If there’s one thing for which I can wake my Portuguese friends Isabel and Luis, it’s posta Mirandesa. Well, when it’s prepared in a very good restaurant, that is. Isabel is the best Portuguese cook I know, but she doesn’t do this dish. Not because she can’t, but because the meat is very special, and not for sale at the daily butcher. So we went to restaurant Mercearia De L Praino to enjoy one of the best postas Mirandesa in Lisbon.
Restaurante Mercearia De L Praino
This gem of a restaurant is tucked between the high rise in the Telheiras district, close to Campo Grande and home to Sporting Lisbon, Estádio José Alvalade. The restaurant has an outdoor terrace and a playground just outside.
The owner is a German woman who has lived in Portugal for many years, but hasn’t yet forgotten German cuisine. The menu is a funny combination of German dishes such as sauerkraut sausages, and typical Portuguese dishes such as the posta Mirandesa we came here for.
Posta Mirandesa
Posta Mirandesa has to be one of the tastiest pieces of meat I’ve ever had! It is a large piece of veal from a calf that lived its life in the Trás-os-Montes province, in the north of Portugal.
The calves only eat natural food and run around freely in the mountains. The dish is so good and appreciated that in 2011 it was declared one of the 70 wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy.
But back to the restaurant Mercearia De L Praino. This is a restaurant where we like to go, in the middle of a residential area. If you want to get in touch with locals, then this restaurant is highly recommended! And certainly very child-friendly, the high chair that they bring to your table is the same one the owner’s son used to sit in!
Combination of lunch or dinner
If you plan to go to a Sporting Lisboa or Benfica match, or for a walk in Parque da Quinta das Conchas and Lilases, combine this with a lunch or dinner (only on Friday) in the restaurant, it is only 20 minutes by metro.
Around the corner (actually 3 corners) you can buy the best pasteis de nata in the whole of LIsbon, at
Pastelaria Espigasol. You can choose to skip the dessert, or take a few pastries with you to your accommodation.
If you want to have posta Mirandesa, make sure to call up front if they have it available. It is a special piece of meat, and not always available in the restaurant.
But when you try your posta Mirandesa, then you’ll enjoy one of the more expensive dishes you can have have in Lisbon. For 2 people it’s about € 40 euros (or £35), including a bottle of wine.
How to get to Mercearia De L Praino
Adress: Rua Professor Veiga Ferreira, nº 23 A Telheiras
Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday: 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Friday: 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and 8:30 – 11:30 p.m.
Saturday: 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Closed on Sundays
