Cervejaria Ramiro is a seafood restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal, that will serve you one of the best seafood meals you’ll eat in Lisbon.

From gigantic tiger shrimp to clams in garlic sauce and goose barnacles, I’m going to share with you all the details about this unforgettable seafood paradise in Lisbon, Portugal.

Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant
The legendary Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant

Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant

I was looking forward to eating at a lot of restaurants during my trip to Lisbon, Portugal.

But nothing got me more excited than thinking about Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant, known to serve some of Lisbon’s best seafood.

Anthony Bourdain ate here years ago on his TV show, and when I reached out on YouTube asking where to eat in Lisbon, it was the number one recommendation. On top of that, I’m also seafood obsessed.

Cervejaria Ramiro
The indoor seating downstairs at Cervejaria Ramiro

My wife and I arrived to Cervejaria Ramiro for lunch, and luckily it just took us 5 minutes to be seated – though sometimes there’s a longer line and I’ve read stories about people having to wait outside for an hour or two before being seated (that would still be worth it).

Inside of the restaurant it’s loud with friendly conversation, and you’ll see some water tanks full of live lobsters, plus a variety of some of the finest seafood.

It feels almost like a Chinese food hall style restaurant like in Hong Kong, but in Portugal!

Cervejaria
The restaurant is a Portuguese “cervejaria” so they serve lots of beer.

It’s one of those restaurants where you just start ordering, and you feel like you want to order their entire menu regardless of price, and you know it’s going to be worth it.

They have little touchpads for ordering, and you can go through the local Portuguese seafood on the electronic touchpad and designate what you like.

I didn’t really know what all to order, so I consulted with our waiter, whose name was Noonoo, and he was happy to help.

After you order, it won’t take long for some of the freshest purest seafood you’ll ever eat to come to your table.

Portuguese food
Think twice before you eat too much bread…

One more note.

On the table before the seafood comes, you’ll get a basket of bread on your table, which is very tempting.

Don’t eat too much bread, because you’ll want to save some stomach real-estate for the best dessert ever. Keep reading below to find out more about the incredible must-eat dessert at Cervejaria Ramiro.

Possibly if they had brought out all the seafood we ordered at once, it couldn’t have all fit on our table, so they served us a couple seafood dishes at a time, and once we ate the first ones, they brought out the others. Let’s start with the seafood.

Clams in garlic
Clams in garlic, amazing

Clams in garlic

Something I instantly ordered off the menu and that came to our table first, was a pot of clams cooked Portuguese style (amêijoas à bulhão pato – named after the Portuguese poet who loved to eat) in what I think was mostly olive oil (and or butter), and a heap of garlic and parsley.

The clams were seasoned perfectly, a little on the salty side, but filled with richness, and a garlickliness you can taste for days.

Best seafood in Portugal
Amazing seafood in Lisbon, Portugal

I would say that this was one of my favorite single dishes at Cervejaria Ramiro, even despite all the other more impressive seafood. That garlic flavor was just unbeatable.

gambas a guilho
Shrimp and garlic pan

Shrimp garlic

Next dish that came to our table was a sizzling pan of shrimp (gambas a guilho), again in a ton of garlic with olive oil.

The garlic complemented the shrimp beautifully, and what I liked most about it was that all the garlic was half caramelized in that hot olive oil, while still tasting fresh and pungent.

best seafood restaurant in Lisbon
Crab (sapateira)

Crab (sapateira)

You’ve probably had crab roe before… but have you ever seen so much roe that it looked like pudding in the bottom of the crab shell?

I think this was some type of stone crab, and when I saw that it wasn’t very expensive on the menu, I immediately ordered one. It was served cocktail style, so it was chilled, and they actually served a spoon inside the shell to scoop up all the crab roe pudding.

crab roe
Roe lovers dream!

The meat of the crab was outstanding, slightly naturally sweet, and I think prepared with nothing on it. I actually dipped some of my crab bites into the garlic olive oil from the shrimp above, which went extremely well together as well.

The roe was as rich as you’d expect — with a slight bitterness, and a wonderful smoothness.

tiger shrimp
Giant tiger shrimp!

Tiger shrimp

Crab done, they then brought out the shrimp, and these were no ordinary shrimp.

The tiger shrimp were among the biggest I’ve seen in my life (although it was before I saw these monstrous tiger shrimp in Hua Hin, Thailand (video). But nevertheless, they were the size of your forearm.

giant tiger shrimp
So meaty and muscular

The tiger shrimp were grilled in little more than some olive oil and salt, very light on the seasoning if any.

The tiger shrimp meat was so incredibly firm and muscular, not as tender or sweet as freshwater shrimp, but muscular and incredibly meaty. It was sensational.

what are scarlet prawns
Scarlet prawns

Scarlet prawns

Although not as impressive and gigantic as the tiger prawns, the scarlet prawns were probably the best single piece of seafood I tried at Cervejaria Ramiro restaurant.

These gems of the sea, which are also known as carabineros, are Mediterranean red colored shrimp. Our waiter Noonoo recommended them, and I’m thoroughly glad I took his recommendation.

best seafood in Lisbon, Portubal
They will explode with juices and oils

Similar to Thai freshwater prawns, the meat was incredibly silky smooth in texture, with an impressive natural sweetness to them. When my wife pulled off the head of the scarlet prawn, the juices and tomalley got nice and messy, just like you’d want them to.

The tomalley, was also divinely rich and creamy.

When you eat at Cervejaria Ramiro restaurant, eat whatever seafood you like, but don’t miss the scarlet prawns.

best restaurants in Lisbon
Goose barnacles (percebes)

Goose barnacles (percebes)

Having read about goose barnacles and seeing them on Anthony Bourdain’s show, they were something I had to try.

Our waiter Noonoo hooked us up with a samplers plate. The goose banacles sort of reminded me of goat hoofs, and they sort of have a fingernail consistency on the outside, mixed with a leathery sandpaper skin. What you do is you pop them open and eat the meat on the inside.

They are juicy and rubbery, kind of similar to really salty snails. Goose barnacles aren’t something I would crave all the time, but I did enjoy eating them, plus they look so cool!

Cervejaria Ramiro restaurant
Oysters at Cervejaria Ramiro restaurant

Oysters

Throughout our entire seafood meal at Cervejaria Ramiro, my wife and I were filming a video. And there was a friendly Portuguese family sitting close to us, and they were smiling and very nice.

The man asked me if I had tried the oysters yet, and I told him I hadn’t. About 10 minutes later, our waiter brought out a couple oysters… I think the friendly family ordered the oysters for me (thank you very much if you are reading this).

Anyway, the oysters were of utmost quality and superb with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Portuguese prego
The dessert you’ve been waiting for – Portuguese prego!

Prego – steak sandwich dessert

After eating tiger prawns and velvet prawns and goose barnacles, you’d think that nothing could get better. But you’d be wrong.

Along with seafood, Cervejaria Ramiro is known for serving one of the best prego in Lisbon, a Portuguese steak sandwich. And although go to Cervejaria Ramiro for the seafood, it would be horrible to miss having a steak sandwich at the end of your meal.

And yes, it’s traditional to eat it at the end of your meal, like a steak sandwich dessert.

Lisbon restaurants best
As perfect as it gets

I’m not going to share too many descriptive details about this Portuguese steak sandwich, but I can say it’s one of the greatest things to eat in Lisbon.

The bread was incredibly pillowy and crusty, the steak was tender and juicy, and all the juices and fats from the meat just melted into the bun. There was also a good amount of lightly toasted sticky garlic on the beef.

best restaurants in Portugal
This is what steak sandwich dreams are made of

The Portuguese prego is the type of steak sandwich you’ll have dreams about.

When you taste this Portuguese steak sandwich, you’ll want nothing more for dessert.

Cervejaria Ramiro prices
Cervejaria Ramiro prices – Our total bill came to 108.42 Euros

Total price

My wife and I sat at Cervejaria Ramiro eating for 3 hours – the time just flew by. Our total bill for all the seafood we ate came to 108.42 Euros.

So while it wasn’t a cheap meal, for the quality of seafood we ate, I thought it was an incredible deal. Even coming from Thailand, I thought it was an amazing deal — you’ll pay that or more in Thailand for that quality and amount of seafood, and I know in other parts of Europe for this same meal you’d pay a fortune.

It was a special treat, and well worth the price.

Watch the video

If you have a few minutes, press play to watch the video above to see this entire seafood meal up and close.

(Or you can watch it on YouTube here)

best seafood restaurants in Lisbon
Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant – One of the best seafood restaurants in Lisbon, Portugal

Conclusion

Some say the seas off of Portugal are home to the best seafood in the world. So it goes without saying that you’ll eat a lot of amazing seafood when you’re in Lisbon, and there are plenty of good restaurants to choose from.

Cervejaria Ramiro is famous for both locals and tourists because they serve honest high quality, fresh, and extraordinary seafood at fair and reasonable prices, with friendly service. That’s the formula that works, and which has made them one of the best seafood restaurants in Lisbon.

The seafood was extraordinary, and the entire meal experience, made it one of the best seafood feasts I’ve ever had!

Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant – Lisbon, Portugal

Address: Av. Almirante Reis nº1 – H, 1150-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Open hours: 12 pm – 12:30 am on Tuesday – Sunday (closed on Mondays)
Websitehttp://www.cervejariaramiro.pt/
Prices: Our total bill came to 108.42 Euros for everything
How to get there: Cervejaria Ramiro Restaurant is located along Av. Almirante Reis in Lisbon, Portugal. You can get there from either Intendente or Martim Moniz Metro stations. My wife and I walked from the central Rossio square area, and it only took about 15 minutes.

50 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • get.properties

    1 year ago

    Thanks for this amazing guide! It’s really helpful. Portugal has many great locations for traveling and living. It’s a great country for everyone.

  • vishal kaushik

    3 years ago

    That’s really amazing. Thanks for share!

  • sankar singh

    3 years ago

    nice blog and content amazing picutures

  • Jonathan

    3 years ago

    Wien, believe it or not, you are awesome

  • VapeSpring

    3 years ago

    Nice trip to plan with delicious food.

  • George

    5 years ago

    Going to Portugal in 3 weeks and thought of checking your website for a good place to eat. It never disappoints me! Thanks for the recommendation, I will try to visit the restaurant -the dishes look delicious!

  • Matrix Max

    5 years ago

    My husband and I went here a couple years ago and it was absolutely incredible!!! The first night we tried to go, we were not prepared for the line.

  • Doctor Michael

    6 years ago

    Ohh… It’s delicious to see seafood. Your blog is a nice place to know about lots of delicious seafood. Basically, I & My wife love to eat seafood exactly you describe in your blog. Thanks, buddy got the plan of today’s dinner item with my lovely wife.

  • Debbie

    6 years ago

    Thanks
    Desperate to go as seafood is my all time favourite but my husband is allergic to shell food!

    Do they have any options if other fish ?

  • Simpson

    6 years ago

    Hey Mark, I loved seafood as well as your blog. Thank you for making us known about different cultural foods and restaurant.

  • Miguel Pereira

    6 years ago

    Aahahahahah 😀 my girlfriend and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing from your interpretation of the waiter’s name, which is actually spelled Nuno!
    Congratulations for the great work, Mark! Another awesome awesome post on food, just what I came to expect from this blog since my very first visit here — the #1 place for those who travel for food 🙂
    By the way, I wanted to thank you a lot for being an inspiration for me to experience more of a new place through its food. This goes for every new destination when I travel, but especially for my visit to Saigon, with its AMAZING street food, which was the first time I found about migrationology.com!
    We ended up extending you a great thanks on our blog post of our “top 3 foods in Vietnam” 🙂
    https://heywhatstheway.com/blog/top-3-foods-vietnam/

    By the way! If you’re ever back in Lisbon, make sure to extend your travel to Sesimbra, a small fishing town just 40km south, close to the wonderful Serra da Arrábida. Sesimbra is my hometown, and you can find one of the best places ever (!!) for the freshest fish you could ever dream of — it’s called Tasca do Isaías. Definitely add that to your google maps or bucket list of sorts.

  • Amaback

    6 years ago

    Great to hear that Mark,this looks so good !! thanks for the other recommendations as well !

  • Jennifer

    6 years ago

    Thank you for the wonderful mouthwatering post! Everything looked delectable and I can’t wait to go to Lisbon!!! Thanks for all the helpful tips, too!

  • Izy Berry

    7 years ago

    Seafood paradise INDEED. I love how even a seasoned food blogger such as yourself also checked Youtube for recommendations. Lol. Also a big Anthony Bourdain fan!

  • Britt

    7 years ago

    This was the best meal I had the whole time I was in Portugal. It was insanely delicious. I had lots of the similar things- the tiger prawns were definitely the highlight for me, along with the clams that weren’t very salty when I went. And of course we had to do the Prego for dessert…

  • Yuen Mi

    7 years ago

    Oh my, that Crab (sapateira) looks so mouth watering. I love this piece on Portugal food. Lisbon sounds like a food paradise for a seafood lover (me). I hope I can have the opportunity to visit it. I can just sit here, staring at the pictures and daydream all day. Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips.

  • Mark

    7 years ago

    Lisbon is by far my favorite food city in Europe. Italy is great, France is nice, but Lisbon beats them all. The flavors are amazing and the price is right! Glad to see some posts on this great city!

  • Lance

    7 years ago

    Spot on Mark. You’ve really captured the essence of Portuguese cuisine. Lisobon is the city where I fell in love with the peri peri spice (from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa). I don’t think I’d ever truly lived until I tried fish blackened with peri peri. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

  • TiaW

    7 years ago

    I just love your pieces on Portugal. It’s such an understated but wonderful country. And the seafood is really incomparable.

  • Peter Korchnak

    7 years ago

    I went to Lisbon once for a day and, believe it or not, did not have any sea food. Number 1 on my to-do list for next time! Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips.

  • Sara Martins

    7 years ago

    I’m glad you liked my country’s food! You went to the capital city, now you should visit Porto, it has great seafood too and lots, lots of great meat dishes! It’s history and people will make you fall in love. Also the waiters name is Nuno! Ahaha!

  • Dave

    7 years ago

    I’m planning on heading to Lisbon this summer and this looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Ricardo Barbosa

    7 years ago

    Hey Mark! I really loved your videos and the way you describe flavours! I am glad that you enjoyed the food in Lisbon. But i have to tell you, you need at least almost 1 month, just to try half of Portugal’s traditional cuisine. We have an huge variety from north to south and different ways to prepare the same main ingredient. Just so you can imagine, we have so many recipes for codfish, that you can eat a different one each day for a whole year. If you come back and want some info of what and where you need to eat from north to south, just tell me!
    Best regards

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Thank you very much Ricardo. I would love to spend more time traveling and eating in Portugal, that sounds amazing. Thank you for your support!

  • Josias da Cruz Lopes

    7 years ago

    Just a note:
    The toasts with butter are normally to dip in all the sauces like the garlic clams and garlic shrimp, but most importantly the Crab (Sapateira) sauce.
    FYI, the Sapateira sauce is made from the insides of the head of the crad seasoned and mixed with onions, pickles, mustard, mayonese, parsley, hard boiled egg and Port wine… All mixed and minced…

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Oh cool, thank your for sharing all that information. That meal was something I’ll never forget!

  • Josias da Cruz Lopes

    7 years ago

    I’m glad you liked my country… Next time you must visit some other places than Lisbon… When are you going back?

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Thank you very much Josias, I would love to come back and visit again!

  • Neil

    7 years ago

    Thank you, Mark, for sharing with us your lovely and amazing experiences!
    Would love to learn more from you.

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      You’re welcome Neil, thank you for reading!

  • Justin

    7 years ago

    So glad you wrote about Lisbon. It’s one of our favorite places in the world, one of the most inexpensive in the Euro zone, the food is utterly unbelievable and the people are absolute sweethearts. Great article… definitely one of the best blogs on the web.

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Thank you for your support Justin. I absolutely agree, I only wish I would have had more time to stay in Portugal!

  • Henry Cook

    7 years ago

    It looks very pure and delicious. Thank you, Mark

  • mark wyld

    7 years ago

    This place is certainly on our list for the next trip to Lisbon. Funny enough we were watching the Bourdain episode last week where he visited here. Another really good restaurant is Faca and Garfo on R. da Condessa

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Great to hear that Mark, thanks for the other recommendations as well!

  • Scott Aldhoch

    7 years ago

    Oh My Good!! It looks so yummy. After looking all these delicious foods, I am planning to visit Portugal as soon as possible. Your blog just made me crazy, Now I am looking for the best places to visit in Portugal.
    If any one have to details then help me out, I am also looking over the Internet but not nessacrry information are provided. Your help will be appricated and make my trip of Portugal memorable.
    Thanks !!

  • Robert

    7 years ago

    I am getting hungry when I saw the picture. if it real, I’ll eat it now. yummy

  • Jonathan

    7 years ago

    I am literally drooling, thanks for sharing

  • Marianne

    7 years ago

    OH my goodness – this looks so good!! I lived in Lisbon for a few months many many years ago and this has made me feel very nostalgic! I have a friend visiting in a couple of weeks – I will pass this on to her. Yum!

    • Mark Wiens

      7 years ago

      Hi Marianne, glad you lived in Lisbon previously, it’s such an amazing city. Thank you for sharing!

  • Croatia SJ

    7 years ago

    OHHH MY!!! I was drooling. I have to say, all of that seafood for that price is a-okay with me. I want all of it in my belly now.

  • Kathryn S Tanner

    7 years ago

    My husband and I went here a couple years ago and it was absolutely incredible!!! The first night we tried to go, we were not prepared for the line. I think we went around 7pm and it was about a block long. The next night we got there earlier and while the line was still long, it wasn’t quite as bad and we were mentally prepared. We waited for 1.5-2hrs but my husband peaked inside and got us a couple beers so we were fine. We even made some friends in line. Some of the best seafood we’ve ever had and a great experience!

  • EDWARD

    7 years ago

    The Food was looking too much alluring..