TL;DR: Continente and Pingo Doce are the main supermarket chains — both good, with Pingo Doce slightly better for fresh produce and ready meals. Lidl is excellent value and carries surprisingly good quality. Intermarché is worth knowing for British-adjacent products. Most UK and US staples are available or have good local substitutes. The fish counter at any Portuguese supermarket or local market is genuinely exceptional and significantly cheaper than equivalent quality in the UK. Budget €500–€700/month for groceries for a family of four eating well.
Food shopping in Portugal is one of the genuine pleasures of the move. Prices are lower than the UK for most things, quality is high on fresh produce and seafood, and Portuguese food culture means the raw ingredients — bread, fish, olive oil, wine, vegetables — are excellent. The adjustment is real but shorter than most families expect.
This guide covers the main supermarkets, what to buy where, what you can’t find and how to adapt, and what a realistic monthly grocery budget looks like in 2026.
The Main Supermarket Chains
Continente
Portugal’s largest supermarket chain — the Tesco equivalent. Wide range, generally well-stocked, good online ordering with home delivery. The Continente Modelo format is the mid-sized city store (most useful for weekly shops); Continente Bom Dia is the smaller convenience format for top-ups. The Continente app has regular personalised discounts that add up — worth downloading immediately. They also have a loyalty card (Cartão Continente) that gives regular cashback vouchers.
Good for: household goods, cleaning products, baby supplies, own-brand basics, bulk buying, online delivery.
Pingo Doce
Our personal favourite for the weekly shop. Better fresh produce than Continente, excellent own-brand ready meals (genuinely good quality, not the sad supermarket ready meal of UK imagination), and very competitive on meat and fish. The deli counter is excellent — rotisserie chickens, fresh pastéis de bacalhau, prepared salads. More pleasant to shop in than Continente’s larger format stores.
Good for: fresh produce, meat, fish, deli items, ready meals, everyday shopping.
Lidl
Better than you expect. Portuguese Lidl carries good quality fruit and vegetables (usually the cheapest in any given week), excellent bakery (the croissants are genuinely good), and a range of products that is broader than equivalent Lidl stores in the UK. The middle aisle (“Lidl middle”) has the same random weekly specials. Worth a weekly visit alongside your main shop for fresh produce and bread.
Good for: fruit and vegetables, bread, dairy, beer and wine, great value basics.
Aldi
Similar proposition to Lidl. Growing presence in Portugal. Good value on basics. Less established than Lidl so coverage is patchier — check if there’s one near you.
Intermarché
French-owned chain with broader European product range — more likely to stock things like proper Dijon mustard, crème fraîche, and other products that feel familiar to British and Irish families. Worth knowing about if you’re struggling to find specific items elsewhere.
El Corte Inglés (Lisbon)
The Spanish department store has a supermarket in Lisbon that carries an exceptionally wide range including many international products. If you’re in Lisbon and desperately need something specific — Marmite, proper cheddar, particular spices — this is the first place to check. Premium pricing but good range.
Local markets (mercados)
Don’t overlook these. Mercado de Matosinhos (Porto) and Mercado do Bolhão (Porto’s historic market, recently renovated) have excellent fresh fish, meat, and produce at prices below supermarkets. A Saturday morning at the fish market in Matosinhos is one of the genuine pleasures of living in Porto — the quality and variety of fresh Atlantic fish is remarkable. Markets typically run Tuesday to Saturday mornings.
What’s Good and Cheap in Portugal
- Fresh fish and seafood: exceptional quality, significantly cheaper than the UK. Bacalhau (salt cod), fresh sardines, sea bass, bream, octopus — all excellent and affordable. A whole fresh sea bass costs €4–€7 at a market or fish counter.
- Olive oil: Portugal produces excellent olive oil. Buy Portuguese — it’s cheaper and better than imported options.
- Wine: very good value. Drinkable table wine from €3–€5 a bottle in supermarkets. Douro reds and Vinho Verde are world-class at prices that feel impossible to UK residents.
- Bread: excellent and cheap. Every supermarket has a bakery section. The papo-seco (crusty roll) is a breakfast staple.
- Fruit and vegetables: seasonal produce is cheaper and better quality than the UK equivalent. Tomatoes in summer are transformative.
- Cheese: Portuguese cheeses are very good — Queijo da Serra, Azeitão, and Queijo de Nisa in particular. Not cheap but excellent quality.
- Eggs: significantly cheaper than UK. Free-range eggs cost €1.50–€2.50 for 10.
- Coffee: excellent and very cheap. A café expresso costs €0.70–€1.00. Supermarket coffee beans and pods are good quality.
What’s Harder to Find (and What to Do About It)
The honest list of things British and Irish families miss — and the workarounds:
- Marmite: available at El Corte Inglés (Lisbon), some international food shops in Porto (try Taste of Britain shops), and Amazon. Stock up when you find it.
- Proper mature cheddar: Portugal has good cheeses but cheddar is hard to find. Intermarché and El Corte Inglés sometimes stock it. Some expat families have it shipped or brought back from UK visits.
- Baked beans: available in Continente (Heinz import) and international shops, but more expensive than at home.
- Strong curry pastes / Asian ingredients: improving but still limited outside Lisbon’s larger stores. Asian supermarkets in Porto (particularly on and around Rua do Almada) stock a good range.
- Specific breakfast cereals: most major brands available in Continente. Weetabix is stocked. Shreddies and more niche cereals are harder.
- Quorn and meat alternatives: improving — Pingo Doce and Continente both now have reasonable ranges, but limited variety.
- Halloumi: widely available now in most major supermarkets — popular in Portugal.
- Crème fraîche: hard to find — Intermarché is your best bet. Natas (Portuguese cream) is a reasonable substitute in cooking.
The broader point: the things you can’t find are specific and workaroundable. The things that are better — fish, produce, wine, olive oil, bread — outweigh them significantly for most families within a few months.
Eating Out: What to Know
Eating out with children is genuinely easy and affordable in Portugal. A few things to know:
- Tascas (traditional Portuguese restaurants) are the best value — a family lunch with wine for two adults runs €35–€60. The food is simple, generous, and good.
- Lunch is the main meal. The prato do dia (dish of the day) — typically €7–€12 and includes bread, a starter, main, dessert, and coffee — is one of the great value propositions of Portuguese dining. Many restaurants that seem expensive at dinner are very affordable at lunch.
- Children are genuinely welcome in Portuguese restaurants in a way that feels different from the UK. High chairs are common, menus have children’s portions, and staff are relaxed about noise and mess.
- Dinner is late. Portuguese families eat dinner at 8–9pm. Most restaurants don’t fill up until 8pm. If you have young children, arriving at 7pm often means a quieter, more relaxed experience.
- Pastelarias (pastry shops) are an essential daily ritual — a pastel de nata and coffee in the morning is €1.50–€2.50 and better than anything you’ll find in a coffee chain. Find your local one in the first week and become a regular.
Monthly Grocery Budget: What to Expect
Planning benchmarks for 2026 (family of four, cooking at home most nights, eating out 2–3 times per week):
| Shopping style | Monthly estimate |
|---|---|
| Budget-conscious (Lidl + Pingo Doce, cook from scratch, rare treats) | €350–€450 |
| Comfortable (mix of supermarkets, some international products, regular treats) | €500–€700 |
| Premium (El Corte Inglés, many imported products, organic where possible) | €700–€1,000+ |
These figures are for groceries only — add eating out on top. A family eating out twice a week at mid-range restaurants adds approximately €300–€500/month. Coffee and pastries add €50–€100/month depending on how seriously you take the ritual (we take it seriously).
Compared to equivalent spending in London or Dublin: grocery costs are typically 20–35% lower in Portugal for a comparable quality basket.
Prices are 2026 benchmarks and vary by location, season, and shopping habits. Grocery prices in Portugal have risen since 2022 and continue to adjust — verify current prices directly.
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