The 24 best restaurants in Chiado

In Chiado, Henrique Sá Pessoa’s restaurant Alma maintains its two Michelin stars. Here, he is increasingly focused on elevating Portuguese products. He offers two tasting menus (both priced at €185): the Alma menu showcases his classics, while the Costa a Costa menu takes a journey along Portugal's coastline, bringing a taste of the sea and sustainable species to the table.

With two Michelin stars, Belcanto is the laboratory where José Avillez applies all his haute cuisine techniques. In the kitchen Avillez and his team work with luxury ingredients and reinvent Portuguese traditions. At the beginning of 2019, it moved to a location next door to its original spot, and in doing so, gained 15 additional seats. There are two tasting menus: the classics menu (€195), which brings together some of the restaurant's most iconic dishes; and the evolution menu (€225), where the chef explores new experimental creations.

After a major renovation, the Bairro Alto Hotel reopened in 2019 with a strong focus on gastronomy (BAHR stands for Barrio Alto Hotel Restaurant). Nuno Mendes was brought in from London as the creative director, while Bruno Rocha remained in charge of the kitchen. Since then, both have left the project, but the focus on Portuguese products and a commitment to the most sustainable cuisine possible remains.

One space, many different restaurants and concepts. That’s the essence of Bairro, which José Avillez opened in the summer of 2016. There’s the Taberna, which offers signature tapas; the Páteo, which combines a seafood bar and fish restaurant; the Pizzaria Lisboa, which the chef brought here post-pandemic; and the Mini-Bar, which found a new home in the Bairro do Avillez after leaving its location at São Luiz.

Time goes by, things change, but Bistro 100 Maneiras remains consistently excellent. Ljubomir Stanisic opened it in 2010 in Chiado, after already establishing the 100 Maneiras restaurant nearby in Bairro Alto. The name is intentionally ‘bistro’ (and not bistrô, the Portuguese spelling), as the former spelling also means ‘clean’ or ‘pure’ in Serbian. The menu blends the chef's influences into unconventional dishes.

The pan-Asian restaurant Boa-Bao (which opened in 2017 and is located in Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro) can be a difficult place to get a table. The menu is eclectic and includes dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, and China. As well as the regular menu, there’s always a special menu spotlighting a specific Asian destination. Don’t miss out on trying the house cocktails.

The team behind Valdo Gatti, a pizzeria in Bairro Alto, decided to expand their business with Caffè di Marzano, a New York-style Italian restaurant in Chiado that combines a ‘cafe, wine bar, and vermouth bar,’ as Antonio Cardoso, one of the owners, puts it. Located in the former O Rei das Meias shop, it’s open all day, from 9am to midnight, offering something for every occasion. Breakfasts, evening cocktails, fresh pasta dishes and pizzetas, (smaller versions of the pizzas from Valdo Gatti) are all on offer, depending on when you stop by. 

Music, art, drinks, and good food – that’s the essence of Carnal, created by the ‘offspring’ of Ljubomir Stanisic’s 100 Maneiras. Here, the chef himself doesn’t step in. Instead, it’s Manuel Maldonado, the group’s executive chef (who’s usually found in the Michelin-starred 100 Maneiras kitchen), and Luis Ortiz, head chef, who run this Mexican gastrobar. The menu features classic Mexican dishes as well as more unconventional ones, all paired with excellent cocktails.

Cervejaria Trindade, which claims to be ‘the oldest beer hall in Portugal’, has undergone many changes since it opened almost 200 years ago. The most recent took place in September 2023. The interior of the building – which was originally the Convent of the Holy Trinity, dating back to 1294, and later, in 1836, became the country’s first beer hall – has been revamped with a more harmonious decor that aligns with its monastic heritage. The menu is now curated by chef Alexandre Silva (from LOCO, a Michelin-starred restaurant). Among the small plates, the veal shank croquettes and the famous Trindade tenderloin steak remain standout dishes.

In a Chiado square known for its restaurants, Cru has opened in what was previously a long-closed space, with a menu focused primarily on sushi. This is a Fullest group venture, which also owns restaurants like BYF Steakhouse and Bellalisa Valmor. ‘Cru’ (which means ‘raw’ in Portuguese) could refer to both the raw fish that’s served here, and the raw, minimalist ambience of the space, with bare concrete walls – yet plenty of style. The menu is extensive enough to appeal to both purists who love traditional sushi and fans of fusion sushi.

When the construction of a hotel threatened to close the doors of this Lisbon tavern, we all feared the worst. But Mr. José Fernandes is still there, going strong, opening only for lunch, and almost always filling every table. The food is good and affordable, and places like this are becoming rare in the city. The croquettes are a must-try, as is the liver. Everything is homemade and the service is also great.

Vincent Farges opened his first restaurant under his own name in Lisbon in May 2018. Epur features a ground-floor kitchen with large windows overlooking Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas Artes and three distinct interior dining rooms with high ceilings and views of the Tagus River. He works in close collaboration with producers, relying entirely on them. The menu always includes three starters: one with elements from the water, another from the garden, and a third from the land; three main courses: from the sea or river, the countryside, and family recipe memories; and three desserts: one with chocolate, another with fruit, and a vintage option. There are also two tasting menus: Inspirações (€120) and Epurismo (€150).

Breaded steaks, sausages, potato salad, hot chocolate, apple pie – all simple things that make us very happy indeed. That’s Kaffeehaus. The Viennese café that has been a staple among Chiado’s best spots since 2008 is relaxed and welcoming at any time of day or for any meal. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner – this place never disappoints.

Our team has mixed feelings about Oficio, but there are plenty out there who love it (including the Michelin Guide, who awarded it a Bib Gourmand, as well as many fans on social media), so we reckon it’s still worth having on your radar. Originally opened in 2018 with a focus on meat, the restaurant is now an atypical tavern, serving Portuguese snacks and dishes reinvented by chef Hugo Candeias. Nearly everything is designed to be shared at the table, and leaving room for the Basque cheesecake is a must. There are always daily (or weekly) specials, that showcase seasonal ingredients.

Prejudices and misunderstandings abound in gastronomy, and when it comes to Indian food, the confusion begins with that very term – Indian food. ‘We don’t make Indian food; we make food from India,’ says Harneet Baweja, the mind behind Gunpowder, the much-talked-about restaurant in London that has now opened in Lisbon. It aims to show that in a country as vast as India, people don’t eat curry every day, nor does everything have to be spicy. The menu is divided between small plates and sharing dishes.

We can’t forget that it was the bifana (a traditional Portuguese pork sandwich) from O Trevo, the café in Largo Camões, that won over Anthony Bourdain during his visit to Lisbon for his show No Reservations. Chiado may have been gentrified, but few things taste as good as a bifana and a draft beer.

A restaurant in a palace isn't something you come across every day – and that alone makes a visit to Palácio Chiado worthwhile. Upstairs, after climbing an imposing staircase, you’ll find the restaurant, featuring a menu by Manuel Bóia (formerly of Bica do Sapato), which changes with the seasons. Downstairs is Salla, the bar where you can enjoy a drink and, depending on the night, even take to the dance floor.

It’s hard to find a more vibrant and Instagram-worthy spot in the city than this. Located in The Ivens hotel, the focal point of Rocco is a majestic counter with 17 seats, decorated with velvets, bold colours, and floral motifs. This is where you’ll find the Gastrobar, with a suspended wine rack and a menu that aims to revive the tradition of eating at the counter, regardless of whether you’re able to linger a while or you’re on the go, with full meals or just cheese platters and charcuterie boards. You can also order some of the dishes available downstairs in the Ristorante or at Crudo, a cosy corner next door where seafood is paired with champagne, sparkling wine, or prosecco. But the real magic happens in the main dining room, with its warm wooden tones and views of the Terraza. On one side is the grill area, and on the other, Italian cuisine takes centre stage.

Sea Me is a modern seafood restaurant, but it already feels like a Lisbon classic. At the back, near the tables, is the fresh fish display, where the daily catch waits to go straight to the grill or to be turned into sushi dishes. If you don’t want to choose, trust the experts and enjoy nine courses of fish dishes, tailored to your taste. Just next door, you’ll find Sea Me Next Door. While the main restaurant invites you to linger and explore fish as well as seafood, this new space puts the focus on seafood and small plates. It’s perfect for quick, unplanned meals since the kitchen never closes.

You can also find Sea Me at Time Out Market Lisboa. 

Having already proven itself in Madrid, Ponja Nikkei (located in the Montebelo Vista Alegre – Chiado Hotel) specialises in the Japanese-Peruvian fusion that gave rise to nikkei cuisine. The menu naturally features ceviche, such as the classic sea bass marinated in tiger's milk, served with sweet potato, red onion, choclo (a type of Peruvian corn), canchita (toasted corn), and coriander oil, along with other typical dishes from this cuisine. To drink, pisco is, of course, the star of the show.

Critic José Margarido summarises Popular do Capelo as follows: ‘The place describes itself as popular, and rightly so. Not only is it always packed, it specifically attracts a local clientele. The TV is set to CMTV, a local news channel, and current events are debated live at the stainless-steel counter. The menu consists of grilled dishes, stews, and fried fish – some better than others – but everything is reasonably well-prepared and affordably priced.’

There are three other Flora & Fauna sites across the city, serving breakfasts, brunches, lunches, and snacks, but at the Chiado branch, they now serve dinners, too. To meet the needs of the municipal theatre, it has extended its usual hours and launched a menu that's available from 7pm onwards, featuring dishes not found at any other Fauna & Flora locations. The cocktail menu has also been expanded, designed for late afternoons that can stretch into the night, especially on the terrace, where you’ll find a kiosk which belongs to the restaurant and from which you can be served.

As people increasingly put their own spin on Lisbon’s taverns, the memory of traditional Portuguese gastronomy found in early twentieth-century taverns is fading. Not so at Taberna da Rua das Flores, however, where things are done the old-fashioned way, and traditions are taken seriously. Sticking to the old recipes, the sauce for the liver (iscas) includes spleen and the meia-desfeita (a dish made from cod and chickpeas) uses codfish wings, a less prized part of the fish that taverns traditionally used in order to save the best cuts for other dishes. Pipis (stewed giblets), gizzards, and pezinhos de coentrada (pig’s trotters with coriander) are all there, offering a delicious lesson in gastronomic history.

The Green Affair, which now has four locations, is 100% plant-based. There are no animal products at all, and the aim is to present creative dishes inspired by international cuisines, which look great on the plate. Before diving into main dishes like the seitan steak with pepper sauce (made from scratch), you’ll want to explore the starters, which include options like breaded cauliflower ‘drumsticks,’ vegetable gyozas, or spinach croquettes.