Os Tibetanos

Os Tibetanos has been serving vegetarian food on Rua do Salitre, just off Avenida da Liberdade in central Lisbon, since 1978, and describes itself as the city's first vegetarian restaurant. It is part of a Buddhist school, and its rooms are decorated in bright colours with Tibetan hangings and lanterns.

The menu is entirely vegetarian, with many dishes marked as vegan. It is based on Tibetan cooking, with influences from India, Japan, Brazil and Africa: steamed or fried momos filled with seitan or with spinach and cheese, steamed Tibetan bread, samosas, curries, salads, and tofu and seitan dishes. The kitchen is led by the Tibetan chef Phuntsok Dolma, and the desserts are made in house, with recipes adapted to use less refined sugar.

For more than four decades it has been a simple way to eat without meat or fish in the centre of Lisbon. Besides the upstairs dining room there is an inner garden, fully open in summer, that looks onto Lisbon's Botanical Garden. A small shop sells incense, singing bowls, statues and books.

The restaurant serves lunch and dinner and takes reservations. It is a short walk uphill from Avenida da Liberdade and the Avenida metro station, so it is easy to reach on foot or by public transport.