Welcome To “Holy Burger” Food Heaven!
When my wife and I went to Lisbon, we tried to explore all of the restaurants that Phil Rosenthal visited in his TV series “Somebody Feed Phil.”
That meant we had to head to the place that served a heavenly “Holy Burger!”
Meet The Wild Creative Chef Jesus Lee Fernandes!
One of the greatest things about Lisbon is how they embrace so many different flavors! Fish of course, but their close proximity to Northern Africa and even India has led to an explosion of new tastes!
Chef Jesus Lee Fernandes is a great example! As he says on his Facebook page: Jesus prepares “Goan” food from his Mum’s traditional recipes.
Chef Jesus is from Goa, India – an Indian state located along India’s west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea – so there is a middle eastern vibe to his food and also on the extremely colorful walls of the restaurant!
Alex and I made a reservation – and then we re-watched Phil to make sure we knew the specialties – unnecessary as they guide you expertly through the menu!
We loved how the wall art had such colorful food imagery, vivid colors that had a sense of humor and love of food and flavor!
“Holy Crab” Indeed!
We loved that on the upper right of the wall! After settling in and exploring the artwork, we grabbed the menu!
As I said, the terrific staff walked us through all of the options!
Here’s how we started:
Bring On The “Bhajipuri!”
It’s potato bhaji with puri…a spicy filter with hot spicy veggies…
Alex compiled her bite, and added some of that spicy paste in the bowls next to it as well – too hot for me so I only added a hint of it!
The fritter was soft enough to fold a bit, but still had a nice crunch – and was deliciously flavorful.
“Cheo” Is Up Next!
These balls of fried chick pea flour and spices were just spicy enough for me, but Alex added more of that green paste – which carried quite a kick!
More appetizers were to come:
Next Up: Chamucas de Camarao!
These spicy Shrimp Samosas were very crunchy on the outside, and melt in the mouth good inside – a spicy as well, but I was hanging in there!
Next up: one of their most famous dishes!
Bring On The “Holy Burger c/ Ovo Escalfao”!
One of Jesus’s iconic dishes is his “Holy Burger c/ Ova Escallado” – a tiny burger topped with a poached egg!
It came with instructions – our Server gave us the most important tip for biting into this dish – keep your mouth shut! Take a look:
This is heaven on a spoon for me: a crunchy, bite-sized burger patty topped with a delicate poached egg and a spicy sauce – we loved it!
Now, time for the main course:
Bring On The “Xacuti de Cabrito” – Goatling With Eleven Spices!
What a main course!
This mind-blowingly delicious dish consists of pieces of goat marinated and cooked in eleven different spices was incredible!
A large bowl of rice, a warm chunk of naan bread and pickled onion are put down, as well as that spicy paste for anyone who needs more of a kick – but there’s no need this is packed with spicy flavor!
This meal was so delicious and filling – and so reasonably priced as well!
After this delicious meal, our two Servers brought us a special drink to toast the meal – cheers!
As I said, this restaurant was also featured in “Somebody Feed Phil” – where Phil Rosenthal explored Lisbon on his TV show, and we used the episode as our inspiration!
We had my birthday lunch at Ponto Final, a restaurant that seats you literally ON the Tagus River!
See our incredible meal here:
This restaurant only serves shellfish – well, except for the steak sandwich – for dessert!
Click here to see it all!
After so much great food, we needed some exercise, who why not explore a Moorish Castle?
The “Castelo Dos Mouros” towers above Portugal – click here to see this classic castle high above Sintra!

Castelo dos Mouros is located just below the famous Pena Palace, and that is a must-see as well!
As colorful as the outside was, the interior was fascinating!
Here’s a look:
You can see more of our tour by clicking on my story here:
Back in Lisbon, we were just beginning to explore this truly amazing city:
The mosaic tiles that line all of the central streets are beautiful – you can get mesmerized by them – take a look:
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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Food, food blog, Food Review, Hamburgers, Memoirs, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Wacky Food
What a great food experience, John. Sign me up for a Holy Burger.
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It was a terrific single bite!
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😀
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Happy birthday, John. I’m not a fan of spicy food, but I can see how you both enjoyed your meal.
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What an incredible meal. We have a young couple from that area of the world who are starting a business selling a condiment they call Lonsa from their grandmother’s recipe. I can only imagine the flavors that jumped into your mouth based on how delicious the Aaji’s condiments are.
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I love that! Thanks for sharing! It was fun and inventive and very reasonable as well – a great lunch spot!
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what a colorful setting for such a delicious looking meal!
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Xacuti de Cabrito is right up my alley. YUM. I want to go to Lisbon. Thanks for the colorful post.
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Cindy, it was really terrific, relaxed city with very good prices!
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I would happily join you for that meal, John. Right up my street! Goa was a Portuguese colony from 1510 until 1961, so I did expect to see Indian food on offer there.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for the Pete, it was really fun and so relaxed and reasonable!
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