Entertainment in Portugal
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Á Capella
A tiny, 14th-century chapel transformed into a candlelit cocktail lounge, Á 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. 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
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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E
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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F
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 arch, 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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K
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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L
Feitoconceito
Entered through the Tabacaria Pavão downstairs, this ultrahip hideaway near Praça da República is comprised of three colourfully lit high-ceilinged rooms. The intimate vibe is best appreciated when you’re sitting cross-legged on cushions at the low tables in the innermost room. Beers cost €0.70, and caipirinhas are €14 for a tray of eight.
reviewed
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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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O
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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P
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.
reviewed
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Q
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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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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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
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Mussulo
Mussulo, named after the island in front of Luanda (Angola), keeps faithful to its Angolan roots with a mixture of soft rhythms for cruising and Afro-techno for when things really get going - and in the wee hours they do. Earlier on it's the perfect place to stop and weigh up the options for the night or chill after a long day.
reviewed
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Maus Habitos
This creatively decorated multiroom space hosts a culturally ambitious agenda. Changing art exhibits and imaginative installations adorn the walls, while live bands and DJs work the back stage. Hidden within, there’s also a design shop and an inexpensive vegetarian restaurant (open for lunch only Monday through Friday).
reviewed
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Kremlin
Until Lux pinched its crown, Kremlin was Lisbon’s undisputed megaclub. It’s still the home of house, though slipping past the Stalin-esque bouncers can be a challenge. A pick ’n’ mix of gays, straights, models and wannabes come to bop to deep house in wacky Oriental surrounds. Heats up around 3am.
reviewed
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V
Cinco Lounge
Take an award-winning London-born mixologist named Dave, add a candlelit, gold-kissed setting and give it a funky twist – et voilà – you have Cinco Lounge. Come here to converse and sip legendary cocktails – from Milli Vanillis (hazelnut-vanilla mojitos) to Bloody Shames (vodka-free Bloody Marys).
reviewed
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Portas Largas
Once a tasca (tavern), this well-loved Bairro Alto linchpin retains original fittings including black-and-white tiles, columns and porticos. It throws open portas largas (big doors) to a mishmash of gays, straights and not-sures, who prop up the marble bar or spill onto the cobbles with zingy caipirinhas.
reviewed
