Bifana Lisboa Alfama

I stopped into Bifana Lisboa while I was up in Alfama doing a photo shoot around Castelo de São Jorge. I’d seen it a few times before but never actually tried it, so I thought I’d give it a go. First impressions – it’s small but clean, and you step down into the shop. There’s a big pan of pork cooking right in front of you, which is always a good sign, and the guy serving has a bit of personality about him.

They keep things simple – just a standard bifana in a bread roll. I went with mustard, which for me is the only way to have it, and grabbed a Sagres to go with it. The pork itself was decent enough, nothing wrong with it, but nothing that stood out either.

Where it falls down is the bread and the price. The roll was quite hard, and overall it just didn’t come close to some of the better bifanas I’ve had in Lisbon. At €12.50, it’s expensive for what you get, and that clearly comes down to the location in a tourist hotspot. Would I go back? No. It’s one for tourists who don’t mind paying over the odds, but there are much better places in the city.