‹ The best bowl in 50 cities › Lisbon
Soup season · Lisbon, Portugal
The best bowl in Lisbon: Shellfish bread soup
Bread soaked in a garlicky shellfish broth and stirred until it's somewhere between soup and porridge, with prawns, cilantro and a raw egg folded in at the table.
Açorda is how Lisbon turns old bread and the morning's catch into something you'd cross the city for. Pap'Açorda built a 40-year reputation on it.
Pap'Açorda
Mercado da Ribeira, Avenida 24 de Julho, 1200-479 Lisbon
Get: Açorda de marisco, or the Açorda Real with lobster and prawns
Uma açorda de marisco, por favor.A shellfish açorda, please.
Opened in Bairro Alto in 1981 and named for the dish; since 2016 it's upstairs in the Ribeira market, still making the açorda the room is famous for.
Lunch and late dinner; the açorda is for two.
Make it at home
Açorda de marisco, Lisbon shellfish bread soup
The broth from the prawn shells is the soup, so don't skip it. Stir hard at the end: the bread should break down into a loose, glossy porridge, and the egg goes in off the heat.
You need
- 1 lb (450 g) shell-on raw prawns
- 8 oz (225 g) clams, scrubbed
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 small red chili, sliced, or a pinch of chili flakes
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 5 cups (1.2 l) water
- 10 oz (280 g) day-old Portuguese or country bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces
- 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
- 2 egg yolks or 2 whole eggs
- Salt and black pepper
How to make it
- Peel the prawns, keeping the heads and shells. Devein the tails and keep them cold.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the heads and shells and cook 4 minutes, pressing on them, until bright red. Add the onion for 3 minutes, then the wine; bubble 1 minute. Add the water, bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Strain, pressing hard on the shells. You want about 4 cups (950 ml).
- Steam the clams in 1/2 cup of the broth in a covered pan over high heat, 4 to 5 minutes, until they open. Discard any that stay shut. Pour their juices back into the broth.
- Soak the bread in 2 cups of the hot broth for 10 minutes until soft.
- In a wide pan, warm the rest of the oil with the garlic and chili over medium-low heat until the garlic is pale gold, 3 minutes. Add the soaked bread and stir hard with a wooden spoon, adding more hot broth a ladle at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, until it's a loose, glossy porridge.
- Add the prawn tails and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until pink. Stir in the clams and most of the cilantro, and season with salt and pepper.
- Off the heat, stir in the eggs quickly so they turn the açorda silky, not scrambled. Serve at once in the pan, with the rest of the cilantro on top.
Pans and tools
- wide sauté pan or cazuela
- medium pot
- sieve
Chef's tips
- It should be spoonable, not stiff. Keep a little hot broth to loosen it at the table.
- Use good bread; sliced sandwich bread turns to glue.
Four more bowls in Lisbon
Kale and potato soup
Potato broth with threads of kale and a slice of chouriço, at a Santos bakery-snack bar that's open until dawn.
A Merendeira · Av. 24 de Julho 54, 1200-868 Lisboa
Get: Caldo verde with a pão com chouriço (chouriço baked in bread)
Um caldo verde e um pão com chouriço, por favor.A caldo verde and a chouriço roll, please.
The name every Lisbon guide gives for caldo verde, and the city's late-night stop after the bars of Santos.
Make it at home: Caldo verde with chouriço
The greens must be cut as thin as you can manage, almost threads; roll the leaves up like a cigar and slice. They cook in two minutes and stay bright.
You need
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) Portuguese extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 lb (900 g) floury potatoes (russets), peeled and cut into chunks
- 8 cups (1.9 l) water
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 bunch (about 8 oz / 225 g) collard greens or Portuguese couve galega, stems removed
- 4 oz (115 g) Portuguese chouriço or dry Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
- Broa (cornbread) or crusty bread, to serve
How to make it
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 8 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add the potatoes, water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart when pressed.
- Meanwhile, stack the greens, roll them tightly and slice as thinly as possible, 1/16 inch (2 mm). Rinse and drain.
- Puree the soup until completely smooth with an immersion blender. It should be like thin cream; add hot water if it's thicker.
- Bring back to a simmer, add the greens and cook 2 to 3 minutes, just until tender and bright green.
- Meanwhile, fry the chouriço slices in a dry pan for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until the edges crisp.
- Ladle into bowls, put two or three slices of chouriço on top with their red oil, and finish with a thread of olive oil. Serve with broa.
Pans and tools
- 6-quart pot
- immersion blender
- sharp chef's knife
Chef's tips
- Kale works if you can't find collards; slice it just as thin.
- In Porto it's eaten at midnight at festivals too, from clay bowls.
Stone soup
A thick soup-stew of red beans, pork, chouriço, potatoes and coriander, from the folk tale of the monk who made soup from a stone.
Ofício - Tasco Atípico · Rua Nova da Trindade 11K, 1200-301 Lisboa
Get: Sopa da pedra when it's on, and the petiscos
Uma sopa da pedra, por favor.A stone soup, please.
A modern tasca in Chiado on the Lisbon cooking school's list for sopa da pedra.
On the winter menu; ask.
Make it at home: Sopa da pedra (Portuguese stone soup)
From Almeirim, where they serve it with a clean stone in the bowl. The stone is optional.
You need
- 12 oz (340 g) dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
- 8 oz (225 g) pork belly, in one piece
- 1 chouriço (about 8 oz / 225 g)
- 4 oz (115 g) morcela (blood sausage) or 1 more chouriço
- 1 pig's ear or 4 oz (115 g) bacon (optional)
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1 onion, chopped, 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 lb (450 g) potatoes, diced, 2 carrots, diced
- 1 bunch coriander, chopped
- Salt, black pepper
How to make it
- Put the beans, pork belly, chouriço, morcela and ear in a pot with the water. Simmer 1 1/2 hours, lifting out the sausages after 30 minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic, potatoes and carrots and simmer 30 minutes, until the beans and vegetables are soft.
- Lift out the pork and slice it with the sausages; return everything to the pot.
- Season, stir in most of the coriander and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with the rest of the coriander and bread.
Chef's tips
- Mash a few beans to thicken if you like.
Chicken soup
Portugal's chicken and rice soup with a squeeze of lemon and mint, the soup everyone's grandmother made.
A Valenciana · Rua Marquês de Fronteira 157, 1070-225 Lisboa
Get: Canja to start, then the frango (the house is famous for grilled chicken)
Uma canja, por favor.A chicken soup, please.
A Campolide institution for grilled chicken whose canja, writers say, tastes like their grandmothers' recipe.
Make it at home: Canja de galinha (Portuguese chicken and rice soup)
Portuguese cooks put the chicken's giblets in for depth and finish with fresh mint.
You need
- 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lb / 1.6 kg), with giblets
- 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
- 1 onion, halved, 1 carrot
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (150 g) short-grain rice
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- A handful of fresh mint leaves
How to make it
- Simmer the chicken and giblets with the water, onion, carrot and salt, skimming, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Lift out the chicken. Strain the broth back into the pot; chop the giblets and shred a good handful of meat.
- Bring the broth to a boil, add the rice and simmer 15 minutes, until soft.
- Add the shredded chicken and giblets, the lemon, and season. Serve each bowl with torn mint.
Chef's tips
- Use the rest of the chicken for a pie or sandwiches.
Garlic and coriander bread soup
Boiling water poured over a pounded paste of garlic, coriander and olive oil and good bread, with a poached egg. Simple, and very Portuguese.
Casa do Alentejo · Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 58, 1150-268 Lisboa
Get: Açorda alentejana, then the migas with pork
Uma açorda alentejana, por favor.An Alentejo bread soup, please.
A 17th-century palace behind an unmarked door that serves Alentejo food, under a Moorish courtyard; açorda is that region's soup.
Make it at home: Açorda alentejana
It's assembled, not cooked. Use dense, day-old country bread and a lot of coriander.
You need
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 1 big bunch coriander (about 2 oz / 60 g), leaves and stems
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) water
- 4 eggs
- 8 oz (225 g) stale country bread, in thin slices
How to make it
- Pound the garlic, salt and coriander in a mortar (or a deep bowl) to a coarse green paste. Stir in the olive oil.
- Bring the water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Lower to a simmer and poach the eggs 3 to 4 minutes; lift them out.
- Divide the paste between 4 deep bowls and lay the bread on top.
- Pour the boiling water over the bread to cover, put an egg in each and serve at once.
Chef's tips
- Some cooks add a few pieces of poached salt cod; it's very good.
Is this your restaurant?
You make the best bowl in Lisbon, by our read. Make your card above (it downloads, or opens your share sheet on a phone), post it, and tag us. Here's your tag for your site:
<a href="https://www.chefamazing.com/soup/lisbon"><img src="https://www.chefamazing.com/soup/badge/lisbon.svg" alt="Pap'Açorda: the best bowl in Lisbon" height="46"></a>
Something changed? Write to hello@chefamazing.com.Bowls nearby
All 50 bowls The 25 best soup recipes
No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
Chef Amazing remembers every place you ate, keeps the lists friends send you, and helps you cook it at home.
Our founder's story · For chefs and food creators · Privacy · Terms