How to read a Portuguese menu
Português Portuguese
Portuguese menus list soups, fish and meat dishes, often in full (dose) or half (meia dose) portions. The bread, olives and pâtés that arrive unasked are the couvert: you pay for what you eat, so send back anything you don't want.
How a Portuguese menu is laid out
A Portuguese menu (ementa or lista) usually runs entradas (starters), sopas (soups), pratos de peixe (fish dishes), pratos de carne (meat dishes) and sobremesas (desserts). The quickest way to learn how to read a Portuguese menu is to look for two things first: whether dishes come as a dose (full portion) or meia dose (half portion), and the price of the couvert.
The couvert is the bread, butter, olives, cheese, pâtés or other small starters brought to the table before you order. It should be listed on the menu with prices. Under Portuguese rules no dish, including the couvert, can be charged if you didn't ask for it and haven't eaten it. If you eat it, expect it on the bill. If you don't want it, ask for it to be taken away as soon as it arrives.
Other sections and labels you'll meet:
- Prato do dia / menu do dia: the dish or set lunch of the day, usually cheaper and quick, often written on a board.
- Petiscos: small plates for sharing, like Portuguese tapas.
- Acompanhamentos: sides. Many mains already come with rice, potatoes or chips (batatas fritas), and some come with both rice and chips.
- Ao kg / preço por kg: fish and shellfish sold by weight, especially in a marisqueira (seafood restaurant). Ask for the weight and price before it's cooked.
Prices shown include IVA (VAT). Soup is a normal part of lunch and dinner, and lunch is usually from about 12:30 or 13:00, with dinner from about 19:30 or 20:00.
Words you'll see on every menu
European Portuguese swallows many unstressed vowels and turns a final "s" into "sh", so it sounds quite different from Brazilian Portuguese. "Ão" is a nasal "owng" and "lh" sounds like the lli in million.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ementa / lista | Menu |
| Entradas | Starters |
| Couvert (koo-VAIR) | Bread, olives and nibbles brought to the table, charged if eaten |
| Sopas | Soups |
| Pratos de peixe / de carne | Fish dishes / meat dishes |
| Sobremesas | Desserts |
| Prato do dia | Dish of the day |
| Menu do dia | Set menu of the day |
| Dose / meia dose | Full portion / half portion |
| Petiscos | Small sharing plates |
| Acompanhamentos | Side dishes |
| Ao kg | Priced per kilo |
| Caseiro | Homemade |
| Sem glúten | Gluten-free |
| Água da torneira | Tap water |
| Com gás / sem gás | Sparkling / still |
| A conta (ah KON-tah) | The bill |
Cooking methods
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Grelhado | Grilled |
| No carvão / na brasa | Grilled over charcoal / embers |
| Assado (no forno) | Roasted (in the oven) |
| Frito | Fried |
| Panado | Breaded and fried |
| Cozido | Boiled; also a boiled meat and vegetable feast |
| Estufado / guisado | Stewed / braised |
| À Brás | Shredded and mixed with egg and fine fried potatoes |
| À Lagareiro | Roasted with plenty of olive oil and garlic, with crushed potatoes |
| À Bulhão Pato | With garlic, coriander, olive oil and lemon, for clams |
| Cataplana | Stewed in a sealed copper pan, often seafood |
| No espeto | On a skewer or spit |
| De cebolada | With a slow-cooked onion sauce |
| Em vinha d'alhos | Marinated in wine and garlic |
Meat, seafood and key ingredients
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bacalhau (bah-kah-LYOW) | Salt cod |
| Sardinhas | Sardines |
| Polvo | Octopus |
| Lulas / choco | Squid / cuttlefish |
| Amêijoas | Clams |
| Camarão / gambas | Shrimp / prawns |
| Marisco | Shellfish |
| Peixe | Fish |
| Porco / porco preto | Pork / Iberian black pork |
| Vitela / novilho | Veal or young beef / young beef |
| Frango | Chicken |
| Cabrito / borrego | Kid goat / lamb |
| Chouriço / alheira | Smoked paprika sausage / bread and meat sausage |
| Presunto | Cured ham |
| Ovo | Egg |
| Queijo | Cheese |
| Manteiga / natas | Butter / cream |
| Banha | Lard |
| Amêndoa | Almond |
| Frutos secos | Nuts (on labels: frutos de casca rija) |
| Arroz | Rice |
| Piri-piri | Small hot chilli, and the sauce made from it |
| Coentros | Coriander (cilantro) |
Allergy and diet watch-outs
Portuguese food is built on fish, pork, egg and bread, and they turn up together in ways that surprise visitors.
The couvert. Couvert pâtés are often fish-based (sardine or tuna), and the bread, butter and cheese bring gluten and milk. If you have a fish or milk allergy, check before tasting. See fish.
Shellfish in meat dishes. Carne de porco à alentejana is pork cooked with clams, and cataplanas often mix pork, sausage and shellfish. Arroz de marisco and açorda de marisco are full of prawns and clams. See molluscs and crustaceans.
Egg. Bacalhau à Brás is salt cod mixed with egg, and pastéis de bacalhau (cod fritters) usually contain egg too. Bitoque comes topped with a fried egg. Portugal's traditional sweets, the doces conventuais, are built on egg yolks, as is the custard in pastel de nata. See eggs.
Nuts. Algarve sweets are made with almonds, including marzipan shapes and Dom Rodrigo (egg threads with almond). Many cakes and convent sweets use ground almond in place of flour. See tree nuts.
Pork and lard. Pork is everywhere: slices of chouriço go into caldo verde, ham and sausage into stews, and bifanas are pork sandwiches. Lard (banha) is used in some breads, pastries and fried dishes. Vegetable soups are often made with meat stock or have chouriço added. All of this matters for vegetarian, pescatarian and halal diets.
Lupin. Tremoços (salted lupin beans) are the classic bar snack with beer and are often put on the table unasked. Lupin can cross-react with peanut. See lupin.
Gluten. Breads, breadcrumb coatings (panado), bread-based açorda and the beer in many francesinha sauces bring gluten. Alheira sausage is made with bread. Coeliac (celiac) diners should also ask about shared frying oil. See gluten.
Wine and sulphites. Pork is often marinated in wine and garlic (vinha d'alhos), clams are cooked with white wine, and wine finishes many sauces. See sulphites.
Milk. Cream (natas) goes into gratins such as bacalhau com natas, and pastries lean on butter and milk. See milk.
EU rules require restaurants to give you information on the 14 regulated allergens, so asking about them is a normal request.
Useful phrases
| English | Portuguese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'm allergic to peanuts | Sou alérgico (alérgica) a amendoins | soh ah-LEHR-zhee-koo ah ah-men-DWEENSH |
| Does this have nuts? | Isto tem frutos secos? | EESH-too tayng FROO-toosh SEH-koosh |
| I can't eat gluten | Não posso comer glúten | nowng POS-soo koo-MEHR GLOO-ten |
| I have coeliac disease | Sou celíaco (celíaca) | soh seh-LEE-ah-koo |
| I'm vegetarian | Sou vegetariano (vegetariana) | soh veh-zheh-tah-RYAH-noo |
| No meat, please | Sem carne, por favor | sayng KAR-nuh, poor fah-VOR |
| Not spicy, please | Sem picante, por favor | sayng pee-KAHN-tuh, poor fah-VOR |
| We don't want the couvert, thank you | Não queremos o couvert, obrigado (obrigada) | nowng keh-REH-moosh oo koo-VAIR, oh-bree-GAH-doo |
| Tap water, please | Água da torneira, por favor | AH-gwah dah toor-NAY-rah, poor fah-VOR |
| The bill, please | A conta, por favor | ah KON-tah, poor fah-VOR |
Gender matters twice: adjectives about yourself (alérgico or alérgica, vegetariano or vegetariana) and "thank you", which is obrigado if you're a man and obrigada if you're a woman.
Ordering and paying
The couvert is the one charge that catches visitors out. You only pay for it if you ask for it or eat it, so send it back if you don't want it. Extra charges for things like live music are only allowed if they're on the price list, and ice or lemon can only be charged if priced on the menu.
Tap water should be free when you're eating in; bottled water is charged.
Tipping isn't obligatory. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is common, and in sit-down restaurants in tourist areas some people leave around 5 to 10 percent. A service charge isn't a standard line on Portuguese bills.
Catch the waiter's eye or say "se faz favor" (please, excuse me) to get attention, and ask for a conta when you're ready; it won't come before. Cards are widely accepted, though small tascas (simple eateries) and snack bars sometimes take cash only. Every restaurant must keep a complaints book (livro de reclamações) if something goes wrong with the bill.
Dishes to know
- Bacalhau à Brás: shredded salt cod with onion, egg and fine fried potatoes, topped with olives.
- Caldo verde: potato and shredded kale soup, usually with a slice of chouriço.
- Francesinha: Porto sandwich of meats and sausage under melted cheese and a sauce often made with beer.
- Arroz de marisco: soupy rice with prawns, clams and other shellfish.
- Pastel de nata: custard tart of egg yolk and cream in crisp pastry.
- Sardinhas assadas: whole sardines grilled over charcoal, a summer staple.
- Polvo à lagareiro: roasted octopus with olive oil, garlic and crushed potatoes.
- Carne de porco à alentejana: fried pork with clams and potatoes.
- Bifana: thin pork steak marinated in garlic and wine, in a bread roll.
- Bitoque: a thin steak topped with a fried egg, with chips and rice.
Questions
Do you have to pay for the couvert in Portugal?
Not if you don't eat it. Portuguese rules say no dish, including the couvert, can be charged if you didn't ask for it, but if you eat it you can be charged. If you don't want the bread, olives or pâté, ask the waiter to take them away when they arrive.
What is meia dose on a Portuguese menu?
Meia dose is a half portion and dose is a full portion. Full portions in Portugal are often generous, and many people order a meia dose for one or a dose to share.
Do you tip in Portugal?
Tipping is not obligatory in Portugal. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is common, and in sit-down restaurants in tourist areas some people leave around 5 to 10 percent.
Is tap water free in Portuguese restaurants?
Yes. The Portuguese consumer association DECO notes that restaurants must provide tap water free to customers eating there, while bottled water is charged. Ice and lemon can only be charged if their price is on the menu.
Sources
Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.