I came her for lunch and was taken to a table by very friendly staff. At Terra they have a lovely buffet, so that was what I had. There where at least 25 different dishes to choose from and they all looked tempting. I had 2 full plates that I enjoyed in the sun outside. Food was tasty and highly recomended!
Pros: friendly staff - big buffet - good variety -, good food - homemade foodThe buffet had a large vegetarian spread, with about 75% of the items vegan. Unfortunately, none of the items were labelled as to which were and were not vegan, but the helpful waiter pointed out which items were not vegan. (Anything that looked like it had dairy or cheese, did.) Non-vegan items were located behind vegan items, as opposed to in the front, so if someone were to spill a bit of a non-vegan item, it would contaminate a vegan dish. It would have been very easy to make all the dishes vegan, for example by using a vegan cheese on the pizza. One other thing I was unhappy about was finding a hair in one of the items I had selected.
Most of the food was quite good, including the squash-cabbage soup, the black bean soup, bread, and various salads.
About 1/3 of the desserts were vegan, but they were out of most of those. I took an apple crumble to go.
The wait staff was quite help in answering questions, both mine, and another diner who was avoiding gluten.
Water is sold, but not provided free.
Pros: Delicious food, Most food vegan, Helpful English-speaking wait staffI've been going to "Terra" since it opened some years ago. It is always a pleasure. What I like the most are the traditional dishes, with all the traditional flavours, but without meat or fish (I find that amazing). I do not try everything in the buffet - some raw salads just don't appeal to my eyes (I have a rather basic taste when it comes to different green leaves). I'm looking forward to my next visit, as soon as possible!
Pros: Great food, Great environment, Beautiful gardenI ate at Terra a month ago, and it was my second time there, after visiting them about two years ago. This time there wasn't almost any vegan choices and the food quality was extremely low - lots of fried tasteless stuff, disgusting pasta with oil, a soup that looked just like water with some spices... No use of tofu, nor of seitan. Didn't like it at all, there are better places in Lisbon.
Pros: Nice environmentI went there for the buffet. I am vegan and was very happy with the choice and the taste.
Just that there was - beside fruits - just one dessert (chocolat pudding) was bad because I love sweets.
It's not often I instantly love a place so much now it gives me tingles of pleasure but this one did. Set quite high up in the old town the street scene is beautiful with a tranquil tree lined decked garden outside at the back. The buffet at €15.90 is not cheap but the range and quality of food is truly exceptional including all sorts of hot and cold salads, soup, pizza, casseroles, tofu, seitan, rices and other quirky dishes all in a middle eastern / European style. Great staff and wonderful atmosphere I could not recommend highly enough for a special treat.
Pros: food, setting, staffWent here for dinner. We had a nice table out in the courtyard. The restaurant is all buffet. The buffet is a fixed price and you can go back as often as you like. The buffet isn't labelled, but if you have any questions about what might be vegan, the staff is very helpful. It was great to sample a bit of everything and then go back and have more of your favorite dishes. A nice night out.
Pros: Variety of Options, Great CourtyardThis was probably the largest selection of buffet we had in Lisbon. Try a bit of everything before you take more, but do try everything. Interesting fusion of flavours. Was expensive when we went £GBP wise, but it's becoming cheaper with the rate. Was very busy in the evening, but can only take that as a good thing. Turnover of the food was good too, so everything was still hot.
Pros: Big selection, AtmosphereIts a buffet. It opens at 7h30 on sat nights. buffet had about 15 different meals. It's not vegan. They had cheese, a lot of fried things, salad dressings made with mayonnaise, they had eggs in the chickpea salad.. Food combining is terrible and its fatty. They change the menu every night so may be we didn't go on a good day.. but it was saturday night. Im vegan and I didn't like it. My husband eat pretty much anything and he didn't like it so much either. They have nice beverage though. It's a very small place, service was good but slow. Its good to try may be, because its a vegetarian option and there is not a lot in lisbon, and may be you will go on a better day than us, but i was not impressed.
Pros: cheap, selection of teas and beverage, buffeteverithing was great!
Pros: tasty, nice place, friendlyOn arriving in Lisbon we headed off to this lovely restaurant for lunch and was met by a friendly waiter who explained the workings of the menu to us. You serve yourself meals from the buffett and the choice was good although there were no descriptors on what each dish was so it was difficult to know what you were having. The food was lovely although the Buffett was becoming a bit sparse perhaps due to the late hour however there were a lot of people in the restaurant. As I am not able eat a lot of food at one sitting I found the price of the meal expensive and would go there as a treat rather than on a regular basis.
Pros: Good food, Friendly service, Nice aestheticEnded up at Terra one day as nothing else was open, though we'd planned on going there at some point. It was just shockingly expensive for what it was. There were very few vegan options and nothing was labelled--luckily, the waiter spoke good English and was incredibly nice. In fact, he really went out of his way to accommodate us and got the kitchen to make us a special vegan entree...which we were incredibly grateful for as we were starving but it wasn't very tasty.
Pros: Very helpful staff, Open Sundays, Lots of saladVery pleasant restaurant. All-you-can-eat buffet, with an extensive range of soups, salads, vegetables, pasta and rice dishes, and the odd mock-meat item. Vegan buffet items aren't labelled, but I was able to identify which were suitable with the help of the staff.
The restaurant also serve a variety of desserts (including some vegan options) and alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks. These are not included in the buffet price.
My friend and I ate in the garden, which was pleasant albeit a slightly strange experience as they were playing instrumental hymn music on the speakers!
A little pricey but definitely worth a visit.
Pros: high quality food, friendly staffThis a bit difficult to find restaurant is a life saver when you stay in Lisbon (a carnivore's dream).
The interior is very cosy, the staff friendly and helpful and the buffet that they have in the evenings is full of choice, salads, pasta, mock meat dishes, vegetables, some of them very original and hard to recognize. So, if you are vegan it's advised to ask the waiters if your dish is safe. It's not cheap but well worth the money.
This was by far the best vegetarian offering in Lisbon not that that's difficult considering that you are hard pressed to find a restaurant that has a single meal without fish or meat or both of it.
Pros: cosy, delicious, friendlyWe went there for dinner. There was a good selection of vegan food at the buffet. They still seemed to think there wasn't enough for vegans and asked the kitchen to make something additional for us. If we had known that it was a seitan schnitzel we would have declined. (Meat substitutes seem to be excessively important in Portguese vegan cuisine.)
Anyway, the buffet consisted of several delicious salads and severals main and side dishes.
The waiter told us which dishes are vegan and which are not; in the menue you can even find information which beverages are vegan.
The price was around EUR 16,- per person (excl. dessert and beverages) which is quite a lot for Portugal. In our case it was justified though since we were very hungry.
Pros: good vegan choice, friendly staffThis is a restaurant with a very big buffet. You have a lot of choices and the most of them is very tasty. The prices are the highest compared to all the others I've visited in Portugal, but the food is it worth - no doubt about it. It is very professional - only the christmas decoration and music bothered me.
Pros: excellent foodGreat outdoor area and cosy indoor space. So much fabulous food! The wait staff were great. The tea of the day was not really worth the price, though everything else made for a very enjoyable night!
I loved my buffet experience at this restaurant in the spring of 2008. The food was excellent and I managed to get by without speaking any Portuguese. I highly recommend visiting this restaurant for a casually elegant dinner.
Pros: Excellent food, Casually elegant, Pleasant atmosphereNice location and a wide variety of dishes with interesting flavour combinations, though I was surprised the vegan part became smaller and smaller as I asked questions. Rather pricey for being Portugal, yet it is apparent that they put some thought into the food they serve. A good pick if you want other people to know what a plant-based diet has to offer.
We ate at Terra on the last but one day of our honeymoon.
Had we found it sooner, I'd have eaten there every day. There was a massive range of foods, lots of vegan-friendly stuff, very friendly and knowledgeable waiting staff.
The atmosphere was warm and felt authentically Portuguese, for anyone who might be worrying about missing out on some 'culture' by eating with conscience.
Just wear flat shoes - as this is a little off the beaten track and those Portuguese pavements are knobbly and uneven!
Pros: FOOD! YUM!, Knowledge, Friendly! Yay!Lisbon is not the easiest place to eat if your a vegetarian. It was a relief to come here and enjoy a variety of fresh vegetarian and vegan food without worrying about what i was eating.
This is a buffet style restaurant however, it isn't crass and bad quality - which i usually associate with buffet food. It was very fresh and served in nice dishes, the food was constantly replenished.
Good choice of vegetarian wine, Friendly English speaking staff. The outside area is brilliant - I really felt like i was on Holiday.
Pros: Good Food, Nice Staff, pretty Garden areaWe went to the restaurant as second choice and found a nice buffet, not too many vegan options, but what we had was delicious and we stuffed ourselves - still we think that the buffet was a bit expensive with 15,90 € per Person. Staff was friendly, the place is nice, but a bit loud and crowded.
Pros: good food, nice staffThe food was very good, even though the vegan options were a bit "boring". You might stand in a line for some minutes before you can get to the buffet, since this place appears to be very popular. All in all a bit expensive, but worth the trouble of walking up one of the Lisbon hills.
Pros: Good Food, Nice Staff, Nice gardenMainly ovo-lacto veggie buffet. A good choice for veggies but quite small for vegans. The soup was vegan and 1 or 2 main dishes along with a few salads. Lots of cheese on many of the salads. Lists vegan desserts but only 2 available when I went - 1 a nut and fruit salad.
Pros: lovely setting eating in the garden, good range of drinks, helpful staffLoved the food although I found it a bit expensive. Very nice atmosphere and service. Nice selection of typical portuguese dishes!
Pros: Food, LocationWe went here based on Happy Cow reviews, but didn't quite realize until we got there that it was a buffet, as all of the vegetarian restaurants in Lisbon seem to be. We thought it was it little pricey (15.90 euros per person for lunch or dinner, not including drinks or dessert), but the buffet did include a great variety of hot and cold dishes, most of which were quite good. We arrived towards the end of the lunch shift (lunch ends at 3:30 PM), and the staff was good about not shutting down the buffet line until they were sure we had eaten all we wanted. The inside dining room is pleasant (it was too cold and wet to eat outdoors), and the restaurant is very popular -- however, we got in without reservations. Location is definitely off the beaten path, so map your route carefully!
Updated from previous review on Tuesday December 21, 2010
This restaurant had a very welcome staff and atmosphere.
The buffet had a great choice of hot and cold items.
Everything was very tasty and fresh. The restaurant was spotless and well maintained.
I have eaten in vegy restaurants throughout the world and this was amongst the best. It was certainly number 1 for value for money.
Do check the opening hours to avoid disappointment! Food is bit heavier than in other Lisbon buffet style veggie restaurants, but very good. Almost everything vegan. Has some Portuguese dishes. Very crowdy when open. Prices are higher than usual.
Pros: Food, ServiceThis has to be the best vegetarian restaurant in Europe. What variety! Hot and cold dishes, constantly being replaced or replenished by the staff. A real taste of Portugal, with vegetarian or vegan versions of the local dishes. If there was a code to distinguish the vegan dishes, I didn't spot it, but everyone in our group found plenty to eat. We made so many visits to the buffet table that we couldn't manage desserts, but they looked very good indeed.
The place was very full by 8.30pm on a Sunday (when most restaurants are closed), and we were glad we had booked. We walked up (and I mean uphill and up long flights of steps) from the Avenida da Liberdade, and I recommend using the Gloria Elevador followed by a gentle uphill walk or a bus from the centre.
We visited in April and sat outside in the lovely terrace. Unfortunately, it proved a bit cold and so we sat inside. It was a bit cramped inside but the decor was very nice. The food was served as an all you can eat buffet. The sheer variety on offer was very good. Apart from the potato dish I had, nothing was really amazing but it was all good food.
The drinks menu is extensive with more herbal teas than a health food shop! They also serve mocktails. Pudding is not included in the buffet price. I had a typical Portuguese rice pudding. The waiter was so confident I would like it he said he would not charge if I did not want it! My wife had an apple pie - it was OK but served cold. Warning - the puddings are massive. One between two is plenty. A good night but perhaps a bit pricey. I would recommend a visit.
An incredible selection of delicious food. Service was great. I highly recommend this quaint and cozy buffet. The only con was the extremely large portion of tiramisu was still frozen inside as well as the brownie that we had to replace it. Once it thawed it was a delicious as everything else. Best meal we had while in Lisbon.
Pros: Selection, Service, Decorthis is a great restaurant with a big buffet that they are changing all the moment with more fresh food.If you have the opportunitie go to the garden, its beautifull, but even in the inside its cousy and nice.The value is great for what you have.Only the drinks and the desserts i think that they are kind of expensive.
They also sell magnets, cockies, japamalas and so on
Non Smoking
at dinner they normally have groups so sometimes is a little bit hard to be there, it gets very noisy.
Its not in the center, but is not hard to find it, the price is normal for what you have, but dinners can be very expensive...
Pros: food , garden, staffTerra give a great deal - the famous buffet is just too tempting to resist going back again and again (15 euro each, bargain!). Add to that a couple of bottles of 6.1% ice cold Super Bock beer and you have a really contented diner. The range of dishes available to try is really stunning and there's no limit on going back again. My only small complaint is that they are not clearly marked as vegan or veggie, though it was usually clear which ones had cheese in. Sorry to say we were so full we didn't try the puddings, but all made in house and looked good. The cashier even took the trouble to come out onto the street to direct us to a nearby bar to continue our drinking. I really recommend Terra!
Pros: The quantity!, The range of dishes, Friendly staffThis is a lovely place to eat in a fabulous city - Lisbon, which has (for a country not overpopulated with vegetarians) several nice non meat restaurants to choose from.
This one has a posh, romantic vibe to it so I took Mrs Sensible along... and she loved it too. And as Terra has a fairly cultured atmosphere and I don't recall seeing any riff raff there on my any of my visits.... apart from my good self of course!
There's plenty of choice to be had at the extensive buffet display and the food was imaginative and extremely tasty. I ALWAYS look this place up when in Lisbon and have never been disappointed.
As it's a fair walk up the hill from town my advice would be to grab a taxi or if you're feeling particularly brave take the No 92 bus up from Baixa Chiado, which (as is the case with some of the trams out here) can be a bit of a white knuckle ride.
Lisbon is fab, and Terra is definitely not to be missed while you're here. Top stuff!
PS - Also, while in Lisbon take the ferry to Cacilhas and visit the Lighthouse restaurant right next to the ferry port for VERY friendly staff, nice dark beer on tap, great views and good veg soup and salad amongst the (mainly) fish menu.
Pros: Posh, Romantic, TastyI'm a bit surprised to see all these excellent reviews. For me, the food was ok, but nothing special. There was lots of vegan options, but everything tasted a bit bland. The garden is a nice place to eat, but the restaurant was a bit crowded in the evening.
After reading all the positive reviews on the website, we decided to visit the Terra Restaurant during our stay Lisbon. The restaurant is located in a very nice location and if you have the chance, you should definitely try to get a table in the garden; its very nicely decorated and has a very pleasant atmosphere. The buffet offered many options which were indeed delicious, worth trying! The place was considerably full so it took them some time to bring things that we ordered (mainly the desert!). When we were there we paid €14 for the buffet, about €3,5 for a juice (from a bottle, not freshly prepared) and €5 for a desert. If you have the chance, I would also recommend "Oriente Chiado".
Pros: food, atmosphereI was super excited to try this place. The buffet had a lot of vegan options. We stuffed ourselves silly. The staff was very friendly and pointed out all the vegan options for us and we piled our plates full.
It was very vegan friendly with lots of choices.
We went to this restaurant in june 2008, after reading the reviews on happycow site.
We liked the tasty buffed, which was plenty of choice, and also my husband who is not vegetarian appreciated it very much.
We ordered the drink of the day (sort of strawberry virgin cocktail) and we found it delecious.
The place itself is very nice and the surroundings are beautiful.
We definitely would go there again if in Lisbon.
After all the positive reviews on this website I had to go to this place. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The food was good, the buffet really had a large range of dishes, all very tasty. The staff however, was not friendly, this surprised me because the Portuguese are in general very helpful. They wished to put me at a table in a very dark corner. As a lone travller you know this can happen, but not when the restaurant is otherwise empty and there are not many reservations. They forgot my drink order, and when I finished my meal they did not inquire if I wanted anything else, although I would have liked to have a dessert. They did not show up until I got up to pay the bill. The unhelpfulness was not due to lack of staffing. It definitely put a damper on what otherwise would have been a very good meal.
Pros: good quality food, wide range of dishes, noce looking place
Teresa Anselmo
I am the owner of the restaurant and, besides the private answer I've sent to Marike, I'd like to explain everyone that I've investigated this and found that it was a new employee, not yet fully trained and shy of speaking English. We are aware of his limitations and are working together to surpass them.
Unfortunately on this occasion he was not adequately supervised and we fell short of our usual standard. We've already taken steps that hopefully will prevent this from happening again.
Nevertheless, if someone ever has a similar experience at Terra, please ask to speak with the owner and either I or my husband will correct things without delay: we have a restaurant because we delight in providing a happy, vegetarian, dining experience!
This was the best of the several veggie places we tried in Lisbon (Feb 2009). Nice mix of different styles of food, pleasant atmosphere. A bit on the pricey side for a buffet, but by no means extortionate.
the outdoor seating is wonderful at night. the food was delicious. the service was very good. everything was clean and well presented. went twice. will go back again next time in town. yum!!!
Went here a couple years ago after scouring Lisbon for other veg restaurants listed on Happy Cow. The others were either closed or we couldn't find them. I'm glad we settled on Terra, not only was the food fabulous but the setting was beautiful in the courtyard. The only thing that would have been helpful is if the vegan dishes were marked.
Pros: food, atmosphereI'm a bit ahead of the season but I'm just missing all the Christmas decorations and old world charm of Terra at Christmas!
Last year I had a perfect Christmas party there and I'm planning to go there again. Pity there is no picture of the place with the decorations. I'll post some later on. (The food is great, by the way!)
Thanks to Happy Cow, we've tried a fair number of restaurants during our holiday in Portugal. In Oporto and Lisbon there's a surprising number of restaurants but Terra is in another league to most of them!
This would be a great restaurant anywhere in the world: superb food, tasty and colourful, miles away from the "vegetarian diet" you find in so many places, real vegan desserts, wine... And then there is the decor, the friendly staff and a secluded garden where we ate even though it's almost November!
An inter wall with awards and press clipings testifies to the popularity of Terra! Which takes me to the only drawback of the restaurant: arrive early as it can get crowded! Terra is a great reason to visit Lisbon again!
Pros: The food!, The garden, Very cleanThis IS one of my favorite veggie spots on the planet and I travel world-wide six months of every year. Sometimes I miss this place so much that I call up my friends in Lisbon and tell them to take a few bites for me when they visit it again. If you are at Terra during warm weather the outside garden patio setting is amazing. Also, If you see a some friendly cats there tell them that Michael misses them :) If you are ever in Lisbon you must try Terra.
Pros: Good Food, Staff is excellent, Buffet never runs out
Found this place on the last day while in Lisbon. If I had known about it sooner, I would have gone a number of times. Buffet style with many options vegetarian and vegan. Grandma's Crumble is an amazing dessert. The staff was quite accommodating and it is worth a visit....but slightly hard to find for the first time. The outdoor patio has a great backyard atmosphere....but, if you are there around closing time, you will be overwhelmed with all the bottles being thrown in the trash since the trash receptacles are quite close by. I understand that they need to be put somewhere and space is limited....so I got over it and continued to enjoy the rest of my visit.
Pros: Good food, Good atmosphere, Nice StaffThis place is great. I went there with my family(i'm the only veg.). They loved it too. They didn't expect that there is so much variation on veggie food. nice indoor and outdoor area. i loved it.
This place is a must for anyone traveling to Lisbon! I ate here with some non-vegan friends on a recent trip to Portugal and even they loved it! We were seated in the back garden area with soft music playing and incense burning. Our waiter spoke wonderful English. We ordered the drink of the day, some sort of Elderberry tea, which was awesome. I asked if the whole buffet was vegan, and our waiter pointed out the few things that were not. I tried a little bit of everything and it was all delicious. Nothing too fancy, but just good filling healthy food: salads, casseroles, vegetables, pasta... And for dessert i tried the apple cinnamon pie, very good though and overly sweet. And they give everyone at the table a magnet with the bill to take home and remember the experience. I would definately eat here again.
Pros: friendly, helpful staff, great food, great environementI took my parents to Terra in order to show them an alternative to their lifestyle. The food was good and it was a great choice to show them that vegans dont just eat grass and veggies *laugh*
Like other reviewers said, the staff is incredibly nice, and there is a great feeling to the restaurant.
I did find it a bit of a hassle tha the buffet did not have labels indicating what was vegan and what was not. I asked a staff member and she did not seem to really know and simply gave me a quick answer. This is more noticeable since drinks and desserts are all labeled whether they are vegan or not, so it seems it should only be natural for the buffet to be as well.
However, I would definately recommend Terra. Loved the choices the buffet presented, the variety of drinks including teas, and desserts available.
Pros: Nice staff, Buffet = try it all, Great fixed prices
Having tried and failed to find Terra on our first night, we finally made it for lunch on our last day. We were greeted by the owner who recommended a cocktail and the food was fantastic. We had the pleasure of sitting outside in the beautiful (and cool) garden and had a wonderful relaxed meal.
Pros: Lovely garden, vegan cakes, vegan alcohol
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Those juices "from a bottle" happen to be the very best available in Portugal: 100% juice and certified both Organic and Demeter. These juices are the favourite drink of my very picky daughter and I'm really grateful to Terra for having them available. Anyway, they have dozens of options so why choose one you're not happy with? My usual choice of drink is the Thai Ginger Juice and it is "freshly prepared"...