Entertainment in Lisbon
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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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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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Senhor Vinho
Fado star Maria da Fé owns this small place, welcoming first-rate fadistas. Even the legendary Mariza has performed here.
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Fonte da Pipa
A hip tiled bar, this has craggy, cavelike rooms and comfy seats.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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).
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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.
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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.
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Havana
The skinny-jean set rock up at this Cuban bar for hip-wiggling to Latin rhythms and cuba libre (rum, lime and cola) by the bucket. Skip the hit-and-miss menu and head straight for the dance floor. The glass walls offer superlative views of the Tejo and Ponte Vasco da Gama.
reviewed
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Clandestino
Keep your eyes peeled for this well-hidden, old-skool Bairro Alto den. Battered and lovable, its walls are smothered in scribblings of the ‘X luvs Y 4ever’ and ‘hasta la victoria siempre’ variety. The playlist: Pearl Jam, Manu Chao, The Ramones…
reviewed
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Capela
Once a Gothic chapel, today Capela’s gospel is an experimental line-up of electronica and funky house. Get there early (before midnight) to appreciate the DJs before the crowds descend. Frescos, Renaissance-style nude murals and dusty chandeliers add a boho-chic touch.
reviewed
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Buddha Ba
Paris it ain’t, but this Buddha still rocks. Slick and Oriental, the decor is a blend of red lanterns, gauzy curtains, exotic wood and fountains. A young, good-looking crowd shimmies to chillout tunes, then cools down on the breezy outdoor terrace with stunning river views.
reviewed
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Bar do Rio
Intimate, funky and on its lonesome at Cais do Sodré, Bar do Rio is worth hitting for a drink before heading to Lux. Get there too late and it might seem like too much of an effort if it's crowded, but the staff are friendly and relaxed. Good soul, funk and house.
reviewed
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Blues Café
Decked out with gold, red velvet, dark wood and tassel lamps, this high-ceilinged warehouse fuses 1920s glamour with industrial cool. Music skips from lounge to house and dance, with the party mood picking up after 1am. The dockside terrace is perfect for chilling.
reviewed
