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Student eats · November 2026
Studying abroad in Lisbon
Every meal here costs €10 or less.
About $12 US. Typical prices, checked November 2, 2026.Lisbon is still one of the cheapest capitals in Western Europe to eat in: pastel de nata for breakfast, a bifana for lunch, piri-piri chicken for dinner. Eat where the menu is on paper and the TV is on.
A day of eating for €18
- Breakfast, €3: Manteigaria, two pastéis de nata, warm, with cinnamon
- Lunch, €5: O Trevo, a bifana (pork sandwich) with mustard and a beer
- Dinner, €10: Bonjardim, half a piri-piri chicken with fries
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: €18, about $21.
Eat for €10 or less
1A photo like it
€3Breakfast
Manteigaria
Get: Two pastéis de nata, warm, with cinnamon
Custard tarts baked all day in front of you. Many Lisboetas say they're better than Belém's.
2A photo like it
€5Lunch
O Trevo
Get: A bifana (pork sandwich) with mustard and a beer
A tiny stand-up snack bar where the bifana has been the same for decades.
3A photo like it
€7Lunch
Pão Pão Queijo Queijo
Get: A big stuffed sandwich or a shawarma
The cheap lunch after the monastery and the tarts, a few doors down.
4A photo like it
€10Dinner
Bonjardim
Get: Half a piri-piri chicken with fries
Locals call it Rei dos Frangos, the king of chickens. Charcoal, chili oil, and a paper-cloth table for not much.
5A photo like it
€5Late
A Merendeira
Get: Caldo verde soup and a pão com chouriço
Chorizo bread baked in a wood oven, open until the early morning. The fuel stop for a night in Cais do Sodré.
6A photo like it
€2Snack
A Ginjinha
Get: A shot of ginjinha (sour cherry liqueur), with the cherry
A hole-in-the-wall bar since 1840 that sells one thing. Drink it on the square.
The market
Tuesday to Saturday mornings
Mercado de Arroios
Arroios
Get: Fruit, fish and vegetables at neighborhood prices
Time Out Market is fun but expensive. Neighborhood markets like Arroios and Campo de Ourique are half the price.
The supermarket to find
Pingo Doce, Continente or Lidl
- Pingo Doce's hot takeaway counter: a roast chicken or a full plate for a few euros
- Bread rolls (papo-secos) for cents each
- Tinned fish: sardines and mackerel, good and cheap
Pingo Doce's ready-meal counter is how a lot of Lisbon students eat dinner.
How students save in Lisbon
- Look for the 'prato do dia' (dish of the day) on tasca chalkboards at lunch: a full plate, often under €10.
- The bread, olives and cheese put on your table aren't free. Send them back if you don't want them.
- Ask for water from the tap ('água da torneira'); bottled is what you'll get otherwise.
More for Lisbon
Studying somewhere else?
Run a study-abroad program in Lisbon?
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Prices are typical, checked November 2, 2026, and move; places with branches all over (chains) are named so you can use any of them. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that place. Chef Amazing is not paid by any place on this page.
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