Try Ginjinha in Lisbon

When I was planning my trip to Portugal, I started looking into unique culinary experiences. As most of my European travel planning ends up, I ended up watching Rick Steves videos. I learned about a Lisbon tradition of drinking shots of ginjinha – a sour cherry liquor that is served with or without berries. There are a few ginjinha bars around the city but the most famous (and the original) is A Ginjinha Espinheira in the Largo de Sao Domingos.

Once we spent some time walking around Largo de Sao Domingo, we dropped into A Ginjinha Espinheira to try some of the local liquor. The interior is quite small, with just enough space for us to step inside in front of the bar. There’s old pictures strung up on all of the walls, so you know this place is old. There’s only one drink you can order, which made it pretty simple. We opted to try ginjinha with berries, which ended up being a like a sour explosion in my mouth. You’re also able to buy a bottle of ginjinha (it would make a pretty great souvenir. 

Ginjinha is a definite must do if you’re in Lisbon as you’re unable to try this anywhere else. Let me know if you want to hear more about my trip to Portugal! 

P.S. If you’re also visiting Porto on your trip to Portugal, check out my post on visiting the port lodges of Porto.