Portuguese Home Cooking with a Local Lisbon Mom

"Great Experience in Lisbon! My partner and I kicked off our time in Lisbon with a cooking class at Cristina’s home, and it was truly one of the highlights of our trip. As the owner of a boutique travel agency, I’m always on the lookout for unique, authentic experiences - and this one is an absolute gem. Cristina’s apartment is tucked away in a charming, residential neighborhood just 15 minutes from the city center. The space itself is bright and welcoming, with big windows that offered beautiful views and a lovely breeze as we cooked. Cristina shared her family recipes with us, and easily adapted the entire menu to be vegetarian, which we really appreciated...especially since it can be hard to avoid fish and pork in Portugal! All 3 dishes we had were great, and she had also prepared a salad and some bread for us to have. Come hungry! Beyond the delicious food, what made the experience really special was Cristina herself. She’s warm, open, and incredibly easy to connect with. We ended up having thoughtful conversations about life in Lisbon, how the city is evolving, and even touched on local politics - topics that never would’ve come up in a traditional tour or eating in a restaurant. I also enjoyed her talking about her family and grandkids. I can’t wait to return to Lisbon and spend more time with Cristina. If you’re looking for something intimate, meaningful, and off the beaten path, this experience is a must!"

"Cristina was very welcoming. Dinner was excellent and very informative. My wife and I really enjoyed our evening with her."

"This was such a lovely experience to be welcomed into Cristina’s home for a delicious dinner and wonderful conversation. It was an amazing one-of-a-kind experience that we really enjoyed."

"Cristina is the perfect host to this wonderful cooking experience. Not only is she a great chef, but very warm & friendly. Highly recommend this experience with her!"

"We absolutely loved our experience with Cristina! She warmly met us at the door, welcomed us into her home and took the time to get to know us. We were delighted to learn a traditional meal with many courses and be so hands on in all stages of prep. But even more so, we savored the cultural exchange of stories and laughter and life advice offered between sips of vino verde. Cristina knows her craft and is proud to teach others in a way that is fun, educational, and full of rich history. She even kept in touch during our trip to offer recommendations to fill our travels. Not only would we highly recommend her, we ourselves hope to keep in touch and share a meal again someday!"

"Our family had the best time at Christina’s cooking class. She is such a fun and welcoming hostess. She taught us how to cook authentic Portuguese recipes. They weren’t terribly complicated, so we can recreate them at home. I highly recommend this class. It was one of our favorite experiences of the entire trip, and we created beautiful family memories."

"Cristina was awesome, we felt like family immediately walking through the door. Her condo was cute and clean. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. The food was amazing. One of our most favorite experiences in Lisbon!"

"My husband and I were looking for a personal experience with our cooking class, and that is exactly what we got. Cristina was so fun. She took us around the local area and told us a lot about her town. Visited the market and many local highlights. When we arrived at her lovely apartment, we felt at home. We helped cook a delicious Portuguese meal. We enjoyed a lot of conversation and found we had a lot in common. We have found a new friend. Thank you, Cristina. 🩷🩷🩷"

"Cristina was amazing! When we arrived she gave us a private tour of her neighborhood and gave us insight into daily life in Lisbon. We talked for so long by the time we left it was 2 hrs past the scheduled finish time haha. She instantly welcomed us like friends and that is definitely how we left. Highly recommend!"

"Cristina was amazing! When we arrived she gave us a private tour of her neighborhood and gave us insight into daily life in Lisbon. We talked for so long by the time we left it was 2 hrs past the scheduled finish time haha. She instantly welcomed us like friends and that is definitely how we left. Highly recommend!"

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"Cristina is an AMAZING host, I was very welcomed in her house. We met outside the house and went to the market and she invited me to have a typical Portuguese Custard in one of the top places to have it in Lisboa. This will be a great experience for travelers as this is very typical in Portugal and everyone loves Portuguese Custards. We visited the market and had lots of fun discovering traditional Portuguese food. She showed the products that she was cooking, like the cod, clams, coriander…Cristina is funny and very friendly and we engaged very well. Her home is very comfortable, she welcomed me as a friend and I felt very happy in her place. Her house is a typical Portuguese middle class flat in Lisboa, so travelers will experience the real Lisboa and a Portuguese house in the capital. Cristina is very bubbly and loves to chat and share her experiences, we got along very well and I was never bored. I believe travelers will love to meet her. Her place is the typical middle class flat in Lisbon, Cristina is very welcome and the food was AMAZING. The traditional flavors were all there and it tasted home! All the ingredients that she used were very good quality. I definitely recommend Cristina, she has the spirit to welcome foreigners to her home and show them who the Portuguese people are and how we eat! Even being Portuguese I loved the experience and I will be back with my partner that it is English so he can try proper Portuguese food. "