Pastrami sandwiches are some of the best-known and best-loved sandwiches in the world, but it’s only now that we’re beginning to discover more places in Lisbon where you can enjoy this delicious smoked meat sandwich – and many other ingredients –.
In our guide to the best pastrami sandwiches in Lisbon, we explained the origins of this delicacy (in case you didn’t know), so today we’re just going to talk about our delicious experience in this small but friendly place at the end of Calçada do Combro.
The world-famous sandwich
A pastrami sandwich is nothing more than a heap of cured and smoked meat (and a few other fermented ingredients and sauces) between two loaves of bread (in this case shaped)… and that, believe me, is enough to say about this famous sandwich.
Inspired by the versions served in New York, now an icon of international cuisine thanks to the – no less famous – Katz Delicatessen restaurant, three Russian friends set up camp in Lisbon to dedicate themselves to the business of cured meats, and they make everything from scratch (salt, sugar and herbs and only then smoke) as Maxim Letunovskiy , one of the partners, told us, and that makes all the difference when it comes to tasting.
The Secret Lisbon experience
The space is small, modern and seats around 20 people, some of them at the counter – inspecting the service – others at the windows facing the street. In the middle, there’s a large table and some acrylic stools that open so you can store all your props there (an excellent idea).
The idea is to go in, order a sandwich – if you want some appetizers – a drink, pay and go. Simple, just like that, as quick as you want… because there are always more people at the door who are curious about these smoked meats.
That’s what we did! After a few minutes chatting with the “boss”, asking for suggestions of what we should try, we chose the Let’s sandwich (which gives the place its name) and the most famous of all, the Reuben.
We chose the two types of bread available, brioche (lighter) and natural fermentation (wheat), impeccably toasted, and voilà, we loved it!
The Reuben pastrami sandwich (€13) was a clear favorite. Inside we encountered flavors we’d never tried before, especially the sauerkraut/coleslaw, which came well seasoned with vinaigrette and mayonnaise. Thousand Island dressing, cheese and a pile of smoked beef (perhaps it could have been a bit more) make up the rest of the ingredients in this specimen.
The Let’s sandwich (12€), with the same pile of meat, as usual, also comes with sour cream with horseradish and cucumber pickles… a delight full of crunch , thanks to the effect of the little envinagados popping in your mouth, and at the same time spicy, a side effect of the horseradish.
Both sandwiches left us longing to go back, perhaps this time to try other specialties:
- Classic Mustard (12€): Beef pastrami, mustard sauce, pickled cucumber;
- Spicy Kimchi 14€: Beef pastrami, thousand island sauce, kimchi, habanero pepper sauce, cheese;
- Rachel 12€: Turkey pastrami, thousand island dressing, sauerkraut/coleslaw, cheese;
- Salmon Pastrami 15€: Salmon pastrami, egg, pickled red onion, chives, mayonnaise, cream cheese;
- Vegetarian 12€: Smoked cauliflower, thousand island dressing, sauerkraut/coleslaw, cheese;
- Lisbon Insiders PLT burger 8€: Beef pastrami, lettuce, tomato, thousand island dressing, b&b pickles.
The quality of the ingredients and the fact that they are prepared from scratch, with all the time that these meats require (and this can be seen in the first bite) were the characteristics that we most appreciated in Let’s Pastrami.
Although we thought the meats could have spent another day or two in the smoke to become even more intense, the experience was still very pleasant.
Address: Rua Poiais de São Bento 20 (Calçada do Combro)
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, from 12pm to 10pm