Start here
Tortellini in brodo. Handmade tortellini in a clear, golden broth. This is the dish people remember. It's simple enough to look modest and good enough to make you go quiet for a minute. The pasta is made in the kitchen — nine square metres, two cooks, no shortcuts. If you're only ordering one thing, order this.
Pint of prawns with piri-piri. Shell-on, in garlic and piri-piri butter, served with bread for mopping. This is the dish that proves O Palmeiral doesn't belong to any single tradition. It lives in Lisbon and it isn't pretending otherwise. Messy, loud, correct.
If you're staying
Vitello tonnato. Cold veal with tuna sauce, capers, and lemon. A Roman classic that works as a starter in summer and a light main any time. The kitchen gets this right — thin, cold, clean.
Aubergine parmigiana. Layered with tomato, mozzarella, and basil, still bubbling when it arrives. The best vegetarian main on the menu, and good enough that most of the non-vegetarians order it too.
Pork chop. Thick-cut, grilled, served with roast potatoes. Not clever. Not trying to be. Just a very good piece of meat cooked by people who know when to leave it alone.
For the curious
Salt cod with chickpeas. Daniel will tell you this is a Roman dish. It is also an entirely Portuguese dish. Both claims are true, and the argument is part of the point. Olive oil, onion, boiled egg. Simple, filling, and a reminder that O Palmeiral lives in the space between two food cultures that have more in common than either would like to admit.
Ossobuco. Braised veal shank with gremolata and saffron risotto. This is the dish for a winter evening when you want to sit at the table for three hours and not think about anything except what's in front of you.
To finish
Tiramisù. Made here. Coffee-soaked, mascarpone, cocoa. Not the one from the supermarket chiller cabinet. The one your grandmother would make if she had slightly better technique and access to very good espresso.
The full menu is worth reading, but if you arrive without a plan, start with the tortellini and the prawns and let the evening find its own shape. The kitchen knows what's good today. The waiter knows what's good today. Ask them. They'll tell you honestly.