Where to experience fado, Portugal's most famous music

Sorrowful and mournful, fado is typically sung by a single performer, accompanied by at least two musicians (one on acoustic guitar and one on 12-string Portuguese guitar), at a dimly lit casa de fado (traditional restaurant with live shows) or tasca (tavern) where the audience is enveloped in a respectful but surprisingly warm silence. Even if the majority of the people in the room don’t understand the lyrics, they hang on each melancholy chord, unable to fully describe the sudden feeling of longing and loss that overcomes them – what the Portuguese call saudade.

Much like fado, the Portuguese wear their hearts on their sleeves: cheerful and somber at the same time; proud of their land, food, favorite soccer team and mixed culture; bragging about what Portugal does best with the same passion that they’ll criticize what it does worse.

If the Portuguese essence could be summarized in a single fado song, I’d say “Ó Gente da Minha Terra” comes close.

History of fado

Fado was born in the 1800s at unreputable tascas in the heart of Mouraria, among sailors on shore leave, farmers, criminals and sex workers. The working class purged their troubles through improvised a capella songs that would later be called fado, which in Portuguese happens to also be the word for fate.

The end of the 19th century pushed the genre into something more polished, establishing the guitarra portuguesa (Portuguese guitar) as fado's default instrument. Growth into mainstream status was solid and steady, until the censorship imposed by the 1926 military coup, which later developed into a dictatorship. Fado lost its improv character and eventually became a fully professional affair performed at new licensed establishments called casas de fado.  

As part of the first generation born into democracy, after the 1974 Carnation Revolution, I grew to accept fado as an art form at a snail’s pace. The Three F’s – Fátima, football and fado – were the only government-sanctioned sources of culture, so those of us who weren’t into the genre struggled to see that it was no longer the propaganda tool it had once been.

It’s unlikely that you’ll cross paths with a local who isn’t a fan at a casa de fado or tasca, unless they’re showing someone around. In part because that type of cultural tradition has been consistently morphing into one more of Lisbon's top attractions, with some once famous and reputable venues becoming overpriced tourist traps.  

Fado today

Fado never really went out of fashion, and the tradition is kept alive, often within families when members of the next generation enter the professional and semiprofessional circuit of neighborhood casas de fado. UNESCO's recognition of fado as part of the intangible cultural heritage in 2011 sealed the form as a world music genre unique to Portugal. 

The songs flew higher in 2014, when fadista (fado singer) Carlos do Carmo was awarded a Latin Grammy lifetime achievement award. Other artists followed in acclaim, accruing nominations in different categories over the past decade: Marco Rodrigues (best folk album); Mariza, Camané, Sara Correia and Carminho (best Portuguese language roots album); and António Zambujo (best Portuguese language song).

Before that, from the 1950s until she died in 1999, Amália was the most internationally famous Portuguese fadista, and she wasn't afraid to blend styles, adding music to high-brow poems to turn them into songs (facing backlash from fado purists in the process), or to experiment with off-genre instruments. 

Despite its slump after the dictatorship ended, fado expanded with new breath in the 1990s, when a new generation of fadistas revived the genre. Most kept it traditional but weren’t afraid to push boundaries and experiment, cementing fado’s international fame. Mísia, Ana Moura and Mariza are some of the performers to take fado abroad, and Moura has perhaps pushed herself out of her comfort zone the most, having collaborated with Prince and sometimes giving her songs a pop music vibe, to the dismay of traditionalists.

Best places to experience fado in Lisbon

Mesa de Frades

Vibe: One of Lisbon’s most reputable casas de fado, in the heart of Alfama, Mesa de Frades was once a chapel. That detail adds a layer of reverence to the restaurant’s atmosphere during performances.

Cost: €70 (US$82) per person

Real Fado

Vibe: Real Fado is ideal for those who want the fado experience but not the meal. It hosts one-hour concerts at fixed venues not usually associated with the genre: bar Pavilhão Chinês (Thursdays), underground water reservoir Reservatório da Patriarcal (Fridays and Saturdays) and concept store EmbaiXada (Sundays).

Cost: from €20 (US$23) per person

Casa da Amália

Vibe: Amália's old house, now a museum, hosts fado concerts three times a week in the garden. Visiting the house and attending the show are separate events, but combine both if you can. The last guided tour starts at 5:20pm, and the one-hour concert starts at 6pm. 

Cost: guided tour from €9 (US$11), concert tickets from €20 (US$23)

A Baiuca

Vibe: Tiny and always packed, the women-owned Alfama tasca A Baiuca presents a less put-together show, although all of the fadistas are professionals. This is probably the closest to what fado venues felt like in the beginning.  

Cost: mains from €20 (US$23)

Festival Caixa Alfama

Vibe: The two-day festival Caixa Alfama in late September takes fado to the streets of the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon. Places like the cruise terminal and the small square Largo do Chafariz de Dentro become stages. Although it might not be the ideal setting for a fado performance, audiences are usually on their best behavior, and it’s a chance to see trending fadistas perform live.

Cost: one-day ticket €35 (US$41), two-day pass €40 (US$47)

Fado etiquette

Whether you choose a casa de fado or tasca, fado isn’t dinner entertainment. It’s an immersive and intimate experience; the meal is served during a break between songs, not the other way around. That's why the service stops during performances.

Fadistas require silence but won’t request it directly. In some places, patrons might be given a head warning to hush by the staff; however, it's most likely that you'll have to pay attention to the subtle signs: when the lights dim and the guitarists begin playing, it’s time to be quiet. A fadista won’t start singing until the atmosphere is right.

Practically all fado venues have an in-house roster of professional fadistas, with a lineup of six to nine songs per night. 

Fees (paid when reserving or upon arrival) include a fixed-menu dinner and the concert. Usually, the split is 60-40, an average of €20 to €25 (US$23 to US$29) for the meal (all included, but some restaurants charge separately for drinks), and the rest covers the performance.

Some casas de fado have started to include vegan or vegetarian options, but be mindful that since that’s not the core cuisine of these restaurants, the alternatives might be disappointing. 

Where to start

To grasp the evolution and range of the genre without feeling overwhelmed, consider any fados by Amália as your point of departure. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and consume as much old fado as you can, check Museu do Fado’s Digital Sound Archive, which has thousands of fados recorded between 1900 and 1950.

Or try this Spotify playlist, my curated sample of what fado was and is now. I included some fado-rooted or -adjacent songs that (I hope) showcase how fado is much more a matter of the soul than a music category.