I hopped into a cab, tossed my bags in my hotel room and headed straight for Time Out Market Lisbon.
Opened in 2014, this gigantic food hall – packed with unique food and drink options as well as a fresh market and specialty food and wine shops – was the catalyst to the food hall trend that is now felt around the globe.
Owned and developed by Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts and located on 1st Street SW, the market houses a wide array of food vendors in a strikingly designed space.
You want a glass of rosé with your birria tacos from Moose while your friend sips a local lager and forks into a pastry from Alforno? Sure, why not.
The fried paneer variety hits the spot especially well and sees the soft cheese tossed with cabbage, peppers and carrots, wrapped in a warm paratha and then served with tamarind and mint chutneys for dipping.
Small crispy orbs are filled with a mix of potato, chickpeas and onion along with tamarind and mint chutney, yogurt, pomegranate seeds and cilantro.
Another favourite, which should come as no surprise to any self-proclaimed Vietnamese cuisine lovers out there, is Pure Street Food.
At Pure Street Food, he amps up said delicious menu item by offering it in multiple variations, including one with a lemongrass chili tofu filling and, my personal favourite, the spicy bo kho brisket, an ode to a traditional Vietnamese stew.
While the market’s bar may not win any awards for the best-made cocktails in town – and let’s be honest, it is hard to compete with competition on 1st Street SW such as Proof, Shelter and The Tea House – it does get plenty of points for economical pricing with $7 glasses of wine and two-ounce drinks for a mere $9.
After a slow start in the fall of 2021, largely because of a lack of a liquor licence for the first while, it is nice to see First Street Market getting busier these days.