Lisbon

Vila Praia de Âncora

Portugal

Pataniscas de bacalhau are Portuguese salt-cod fritters: flaked, desalted cod folded into a loose batter of flour, egg, chopped onion and parsley, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil and fried into ragged, golden, lacy discs about the size of a palm. They are a Lisbon and Estremadura dish above all, eaten as a petisco with a beer at the counter of a tasca, as a starter, or as a main course over arroz de feijão, the tomatoey bean rice that is their classic partner, and they are one of the standard uses for the leftovers of a boiled cod dinner. They differ from the bolinho de bacalhau, the other Portuguese cod fritter, in having no potato and no shaping: a bolinho is a smooth, mashed, torpedo-shaped croquette, a patanisca is a flat, irregular pancake in which the flakes of fish are visible. The name is also applied to vegetable fritters, pataniscas de legumes, made the same way.

The cod is the dried salted kind, soaked for twenty-four to forty-eight hours in several changes of cold water, then poached briefly and pulled into flakes with the skin and bones removed; a little of the poaching water is kept. The batter is flour, eggs, finely chopped onion and parsley, pepper and sometimes a spoon of the cod water or a splash of beer, mixed to the consistency of a thick pancake batter, and the cod is folded through so that it is held rather than hidden; the proportion of fish to batter should be high, close to equal by volume. Spoonfuls go into oil at around 180°C, a tablespoon or two each, and are fried for two to three minutes a side until deep gold with crisp, uneven edges, then drained on paper. They are eaten hot or at room temperature, with lemon on the side and, if they are the main course, a plate of the bean rice.

Judge a patanisca by picking it up and tearing it: the edges should be thin, crisp and lacy, the centre soft but cooked through, and distinct flakes of cod should be visible and tasted in every bite. The fish should be properly desalted, so that it tastes of cod and sea rather than of salt, and the onion and parsley should be present and fresh. Mark down a fritter that is heavy and doughy, which means too much flour or batter in the mix, one that is greasy because the oil was too cool, a smooth uniform texture with no visible fish, which means the cod was minced or the ratio was mean, cod that is still salty or has gone fibrous, and fritters that have been fried ahead and reheated, which show as a limp edge and a dull surface. A patanisca the size of a dinner plate is a party trick, not a point in its favour.

Pataniscas

A Taberna

Tasty well seasoned, but could be more crispy. Needed a bit more time in the fryer.

Çılbır is the Turkish dish of poached eggs on garlic yoghurt, finished with butter that has been heated with Aleppo or red pepper flakes until it foams and turns red, and eaten with bread for breakfast or as a light supper. It has a documented Ottoman past: the word appears in fifteenth-century palace records as a general term for eggs cooked in water, and the yoghurt version is the one that survived into the Republic and onto the menus of Istanbul's breakfast places, where it now sits alongside menemen and sucuklu yumurta. Outside Turkey it has had a second life since the 2010s as "Turkish eggs" on brunch menus from London to Melbourne, often with the yoghurt whipped with feta and dill, which is a different and softer dish. The original is three things on a plate, and each has to be right.

The yoghurt is thick, full-fat and at room temperature, beaten smooth with a crushed garlic clove and salt; cold yoghurt straight from the fridge sets the butter and makes the plate taste of nothing. The eggs are poached in barely simmering water with a splash of vinegar for about three minutes, so the white is fully set and the yolk runs, then drained on a cloth. The butter is the step that goes wrong: it is melted in a small pan, the pepper flakes are added, and it is heated only until it foams and the flakes colour the fat, which takes seconds; longer and the pepper turns bitter and the butter browns. Some cooks use pul biber, some Urfa pepper for a darker, smokier note, and a few add a little dried mint. The eggs go on the yoghurt, the red butter is spooned over so it pools in the yoghurt and runs down the sides, and the plate goes out with warm bread.

Cut the egg first: the yolk should flood into the yoghurt and the white should be fully opaque with no raw jelly. The yoghurt should be thick enough to hold a spoon mark, mildly sour, with the garlic present but not raw-hot, and the butter should be bright red, lightly spiced and fragrant, not brown or acrid. Together on the bread the three should taste richer than any of them alone. Mark down a cold plate, hard yolks, watery or thin yoghurt that has been loosened with water or milk, butter that has been overheated to a brown sludge, pepper flakes that are scorched, and the brunch versions where feta, dill, chilli oil or dukkah are piled on to the point where the egg and yoghurt are lost. One egg is a snack; two is the dish.

Çilbir

Dear Breakfast - Chiado

I was going through some old photos and came across this amazing breakfast I had in Lisbon last January—Turkish eggs that totally hit the spot.

The dish was super tasty: perfectly poached eggs on a creamy, garlicky yogurt base with a generous drizzle of spicy chili oil. There were crunchy seeds sprinkled on top, some herbs for freshness, and warm pita bread on the side to scoop everything up. It looked great and tasted even better.

The flavors were bold but still balanced, although I remember thinking it could’ve used just a bit more spice to really make it pop. Still, it was cozy, filling, and a really solid brunch choice.

Rank	Place	Top dish	Reviews	Score
1	A Taberna Av. Dr. Ramos Pereira 349, 4910-547 Vila Praia de Âncora, Portugal Top dish: Pataniscas	Pataniscas	1	7.421 review
2	Dear Breakfast - Chiado Calçada de São Francisco 35, 1200-201 Lisboa, Portugal Top dish: Çilbir	Çilbir	1	7.131 review

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Pataniscas

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