
Sadly, they don’t offer outside seating which is a real shame and many of the people there stayed chatting and drinking after they had eaten so were in no hurry to leave. It’s not a very nice thing to have to do and it felt a little awkward but there was no other way to be seated. We found the trick is to hover/stand by a table and genuinely just wait until someone leaves. It wasn’t necessarily the queue for food but the wait for somewhere to sit! We must have waited for at least 45 minutes before we found a place to sit. We came one evening for our dinner and were really looking forward to it, especially hoping to try food from multiple vendors but it was just ridiculous. With so many visitors, to speak of a tourist trap would not do justice to this special market hall.The Time Out Market is insanely busy! And I don’t believe there is a ‘quieter’ time to visit. Every year, more than three million people come to the market hall to enjoy a delicious meal. In addition, Time Out Market is not only popular with tourists, but also with Lisbon residents themselves.

However, considering the high gastronomic level and the unique atmosphere, the prices for food and drinks can definitely be described as fair. The fact is that Time Out Market is certainly not the cheapest location to eat out in Lisbon.

The popularity of Time Out Market Lisboaĭue to its enormous popularity with tourists, Time Out Market Lisboa has now acquired a bit of a tourist trap image. You won’t find any international fast food chains at Time Out Market. From Portuguese to Italian and South American to Asian cuisine, the culinary range of Time Out Market is enormous. Well-known Portuguese star chefs even cook in the market hall. Thus, the dishes offered by the resident food stalls are also of a much higher standard than one is generally used to from a food court or a classic market hall. After all, when the market was redesigned, Time Out Publishers attached great importance to locating only high-quality providers in the market. But that in no way does justice to the quality of Time Out Market Lisboa.
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The combination of self-service and free table selection sounds a bit like a food court in a shopping mall. The best way to pass the waiting time is with a glass of wine, which you can get in one of the cafés in the market. After ordering, you get a buzzer in your hand that starts buzzing when the food is ready to be picked up. By the way, you don’t have to wait for your food. Everyone gets their food at the stand of their choice and you can still eat at the same table. This means that every guest has free choice of seating, which makes eating in a larger group a great experience. The special feature of Time Out Market is that the approximately 700 seats at long tables are not assigned to any particular booth. Eating and drinking at Time Out Market Lisboa The greengrocers and fishmongers were concentrated in the east wing of the market hall, the west wing was completely redesigned and the former market stalls were replaced by small restaurants, bars and cafés. The winner, somewhat surprisingly, was Time Out Publishing, which won over the city with its concept of a modern food court (hence the market’s name). So the city of Lisbon organized a competition for ideas to redesign the market.


At the beginning of the 21st century, the huge market hall had long since become too large for the remaining classic market stalls. The Mercado da Riberia hall has been around since 1882, and even today the iron architecture of the market hall is a real eye-catcher. In this respect, a meal at Time Out Market is not only a culinary experience in a unique atmosphere, but also a great introduction to Lisbon’s fantastic gastronomic scene. Housed in the historic market hall “Mercado da Ribeira” (Riverside Market) in the Cais do Sodré neighborhood, Time Out Market is no longer a market in the classic sense, but a kind of modern food court with around 30 food stalls offering excellent Portuguese and international cuisine. Time Out Market Lisboa is probably the most unique gastronomic institution in the Portuguese capital. Essentials about Time Out Market Lisboa in brief
