two buildings is a leafy garden patio paved with traditional tiles and a pool that makes up for its small size with a hillside location and great views. Recent additions include a private villa and the innovative Cave 23 restaurant.
Rua Câmara Pestana, 23. www.torelboutiques.com. 21-829-0810. 26 units. Doubles 120€–420€. Parking 15€ daily. Metro: Avenida (then take the funicular). Amenities: Restaurants; bars; outdoor pool; garden; sun terrace; babysitting; free Wi-Fi.
Inexpensive
Casa de São Mamede This solid, yellow-painted townhouse was built in 1758 as a magistrate’s home and has been a hotel since 1948. It’s great value for money on the edge of the happening Príncipe Real district. The good-sized rooms are individually decorated. Some may feel a tad old-fashioned, but most have a stylishly uncluttered historical style, and all have private bathrooms. Breakfast is served in a sunny second-floor dining room decorated with antique tiles. Service is friendly and attentive.
Rua da Escola Politécnica 159. www.casadesaomamede.pt. 21/396-31-66. 28 units. 99€–224€ double. Metro: Rato; Tram 24. Amenities: Free Wi-Fi.
HF Fénix Music The best of a row of mid-20th-century hotels run by the HF group just across from Eduardo VII Park. This one has a musical theme. Each room is decorated according to a style from jazz to classical to fado. There are live bands and DJ sets beside the rooftop pool and bar, where there’s a city view that’s the envy of many more expensive hotels. High-tech sound systems allow guests to turn their rooms into a personalized disco. The check-in desk is shaped like a drum kit and the bar’s a piano keyboard.
Rua Joaquim António de Aguiar, 5. www.hfhotels.com. 21/049-65-70. 109 units. 81€–193€ double. Metro: Marquês de Pombal. Amenities: Bar; outdoor pool; sun terrace; free Wi-Fi.
Where to Eat
Baixa & Chiado
Expensive
100 Maneiras INTERNATIONAL Sarajevo-born chef Ljubomir Stanisic is a star in Portugal. He judges TV cooking contests, fronts food documentaries and played Gordon Ramsey’s role in Portugal’s version of “Kitchen Nightmares.” He’s also an excellent cook. His restaurant (which means “100 ways”) underwent its own makeover in 2019, moving down the road to a new Bairro Alto location with a mildly spooky modern-gothic interior. For the new menus, Stanisic has reached back to his Bosnian roots, serving Balkan treats like peppery ajvar and creamy kajmak along with Belenga island barnacles, amberjack, and other fishy treats plucked from the Portuguese ocean. Stanisic takes an iconoclastic approach, incorporating cough sweets, garlic, and hay into his desserts. This is a true original.
Rua do Teixeira 39. www.restaurante100maneiras.com. 21/099-04-75. Reservations recommended. Tasting menu 80€–110€. Daily 7pm–2am. Metro: Baixa-Chiado.
Belcanto CREATIVE PORTUGUESE Lisbon’s most famous fine-dining experience boasts two Michelin stars and is a regular fixture in the world’s top 50 restaurants rankings. Belcanto is the flagship of celebrity chef José Avillez’s flotilla of eateries spread around the Chiado and Baixa. In 2019 it moved from its cozy-but-cramped location in front of the São Carlos opera house to take over a more spacious neighbor with domed brick ceilings and more natural light. The discreet charm and exquisite food remain. It’s not cheap, but Avillez’s irreverent take on Portuguese classics is unique. New dishes introduced with the move include braised red mullet with squid rice, liver sauce, vegetable roe, and cuttlefish-ink aioli; and roasted, hay-smoked pigeon with foie gras and hazelnut-cinnamon sauce. Go for the tasting menus for a special treat, and sample from the incomparable wine list.
Largo de São Carlos,12. www.belcanto.pt. 21/342-06-07. Reservations required. Main courses 50€; tasting menus 165€–185€. Tues–Sat noon–3pm 6:30–11pm. Metro: Baixa/Chiado.
Gambrinus PORTUGUESE Gambrinus is resolutely old school, its menu unchanged for years and its dining room classically styled, with leather chairs under a beamed cathedral ceiling (we always try to nab the little table beside the fireplace at the raised end of the room). The restaurant is renowned for its seafood bisque, its lobster dishes, and the seafood cataplana (a traditional dish from the Algarve cooked in a copper pot). Those are all pricey, but you don’t have to break the bank to dine here: Sitting at the counter (barra), the menu is affordable, featuring petiscos (Portuguese snacks) if you feel like a mid-afternoon or late night nibble.
Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 23. www.gambrinuslisboa.com. 21/342-14-66. Reservations recommended. Mains 18€–38€. Daily noon–1:30am. Metro: Rossio.
Moderate
Aqui Há Peixe SEAFOOD The name of this stylish restaurant in the heart of one of the Chiado’s prettiest squares translates as “Here there are fish”—and so there is, a lot of it, freshly caught and selected by Chef Miguel Reino from Lisbon’s markets. On our last visit, we started with one of the few fish not lately plucked from Portuguese waters (anchovies from off Spain’s northern Cantabrian coast), but followed up with a whole Atlantic turbot for two, served with rice cut with tangy rapini greens, followed up with vanilla ice cream doused in a thick fig syrup. There’s meat if you must: The Brazilian-style picanha steak is excellent.
Cervejaria Ramiro PORTUGUESE This place has been popular since opened by a Spanish immigrant in the 1950s, but after the late Anthony Bourdain raved about it on TV, lines stretch down the street. It’s noisy, crowded and chaotic, but the wonderous seafood makes it all worth it. The usual routine is to take a series of shellfish plates, say clams with garlic and cilantro; grilled giant shrimp, leathery goose barnacles, or a football-sized crab served with a mallet to smash through the claws. Wash everything down with icy draft beer or vinho verde and follow up with a steak sandwich (prego). Try to find space for the fresh mango. They don’t take phone reservations. To avoid the queues, eat early (or late). Like with most such joints, the seafood is sold by the kilo. For lobster, crab and other larger critters ask the waiter in advance how much you’re likely to pay.
Av. Almirante Reis,1. www.cervejariaramiro.pt. 21/885-10-24. Main courses 13€–38€. Tues–Sun noon–midnight. Metro: Intendente.
