About religious food restrictions

Food is an important part of religious observance and spiritual ritual for many faiths. The role of food in cultural  practices and religious beliefs is complex and varies among individuals and communities.  As part of our own belief in respecting all traditions, we try to respond as best as we can to the needs of people from different religious communities. 

We came to realise that vegetarian food is basically OK with everyone but still, knowing that Terra is a lacto-ovo-vegetarian restaurant, people approach us with all kinds of requests concerning religious food restrictions, be it because they’re in a foreign city and don’t know what to expect or because a special holiday requires additional attention to food, its preparation or the way it is paid for.  Of these, some are very easy and require only that we identify dishes that contain certain ingredient/s or the confirmation that we do not serve fish and meat (!).  Others can be very complex, such as the request for Kosher food with varying degrees of strictness.  We’ll try here to explain what we do and don’t do and what we can and can’t do to accommodate these and other religious restrictions in food ingredients and preparation.

What ingredients do we use in our food?

Since the degree with which people adhere to dietary religious restrictions varies, here is what you can expect from us:  fresh and creative vegetarian food, without any use whatsoever of meat or fish or any ingredient that comes from the death of an animal.  

We understand that general cleanliness and the correct preparation of leafy vegetables is a concern for many people and we assure you that we are HACCP certified and all vegetables are adequately checked for insect infestation.  We do use small amounts of organic free-range eggs and dairy and, in accordance with traditional Portuguese cooking, occasionally we may have some dishes that are cooked with wine and/or wine vinegar (these are easily identified if you ask). 

According to Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Taoist practitioners that have talked with us about these matters, most of their religious dietary restrictions deal with meat products and/or the slaughter process involved and thus are not a concern in a vegetarian restaurant.  Minor restrictions in certain ingredients, usually garlic and products from the onion family are easily accommodated but do contact us beforehand and, if part of a large group with any such special requirement, mention this with your reservation.  This information is usually enough and you are very welcome to the restaurant and can eat our food without any or with minor previous arrangements.

If you are an observant Muslim, our food should be OK given that certified Halal alternatives are not easily available in Lisbon.  Anyway, as far as we understand it, the main restrictions are covered, since they apply mostly to meat products and sub-products (that we do not use) and alcohol (if we have them on the day of your visit, we can easily identify any dish that has been cooked with wine, even though no alcohol remains in the finalised dish).  Please contact us for any additional information you require.

If you are an observant Jew and keep Kashruth, our food is not Kosher.  As far as we understand it, this would require Rabbinic supervision and/or the participation of a Jew in the cooking and we have neither.   So, if you follow all the precepts and are strict about these restrictions, we are very sorry but we cannot help you.  For less strict restrictions, please contact us for any additional information you require.

What about alcoholic beverages?

Besides having organic and vegan wine, we also have Kosher wine, Mevushal and Non-Mevushal, both Kosher for Passover and OU P certified.  For Non-Mevushal wine we can provide you with a new, never before used, corkscrew and/or a stainless steel recipient with boiling water.  We can also provide disposable plastic glasses.  You may also want to try alcoholic beverages made without wine or grape juice, such as caipirinha, a brazilian cocktail made from cachaça (alcohol from the fermentation of sugarcane juice).

For all other restrictions, it is better to contact us well in advance. 

For large groups (30+) we can make some alterations to our buffet, increase the number of vegan dishes and make some other changes on a case to case basis, such as having no dish cooked with wine.  By previous request we can also provide disposable dishes, silverware and glasses.  These changes, that imply a modification in our usual methods and/or ingredients, will have an additional cost, please contact us for details.

We hope you find here your answer.  If not, please email us with your doubts; we’ll try to accommodate all requests as best as we can.  If you’ll need special arrangements please provide us with all the necessary information well before the date of your reservation.

May there be respect for all faiths and peace for all living beings!

May all have food, shelter, love and compassion!