Sam Cafe

• Arroios (Linha Verde) or Alameda (Linha Verde)
• €
• Rua Actor Vale 35b, 1900-023

Don’t spend too long wondering if a whole burrata for breakfast is too much, just go with it and order the toast bruschetta.

We’ve written before about the speed of change in Lisbon these days. Stand still waiting for a bus for too long and you’re at risk of being turned into a craft beer bar. But one London/New York staple that hasn’t quite arrived in the less touristy neighbourhoods of Lisbon yet, is the brunch. Sure - there’s brunch a-plenty in Bairro Alto, and the hipster havens of Anjos and Graça. But elsewhere, breakfast in Lisbon still typically means toast and a coffee. So when a fancy breakfast place opened near us, selling shakshuka and Eggs Benedict, we went along, only to find the adoption of another London/New York staple - the queue. A short stroll in the opposite direction brought us to Sam Cafe. What a great find. Set on a quiet street off Alameda, we had no problem getting a table on a Saturday morning, under some umbrellas outside. We ate poached eggs, smashed avocado, prosciutto, burrata,  hollandaise and toast, topped with slow-roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic and black sesame seeds. We had freshly squeezed orange juice. And we paid about a third of the price of the new fancy breakfast place with the queue. Delicious brunch, great service, in a lovely setting. No queuing necessary.

Don’t forget to order: The toast bruschetta - toast topped with burrata, prosciutto, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, balsamic dressing and sesame seeds.