In Lisbon, there are tascas and then there are fine dining restaurants—Canalha is the perfect medium between these two extremes. This step-above-casual Belém spot with marble tables and wood-paneled walls serves phenomenal shareable plates without any pretentiousness. The seasonal menu is simple but refined, and the high quality of the ingredients is what shines, like the smoked eel that tastes like bacon, or the two-year-aged tuna tiradito, marinated in soy sauce and sesame seeds.

There are two different ways to have a meal at Sem: at the wine bar or at the restaurant, which are located in the same building separated by a window on a busy street in Alfama. Make a night of it by booking a table on the restaurant side for their seven-course tasting menu, or keep it casual at the bar where you’ll find a smaller food menu written on a chalkboard. They change the dishes seasonally, but you can expect things like honey roasted carrots with pomegranate or razor clam escabeche.

Prado paved the way for farm-to-table restaurants in Lisbon. You’ll find it right next to a 12th-century historic church in the hilly Mouraria neighborhood, with a tight menu that changes seasonally. Book this spot as one of your nicer diners while you’re in town, and plan on sharing a bunch of plates, like the beef tartar sandwiched between dried cabbage, smoked eel with melon and cucumber, and Alentejano pork with turnips, plus a bottle of some natural wine.

Not going to Ramiro when you’re in Lisbon is like going to the beach and not putting your toes in the water. It’s the most important seafood restaurant in the entire city, and the line usually stretches around the block. (The wait is real, but worth it.) Start out with the stuffed crab, gambas à guilho, and some bread—it’s great, so don’t be shy about eating the entire tray. Two other things that should be on your table: the medium rare steak sandwich and a vodka lemon sorbet.

You’ll see locals at Praia no Parque for just about every occasion—celebrating something momentous, having a business lunch on someone else’s dime, or just eating with friends. The menu’s full of plates like angus ribeye, king crab salad, steak tartar, and oysters, but the experience of eating here is far from stuffy—you’ll see shots on tables, bottle sparklers, and diners waving napkins in the air to the sound of “Sweet Caroline”. Book ahead of time, since it gets full almost every night.

Bairro means “neighborhood” in Portuguese, and this huge space housing four restaurants is chef Jose Avillez’s take on that. Taberna is a casual, lively lunch or dinner spot that’s outfitted like a gourmet deli. Páteo is a sun-lit hall where you can linger over a plate of salted cod for a few hours over dinner. Pizzaria Lisboa serves, unsurprisingly, pizza, and Mini Bar is a theatrical dinner spot with a 12-course tasting menu. If you’re in town for a few days, try to hit them all up if you can.

Bairro do Avillez is great, but Belcanto is José Avillez’s crown jewel. There are three different menus offered inside this elegant dining room that’s housed in an old monastery: two tastings and one à la carte, with dishes like lobster paired with white beans, marrow, and caviar, and razor clams with lupin bean ice shavings. Book a table in advance, and plan on leaving your afternoon or the rest of your evening free. This is a main-event kind of place you’ll want to tailor your day around.

Different is the best word to describe Come to Tricky’s, and not in the way your mom would describe your new tattoo. This spot reflects the new international Lisbon, where people from all over the world came for a trip, fell in love with the city, and never left. Head here for things like tortellini with Jerusalem artichokes or octopus with chickpeas, and expect a good time—the vibe is relaxed and fun, and the music is cheesy in a way that you’ll actually enjoy.

The menu at Boi e Cavalo is short, sweet, and changes seasonally. Order the gnocchi with vanilla and dried tuna loin, as well as the turbot with achiote and lemon pickle to start—the latter is a spin on a classic Portuguese dish that’s traditionally made with codfish. The cozido rice with pink prawns should be your top priority for mains. It’s another contemporary take on a historic dish that’s been eaten throughout the streets of Alfama for centuries.

Bistro 100 Maneiras is an easy spot for dinner with a ton of food options and cocktails presented in an art deco picture book-style menu. Start with something like the Clockwork Orange that mixes vodka, pepper, mandarine, and basil alongside the bread basket, which comes with a greasy-in-a-good-way housemade pig-fat sauce. Order some meat for your main—the staff will make sure you approve of your cut of beef before throwing it into the fire—and a side of the truffled potato mille-feuille.

If you’re a huge fan of tartares, then Misc by Tartar-ia should be at the top of your list. Yes, the food is great—the sea bass tartare, Asian beef tartare, and the perfectly-crunchy partridge rice are all solid picks—but what makes this place special is the environment. You’re nearly guaranteed to leave with a new friend and a few stories to tell the following day. Plus, their Basque cheesecake is incredible—it’s a family recipe that’s been passed down and perfected for generations.

Pap'Açôrda is synonymous with the Lisbon nightlife, and it recently moved to the top floor of the Time Out Market in Cais do Sodré. It never disappoints, and is a reliable go-to for dinner before heading out to the neighborhood’s bars. The menu is made up of classic Portuguese dishes to share, like peixinhos da horta (deep fried green beans), ameijoas à bulhão pato (clams), and açorda, a bread stew that’s traditionally made with leftover stale bread.

Opposite Portuguese parliament is a red door on Rua de São Bento where you ring the doorbell and wait until someone lets you in. Inside, the color red is a major player in the decor, similar to the famous medium rare steak that’s been bringing locals to this spot for the past 40 years. Add a side of creamed spinach, and finish your meal with the tarte tatin. This is a great spot for people watching, since it’s a popular place for politicians to celebrate deals they just sealed across the street.

The odds of finding tourists at this traditional Portuguese spot located in the middle of a narrow street in Alcântara are low. The menu is big, and the portions even bigger. Grab a spot at one of the wooden tables on either of the two floors and order a few things to split, like the eggs with farinheira, cod fritters and fried green beans, or the crunchy bite-size fish poppers that are deep fried in olive oil. Don’t skip the serradura, a whipped cream and butter cookie crumble, for dessert.

At the top of the Graça neighborhood is a tiny tavern decorated with classic wood paneling and tiles. The menu mixes Japanese and Portuguese cuisines, which you can try by ordering à la carte or through the ten-course tasting menu. Both the grilled sardine nigiri and the sardine flan are excellent, and are different from anything else you’ll find in Lisbon. After you eat, walk around Graça and head up to the viewpoint to see the city below.

Tasca Pete is a small, cozy spot that feels a bit like going to a friend’s place for dinner. It’s on a hilly cobblestone street connecting the Graça and Penha de França neighborhoods, and is easy to miss—once you find it, knock on the glass doors to be let inside. A huge counter takes up most of the restaurant, where you can sit with a draft beer or a glass of natural wine and order shared plates like blueberry focaccia and potato terrine.

It’s almost impossible to reserve a table at this spot on the corner of a square at the foothills of the São Jorge Castle, but if you’re there early—12:30 for lunch or 7pm for dinner—you’ll likely be able to snag a seat. Share the piglet pastry and three or four other plates while listening to Portuguese rock music inside, or attempt to balance on the cobblestones at the outdoor tables. Plan to come by after a morning visit to the castle, or before heading into Alfama for some fado at night.

Iconic Portuguese restaurants are a part of the city’s fabric in the same way its monuments are. Gambrinus is one of those restaurants, and it’s been untouched since 1936. There are three distinct areas that show off traditional food in Lisbon: one counter, and two wood-paneled dining areas. Pop in for dinner before a concert at the Coliseu, order a beer and croquette at the bar, or sit down for a full meal of roast beef, all types of seafood, and the crepe suzette prepared tableside.

There are two lavishly decorated dining areas inside JNcQOI Avenida, including the main restaurant on the top floor where you can eat plates of Alaskan king crab or tender pork shoulder while staring at the huge (fake) dinosaur skeleton in the center of this fancy space. If you’re looking for something more casual, head downstairs to the Deli Bar in the basement. Order a shrimp cocktail and some oysters, and be sure to swing by the bathroom before you leave to say hi to the DJ.

You won’t find many locals here—there are only ten tables inside the narrow space, which are typically scooped up by travelers who waited in line to put their name down on the list before the restaurant opens at 6pm. But still, the food is excellent, and no dish is over €20. Plan to get there as early as 5pm to get on the list, and go with someone who wants to share things like codfish with chickpeas, seared beef cubes called pica pau, smoked artichokes, and stingray.

The Mercado de Alvalade is one of the best food markets in Lisbon, and up on one end there’s a small restaurant called Sem Palavras. It’s a beer house, with fast and efficient service, paper placements, and tables that are practically on top of each other. Order from their menu of meat and fish, including dishes like farinheira (pork sausage) with scrambled eggs, clams with coriander and garlic, and any type of cod. Portions are big, and all the seafood comes fresh from the market next door.

Tico Tico in Alvalade is one of the most traditional beer, meat, and seafood restaurants in the city, and it’s slightly off the tourist radar. The menu is mostly filled with home-cooked classics, like meat croquettes that are considered some of the best in the city, lamprey rice, and Portuguese feijoada. Grab a beer and some bulhão pato clams to share, and if you don’t get it on your first visit, come back and try their prego sandwich, which is also considered to be one of the best in town.

Essencial is a buzzy, tiny, and minimal restaurant in the middle of Bairro Alto that feels more like having dinner inside someone’s (very well decorated) house rather than at an actual restaurant. Pick from two options: a full menu with dishes like oven-baked rice and scarlet shrimp or a three-course tasting for small plates of turbot with caviar and pigeon foie gras.

Último Porto is a mostly-locals spot that’s a bit tough to get to—it’s located in the middle of the shipping containers in Alcantara, and you have to either drive through a shipping dock to get there or cross a foot bridge at Rocha Conde de Obidos. Start with the chocos trinchados, or diced grilled cuttlefish, and splash them with plenty of vinegar. Order the red mullet fish if it’s on the menu, but if it isn’t, know that you can’t go wrong with any of the seafood caught fresh from the Atlantic.

Portugal has more sea than land, and the former is what’s emphasized at this fine dining restaurant inside the Four Seasons. Service is smart and formal—you’ll want to break out the hotel iron ahead of putting on the one fancy outfit you packed for this trip. You can pick from three different tasting menus, which includes an 8- and 13-course option, plus one that’s vegan. Everything is brilliantly executed, especially the squid with hazelnut, roasted algae butter, bergamot, and caviar.