Ao 26

Make a reservation, this is a small and very popular restaurant. I'm vegan + Medical Medium + gluten-free and mostly fat-free. My way of eating can be hard to maintain while traveling, but in the lovely neighborhood Barrio Alto I found this lovely vegan pearl of a restaurant 💚 Ao 26 a vegan restaurant with traditional Portuguese dishes. My husband and I shared a PORTUGUESE TRADICIONAL STARTERS BOARD. An homage to the Portuguese tradition of gathering around the table and snacking: "Octopus" salad, fried "cuttlefish", "bulhão pato" mushrooms, "alheira" sausage garnished with homemade mustard (not GF) gluten-free alternative “sardines”, "chorizo" and citric apple chutney. Served with gluten-free bread. € 20 for 2 persons. Everything on this selection of starters were absolutely delicious, the "Octopus" salad, fried "cuttlefish", and the “sardines” were my favourites, while my husband favoured the "chorizo" which nailed the texture and taste. Though I'm normally not a favour of vegan food trying to look and taste like animal products, mostly because they are filled with MSG and lots of additives, this was a great option to try some traditional Portuguese foods even though the dishes are with fish and meat, an Ao 26 makes everything from scratch so it was so much closer to nature than store bought meat replacements. No main dish, since I had a major lunch. But I just had to try the dessert, so while my husband had the ravioli (not GF) I ordered 2 desserts: ORANGE & CARDAMOM CRÈME BRÛLÉE (Rich orange and cardamom flavored "milky cream caramelized in the moment). € 4.5 + HAZELNUT & CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (Homemade chocolate mousse with hazelnut praline. Served with orange liqueur.) € 5.5 Both desserts were amazing, but I couldn't finish them. The creme brulee had a perfect creamy milky texture and a perfect thin layer of sugar crust. The hazelnut and chocolate mousse was delicious, light in consistency and rich in taste, and the hazelnut crunch gave a perfect balance for the soft mousse. I can definitely recommend both desserts. Ao is definitely a restaurant I will return to if I had more time in Lisbon, but this time it's only 4 days, and there is other vegan restaurants to check out 😉

We loved getting to try traditional Portuguese dishes with a vegan twist! We didn’t have a reservation, and they still fit us in on a busy Friday night which we really appreciated. But I’d suggest you book a reservation if you can! The space is absolutely gorgeous, and we loved our time here. There are also many gluten-free options, and my husband, who has a garlic sensitivity, was able to find something on the menu even though Portuguese food is typically very garlic heavy.