How I Accidentally Fell in Love with Pancakes in Lisbon

Brace yourselves. This is going to be an unnecessarily long, overly dramatic love letter to a stack of raspberry pancakes in Lisbon. They may sound ordinary, they may look like nothing special, but I PROMISE and SOLEMNLY SWEAR that these are the most outrageously amazing pancakes I have eaten in my entire life, to this very day.

Yes, yes, I know – bold statement, considering I’ve brunch-hopped my way through almost all of Europe (okay, maybe not all of Europe… but enough to feel smug about it). Still, I stand by my words.

Until yesterday, I could only speak of these cloud-soft pancakes from memory. And before you assume I impulsively booked a flight to Lisbon just to have them again (don’t tempt me), let me clarify – while prepping my Lisbon article, I opened my Google Photos to remember where exactly I’d been and what exactly I’d seen (and, more importantly, eaten).

That’s when I stumbled upon a video I had completely forgotten about.

I won’t be sharing it, because it’s not exactly fit for public viewing (I like to pretend this blog is read by the whole world and all of Bulgaria, not just my small but loyal gang of friends). Let’s just say: Jessica from May 2023 looked dangerously happy.

It’s funny watching a past version of yourself sigh over pancakes like they just proposed marriage. And yes, I know it’s absurd for me to publish this before I even share my impressions of Portugal’s capital – but GOOD LORD, THESE PANCAKES deserve their own headline.

You already know food is a core part of my travels (it shows), and brunch is non-negotiable. So when we landed in Portugal on a bright May morning, our first mission was clear: find coffee worth waking up for and food worth writing about (shocker). That’s how we found The Folks – a cozy little spot just a short walk from our hotel.

I wasn’t ready for what was about to happen. There’s a quote about falling in love – it happens slowly, and then all at once. My meeting with these pancakes was exactly that. They weren’t trying to be the diva of the menu, no flashy presentation with liquid nitrogen or unicorn glitter. Yes, they looked good, but nothing – NOTHING – prepared me for how good they actually were: a humble, glorious stack layered with mascarpone, raspberry coulis, and a sprinkle of pistachios.

But SWEET MERCY, the flavor explosion. The raspberry coulis – homemade, bursting with real berry aroma, no trace of fake sweetness. The mascarpone cream – just sweet enough, perfectly balanced by the tang of the coulis. The pancakes – fluffy, delicate, like edible clouds. And the crushed pistachios? The mic drop.

If you’re suddenly thinking of booking a ticket to Lisbon, I completely understand.

Can you see them peeking out, all seductive and smug?

Okay, I’ll stop talking like some overly poetic food critic now, but honestly – there is no force on this planet that could convince me these aren’t the kind of pancakes you’d leave your spouse for.

And now, seriously (well, almost)

Brunch in Lisbon is seriously a big deal. Every single place we tried? Absolute 10/10. Okay, fine… maybe 9/10.

Augusto’s homemade banana bread? Totally worth every hill we climbed, every burnt calorie, and every ten minutes spent in line. I’m still dreaming about it.

Miolo? Not terrible, but the interior was way too dollhouse-y for my hipster soul. Plus, I managed to drown my white T-shirt in a “Mimosa” (let’s be honest, that was 100% my own clumsiness), and the pancakes? Pffft… they don’t even come close to the real star of this story.

And speaking of main characters…

I think it’s high time I pay the absolutely deserved, mandatory homage to the glorious, mind-blowing, ridiculously easy-to-find sweet temptations that are Pastéis de Nata. Think of them as the culinary version of the best TV series you’ve ever watched - you tell yourself, “Just one episode,” and suddenly the credits are rolling and all that’s left on your plate are crumbs.

I don’t even know how many different ways I can explain that these traditional Lisbon custard tarts are simultaneously absolutely incredible and dangerously addictive, but maybe it’s enough to say this: if Lisbon ever outlawed them, I’d officially go on a hunger strike (nobody would care and I definitely wouldn’t actually do it, but you get the idea).

Enough sugar. Time for something savory.

I can’t exactly say I fell in love with traditional Portuguese cuisine. Thank goodness the Lisbon experiments weren’t nearly as catastrophic as that Malta disaster I already told you about. You might think, “Wait, why don’t you like Portuguese food? You love seafood!” And yeah, that’s true - the fish and seafood in Lisbon were really fresh and tasty. It’s just that the dishes we tried were… how to put it… a little eccentric. And while I genuinely adore mussels with garlic and white wine everywhere, the tiny Portuguese berbigão? Not my thing (don’t ask, I don’t know why, it’s just not me).

That said, I do recommend Da Prata 52 -a pretty cool concept with small plates and lots of variety.

For me, though, the undisputed star is Baia do Peixe. A restaurant right on the banks of the Tagus River - the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. The view? Postcard-perfect. The food? A feast for the senses. Imagine this: prawns, crab salad, a glass of Pinot Grigio, and the sunset slowly sliding across the water. Honestly, what more could you want on vacation?