Great Taste, Incredible Value Portuguese Food @ Mafarrico, Lisbon

We don't often go out to simple bistro restaurants in Portugal, not because we don't love traditional Portuguese bistro dishes, but because when we go out, we often opt to grab food that we cannot easily cook at home.

That being said, we've been on the move quite a lot more than usual in the past few months. And in recent weeks, we've had to spend quite a lot of time in Lisbon, time which was taken away from the kitchen and preparing our own meals.

Luckily for us, the feeling of uncomplicated and delicious home cooked meals was right around the corner - at Mafarrico, a family-owned restaurant located in Lisbon.

When we first tried Mafarrico, we started off with the standard Portuguese dishes we knew we'd love - a Prego sandwich, a Bifana, and Bitoque de Novilho.

These dishes were fantastic - well executed, simple, yet incredible value price wise.

Even the drinks are exceptionally good value - great price-wise considering their portion size.

We definitely got more quantity-wise than we bargained for, and so were much more full than we anticipated at the end of the meal.

The more we visited, the further into the menu we got. We tried their Croquetes, Ovos rotos, Hamburgers, Cachorrinho a Mafarrico... We even had their desserts, which we don't often venture to get, and had two different kinds of Cheesecake, both being absolutely delicious.

The more dishes off the menu we tried, the more I felt it was impossible to order something off the menu that wasn't great.

Their portion sizes go above and beyond the norm, so there's no need to worry about choosing dishes based on value with regards to being satiated from having enough to eat when it.

And taste-wise, because everything we've had has been great, but also so easy to eat no matter which mood you're in (some foods I find I have to be in the right headspace for, but all the foods on Mafarrico's menu qualify as dishes I'd be happy to eat any time) - I've often found it hard choosing what to get since there are so many good options.

A great problem to have, and one I appreciate the more we visit.

If you're in the area, looking for a restaurant with great value, good food, prepared like a homecooked meal, and with service that's very down to earth, relaxed and yet attentive, and ambiance that's equally relaxed and nice to spend time in, you should stop by to try Mafarrico.

Just be warned - you're likely to want to come for a visit over and over again once you do. Because it's one of those restaurants that, on value, is incredibly difficult to beat.