Address: R. Nova do Carvalho 44, 1200-014 Lisboa, Portugal
Opening hours: 12:00-04:00 Thurs to Sat, 12:00-02:00 Mon to Wed, closed Sun
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Tinned fish has become an important Portuguese culinary symbol, reflecting their love for the seas and just about everything in it, with everything from tinned barnacles to lamprey available for hungry canned connoisseurs. Given the city’s position by the Tagus and the Atlantic, it’s no surprise that it has such a love of seafood, with bacalhau (cod) being a firm favourite.
The fishing industry is visible everywhere along the Portuguese coast, with fishing villages and canning plants dotted along the coast serving the fish-hungry nation, reminiscent of Japan. The canning industry took off in Portugal in the mid-19th century and since then they’ve been able to can just about anything, and where better to celebrate this culinary tradition than Sol e Pesca in the trendy Cais do Sodré with a big jug of Portuguese beer.
Formerly a fishing tackle shop, Sol e Pesca now stocks a mind-boggling amount of canned fish for very reasonable prices. It has the feel of some bizarre tapas bar, with fishing rods fixed to the menus and canned fish lining the walls. We opt for salmon pate, needlefish and limpets, all of which were lovely, especially the limpets, which had a real taste of the sea. I asked for lamprey, a Portuguese delicacy, but unfortunately I’d come in the wrong season, so instead, they kindly gave us mussels and made it up to us with plenty of ginja.
This is a truly unique place to eat and drink in Lisbon, with low prices, good quality, kind staff and a strange Mighty Boosh-esque ambience.
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