By 2026, Bacalhau has become one of the most searched Portuguese food topics among first-time visitors — and for good reason. Walking into a Portuguese tasca and seeing six different bacalhau dishes on the menu is genuinely confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Two versions come up again and again: Bacalhau à Brás and Bacalhau com Natas. They share the same main ingredient but land very differently on the plate and on the palate. This article breaks down both dishes completely so you can make the right choice — or at least order with confidence.
What Bacalhau Actually Is
Bacalhau is salt-dried codfish, and it sits at the absolute centre of Portuguese food culture. The fish is caught — historically in the waters off Newfoundland and Norway — then heavily salted and dried until it becomes stiff and pale, almost unrecognisable as fish. Before cooking, it must be soaked in cold water for 24 to 48 hours to rehydrate and remove excess salt. This desalting process is called demolha.
The Portuguese claim there are 365 ways to cook bacalhau — one for every day of the year. The real number of documented recipes runs into the hundreds, though nobody agrees on the exact count. What’s undisputed is the cultural weight. Bacalhau was the food of sailors, of the poor, of fasting days during Lent, and of family gatherings at Christmas. It crossed every social class and every region of the country. Today it remains genuinely beloved rather than simply traditional.
Bacalhau has a flavour unlike fresh cod. The salt-curing process concentrates the umami, giving it a deep, savoury intensity. The texture after rehydration and cooking is firm and flaky, with a slight chewiness in the thicker cuts. Understanding this baseline makes both dishes make much more sense.
Bacalhau à Brás — What It Is and How It Tastes
Bacalhau à Brás (pronounced bah-kah-LYOW ah BRAHSH) is a Lisbon dish with a backstory attached to it. The name is said to come from a tavern keeper in the Bairro Alto neighbourhood — a man called Brás — who created the recipe in the late 19th century. Whether that origin is fully accurate or partly legend, the dish is firmly associated with Lisbon’s everyday eating culture.
The recipe works like this: shredded, desalted bacalhau is cooked together with very thin matchstick-cut fried potatoes (batatas palha — literally “straw potatoes”) and bound together with beaten eggs scrambled loosely into the mixture. The eggs should remain soft and barely set — closer to a wet scramble than an omelette. Finished with black olives, fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil, it arrives at the table still shimmering.
The flavour is direct and comforting. The salt cod comes through clearly, supported by the richness of egg and the crunch that the straw potatoes hold even after cooking. It’s a dish with contrasting textures — the fluffiness of the scrambled egg against the light crispness of the potatoes — and a savoury warmth that makes it deeply satisfying without being heavy. Think of it as the kind of food that tastes exactly right at lunch with a glass of Vinho Verde.
Bacalhau com Natas — What It Is and How It Tastes
Bacalhau com Natas (pronounced bah-kah-LYOW kom NAH-tash) translates directly as “cod with cream.” It’s a baked gratin-style dish that probably developed in the 20th century as cream (natas) became more widely affordable in Portuguese kitchens. It doesn’t carry the same single-origin story as à Brás — it evolved gradually as a richer, more indulgent treatment of the same ingredient.
The base is shredded bacalhau layered with sliced or cubed potatoes, onions softened in olive oil, and a generous amount of cream — sometimes mixed with a béchamel base, sometimes simply cream alone, depending on the cook. Everything goes into a baking dish and into the oven until the top is golden and slightly caramelised at the edges, with the cream bubbling underneath. A dusting of nutmeg is common.
When you break through that golden crust with a spoon, the inside is extraordinarily rich: silky, creamy, and deeply savoury from the salt cod soaking into the sauce during baking. The fish almost dissolves into the cream in places, leaving pockets of intense flavour. The potatoes absorb the cream completely. It’s heavier than à Brás — genuinely a dish that fills you — and it has that particular combination of crunchy top and yielding interior that makes gratins so compelling. Imagine the comforting weight of a winter cassoulet applied to salt cod.
How They Differ — A Direct Comparison
These two dishes share bacalhau and often potatoes, but the cooking logic behind them is completely different.
- Cooking method: À Brás is cooked entirely on the stovetop in a pan, finished quickly. Com Natas goes into the oven and bakes. This changes everything about texture and flavour development.
- Fat source: À Brás uses eggs and olive oil. Com Natas uses cream, and often cream plus butter in the béchamel. Com Natas is noticeably richer.
- Texture: À Brás is light, lively, and textured — the straw potatoes give it crunch. Com Natas is smooth, dense, and uniform — the potatoes soften completely into the cream.
- Serving temperature effect: À Brás suffers if it sits too long; the eggs tighten and the potatoes go soft. Com Natas holds its quality better as it cools slightly — the cream sauce thickens and the flavours deepen.
- Best time to eat: À Brás works beautifully at lunch. Com Natas suits dinner, cooler weather, and larger appetites.
- Visual: À Brás looks golden and fluffy on the plate with black olives and green parsley. Com Natas arrives brown-topped and steaming in a ceramic dish.
Neither is objectively better. They’re expressions of the same ingredient through different cooking philosophies — one fast and egg-based, one slow and cream-based.
Regional and Seasonal Context
Bacalhau à Brás is associated most strongly with Lisbon and the surrounding region. It appears year-round on menus across the country, but its identity is Lisbon-urban — the kind of food served in small tascas with checked tablecloths and a TV in the corner.
Bacalhau com Natas is more widely made throughout Portugal and appears frequently in the north, where cream-based cooking has a longer tradition. It’s a dish that comes into its own in autumn and winter — heavy enough to make sense on a cold evening in Porto or Braga. It also appears regularly at family Sunday lunches and at restaurant menus catering to Portuguese families rather than tourist trade.
Both dishes are prominent during festive periods. Bacalhau in various forms is central to Portuguese Christmas and Easter meals. Com Natas, in particular, appears on Christmas Eve dinner tables alongside other bacalhau preparations — it’s a dish with a domestic, celebratory register.
2026 Budget Reality
Bacalhau dishes have seen price increases since 2024, partly because salt cod import prices rose and partly because post-pandemic tourism demand pushed restaurant prices up across Portugal. Here’s what to expect in 2026:
- Budget (local tasca, no tablecloth service): €9–€13 for either dish, usually including bread and sometimes a simple salad. These are the best-value options and often the most authentic.
- Mid-range (sit-down restaurant with full service): €14–€20. Expect better presentation, wider wine list, and dessert options. Quality varies — price doesn’t guarantee a better à Brás or com Natas.
- Comfortable (upscale Portuguese restaurant): €22–€35+. At this level, you may encounter elevated interpretations — premium bacalhau sourced from specific Norwegian fisheries, homemade béchamel, high-quality cream. The quality of the cod itself becomes more noticeable.
Note that the price of bacalhau as a raw ingredient in supermarkets has stabilised in 2026 after the sharp increases of 2023–2024, sitting at roughly €12–€18 per kilogram for desalted portions. This means home cooking both dishes is economical and realistic if you’re staying in a rental apartment.
How to Read a Bacalhau Menu Entry Correctly
Portuguese menus don’t always explain what a dish is, because they’re written for Portuguese diners who already know. A few things to watch for:
- “Bacalhau à Brás” vs “Bacalhau à Brás gratinado”: Some restaurants finish à Brás under a grill for a moment to set the top. This is a variation — it changes the texture significantly, making it drier and less custardy.
- “Bacalhau com natas” vs “Bacalhau gratinado com natas”: Essentially the same dish — the word gratinado just emphasises the browned crust. Don’t be confused by the variation in labelling.
- Portion size: Bacalhau dishes in Portugal are typically served as a full main course. Portions are generous. A single serving is a complete meal — you don’t need a starter if you’re ordering either of these.
- The olive oil question: A generous glug of quality olive oil is drizzled over à Brás before serving. If it’s not there, you can always ask for more on the side — “pode trazer azeite?” (can you bring olive oil?) is a phrase worth knowing.
- Accompaniments: Neither dish typically comes with much on the side. Rice or a simple salad might appear, but both dishes are complete in themselves. Don’t expect a formal side dish structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bacalhau à Brás or Bacalhau com Natas more popular in Portugal?
Both appear on menus across the country, but Bacalhau à Brás has slightly broader everyday appeal — it’s lighter, faster to make, and works at lunch. Bacalhau com Natas tends to appear more at dinner and on family occasion menus. Neither dish is considered more prestigious than the other.
Can you eat bacalhau if you don’t usually like fish?
Possibly. Salt-cured bacalhau tastes significantly different from fresh fish — the curing concentrates umami flavour rather than a “fishy” smell. Bacalhau com Natas in particular wraps the fish in rich cream, which softens the intensity. Many people who avoid fish enjoy both these dishes. It’s worth trying before deciding.
Is bacalhau safe for people with high sodium intake concerns?
Properly desalted bacalhau has most of its salt removed during the demolha soaking process, but some sodium remains. Both dishes use additional salt in cooking. If you’re managing sodium intake carefully, bacalhau dishes prepared in restaurants — where you can’t control the desalting time — are worth approaching with awareness.
What wine pairs best with each dish?
Bacalhau à Brás pairs well with a light, crisp white wine — a young Vinho Verde or an unoaked Alvarinho suits its egg-and-olive-oil character. Bacalhau com Natas, being richer and cream-based, can handle a fuller white like a Dão white or an Arinto from Bucelas. Either dish works with a light red if you prefer.
How do these dishes differ from other bacalhau preparations on a Portuguese menu?
Portuguese menus can show six or more bacalhau dishes simultaneously. Bacalhau à Lagareiro is baked with whole potatoes and very generous olive oil — much simpler. Bacalhau cozido is boiled with vegetables and eggs. Pataniscas are crispy cod fritters. À Brás and com Natas are the two most reliably egg- or cream-based, cooked options you’ll encounter.
📷 Featured image by Diogo Nunes on Unsplash.
