Food in Sintra — What to Eat and Where

Sintra is primarily a day-trip destination and most of its food scene caters to that reality — tourist-facing, overpriced near the palace, and variable in quality. That said, two things are genuinely worth seeking out: the pastries from Piriquita and a lunch at one of the town’s proper restaurants rather than the palace-gate cafés.

What to Eat

Travesseiros — puff pastry rectangles filled with almond cream and egg yolks, dusted with powdered sugar. The defining Sintra pastry. Buy from Piriquita (Rua das Padarias 1–4) where the recipe originates. €1.40 each.

Queijadas — small tarts with a hard caramelised shell and a soft fresh cheese filling, flavoured with cinnamon. Royal pastry tradition — these were brought to the court of Dom João II from Sintra convents. Piriquita again is the best source in town.

Leitão (suckling pig) — not uniquely Sintra, but several good restaurants in the area serve the Bairrada-style crispy-skinned version. Ask if the restaurant has it on the menu for lunch.

Bacalhau à Sintra — a local preparation with salt cod baked with potato, olive oil, and hard-boiled egg. Found at the traditional restaurants in the village.

Where to Eat

Piriquita (Rua das Padarias 1–4) — the essential stop. The bakery has been in the same location since 1862. Buy travesseiros and queijadas to eat on the street. There is a café section but the queue for table service is long — take away and find a bench.

Adega das Caves — a traditional restaurant inside a converted wine cellar, Rua de São Pedro. Inexpensive set lunch menus (€10–14). Local workers and a few tourists. The daily fish and pork specials are reliable.

Tulhas — mid-range restaurant in an old granary building near the train station. Good selection of traditional Portuguese dishes. Mains €14–20. Better quality than the palace-area options at comparable prices.

Saudade (Avenida Dr. Miguel Bombarda) — close to the train station, reliable everyday restaurant. Good for a post-hike lunch without paying Rua Volta do Duche prices.

What to Avoid

The restaurants on Rua Volta do Duche — the tourist strip near the National Palace entrance — are generally overpriced and mediocre. The menus look appealing but rarely deliver. Walk 200m further into the town for significantly better value.

Drinks

Sintra is within the Colares wine sub-region — one of Portugal’s most unusual wine zones, where Ramisco grapes are grown on sandy coastal soils that survive phylloxera. Colares wines are rare and expensive (€25–60/bottle); few restaurants in the village stock them but the Adega Regional de Colares shop in Colares village (5km away by road) carries the full range.