This past week, we were lucky enough to have friends visit Lisbon. That was enough reason for us both to drive away from the Portuguese countryside and straight into the Chiado neighbourhood during a very busy Saturday afternoon – even as we got a flat tire, but that’s another story for another day. What’s important here is that we accidentally found the famous spot, Landeau Chocolate, that is known for the best chocolate cake in Lisbon.
It seems that this is the cake that everyone visiting Lisbon talks about. Can a single menu item actually claim the title as being the best chocolate cake in the world as the New York Times did? We wanted to find out if it lived up to the hype.
What Makes This Cake Different
Landeau Chocolate serves one thing: This Chocolate Cake. There are no other main menu items, except coffee. And so the benefit of this is that there is complete focus on one product.
You won’t find variations or additions to this cake. You can order individual slices or full sizes for take away.
Four Different Locations
Same cake, but a different experience at each of their four locations. These include one in Chiado (pictured below), the LX Factory, Campo de Ourique, and on the main level of shopping mall, El Corte Inglés.
We stumbled onto the Rua das Flores location in Chiado and enjoyed our slice of cake in a nice café setting. It’s a spacious setting with quite a bit of seating available. We found that seats did arise since people didn’t tend to linger long after finishing their slices. It’s in the midst of Lisbon’s busy downtown core and a nice place to stop into on a break while exploring the shops in the area.
(The Exterior of Landeau Chocolate in the Neighbourhood of Chiado in Lisbon)
The Best Chocolate Cake in Lisbon? Our Honest Take
The cake itself is unassuming. It was smaller than expected, as it is fairly dense, but it was rich in flavour. It has a fudge top layer, and a mouse-like filling, balancing the rich chocolate with the lightness provided by the mouse. We were a bit surprised that it was mostly a mouse filling, but satisfied nonetheless.
It’s made with more dark chocolate than milk chocolate, but it is not overly-bitter. It’s quite decadent and flavourful, and there is a nice dusting of chocolate on top. Paired with a café latte, it was quite nice.
While we don’t think we can claim it as being the “best” chocolate cake in Lisbon, it is excellent. A solid chocolate cake to enjoy when you visit Lisbon.
This cake is ideal for the real chocolate lovers. If you love anything chocolate, especially dark chocolate, without a lot of extras, then this is the cake for you. If you prefer super sweet or more of a sponge cake, then you might not love it. Its focus is really just on different textures of chocolate.
Best Practical Tips for Your Visit
If you want to try this cake and avoid lineups, go the Chiado location on Rua das Flores. It is a quieter café where people seem to go simply to enjoy a slice of chocolate cake and then continue with their day.
The other locations tend to get busy. If you want to try these other locations, try to go during the week as opposed to the weekend, as it often gets much more crowded and it might be a much longer wait to try this yummy slice of chocolate cake.
Enjoy your slice with a coffee or a scoop of ice cream, the latter of which you can have only if you do the take away option, but it’s a great option if you are a chocolate cake lover.
Other Sweet Treats
- Pastel de Nata’s are Portugal’s real signature sweet treat. These custard tarts can be found in many places all over Portugal, but our favourites are Manteigaria and Pastéis de Belém. You can read more about the pastel de nata here.
- For gelato, which tastes especially wonderful in Lisbon, try Nannarella and Amarino.
- O Melhor Bolo De Chocolate Do Mundo, which translates into The Best Chocolate Cake in the World, is a small shop that is a local favourite.
- Pastelaria Alcôa has many different Portuguese pastries and always busy.
Final Thoughts
Is the Landeau Chocolate cake the best chocolate cake in Lisbon or simply the most famous? While it was definitely delicious, we can’t say it was the best chocolate cake ever in the whole world; however, it is a contender.
Admittedly, best is a tough title to own, and so we’re happy with delicious. If you visit Lisbon, we’d recommend you try a slice or two. Don’t forget the ice cream!
Created by sisters, Isabel and Marilyn, Letters and Lipstick is a lifestyle blog for the woman who wants to smell the roses, eat the slice(s) of cake, and learn a thing or two along the way.
