City guides planned meal by meal
Downloadable guides that plan a city around its meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and the last drink in each neighbourhood, what to book ahead, and where to stay near the best of it.
- Book ahead
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- The last drink
- A bed nearby
LisbonEach City Tables edition is one city, written by a food writer who lives there and has eaten at every place it names. It is a PDF for your phone, neighbourhood by neighbourhood and meal by meal, with the dishes to order, what each place costs, what to book and where to stay nearby. Every place links to a map and is checked on its own website before each yearly edition.
In the order of the day
Every edition runs in the same order, and so does each neighbourhood in it, so a day can be planned over breakfast.
Book ahead
The tables that fill up, how far ahead to book each one and how: online, by phone, or by turning up before the doors open at a counter that takes walk-ins only.
Breakfast
Where to stand at the counter for coffee and a pastry, and the bakeries worth crossing the neighbourhood for before they sell out.
Lunch
The menu of the day at a neighbourhood restaurant, the market hall, or the long lunch worth giving the afternoon to, with what to order at each.
Dinner
Where to book and where to walk in, what the dishes are called and what they cost, and when the kitchen stops taking orders.
The last drink
The bar, the kiosk or the terrace to end the night on, a short walk from dinner.
A bed nearby
The neighbourhoods to sleep in for the best of it, and rooms from simple to special in each, a short walk from the tables.
The editions
One city at a time. A city goes on sale only when its writer, who lives there, has eaten at every place it names.
Photograph: Dale Cruse, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Lisbon
The first edition, from Alfama and Mouraria to Campo de Ourique and Belém: coffee and a pastry at the counter, the prato do dia at a neighbourhood tasca, clams and prawns at a cervejaria, petiscos late in the evening, and a ginjinha to end on.
One Lisbon day, free
A sample day from the Lisbon edition, breakfast to the last drink within a walk, with what to book and a map link for every stop. Free for your email address, so you can see how an edition reads before you buy one.
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One price per city
Every edition costs the same, and each is refreshed once a year.
One city
£14 per city
One edition, about €16, to read on your phone or print.
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the last drink in each neighbourhood
- The dishes to order and what each place costs
- What to book ahead, how far ahead and how
- Where to stay near the best of it
- A map with every place on it
- The next year’s refreshed edition, free
One Lisbon day
Free
A day from the Lisbon edition, laid out like the full guide.
- Breakfast to the last drink, all within a walk
- What to book, and a map link for every stop
- Sent to your email address
Questions before the trip
What do I get?
One PDF per city, laid out to read on a phone and to print on A4 or letter paper. Every place in it has its address, the days it opens, its price, what to order and whether to book, with a link that opens it on a map, and one shared map holds them all. The download link is on the receipt page and in the receipt email, and you can download the file again whenever you need it.
Who writes each guide?
A food writer who lives in the city and has eaten at every place the guide names. Our editor then edits each edition into the same shape. No restaurant, bar or hotel pays to be in a guide.
How up to date is it?
Before each edition, every place is checked against its own website, and the guide carries the date of that check. Each city is refreshed once a year. Hours and menus still change between editions, so every entry gives the place’s own website to check before you go.
Does it work without mobile data?
The PDF opens offline once it is on your phone. The map links need a connection, so download the city’s map for offline use in your maps app before you leave.
How is it different from the free city guides on this site?
The free “where to eat” guide for each city picks the places worth knowing. City Tables plans the trip: every meal of the day in each neighbourhood, the bookings and when to make them, the dishes to order, and where to stay near the best of it, in one file you carry with you.
Can you book tables or rooms for me?
No. We are a guide, not a travel agent. Each edition says what to book, how far ahead and how, with a link to each place’s own booking page. Some hotel links are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you book through them, and the price you pay is the same.
What if I don’t eat meat, or have an allergy?
Each meal names a good vegetarian choice wherever the city has one. For allergies, ask the place itself before you go or when you order; every entry gives its website or phone number, and kitchens change their dishes between editions.
Can the people I travel with use my copy?
Yes. One copy covers everyone on the trip, so send them the file.
Which city comes next?
A city is added when we find a food writer who lives there and they have eaten at every place their edition names. Each new edition appears on this page the day it goes on sale.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. If a guide is not what you needed, write to us within 30 days of buying it and we will refund it in full.
Plan the trip around the table
The Lisbon edition downloads the moment you pay, with a map of every place in it.
Get City Tables