coffee shops
Some Italians in 1782 opened the oldest coffee shop in Lisbon, Café Martinho da Arcada. It is still operating in its original setting, Praça do Comercio. Maybe it is not a chance that the Portuguese espresso, called bica, is the same one-shot coffee you would get in Italy. Another similarity is the tradition of drinking it quickly, standing at the counter.
Coffee shops at times are also pastelarias (from pastel, pastry), and besides selling all sorts of sweets and cakes, they also offer finger foods (salgados), and ready-to-eat options (sandwiches, soups). Very often, the distinction between café and tasca (traditional restaurant) is blurred: it’s okay to sit in a tasca for a coffee and a pastel. Lisbon offers all kinds of different cafés, from Chiado’s historic pastelarias to the most recent hipster spots, crowded with MacBooks and digital nomads.
The neighborhood’s finesse mirrors this café: traditional but classy. During the 19th century, Príncipe Real was a catwalk of horses, carriages and women with parasols. At that time, this pastelaria was a tiny bar called Serafina. After 200 years, you can still sense a unique setting — sit also for lunch with a bitoque, or have a break, asking for what the writer Eça do Queiroz used to request every day for breakfast: a coffee and a pastel de nata.
This humble pastry shop, open since 1968, also offers vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free options. Stop by for breakfast and ask for torradas com manteiga (toasted bread and butter) like a real Portuguese.
Another great point is the daily set meal, including traditional Portuguese dishes.
Maybe it’s because the staff are really nice, or maybe because I am particularly fond of the street — I used to live here. Either way, stepping into this café puts me in a good mood. Opened since 1964, this is the oldest establishment of this genre still in operation in this area. The owner, Luís Duarte, is more than 80 years old and every day still opens his business at 6am. Here you find traditional food cooked on the same day — my favorite is the candied fruit cake called bolo rei. It’s a holiday tradition, but good to know they make it every day of the year.
The window of this pastelaria is perennially busy with mouth watering huge croissants, frosted cakes that shine like jewels, various types of cookies, and chocolate truffles. Hang there a second and your visit to the Adamastor viewpoint will certainly be postponed. (Hint: inside it’s even better.)
This pastelaria pampers Saldanha’s residents, especially during weekends, when families have been stopping here for a cafezinho e pastel since 1922. Sit inside and travel back in time through the Liberty style of the big windows and the crystal chandeliers.
The waiting staff are quick and warm. The terrace on Avenida Republica offers a glimpse of the Duke of Saldanha’s roundabout, a fantastic spot where history and contemporaneity meet.
Lisbon is full of bakeries (padarias). This Portuguese chain is also a coffee and pastry shop and a fast food outlet (a sort of Portuguese Starbucks). Wide tables are generally crowded with students (these days with social distancing) and digital nomads.
Besides the menu, they offer main courses (codfish, lasagna or salty veggie cakes) and a variety of sides (rice, mashed spinach, soup or salad). Try a traditional treat like the coconut sponge cake called God’s bread (pão de Deus), a brioche or Nutella-strawberry croissants. Wi-Fi is available throughout (password: portuguesa) and the staff won’t mind if you spend 10 minutes or 10 hours sitting in front of a coffee. Skip the queue and save some cash through their App.
My fave branches are:
- Saldanha for the modern furniture
- Cais do Sodré for the terrace
- Restauradores for a friendly working atmosphere.
hipster bars
Over the last couple of years, Lisbon’s bar scene has certainly changed. Much of the thanks can go to the development in tourism and the numerous foreigners who have decided to make Lisbon their home.
Most of the following bars offer bio and vegan options, which means now is no time to put your wallet on a diet! That being said, this is in relation to Portuguese standards; so really, it’s more a question of what kinds of prices you’re used to. For the average Portuguese, paying €5 for a croissant is a joke (as well as a sin).
The influx of digital nomads and artists of all kinds, along with a variety of other types moving here, of course, has led to some complaints by the Portuguese; the “new” Lisbon is certainly more expensive and less “local.” Flipping the coin, it’s hard to imagine many of the popular creative spots existing here without the arrival of this new blood and energy.
Despite the name, cupcakes, pancakes and cakes should be taken seriously here. This is one of my favorite coffee shops of the São Bento area. The interior is simple but with a string identity — like the chandeliers and neon lights. The staff smile all the time. Located on a secondary street, off the tourist area, the place has a wide terrace: the perfect pick for when the weather is warm.
The first time I noticed this place close to parliament, I thought it was a florist’s shop. Then I understood that in this bar, they choose details with care — and, in the end, they really sell flowers, btw!
Find the same creativity in the variety of dishes, some suitable for vegetarians as well.
Very popular with digital nomads — a bit pricey for the average Portuguese — because of COVID restrictions, you might have to wait to be seated. If you’re lucky to get the table next to the entrance, you will enjoy a foamy latte while people watching one of the most typical streets in Lisbon’s city centre. Bring coins — their POS is a bit funky.
Today, this place has only three seats available inside (don’t worry, they have a couple outside as well) — nonetheless, you might be surprised by the products offered. In the heart of the lively Anjos neighborhood, it’s a vegan oasis for the variety of sweet and salty dishes. As you enter, check the wooden blackboards to understand what I mean. From cheese sandwiches (tostas) to the variety of salads and pies, or burgers and smoothies, it’s really hard to make up your mind.
The counter and part of the walls are covered in wood, and if you are alone and have left your cell phone at home, you can sip a coffee while reading the post-its left by previous customers — usually very creative.
If you are staying close by, there are options to take home with you, including a decent variety of frozen foods. This is the cheapest vegetarian-vegan place I know, no doubt about it.
If Moko is full inside and it’s raining so you can’t sit at a table outside, well, then try the small bar right around the corner. Malabarista has such a calm, Zen atmosphere that it’s the best location to sit and read a book or work on that email you’ve been postponing all day. The owners are a young couple that choose to use and sell only good-quality local products and produce to sustain their small business. I love their banana bread and choice of teas, but the real plus for me is their selection of craft beers — nice one for a coffee shop!
Many were waiting for the day when the pastel de nata was going vegan — and it did come in 2020. Visit their factory in Campo de Ourique: together with the European Vegetarian Union certified pastry, find vegan cappuccino and hot chocolate, Honest tea and Appletiser 100% apple juice cider. You can sit inside, eat at the counter or on the benches, or you can buy or order boxes of six (€7) or twelve pasteis (€13.50). Their products are sustainable, and we’re happy to see, so are their prices.
