Before traveling to Lisbon I was expecting atmospheric streets, haunting fados and smelly cod, but not a lot in the way of organic, vegan food. To my surprise Lisbon turned out to be one of the best food destinations imaginable. From restaurants to food stores, organic-loving vegans will have no saudades.

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Terra Restaurante Natural in Bairro Alto is a beautiful, cozy restaurant with wooden floors, and furnishings. It is mostly organic, fully vegetarian and I'd estimate about 90% vegan. Terra Natural doesn't have a dinner menu as they feature a buffet at lunch and dinner. But this is not a school cafeteria style buffet: it is beautifully presented and must have about 30 different creative and fresh options. Items on the buffet change daily but when we were there there were several green salads with nuts and mango and strawberries, a veg take on traditonal Portuguese food, several delicious stews, pumpkin stuffed philo pastry, curry, soup, rice. Drinks and desserts are ordered separately. We enjoyed organic Port, of course, and were then presented with a choice from half-a-dozen heavenly looking vegan cakes. We loved this restaurant and would say not to miss out on it. Well known vegan-restaurateur Moby (who runs Teany in New York) agrees according to a press clipping we spotted on the wall.

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Os Tibetanos just off Avenida Liberdade is also very cozy with a friendly staff. I'm not sure exactly how much organic food they use but they also offer organic wines, beers and juices. This vegetarian restaurant's menu includes a lot of dairy but they do have two main courses labeled as vegan and appetizers as well. We tried the vegetable curry with seitan and the staff whipped up a special order of rice, tofu and leeks for my children. And they had organic vinho do porto here too!

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After these two great restaurants I didn't think there could be something even better. But what do you know, right in the main shopping district of Chiado is Restaurante Orientale Chiado, the fully vegan restaurant of Lisbon. Yes, that's right, 100% vegan, serving an all you can eat buffet. Could Lisbon be heaven? When I asked if the food was organic they told me yes, just how much I'm not sure, but the waitress was very enthusiastic in her response. On the buffet were raw green salads, cabbage salads, carrot salads, pasta salad, olives, four hot dishes, black bean soup with seitan, absolutely delicious fried puff balls that were a huge hit with my kids. I'm not sure what they were and had to keep reminding myself it was ok, it's all vegan. Very impressive were the pastries, a corn tart and a "pizza" with a cracker-like, flaky crust topped with tomato spread, olives, etc. The drink menu is extensive, featuring teas, beer and wine, and freshly juiced juices. I went with carrot-ginger. The staff was very friendly and welcoming and even the kitchen staff came out to chat with my daughter. We felt truly overjoyed as we dined in this peaceful restaurant that felt 100% committed to making the world a better place. I give it 5 stars! And guess what… Moby came here too.

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Celeira Dieta is the natural foods store chain in Lisbon. It has everything you need for organic picnicking: we visited the one near Rossio station right in the center of the city every day. There are baked goods including traditional Portuguese breads, vegetable and soy or seitan filled pastries as well as our favorite: whole-grain, vegan croissants. As well as carrying Portuguese produced items, this three level shop carries items from Germany, France, and England so there is a fun variety. We tried Cheesly, a vegan cheese alternative made in England. The cheddar variety actually resembles Cheshire in texture and was delicious coupled with fresh bread. In the basement is a large cafeteria and a couple of doors down is another similar cafeteria style eatery featuring organic and veg options. We didn't have a chance to try these but they looked like a fab yet economical option. If Moby was peckish while doing some shopping, he could pop in here.

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In conclusion: Get yourself to Lisbon!

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Emily Horne, Paris Correspondent