Many of these no-frills dining spots have vanished, but others are being lovingly reinvented.

Christopher Wise

You know what a bistro is.

If hard-pressed, you could probably definetrattoria,too.

Hand reaching in to take food from plates in a Lisbon restaurant

The spread at Tasca Baldracca, including grilled octopus, beet salad with a tapioca cracker, and deep-fried olives.Credit:Christopher Wise

But how about atasca?

But the place was packed with construction guys, office workers, families, and buddies on lunch dates.

He was drizzling chili oil overdobrada tripe braised with white beans and served in a terra-cotta bowl.

Pair of photos from Lisbon restaurants, one showing a peek into a kitchen, and one showing a plate with a red poached pear

From left: The kitchen at A Provinciana; peras bêbedas at O Cantinho do Alfredo.Christopher Wise

Between bites, Magalhaes gave me a quick lesson on thetascas humble beginnings.

To rebuild, laborers were recruited from Portugals far north and Galicia, in northwestern Spain.

They came in great numbers.

Pair of photos from Lisbon, one showing a restaurant terrace lit up at night, and one showing fish croquettes

From left: Evening at O Velho Eurico; codfish croquettes at Tasca Baldracca.Christopher Wise

And so thetascawas born.

Any person who needed to count his pennies would go to atasca, he said.

During the 20th century,tascasdotted every neighborhood of Lisbon, serving as affordable lunchrooms for the working class.

Pair of photos from Lisbon restaurants, one showing a plated dish, and one showing a cook in a kitchen

From left: A salted-cod dish at O Velho Eurico; Judite Fernandes, a cook at Tasca do Gordo.Christopher Wise

Tascasknow how to take something cheap and make it tasty, Felner said as we studied the menu.

He pointed out that Mercado de Alvalade, a terrific food market, was steps away.

Tascasdont have a lot of storage, so they go to the market every day, he said.

Pair of photos from Lisbon, one showing diners in a restaurant, and one showing a tiled shop exterior

From left: The graffiti-covered walls of O Velho Eurico; a souvenir shop with a tiled façade.Christopher Wise

Since that market is known for seafood, we ordered the grilled sardines.

Her mother was in the kitchen, and her father was behind the bar.

Not all family-runtascasare this warm and fuzzy, I came to learn.

Pair of photos from Lisbon, one showing tiled building exteriors, and one showing a plated dish

From left: Tiled façades in the Moorish Quarter; a codfish dish at Ofício.Christopher Wise

Things got even better with dessert.

We went withperas bebedas,or peeled pears stewed in red wine, sugar, and cinnamon sticks.

The real ones are disappearing, she said.

Pair of photos from Lisbon, one showing a streetcar, and one showing an arched bar with stools

From left: A streetcar winding its way through Lisbon; the bar at Cacué.Christopher Wise

They used to be in every neighborhood.

Now theres just a few that survive.

Like the earthquake-tsunami back in 1755, Lisbon is undergoing another seismic shift.

Young diners in a busy restaurant in Lisbon

Patrons at O Velho Eurico.Christopher Wise

Family-run restaurants are struggling to pay ever-increasing rents, bills, and wages.

Yet Prado Coelho expressed some hope that enterprising young chefs were helping to updatetascasfor the next generation.

People are not here just to eat its kind of an event."

Pair of photos from Lisbon restaurants, one showing a small wheel of melted cheese, and one showing a man in a red hat drinking a beer from a glass

From left: A wheel of Serra da Estrela cheese at Cacué; drinking beer at Tasca Baldracca.Christopher Wise

But many other things about O Velho Eurico feel thoroughly modern.

The walls are covered with graffiti, plates are mismatched, and classic dishes like abacalhausalad are elevated.

Just a short walk away, I found another modern take.

Red rooftops of Lisbon under a blue sky with white clouds, with views of the water

The terracotta rooftops of the Alfama district.Christopher Wise

After visiting nearly 10tascas,both classic and new, I thought that I had tasted it all.

The menu, however, told a different tale.

I paused to take in the artlike composition before swirling it with a piece of crusty bread.

A busy restaurant dining room in Lisbon

A Provinciana, a century-old tasca in central Lisbon.Christopher Wise

It was rich and pleasantly salty, with an aromatic punch of garlic.

I also ordered the atypical Portuguese gizzards, a take onmoelas estufadas a workaday classic of braised chicken gizzards.

The meaty tomato sauce was reduced to a silky demiglace, and the dish was topped with dainty microgreens.

Pair of photos from Lisbon restaurants, one showing a trio of waiters, and wone showing grilled fish on a plate with potatoes

From left: Waiters at Adega Solar Minhoto; grilled mackerel at O Cantinho do Alfredo.Christopher Wise

We want to bring the flavor of traditional Portuguese dishes, but not necessarily how they look.

For dessert, Candeias urged me to try his flan.

He presented me with a quivering dome served in a pool of caramel made with Muscat wine.

Pair of photos from Lisbon restaurants, one showing bread and olives, and one showing people around a table

From left: Bread and olives at Tasca do Gordo; diners at Ofício, a contemporary tasca.Christopher Wise

It was velvety smooth, as fragrant as it was sweet.

Cacue: A design-forward interior and rustic cuisine are unlikely bedfellows at this contemporary restaurant in the Saldanha district.

Tasca Baldracca: In Mouraria, a Brazilian chef takes things in an international direction.