We have selected 15 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gourmet, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.
The restaurants below have been classified into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over €80)
$$$ (€50 to €80)
$$ (€20 to €50)
$ (up to €20)
The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal for one person and a bottle of house
wine or cheapest equivalent; they include VAT but they do not include tip.
GourmetCipriani The service and setting at the Cipriani Restaurant in the Lapa Palace is immaculate, with an outside terrace on hand in the warmer months for a spot of al fresco dining. Mediterranean specialties, with a focus on Italy, are on the menu. As popular for business lunches as it is for romantic dinners.
Lapa Palace, Rua do Pau de Bandeira 4
Tel: (21) 394 9494.
Website:
www.orient-express.com Price: $$$$
Concha D’Ouro Most people like to think of
baccalhau as a ’love it or hate it’ dish, but whichever camp you fall in you should still try it here. Seafood is the specialty at Concha D’Ouro, with
baccalhau (salted cod) the highlight, presented in a number of different ways. As this is the Portuguese national dish, you at least owe it a try.
Rua Augusta 238
Tel: (21) 342 8369.
Price: $$$
Restaurant Eleven This chic and stylish modern eatery is a favorite with the city’s movers and shakers and is the only restaurant in the city with a Michelin star. Purpose-built in the business district, the international menu caters for all tastes. The views over Lisbon are to savour too, especially at night, when the restaurant caresses customers with smooth music and candles. The wine cellar is one of the best in the city.
Rua Marquês de Fronteira
Tel: (21) 386 2211.
Website:
www.restauranteleven.comPrice: $$$
TrendyAlcântara Café A firm favorite with the local beautiful people, this handsomely decorated restaurant is a winner all round. The past of the historic dockland neighborhood is evoked, but updated, with smart, chic waiting staff on hand to smooth your journey through. With cocktails and drinks served until 0200 at weekends, when an array of locals who would not look out of place in a fashion shoot descend en masse, the food sometimes struggles to remain the main attraction.
Rua Maria Luisa Holstein 15
Tel: (21) 362 1226.
Website:
www.alcantaracafe.comPrice: $$$
Bica do Sapato Housed in a revamped warehouse on the waterfront, this lounge bar-cum-restaurant-cum-sushi bar attracts the local smart set with a number of different dining areas. One of the owners is rumoured to be John Malkovich. Seafood is a strong point, and can be enjoyed on the outdoor terrace in summer. The only criticism remains that style can sometimes be at the expense of substance.
Avenida Infante D Henrique
Tel: (21) 881 0320.
Website:
www.bicadosapato.comPrice: $$$
Panorama Revamped and now supremely stylish, this hotel restaurant boasts remarkable views of the city and delivers thrills on the plate too. Head chef Henrique Sá Pessoa is using his considerable skills, honed in France and the USA, to create a fusion menu that plays with the various cuisines of the world; think the likes of prime Aberdeen Angus married with mango and a rich sesame soy reduction. The extravagant degustation menu offers a choice of five or seven courses.
Sheraton Lisboa Hotel & Spa, Rua Latino Coelho 1
Tel: (21) 321 0000.
Website:
www.sheraton.com/lisboaPrice: $$$$
BudgetCervejaria da Trinidade The setting is grand in a tiled old monastery building, but there is nothing too flash about the menu. They dish up pleasingly large portions of seafood and meat and also have their own microbrewery on site. In summer they open their outdoor terrace.
Rua Nova da Trinidade 20
Tel: (21) 342 3506.
Website:
www.cervejariatrindade.pt Price: $$
Patio 13 The time to come to this great place in the historic Alfama district below the castle, is in summer. Diners are coaxed in by the aromas emanating from an outdoor grill. Fresh fish are cooked with a minimum of fuss and served straight up. Good value too.
Calcadinha Santo Estevao 13
Tel: (21) 888 2325.
Price: $$
Picanha A carnivore’s heaven with only one main dish - beef. This tile-lined eatery is a favorite of local families who come to enjoy the all-you-can-eat portions of beef, rice, roast potatoes, black-eyed beans and salad. The tender beef is cut into thin strips and grilled with staff always on hand to cook another plate to your preference. It may not be haute cuisine, but for an unpretentious and filling meal in a relaxed environment, this is a good option.
Rua das Janelas Verdes 96
Tel: (21) 397 5401.
Price: $
Personal RecommendationsPonto Final Something of a local secret and a real must for seafood lovers. Located a 10-minute ferry ride from Lisbon (no road access), and then a 10-minute walk west, the effort is worth it for the fresh food and stunning views of the city. On warm days tables spill out on to the quay and diners can feast on the first-class seafood while watching the local anglers attempt to land their own catch. The wine list is small, but impressively good value.
Rua do Ginjal 72
Tel: (21) 276 0743.
Price: $$
Via Graça The food can be inconsistent, but this restaurant has long claimed to offer the best views of any eatery in central Lisbon. The décor may be a touch faded and the wine list limited, but it is the views that people really come here for.
Rua Damasceno Monteiro 9B
Tel: (21) 887 0830.
Website:
www.restauranteviagraca.com Price: $$$
York House The restaurant at York House is reason enough to visit the hotel. The setting is charming in an open courtyard in summer and tucked into a cosy room in the cooler months. The menu focuses heavily on seafood. To finish there is a choice of Portuguese cheese and a selection of excellent port wines.
York House
, Rua das Janelas 32
Tel: (21) 396 2435.
Website:
www.yorkhouselisboa.comPrice: $$$
Nightlife:With whole areas of the city being turned over to the pursuit of pleasure and traffic jams from 0400-0500 at the weekend (and increasingly during the week as well), it is obvious that Lisbon is a city that takes its nightlife seriously. Traditionally, the nightlife center has been Bairro Alto, with its
fado clubs, traditional, canteen-style bars and upscale discos. The bars are often open as late as 0400. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol is 16 years.
Much of the action has moved on to the
Docas (Docks) district, situated just to the east of Ponte 25 de Abril. One bar after another occupies a row of converted warehouses at the Doca de Santo Amaro. Back towards the city, the Doca de Alcântara is another favorite with Lisbon’s moneyed professionals and the ’in’ crowd, although there have recently been problems with drugs that have led to tough and off-putting door policies. A current en vogue spot is around raffish Santa Apolonia, although that is principally driven the by the success of ϋber club
Lux (see
Clubs).
Bars: For a bar with a view head to the lofty and very slick
Panorama at the Sheraton, Rua Latino Coelho. Along the row of buildings east of Ponte 25 de Abril, you can take your pick of the competing bars, including the popular
Celtas Iberos Irish Bar, Doca de Santo Amaro. A funky new venue in Belém is
A Margem, a steel and glass bar/cafe creation right on the water’s edge between the Monument to the Discoveries and the Torre de Belém.
Finding a place in Bairro Alto is not a problem as you are spoilt for choice - the best thing to do is to walk uphill from the Praça Luís de Camões, just to the west of the Chiado metro station.
Clube da Esquina, Rua da Barroca 30, is a trendy, minimalist bar that is popular with the local cool crowd. Rua da Atalaia is one of the more lively streets and the welcoming
Portas Largas, Rua da Atalaia 105, is a good place to start.
Di Vino, Rua da Atalaia 160, is a haven for wine lovers, with occasional live music, while the
Instituto do Vinho do Porto, Rua de Sao Pedro, claims to have over 300 different varieties of port.
Arroz Doce, Rua de Sao Pedro 117-119, is a traditional canteen-style bar and a good place to order a
pontapé na cona (a sweet, usually dark, beer); occasional fado performances round off the perfect Lisbon evening
. One new contender for the Biarro Alto’s hippest spot is
Bedroom, Rua do Norte 86, a gorgeous new style bar/club with smooth sofas, chairs and, yes, beds. Go early to avoid one of the most restrictive door policies in Lisbon.
Clubs: There are a number of clubs around Doca de Alcântara.
Queens, Doca de Alcântara, attracts boys and girls of all persuasions.
Kremlin, Rua Escadinhas da Praia 5, and nearby
Kapital, Avenida 24 de Julho 68, are both popular - the former plays techno in Egyptian-style surroundings, while the latter has three floors, each with a different style. The city’s hottest spot is still the ultra stylish
Lux (website:
www.luxfragil.com), Rua Gustavo Matos Sequeira 42, with John Malkovich said to be among those behind the funky mega-club. A welcome new addition is the rooftop wine bar with its funky giant shoe installation.
Live Music: Fado is a form of music that developed in Lisbon’s sailor bars during the late 18th century. It is a mournful, romantic singing style that fits somewhere between blues and flamenco and bemoans the death of Portugal’s great Golden Age. These traditional sounds are best heard at one of the
casa de fado, from about 2100-2200. Fado houses include
Adega Machado, Rua Norte 91,
Adega Mesquita, Rua Diàrio de Noctícias 107,
A Severa, Rua das Gàveas 51-61 and
Clube de Fado, Rua Sao João da Praça 92-94.
Hot Clube de Portugal, Praça de Alegria 38-39 (website:
www.hcp.pt), is a favorite for jazz sessions. For African and Brazilian music, try
Lontra, Rua de São Bento 157, in Bairro Alto, and
Pê Sujo, Rua Madalena 102-8, near the cathedral in the Alfama district. Large concerts can be seen at the
Pavilhão Atlântico, Rossio dos Olivais (website:
www.pavilhaoatlantico.pt), in the Parque das Nações (see
Key Attractions).
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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