The Best Portuguese Food Gifts to Buy Online
Bordallo Pinheiro ceramics, tinned fish, cookbooks, a cataplana, cork and coffee. Portuguese gifts for food lovers at every budget, all shipped to your door.
By Mesa de Portugal Kitchen · Updated · 3 min read
Buying a present for someone who loves Portugal, or who misses it? Portuguese gifts are some of the best in Europe because so many are still made the old way: ceramics hand-painted in Caldas da Rainha, sardines packed by hand in Matosinhos, cork from the Alentejo. Here are our favourites, from stocking fillers to big gestures.
Under €30
Portuguese tinned fish. Beautiful tins, delicious contents, and they keep for years. A mixed set is the perfect stocking filler.
Comur sardines with lemon, 3 tins
Portuguese sardines with lemon in Comur's beautiful retro tins. A gift that's also a quick lunch.
Tip: Good on toast with black pepper.
Galo de Barcelos. The hand-painted rooster is Portugal's symbol of good luck, and every Portuguese kitchen seems to have one.
Galo de Barcelos hand-painted rooster
Portugal's symbol of good luck, hand-painted clay. Every Portuguese kitchen seems to have one somewhere.
Tip: Handmade, so the colours vary from piece to piece.
€30 to €80
A Bordallo Pinheiro sardine. Collectable ceramic sardines, each designed by a different artist for the Lisbon festivals.
Bordallo Pinheiro ceramic sardine
Every June, Bordallo Pinheiro asks artists to paint its ceramic sardine for the Lisbon festivals. A small piece of Portugal for a shelf or wall, and a great gift.
Tip: Each design is by a different artist. This one is "10 Springs" by Gonçalo Viana.
A great Portuguese cookbook. Lisboeta by Nuno Mendes is the best book about Lisbon's food in English.
Lisboeta by Nuno Mendes
Lisbon's food in a beautiful hardback by Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes: tascas, petiscos and city classics.
Tip: A lovely gift for anyone who fell for Lisbon.
Big gestures
A cataplana. The Algarve's clam-shell pan, for the friend who loves to cook and to show off at dinner parties.
Artame stainless steel cataplana, 24 cm
A real cataplana from Artame, a Portuguese cookware maker. Stainless steel works on every hob, induction included. The right size for two.
Tip: Choose 24 cm for 2 people, 30 cm for 4.
A Delta coffee machine. Portugal's favourite coffee brand, for a proper bica at home every morning.
Delta Q Quick espresso machine
A compact capsule machine from Delta, Portugal's biggest coffee brand, for a bica at home.
Tip: Uses Delta Q capsules only.
Wrap it the Portuguese way
Add a handwritten recipe card for pastéis de nata or caldo verde to any gift. It's the part people keep.
What you’ll need
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Bordallo Pinheiro ceramic sardine
Every June, Bordallo Pinheiro asks artists to paint its ceramic sardine for the Lisbon festivals. A small piece of Portugal for a shelf or wall, and a great gift.
Tip: Each design is by a different artist. This one is "10 Springs" by Gonçalo Viana.
Comur sardines with lemon, 3 tins
Portuguese sardines with lemon in Comur's beautiful retro tins. A gift that's also a quick lunch.
Tip: Good on toast with black pepper.
Lisboeta by Nuno Mendes
Lisbon's food in a beautiful hardback by Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes: tascas, petiscos and city classics.
Tip: A lovely gift for anyone who fell for Lisbon.
Artame stainless steel cataplana, 24 cm
A real cataplana from Artame, a Portuguese cookware maker. Stainless steel works on every hob, induction included. The right size for two.
Tip: Choose 24 cm for 2 people, 30 cm for 4.
Galo de Barcelos hand-painted rooster
Portugal's symbol of good luck, hand-painted clay. Every Portuguese kitchen seems to have one somewhere.
Tip: Handmade, so the colours vary from piece to piece.
Delta Q Quick espresso machine
A compact capsule machine from Delta, Portugal's biggest coffee brand, for a bica at home.
Tip: Uses Delta Q capsules only.
Frequently asked
What food gifts is Portugal known for?
What does the Rooster of Barcelos mean?
Is Portuguese tinned fish a good gift?
Why are Bordallo Pinheiro sardines so popular?
How early should you order Portuguese gifts online?
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Homemade Portuguese custard tarts with shop-bought puff pastry, baked in the air fryer. Honest tips on getting the blistered tops without a 300 °C oven.
TraditionalCaldo VerdePortuguese Green Soup
Portugal's national soup: a silky potato base, ribbons of finely shredded greens and a slice of chouriço on top. Simple, cheap and done in 40 minutes.
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