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The Lowdown
Lisbon – history, flair and passion. The task ahead of us is to show you all of those elements on a trip around the city’s best bars.
The centre is based in a valley bottom and this is a hilly city, so wear sensible footwear and plan ahead. Lisbon’s connection to the sea barely requires expanding on, other than to say it continually informs the city’s culture. Even though both it and northerly Porto are modernising rapidly it is still accurate to call them both working class cities marked by religion, colonialism, war, along with more kitchen sink level issues like love and loss. Just as we will take you around some remarkable interiors and fine drinks, we will also be experiencing its folk culture.
Note: Due to Lisbon’s rhythms, most of the best venues in the city only get started in the evening onwards. For this reason this tour should start in the late afternoon. Shall we begin?
The Route Map:
We start our tour at the Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s famous square looking out onto the Tagus, with its triumphal arch. This is the central of Lisbon and cannot be missed.
To our 1st stop, walk up Rua Augusta, the central shopping street and conduit for city centre activity. You’ll spot the typical yellow trams, classical city mansions and tiling Portugal is famous for. We eventually reach Praça Dom Pedro IV with its fountains and National Theatre at the far side, another good place for photos. Our first stop is tucked away just to the far side.
Stop #1 is A Ginjinha 🇵🇹
Largo São Domingos 8
Opened in 1840 and run by the same family for 5 generations, there is an argument to be made that A Ginjinha is little more than a kiosk. It truly is merely hole in the wall, but there’s somehow more to it than that, a traceable sense of ritual to the place. 1 or 2 old guys work on the counter, decanting Ginjinha (or Ginja for short), serving them by the measure, either ‘com‘ (with cherries) or ‘sem‘ without. Not specifying will usually result in you receiving the cherries which have been sat in the boozy soup both imparting flavour and soaking it up. Take your shot onto the street and mingle with the crowd. You may desire something to chase it down with – they do sell small beers and some other drinks alongside the main event. All about the ritual. Join in the fun, do as the locals do, enjoy the novelty. Here for a good time not a long time.
The ruins/rebuilt church of Igreja de São Domingos are metres away. You may wish to pop in for a look!
Our next stop is up atop Bairro Alto district – either climb Calçada do Duque steps, take the Funicular at Estação inclinada de Glória – São Pedro de Alcântara, or even the famous Santa Maria Justa elevator if you have money to burn. All 3 are fun! You want to be aiming for Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, ie. the best lookout spot in the city which is lovely at ‘golden hour’ as the sun sets, with views of the castle, cathedral and ocean.
Once you’re done walking, there is good news – you’re about to visit one of the most distinctive bars in Europe!
Stop #2 is Pavilhão Chinês 🇵🇹
R. Dom Pedro V 89
One of 3 bars designed by Portuguese artist Luis Pinto Coelho we will be visiting. This one, the king of Lisbon bars, is a former grocery store turned into a private collection and cocktail lounge. Ah, the experience of stepping into the Chinese Pavilion for the first time. Ring the bell and wait for a waiter to greet you at the door. No need to press it too often – the bell works! Don’t leave here without having a good look around, even if the stiff service makes you feel like you should be pinned in your seat, it’s definitely not the case. Such a curation is not easily copied or repeated, neither is it integrated into a bar with such ease. It is simply one of the standout venues in Europe to attempt something like this. WWII memorabilia, belle époque cocktail menus, grotesque giant busts, model train sets, large oil paintings, billiard tables, live music and much more besides provide an experience that is as distracting as it is intense, more still when their old fashioned cocktails slip down.
Our next venue takes us north west, outside of the normal tourist routes along Rue Dom Pedro V north west, past the botanical gardens (take a look in if you’re interested) into Principé Real neighbourhood.
Stop #3 is Procópio 🇵🇹
Alto de São Francisco 21
Our 2nd Luis Pinto Coelho bar, this place remains very much a family operation since the 1970s. The bar’s age explains its unusual fixtures, fittings and layout. It isn’t something that would be made these days, nor could its natural character be produced from scratch, at least not without considerable care and even more money. Located by attractive Amoreiras garden, the approach feels immediately appealing, further still on entry. One room only, but well-appointed with plenty of space to sit, whether you’re flying solo or in a big group. An innate natural ambience, accentuated by reds, golds and wood fittings provides a superb setting for socialising. Despite this special environment the character remains largely local and neighbourly with groups of friends, local couples and people who seem to know and love the place.
Procópio benefits from being set enough out of the centre to deter the tourists partying in the Bairro Alto but still relevant and cosmopolitan enough to catch and welcome some side business. Drinks are largely focused on mixers and cocktails, though there are some beers and ciders including a couple of craft options. It is simply an unmissable venue when in Lisbon and well worth the walk, even if it may look distant on a map.
Work your way south now down Rua de São Bento, then a little zig-zag north east to the 3rd and final of Luis Pinto Coelho’s gifts to Lisbon (that we’ll be visiting today).
Stop #4 is Foxtrot 🇵🇹
Tv. Santa Teresa 28
Opening in the 1970s alongside sister bar Procopio, but maintained in appearance since then to great effect. You can tell this hasn’t been invented last week because it simply wouldn’t be. Combining the lounge environments and casual feel of a pub with some of the intimacy and personal service of a cocktail bar, you get the best of both worlds here. Ring for entry, but after that you’ll find service relaxed and chatty. The bar area itself is characterful with its hive of bottles, fireplace and wood-strip ceiling. Everything looks just that slight bit different to anything you’ve seen before, and that’s deliberate. The bar plunges through to further rooms including a very cosy baroque side-room and back room with pool table. Terrific selection of drinks and a tempting menu for snacks like cod croquettes. If you can handle the initial formality, you’ll notice things ease almost straight away. There’s no reason why this wouldn’t be a regular fixture for your Lisbon night out.
Our next 2 bars are back up in the Bairro Alto and that means it’s climbing time again! At least the distance isn’t punishing, but you might be cursing me somewhat at the end of it. Trust me, I know best 🙂
Stop #5 is Associação Loucos e Sonhadores 🇵🇹
R. da Rosa 261
The Association of Fools and Dreamers? No prizes for guessing what crowd they are aiming for at this bar! Formerly at Travessa do Conde de Soure, they moved here to more spacious environs. With a wonderfully welcoming frontage, as you enter you’ll see instruments to your left and a small bar, while the venue extends through to a longer conservatory area looking out onto a small leafy yard with pot plants. Distinctive, personalised and great value too. Drinks and food are basic but honest. They may attract a wider catchment of people than they advertise.
Stop #6 is Janela da Atalaia 🇵🇹
R. da Atalaia 160
Only a short walk to our next bar, you’ll be relieved to know. It feels appropriate at this point to encourage you to drink water, take a break, keep snacking. Now we’re heading into the centre of Lisbon’s busy, buzzy Bairro Alto at night time. Here’s a bar that feels far more informal, unshowy and ‘all-rounder’ than most cocktail bars around Europe. Devised by Fred Gonçalves, this corner bar has clearly enjoyed a previous life as a shop. One of those cool yet casual places where there is no jarring conflict at all between a small tv on the wall showing football, the oozing candlelit cool of exposed brick and the cocktails made with panache. That speaks to careful, thoughtful creation and good management. One of Bairro Alto’s best.
Did you enjoy it? Well, now it’s time to round off the evening in style. Where better than Lisbon’s famous Alfama district, known for the folk tradition of Fado and a winding maze of houses where you can easily get lost. Follow our map closely and you won’t go wrong.
We drop back into the centre where we started, then up into the Alfama. Walk east past Lisbon’s cathedral (not among Europe’s standouts). This same street winds around into the heart of the district to an old favourite of ours.
Stop #7 is A Baiuca – Fado Vadio 🇵🇹
R. de São Miguel nr 20
The passion and tradition of Fado performed in a tiny, traditional tavern in folk fashion, rather than the cloying, overly dramatised and corporate Fado shows you can find yourself paying over the top for if you’re not careful. The intimacy and immediacy of the atmosphere will grab you, so grab a glass of wine or beer, and join the throng.
Stop #8 is Tejo Bar 🇵🇹
C. Andrés Pérez, 8
Our final stop on this truly intense whirlwind of incredible bars and culture is the famously late opening Tejo, another music venue and a perfect destination to end the evening given what has come before it. Brazilian Mané do Café (nickname not real name), is an artist, novelist and poet, and presides over daily readings, occasionally bursting forth with a frenzied accordion performance. In between he manages the service while his partner manages the bar. A friendly, ramshackle and dynamic venue where you can feel electricity in their air some nights – chance meetings, new friendships and the clubbing together of musicians. An absolutely tiny bar, you’ll do well to cleave a spot for yourself let alone your friends. The bar keeps almost nocturnal rhythms, often carrying on until dawn. Currents fees (2023) are 5 euros to cover the musicians and the food and drink is inoffensively priced. The raw authenticity has inevitably travelled via word of mouth to the point where it has attracted some famous faces, but it works best as the gritty, no-names all passion bar it started off as and ought to remain.
Should any of the above 8 venues be closed or full we have a series of recommended backup venues for you!
Other recommendations:
LX Brewery – 🇵🇹 – Out with the pretension and petty megalomania of so many craft breweries, and in with making nice beer and fostering a community of people. With a clear collegiate, international flavour without losing any of its Lisboa character, you’ll find a garage on a hill, tucked away in the Saldanha district, which feels like a hidey hole from the hustle and bustle of the city. Inside anything will be going on from brewing, live music, projected live events, board games, books, computer games or off-sales of brewing equipment and materials. Very likeable as a result.
Casa Independente 🇵🇹 – The venue that put the Intendente district on the map, so they say. Notable for being a primary venue for Zouk Bass, the offerings have since expanded outwards. An apartment bar with art installations throughout and clearly rotating offer of music and art. On the 1st floor a colourful terrace strikes just the right line of being casual and bohemian, rather than a more angular, mainstream see and be seen crowd. It is an arty place though, so expect some pretension leanings here and there. The bar offerings are perfunctory rather than notable, but do the job adequately as you sashay around the various rooms enjoying the buzz, the art and culture. One to try.
Duque Brewpub 🇵🇹 – A characterful setting halfway down a set of steps, and plenty of home brewed beer to be found inside in what is otherwise a rather plain wooden bar.
Crafty Corner 🇵🇹 – A loungey, fairly laid-back hangout spot in the Alfama near the cathedral. Beer specialists with a good selection.
Café Klandestino 🇵🇹- Colourful, eclectic and atmospheric looking bar in the Intendente district with great reviews.
Snob Bar 🇵🇹 – Damn…well, it seems we missed out on this one. Famous in the ’70s for being a place for latest news and gossip for journalists and politicians, you’ll find an intimate, shady wood fit interior with table lights that oozes aged class. Although recent reviews have dragged it down, it looks worth a try for the ambience and interior alone.
Social B 🇵🇹 – Attractive evening bar with arched ceiling, lamps and wooden back bar.
Outro Lado 🇵🇹 – Famous, well reviewed multitap craft beer bar in the centre of the city. Simple honest pubby café set up.
Interested in more Portuguese bars?
Head over to our Portugal 🇵🇹 page!