Question: What could remind you of Melbourne in Lisbon?
Answer: Sitting in an Aussie owned café, ‘The Mill’ in Lisbon watching trams whizz by!
The coffee here at ‘The Mill’ last half term in February, made this birthday girl very happy indeed! Aussie-like breakfasts with brightly coloured home-made pottery plates, made this an ideal place to ponder why I had never been to Lisbon before.
It’s cheap, it’s pretty with its cobbled lanes and it has good coffee! Good coffee everywhere, seriously! From the cheapest of places (70 cents for an espresso and nata or 40 cents just for the espresso) to more expensive coffee there was no difference in the quality of coffee. I happily went to a local supermarket and bought a few bags of coffee beans to take home.
Everything looked appetising here at ‘The Mill’ and with avo flying around the menu what was not to like. I had the veggie breakfast-scrambled eggs with avo and spinach. I loved the plates at ‘The Mill’, I bought 2 to bring home with me. How cool is that? I can pretend I’m at ‘The Mill’ in London now. The cake display has the traditional Aussie treats such as Anzac biscuits and lamingtons, and I recommend you get in early to avoid the queues mid-morning. If you like their coffee you can buy it too, it’s roasted just down the road.
If you have a few days in Lisbon, I recommend Time Out Market too with its array for foods to satisfy the fussiest of eaters! A trip to Belem for the world famous nata is also a must and if you cycled there like I did, then you deserve at least two!
I was beginning to be concerned that I was drinking too many espressos per day in Lisbon, sometimes topping 4 or 5! When I asked a local taxi driver how many espressos he had per day, he told me 12!!! I was flabbergasted! He assured me this was very normal, in Lisbon. He said coffee is very sociable, you walk into a bar -you stand, you have an espresso and a chat and then repeat! He also said it tastes good, so why not? Why not indeed! Love it! Not sure I could have 12 a day, but it did make me feel a bit better with my overindulgence over the week. And in case you are wondering why the coffee is so good, it’s because of the Portuguese ties with South America.
I went twice to ‘The Mill’ once having a cappuccino and the other time a flat white, you won’t be disappointed. I dare you when in are in Lisbon to resist the nata! Good luck!
Insta: @themillpt
Address: R. do Poco dos Negros 1, `1200-335 Lisboa, Portugal
