Portuguese 'sardinhas' (sardines) are known to be the best in the world.
The plump grilled sardines were on every restaurant menu. Though not a particular favourite of ours, we tried them cooked on a charcoal grill, (sardinhas assadas) and they weren't that bad at all! In Lisbon, we sat next to a table surrounded by several Brits. Each of them had second servings of this dish! They cleaned the sardines with great finesse, and all that remained on the plate at the end of the dinner were bone-dry spines neatly laid out at the periphery of their plates. The English certainly love them!