Entertainment in Portugal
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Á Capella
A tiny, 14th-century chapel transformed into a candlelit cocktail lounge, À Capella regularly hosts the city's most renowned fado musicians. The setting is as intimate as the music itself, with heart-rendingly good acoustics. Be forewarned that these shows cater directly to a tourist crowd, but the atmosphere and music are both superb.
reviewed
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B
Teatro Lethes
This tiny and exquisite Italianate theatre hosts drama, music and dance performances. Adapted into a theatre in 1874 (from a building dating to 1603), it was once the Jesuit Colégio de Santiago Maior and is now owned by the Portuguese Cruz Vermelha (Red Cross). Ask the tourist office for a list of what’s on. Other performances are often held in the modern Teatro Figuras.
reviewed
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C
Pavilhão Chinês
Pavilhão Chinês is an old curiosity shop of a bar with oil paintings and model spitfires dangling from the ceiling, and cabinets brimming with glittering Venetian masks and Action Men. Play pool or bag a comfy armchair to nurse a port or beer. Prices are higher than elsewhere, but such classy kitsch doesn’t come cheap.
reviewed
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D
A Baîuca
On a good night, walking into A Baîuca is like gatecrashing a family party. It’s a special place with fado vadio, where locals take a turn and spectators hiss if anyone dares to chat during the singing. The food stops around 10pm but the fado goes on until midnight. Reserve ahead.
reviewed
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Theatro Circo de Braga
One of the most dazzling theatres in the country reopened in late 2006 following a lengthy restoration. Inside the grand fin de siècle building, you can catch concerts, theatre and dance, with offerings ranging from the staid to the truly avant-garde.
reviewed
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E
Music Box
Under the brick arches on Rua Nova do Carvalho lies one of Lisbon’s hottest clubs. The pulsating Music Box hosts loud and sweaty club nights with music shifting from electro to rock, plus ear-splitting gigs by up-and-coming bands.
reviewed
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F
Belém Bar Café
The self-consciously cool BBC attracts fashionistas to its glass-walled lounge bar and terrace with cracking views of Ponte 25 de Abril. DJ Espírito Santo fills the dance floor with hip-hop and R ’n’ B at the weekend.
reviewed
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O Luain’s
For the craic in Cascais, it has to be this cheery Irish watering hole, run by Ivor and Karen. Pull up a stool for Guinness and – at 10.30pm from Thursday to Sunday – live music, including the popular banjo jam sessions.
reviewed
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G
Solar do Vinho do Porto
The glug, glug of a 40-year-old tawny being poured is music to port lovers’ ears here. Part of an 18th-century mansion, the low-lit, beamed cavern is ideal for nursing a glass of Portugal’s finest.
reviewed
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H
Bicaense
Indie kids have a soft spot for this chilled Santa Catarina haunt, kitted out with retro radios, projectors and squishy beanbags. DJs spin house to the preclubbing crowd and the back room stages occasional gigs.
reviewed
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Arco Bar
This small bar is fairly stock-standard (let’s face it, there’s not much choice), although fired-up by the owner and patrons. On Monday nights there’s a drag show.
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Rua do Prior
Faro's student-driven nightlife clusters around Rua do Prior and surrounding alleys, with bars and clubs open most days till late, though things pick up considerably on weekends.
reviewed
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Senhor Vinho
Fado star Maria da Fé owns this small place, welcoming first-rate fadistas. Even the legendary Mariza has performed here.
reviewed
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Fonte da Pipa
A hip tiled bar, this has craggy, cavelike rooms and comfy seats.
reviewed
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Lux
Lisbon’s ice-cool, must-see club, Lux is run by ex-Frágil maestro Marcel Reis and part-owned by John Malkovich. The wacky design features an oversized shoe, mirrored tunnels and violet light. Special but not snooty, Lux hosts big-name DJs like Leonaldo de Almeida and Pinkboy spinning electro and house. Grab a spot on the roof terrace to see the sun rise over the Tejo. Style policing is heartwarmingly lax but get here after 4am on a Friday or Saturday and you might have trouble getting in because of the crowds.
reviewed
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Café Santa Cruz
Few cafes in Portugal offer such an atmospheric backdrop. The interior, set in a dramatically beautiful high-vaulted former chapel, features stained-glass windows and graceful stone arches, while the outdoor patio area affords one of the city's best vantage points over the popular Praça 8 de Maio. Popular with tourists and locals alike, the cafe periodically hosts free evening music events and talks. You'll pay a bit extra here for the atmosphere, but it's worth it.
reviewed
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Casino Lisboa
The sibling rival of Estoril, Lisbon’s slick casino aims its chips at a younger crowd. Forget the James Bond–style tux, the dress code here is smart casual. Aside from 1000 slot machines, 22 gaming tables and three restaurants, the casino hosts glitzy shows like Stomp in the revolving Arena Lounge. Branded a white elephant when it opened in 2006, the casino has played its cards right recently to boost its popularity.
reviewed
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Feitoconceito
Entered through the Tabacaria Pavão downstairs, this hip little hideaway near Praça da República woos a student-heavy crowd with regular DJ sets, plus ridiculously low prices on caipirinhas, mojitos, gin and tonics, vodka and beer. Hang out at the bar, or decamp to one of the high-ceilinged back rooms, all decorated with eye-catching, one-of-a-kind wallpaper. The vintage barbershop and design store next door are equally fun.
reviewed
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Q
A Ginjinha
Loved-up couples and old men in flat caps, office workers and tourists, all meet at this microscopic ginjinha bar for that moment of cherry-licking, pip-spitting pleasure their euro buys. Watch the owner line ’em up at the bar under the beady watch of the drink’s 19th-century inventor, Espinheira. It’s less about the grog, more about the event.
reviewed
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Campo Pequeno
Whether it makes your pulse race or blood boil, you can’t ignore tauromaquia (bullfighting). The red-brick, neo-Moorish Campo Pequeno reopened in 2006 following six years of restoration. Fights are held on Thursday from May to October. Tickets are sold outside the bullring, or at higher prices from the ABEP ticket agency.
reviewed
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A Brasileira
All gold swirls and cherubs, this art-deco cafe has been a Lisbon institution since 1905. Sure it’s touristy, but the terrace is brilliant for watching street entertainers beside the bronze statue of poet Fernando Pessoa. Order a bica, which takes its name from A Brasileira’s 1905 catchphrase: beba isto com açúcar (drink this with sugar).
reviewed
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Casa dos Bonecos
Actors from the grand municipal Teatro Garcia de Resende studied for several years with the only surviving master of a traditional rural puppetry style called bonecos de Santo Aleixo (Santo Aleixo puppets). They occasionally perform this, other styles, and hand-puppet shows for children at this little theatre off Largo de Machede Velho. Ask at the tourist office for their schedule.
reviewed
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Noobai Café
Three words: Lisbon’s best-kept secret. Though it’s next to Miradouro de Santa Catarina, you don’t realise this bar is here until you descend the steps and a terrace unfurls before you. The vibe is laid-back, the music funky jazz and the views – wow the views! – magical, sweeping from the castle to Cristo Rei.
reviewed
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V
Adega do Ribatejo
Catching a fado performance is a 'must-do' for visitors to Lisbon. These operatic folk songs about love, death and longing can be enthralling - in the right atmosphere. Adega do Ribatejo is one place where the fado is often excellent. The food's nice too and it's hard not to like a place where the chef belts out a few tunes.
reviewed
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W
Kapital
Being young, gorgeous and loaded helps you to get the nod from the picky doormen at Kapital. It’s the super-slick haunt of 20- to 30-something Lisboetas out spending daddy’s pension on cocktails in the VIP lounge. The too-cool crowd defrosts in the madrugada (wee hours) grooving to ’80s and garage tunes.
reviewed