After we returned to central Lisbon from Belém, we were looking for a light lunch, and that was a particularly good opportunity to visit Time Out Market Lisboa. Set up within half of Lisbon’s Mercado da Ribeira on Lisbon’s waterfront, Time Out Market is one of these modern “Food Hall” (upscale food courts) with a collection of independent restaurants all running food service stalls, with central seating and table bussing. This was the hot new trend in dining in the years leading up to the Pandemic (I particularly have experienced a few like Eataly and Galley Group), but Time Out Market was one of the earlier ones, and still thriving. In fact, almost a little too thriving: at most lunchtimes, the place is packed with little seating. But there’s a small secret to Time Out Market Lisboa: along the western side of the market is a secondary hallway that features the same restaurants as that side of the Market, but with counter seating. It’s a bit less busy, and that’s where we found our lunch, at Sea Me.
Sea Me isn’t unique to the Time Out Market, since they actually have a handful of places around Lisbon, with the main location up in Chiado. In their own words, Sea Me tries to combine the traditions of “Portuguese fishmonger, a brewery, a seafood restaurant and a Japanese restaurant.” Reflecting this, the menu is a seafood one, focusing on freshly-harvest seafood, including fish, oysters, and shrimp, all cooked to either traditional Portuguese or Asian styles (on this trip, the menu featured several Japanese- and Indian-inspired dishes).
Myself, I was only looking for a light lunch to carry me through to an expected large dinner that evening, and the Camarão em tempura (shrimp tempura) was just the thing. This wasn’t a large dish, basically three moderately large shrimp, tempuraed and served up with a nice aioli. But this was perfect execution: good, large, and flavorful shrimp, perfectly shelled and deveined. The shrimp were cooked just to the perfect, soft texture without being rubbery, and an absolutely spot-on crispy tempura coating. A great little snack.
Carol, meanwhile, went for the Polvo à Lagareiro com Cebolada e Pimentos (Octopus served over sweet potatoes and peppers). Like the other octopus dishes we’ve had across Portugal, this was cooked to a perfect texture, with just a little crisping around the suckers, and a very nice and slightly sweet marinade. Add in some flavorful roasted peppers, and this was a great little dish.
So, if you find yourself around downtown Lisbon looking for a quick but good lunch, consider checking out Sea Me (at any of their locations). They’ve got some high-quality seafood, reasonable prices, and excellent flavors.
