-colonial Portugal through how it’s expressed in the kitchens of central Lisbon. We’ll start with the signature Cape Verdean stew, cachupa. Packed with hominy, studded with Portuguese chorizo and topped with an egg, the version we’ll try is prepared by the self-proclaimed “King of Cachupa” himself. We’ll have coffee from Angola and chocolate from Sao Tome, learning about these commodities roots in slavery and their current move toward free-trade standards. We’ll visit a shop selling religious icons from Brazil and learn about how African religious traditions were disguised within Catholicism for centuries by colonial subjects of the Portuguese crown.
we will explore the complex story of post-colonial Portugal through how it’s expressed in the kitchens of central Lisbon. We’ll start with the signature Cape Verdean stew, cachupa. Packed with hominy, studded with Portuguese chorizo and topped with an egg, the version we’ll try is prepared by the self-proclaimed “King of Cachupa” himself. We’ll have coffee from Angola and chocolate from Sao Tome, learning about these commodities roots in slavery and their current move toward free-trade standards. We’ll visit a shop selling religious icons from Brazil and learn about how African religious traditions were disguised within Catholicism for centuries by colonial subjects of the Portuguese crown.
More than five hundred years ago, Portuguese explorers set out by ship and forever changed the world by opening up trading channels between otherwise disconnected places – Europe to India, West Africa to Brazil and beyond. Spices, coffee, knowledge, gold and, most tragically, enslaved people, filled their ships as fortune and settlements grew. From Brazil in the west to Macau in the East and many points in between, the Portuguese planted their flag creating a direct connection between Lisbon and those distant lands. In colonial kitchens, a hybrid cuisine developed, combining local and Portuguese influences, adding in new materials arriving in the hold of Portuguese ships. Today, almost 50 years after Portugal’s colonial era officially ended, Lisbon benefits immensely from the presence of communities from the country’s former colonies, which are so intertwined with Portuguese history. The story is complicated, the populations diverse and their food, across the board, is delicious.
On this full-day tour, we will explore the complex story of post-colonial Portugal through how it’s expressed in the kitchens of central Lisbon. We’ll start with the signature Cape Verdean stew, cachupa. Packed with hominy, studded with Portuguese chorizo and topped with an egg, the version we’ll try is prepared by the self-proclaimed “King of Cachupa” himself. We’ll have coffee from Angola and chocolate from Sao Tome, learning about these commodities roots in slavery and their current move toward free-trade standards. We’ll visit a shop selling religious icons from Brazil and learn about how African religious traditions were disguised within Catholicism for centuries by colonial subjects of the Portuguese crown.
Though Portuguese language and the Catholic faith were once the cornerstones of Portugal’s colonies, in all of these diverse kitchens the real object of devotion is piripiri, the chili pepper, and we will sample a few versions of the chili-based sauce that reflect a range of tastes, from Africa to Asia. Up one hill and down another, we’ll reward ourselves with the city’s finest shrimp samosa and meet the irreverent chef pushing the boundaries of both Goan and Portuguese cuisines. We’ll visit with street vendors from Guinea, and take in some hidden history on our way to a hip new spot with a Brazilian chef creating modern renditions on the food of his home country, including a puff pastry stuffed with succulent octopus. Finally, sunset will find us in a small Cape Verdean taverna run by the matriarch of her street, where we’ll have a digestive of house-made poncha, sweetened sugar cane liqueur, toasting senhora Maria and the survival of such rich and diverse traditions, all at home in little old Lisbon.
What’s included?
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A dozen different edible specialties -
Culinary Backstreets guide -
Transportation to and from the meeting point
Things to know
Before you book
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Food Tasting - Let us know if you have any allergies
Before you go
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Wear comfortable shoes
Covid Policy
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
Cancellation Policy
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100% refund if given 1 week notice prior to walk.
50% refund if given 72 hours notice or more.
Less than 72 hours before the beginning of the activity or no-show: no refund
About operator:
We got our start in 2009, reporting from a borderless urban zone we like to think of as the “Culinary Backstreets” because we believed that there were countless stories of a city’s foodways that needed to be told. We wanted to focus on a more traditional side of urban culinary life – the workings of simple family-run restaurants, the masters passing their craft on to an apprentice, the banter of regulars gathered around an open table, the rhythm of a life committed to meatballs and nothing else. We were enthralled by all of the tiny epics we encountered while eating our way through the city and set out to share as many of them as we could. From the start, we vowed to go slow and collect these stories one-by-one, giving equal measure to the culinary side as the human element of the story. This way, we expected a deeper understanding of the city and its daily life to emerge with every bite. For us, it’s never just about the best meatball in town; it’s always about all of the meatballs.
We tell the stories of our subjects – unsung heroes who are sometimes forgotten or taken for granted at home – through weekly restaurant reviews published on CB, culinary walking tours, books, web design and smartphone applications. When we see the need, CB also acts as a fundraiser for causes connected to protecting and promoting traditional culinary culture.
By publishing the stories of our local heroes, visiting them on culinary tours, or directly fundraising for them when they are in need, we attempt to honor their work and their essential role in maintaining the fabric of the city. Our purpose is twofold. Yes, we want to get travelers to some good places to eat. But we also want to make sure that some of these spots and the artisans making food there find a new audience and get the recognition and support they deserve. They are holding back the tide of globalized sameness, which is not easy work – even if it’s done unknowingly. But we believe that every meal counts and, with the help of our audience, they will add up. We are committed to their perseverance and hope that our modest efforts encourage them to keep at it. Our work is also guided by a belief in: Honest Tourism: The places where we eat and craftsmen that we feature on our culinary tours are all selected with this purpose in mind. We’d never accept a free lunch or consider a discount for our tour groups, because that would contradict our central goal, to support them. Nor do our guides receive any commissions from shopkeepers. Honest Journalism: The same principal is applied to the publishing of stories. There are no sponsored posts or even advertising on CB. The writers and photographers are paid fairly for their work on stories that we all believe in.
The cities we are drawn to all have a culinary tradition of untold richness as well as a certain tension, be it political instability, the tug between East and West, the clash between modern and ancient identities, migration, rapid gentrification, bankruptcy, or a post-colonial hangover. Our decision to get started in a city is always the result of a trip filled with many meals where we are given in intimate view of that tension, right there on the table. By getting lost in this warren of independent food purveyors struggling to preserve or adapt tradition in fast-paced urban life, we start to discover the deep complexity and true flavor of the city. At present, you’ll find our regular dispatches from Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Marseille, Mexico City, Naples, Porto, Queens (NY), Shanghai, Tbilisi and Tokyo.
CB’s work was started in 2009 by Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer as a humble food blog called Istanbul Eats. The following year we published a book of our reviews, now in its fifth edition. That year we also launched our first culinary walk in Istanbul, a route we are still using today. In 2012, we realized that what we built in Istanbul was needed in other cities we knew and loved. We started CB that year with Athens, Barcelona, Mexico City and Shanghai as pioneering members of our network. In 2013, we added Rio and also launched our iPhone application in Istanbul. In 2015, Tokyo and Tbilisi came into the fold. That year we published mini-guides to Barcelona and Athens and also launched an iPhone application in those cities. Our Eatinerary service, which provides travelers with tailor-made culinary travel itineraries, was also launched in 2015. In 2016, Lisbon – the latest city to kindle our curiosity – joined the CB network. In 2017 we added Naples and Queens, NY – two places with very compelling stories to tell – to our roster and also published full-size eating guides to Athens and Barcelona. In 2018, Porto joined the list of cities we cover.
By publishing the stories of our local heroes, visiting them on culinary tours, or directly fundraising for them when they are in need, we attempt to honor their work and their essential role in maintaining the fabric of the city. Our purpose is twofold. Yes, we want to get travelers to some good places to eat. But we also want to make sure that some of these spots and the artisans making food there find a new audience and get the recognition and support they deserve. They are holding back the tide of globalized sameness, which is not easy work – even if it’s done unknowingly. But we believe that every meal counts and, with the help of our audience, they will add up. We are committed to their perseverance and hope that our modest efforts encourage them to keep at it. Our work is also guided by a belief in: Honest Tourism: The places where we eat and craftsmen that we feature on our culinary tours are all selected with this purpose in mind. We’d never accept a free lunch or consider a discount for our tour groups, because that would contradict our central goal, to support them. Nor do our guides receive any commissions from shopkeepers. Honest Journalism: The same principal is applied to the publishing of stories. There are no sponsored posts or even advertising on CB. The writers and photographers are paid fairly for their work on stories that we all believe in.
The cities we are drawn to all have a culinary tradition of untold richness as well as a certain tension, be it political instability, the tug between East and West, the clash between modern and ancient identities, migration, rapid gentrification, bankruptcy, or a post-colonial hangover. Our decision to get started in a city is always the result of a trip filled with many meals where we are given in intimate view of that tension, right there on the table. By getting lost in this warren of independent food purveyors struggling to preserve or adapt tradition in fast-paced urban life, we start to discover the deep complexity and true flavor of the city. At present, you’ll find our regular dispatches from Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Marseille, Mexico City, Naples, Porto, Queens (NY), Shanghai, Tbilisi and Tokyo.
CB’s work was started in 2009 by Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer as a humble food blog called Istanbul Eats. The following year we published a book of our reviews, now in its fifth edition. That year we also launched our first culinary walk in Istanbul, a route we are still using today. In 2012, we realized that what we built in Istanbul was needed in other cities we knew and loved. We started CB that year with Athens, Barcelona, Mexico City and Shanghai as pioneering members of our network. In 2013, we added Rio and also launched our iPhone application in Istanbul. In 2015, Tokyo and Tbilisi came into the fold. That year we published mini-guides to Barcelona and Athens and also launched an iPhone application in those cities. Our Eatinerary service, which provides travelers with tailor-made culinary travel itineraries, was also launched in 2015. In 2016, Lisbon – the latest city to kindle our curiosity – joined the CB network. In 2017 we added Naples and Queens, NY – two places with very compelling stories to tell – to our roster and also published full-size eating guides to Athens and Barcelona. In 2018, Porto joined the list of cities we cover.
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