Pistachio Desserts in Lisbon: Where to Find the Best

Pistachio has taken over. What was a quiet, slightly old-fashioned flavour — the one your grandmother chose at the gelato counter — is now the thing everybody is looking for, and Lisbon has caught up fast.

The problem is that the boom has produced a lot of pistachio-coloured dessert and considerably less actual pistachio. This guide is about telling the two apart, and where the real thing is worth your time.

How to tell real pistachio from flavouring

Four signals, and they're reliable:

Colour. Real pistachio paste is a dull, brownish, slightly khaki green. Bright emerald green almost always means colouring. This is the single easiest test and it works nearly every time.

Smell. Genuine pistachio smells nutty and faintly toasted. Artificial flavouring smells sweet and vaguely almond-like.

Texture. Real paste carries a slight graininess. Perfectly smooth, glossy pistachio cream is usually mostly sugar, milk and flavouring.

Price. Pistachio is one of the most expensive nuts in the world. If a pistachio dessert costs the same as the vanilla one, something has been substituted.

Pistachio churros

The newest arrival, and the one almost nobody in Lisbon is doing.

The idea is straightforward: the churro is fried, hot and salty-sweet; pistachio cream is rich and cool. The contrast works the same way salted caramel does, but with more depth.

At [Chocolatería San Ginés](/churros-lisbon) in Cais do Sodré, the Pistachio Pop is the most expensive churro on the menu — which, given the four signals above, is the correct sign. There's also a filled churro with pistachio for anyone who wants the cream inside rather than alongside.

Pistachio alfajores

Alfajores are barely known in Lisbon, which makes them one of the better finds in the city: two soft biscuits sandwiched around a filling. The pistachio-and-raspberry version is the interesting one — the raspberry acidity cuts the richness of the nut, which is exactly what pistachio needs and rarely gets.

Also in Cais do Sodré, and also the most expensive of its section. Same logic applies.

Pistachio pancakes

The maximalist option: pancakes with pistachio cream, whipped cream, crunchy pistachio pieces and mini churros. This is a sharing dessert whatever the menu says, and it's better before 4pm than after dinner.

Pistachio gelato

The classic entry point, and the easiest place to apply the colour test. Lisbon's Italian-style gelaterias — concentrated around Príncipe Real, Bairro Alto and Santos — mostly do it well. Look for the muted green in a covered tub, not a bright green peak on display.

Pistachio in Portuguese pastry

Still rare, but growing. Some pastelarias have started running pistachio versions of classic Portuguese pastries. Treat these with the colour test more strictly than anywhere else — pistachio is a recent addition to Portuguese pastry, and not every kitchen has sourced good paste yet.

Where to go: a short route

If you want to make an afternoon of it:

1. Gelato in Príncipe Real — the benchmark. Establishes what real pistachio should taste like.
2. Pistachio churro in Cais do Sodré — the version almost nobody else in the city offers, and a completely different texture.
3. A pistachio alfajor to take away — it travels well and it's better the next morning with coffee.

That's roughly a 25-minute walk end to end, mostly downhill.

What to order first

If you're only going to try one thing, make it the hot-and-cold combination: pistachio cream against something fried and warm. It's the version of pistachio most people haven't had, and it's the one that explains why the flavour became popular in the first place.

In Lisbon that means one address, because it's the only kitchen in the city currently doing it.

Chocolatería San Ginés — Travessa de São Paulo 9-11, Cais do Sodré. Pistachio churros, pistachio-and-raspberry alfajores, pistachio pancakes, all made to order, all next to chocolate made by hand from the 1894 recipe.

[See the full menu and opening hours.]