Yep, You Can Get That Here

You asked about food...

Denise wanted me to call this post “The Way Shopping Should Be”. She wanted me to dedicate the entire post to the splendor of El Corte Ingles. I agree it is just about perfect. But many readers have asked, “Can you get [insert food item] in Portugal?” … so we will focus on that today.

Looking to make a Tex-Mex meal at home?

First a Word From Our Sponsor

Okay, there isn’t really a sponsor. El Corte Ingles has not endorsed this post, paid anything for this post, and likely will never see this post. But for context, and since I was interested, I wanted to provide a bit of background. The company goes back to 1935 when a man and his uncle bought a tailor shop that had been in Madrid since 1890. They also bought the building where the tailor was located and started on one and a half floors; but over the next 5 years, they expanded to over 5 floors (over 2000 square meters) and began to sell in departments. In 2001 they opened their first store outside of Spain…lucky for us, in Lisbon. Today El Corte Ingles is the largest department store chain in Europe (and ranks third in the world). They have several subsidiary stores and businesses (e.g. Hipercor, Bricor, and Informática El Corte Inglés) and operate in the U.K, France, Andorra, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, etc.

Our first exposure to the store was during a rainy day in Lisbon. Our friend Becky raved about the store and our banker told us we could buy our favorite brand of a sneaker (am I supposed to say running shoe if I don’t run?), Hoka, at their large athletic footwear department. At the time, Becky agreed with me that the wide aisles, uncluttered/immaculately maintained displays, and helpful sales personnel made us feel like we had stepped back into the 1960s. In the 1980’s I had visited Harrod’s during a business trip to London…I instantly recalled the feeling that the store evoked. Yes, this was the way shopping was meant to be.

The large supermarket is on the first floor of El Corte Ingles, the gourmet department (shown above) is on the seventh floor. Those red things in the distance are cured meat.

Enough Already, Let’s Get to the Food

Editor’s Note: You folks are really starting to get on my nerves. I will note this is the second time this week I have had to encourage you to learn a little patience. It takes time to be both brilliant and funny at the same time. But I digress…

Now as it relates to food. The first thing to keep in mind is Portugal’s worldwide exploration … Brazil, Angola, Macau, Goa India, etc. So if you are looking for food items from any of those countries you will likely find them in a supermarket. You may also find specialty stores like the AllBrazil market which we found in the small mall in central Cascais. In Cascais, there is also the Halal Supermarket which sells just about any Indian food product you might require. Such stores are dotted across the countryside…not only in large cities or towns.

Portugal’s relationship with Thailand goes back 500 years so finding our favorite curry paste is not a problem.

But Portugal does not have to have had a longstanding relationship with a country to offer its unique food items. We have found several imports (which we think could have been skipped) from North America.

Premade burritos…Pinche

Why?

I admit I approve of this import. But finding bagels that are not frozen is tough.

English/American Stores

Finally, if you really are crazing an item you can’t find in the supermarket, you might find it in an English/American Store in a larger city or where expats abound. We actually visited the Liberty store, just a few blocks from El Corte Ingles, last week. I went in search of pretzels…something I have been unable to find anywhere. (Yes, Lidl’s bakery often has something that resembles a Philadelphia soft-pretzel for €,60/piece…but I want Snyder’s pretzels by the bag!) Alas, I was disappointed by the Liberty Store…and not only because they didn’t have any pretzels! It should have been called the candy and cleaning products from the U.S. store.

Unless you crave M&M’s (which you can buy in a supermarket) skip this store.

So, hopefully, I have put your mind at ease that you can find just about any food item you crave (except hard pretzels and fresh bagels) in Portugal. If there is a particular item you must know about before moving, put it in the comment below and I will let you know.