Since we are spending more than six months in Portugal, we got to have family visiting. My mom flew to Lisbon and met us there and we had ten days of exploring and fun. One day we ended up at the Taberna da Rua das Flores – a well-known restaurant in Lisbon that serves tapas. 

Taberna da Rua das Flores for Tapas

This place is often really crowded. When we went there we got very lucky and were seated right away. However, when we were leaving the restaurant we saw that there was quite a big line of people waiting for a table. This place is well known for their menu system. They have all the information about today’s food on a chalkboard. The waitress will approach you and give you in-depth information about what they have to offer.

My memory is really good but short so even if I liked the idea, I would also like to have an English menu where I could go through the options again. Well, we can’t get it all so we picked from memory and it turned out “so so”. For example, I wanted the mussels but ended up ordering oysters (which none of us like). But hey… isn’t that part of being a tourist?!

The tapas we chose to eat

They will tell you that you should pick 4 – 5 dishes for 3 persons. We chose 5 and I do think that we could have ordered 2 more to be satisfied. But at the same time, since we ate the different dishes at a slow pace – we were not that hungry either when we left. And we did not finish all the dishes either so that probably made a difference.

Olives in Oranges

This was not an actual dish. This was more like a starter that they brought in with some bread and olive oil. The olives were mixed with small pieces of oranges and the combination of the olives with the oranges was amazing! None of us had tried that before and I already made a mental note that I will try to do this myself someday.

Oyster tartar

This was a mistake. None of us like oysters and since the menu was in Portuguese, I thought that I was ordering the mussels. But I will say that the oyster tartar was better than all of the other times that we have tried oysters. They had chopped the oyster up and mixed it with herbs and spices. We left it unfinished because it was not that good. Next time (if there will be one) we will make sure to get the mussels instead.

Portuguese type of swordfish

The fish was almost completely raw and it was in sweet chili sauce. The seasoning on the fish was perfect! Me and my mom were not to fond of it. Probably because we are not that into raw fish. Mini thought it was ok and quite good so he finished the plate. How does swordfish taste? Like any white fish, I would say.

Veal – Just veal

At all the other places where we have eaten tapas. They bring us complete meals but in small portions. At Taberna da Rua das Flores they bring you “parts” of complete dishes. So we got veal and just veal on the plate. It had way too much fat for our taste and it was tough. After we “cleaned” it of all the fat – there was not to much meat left!

Traditional Porco Preto – The black Iberian Pig

Now we are talking! Mini and I love pork preto and my mom did as well. It was perfectly seasoned and we all loved it! But of all the dishes we had gotten so far, this was the best!

Goat cheese with red onion and pumpkin jam

This was our absolute favorite. There is something magical about cheese and this goat cheese was so good and it tasted perfect with the jams. This is a dish that I could eat all day – every day! We all agreed that this was the best dish of them all followed by the porco preto.

Our experience of Taberna da Rua das Flores

This place was ok but not that amazing as people give it credit to be. We are no picky eaters and it was ok but not more. At first, we thought that we just picked the wrong stuff off the menu but since we picked five things and only really enjoyed two of them – that is just ok.

The restaurant itself is cozy and nice. We ended up spending 65 euros here for three persons and in that price, we also had one beer and two glasses of vine. Would we recommend this place? We would say that it is ok but we do believe that this restaurant does not quite reach up to the level as it is hyped out to be! If you decide to visit… make sure to try the mussels and let us know what you thought!

Information about Taberna da Rua das Flores

Address: Rua das Flores 103, 1200-015 Lisboa, Portugal.
Opening hours: Daily 12.00 – 23.30.