Food & Drinks
As Investors and Tourists Take Over Lisbon, Chefs Are Fighting Back
Portugal’s new tabernas are a reaction to the ramen bars, luxury stores and boutique hotels geared toward out-of-towners.
A lunch spread at Sal Grosso, part of Lisbon’s movimento taberneiro.
Photographer: Andrew DavisWhen chef André Magalhães opened Taberna da Rua das Flores in central Lisbon in 2012, he had to use a camping stove to grill liver and cook the other traditional Portuguese dishes he served.
Within weeks, lines extended down the block. The 24-seat restaurant quickly came to symbolize the movimento taberneiro—an effort by a wave of primarily young chefs who wanted to safeguard Portugal’s classic tabernas against the cultural tsunami transforming the city into a playground for tourists and well-heeled investors.