Image by Erik Lassche

Pois Café is owned and run by a couple of Austrian ladies. And it shows! The pies and cakes are absolutely fantastic. The interior looks like a huge living room, filled with comfortable sofas and chairs.

A nice detail are the books and magazines. It is full of them! All clients are encouraged to leave a second hand book or magazine, so you can spend all afternoon reading and eating Apfelstrudel!

This is a great place to have lunch or just a cup of coffee. It is close to Sé and the castle, so why not stop here after walking around in this historic part of town?

Better visit soon, the place is currently “for sale”. So let’s see how long we will be enjoying these apfelstrudels.

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Pois Café | Bars, Coffee & tea | Sandwich € 6.00
Rua S. João da Praça 93-95 | Alfama & Graça | +351218862497
Tue – Sun 11:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Royal Café is a nice, almost hidden, place to have breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack. The setting is modern and clean, without being distant. In the back you can find a (rather tiny) terrace.

The main specialties are natural- and biological products. They have a good assortment of salads, sandwiches, fresh juices, various teas and infusions.

It is not cheap, compared to your average Portuguese pastelaria or snackbar, but nothing scandalous, especially if you’re used to Northern European prices.

I like to come here to have lunch or a snack when spending time in Chiado. It is just 100 meters away from the main street in Chiado, but a lot more quiet and less touristic. And it is open on Sunday!!

If it is full try Vertigo.

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Royal Café | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Sandwich & juice € 9.00
Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 29 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213469125
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 10:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Hidden away next to the picturesque Largo do Carmo, Vertigo is one of the more trendy places in Chiado. It’s a perfect spot to have lunch or a cup of coffee in the afternoon. Or have a drink here before going for dinner in Bairro Alto!

The menu is rather healthy and features lots of salads, sandwiches, fresh juices and more exotic offers. (Not that easy to find in Lisbon, trust me!). The interior is very cozy yet stylish.

The area around Vertigo is becoming more and more interesting, with lots of cafés, shops and restaurants opening. Check it out.

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Vertigo | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Sandwich & juice € 8.00
Travessa do Carmo 4 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213433112
10:00 – 00:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Kaffeehaus is located in the middle of Chiado, just next to one of Lisbon’s most famous theatres, São Carlos. It fits in the old, and almost lost, tradition of literary cafés that were the trademark of Chiado. Kaffeehaus, however, does it in her own, Viennese style.

The place is hard to classify since you can go here for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a drink at night. A better way to describe it would be its style: a great place to get up to date on what is happening in Lisbon, read a newspaper, have a coffee or a drink.

Besides the setting, the food helps! Try great Austrian pastry in the middle of Lisbon! Amazing Apfelstrüdel and a lot of other surprising dishes. There is something different written on the chalkboard every day, so you can always come back for something new!

Great place for a pit-stop on your Saturday-shopping in Chiado or a more prolonged break on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Be patient though, it is becoming and awful popular place! So popular in fact that they increased their capacity. No more waiting (almost )

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Kaffeehaus | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (European/Austrian) | Main € 8.00
Rua Anchieta 3 | Chiado & Baixa | +351210956828
Tue – Thu 11:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 11:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by erik lassche

Chiado is definitely one of the most charming areas of Lisbon. The main street is has some nice historical cafés, but they tend to be very touristic. A great alternative is Café no Chiado.

The location is excellent: smack in the middle of Chiado, with tram-line 28 passing right in front of you! The place has been renovated in 2006. It nowadays has a very cool interior and a great terrace.

Come here to have a cup of coffee or lunch, read a book on the terrace or just to enjoy the setting. Try the salads, they are great!

At night it’s a great place to dine, especially after visiting one of the nearby theatres, since they serve dinner until 02:00. Try the steak with mustard sauce. I did for a dozen times already

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Café no Chiado | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Portuguese) | Great salad € 8.00
Largo do Picadeiro 10-12 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213460501
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 02:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Esplanada do Principe Real is a nice terrace in one of Lisbon’s nicest parks. It’s a great place to have breakfast or just a coffee.

The place has changed owner several times in the past, with mixed results. But it seems that this time they’ve got it right. Each Saturday morning you can visit the Principe Real Organic Market, right next to the terrace.

Although I normally come here during the day to catch some sun and read a magazine, they are open until 2 in the morning.

The whole area around the park has become increasingly interesting, with a lot of shops and cafés opening. A nice place to stroll around a bit.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Esplanada do Principe Real | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Meia de Leite € 1.40
Jardim do Príncipe Real | Príncipe Real | +351962524513
Thu – Sat 09:00 – 02:00, Sun – Wed 09:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Well, that was a nice surprise when I walked in Poison D´Amour for the first time. Just looking at the delicious pastry on display is worth the visit. Everything looks and tastes perfect: from mouth-watering tartelettes to almost-perfect macarons!

The owner spent 30 years in Paris and it shows. Everything reminds you of France. The interior is a mixture of classical and modern. The place has an almost hidden outside garden. A great place to escape from the busy streets and sit among the trees.

Poison d´Amour is located a hundred meters from the park of Principe Real. A great place for coffee or tea. Or just to drop by and take-away some great pastry for later.

Prizes are rather high for Lisbon standards, but still nowhere near the level of Pierre Hermé!

Worth a visit.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Poison D’Amour | Coffee & tea | 6 macarons € 7.00
Rua da Escola Politécnica | Príncipe Real | +351213476032
Mon – Sun 08:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Claudio Carneiro

Pão Doce stands for sweet bread, which is a very nice name indeed. Why exactly would I speak about a bakery? Well, because Portuguese have something to do with good bakeries around the world, and that’s not for any reason, Portuguese are really good bakers, and this bakery is the perfect example of this ability.

Actually the owner is Brazilian, of Portuguese descent. The bakery is always crowded, basically around the time the bread is still smoking, which is early morning and late afternoon. But even if there is a line, it is worth waiting, since there is nothing better than a just cooked bread. I cannot list all the types of breads they make, the variety is immense and I haven’t tried even half of them. There is the “tiger bread”, the grandma’s bread, the dark bread, the eight cereals bread, the Spanish, the German…it’s exhausting!

My favorites are the yummy scones, the perfect croissants and the pies they make are really delicious. I am always amazed by the huge bags full of breads people carry with them out of Pão Doce.

The surrounding area was all renewed last year, with the front street becoming a lovely promenade. And, of course, making a good esplanade possible for snacks and even lunches. Now no one can resist!

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Pão Doce Bakery | Coffee & tea, Snacks
Av. Duque Ávila 56 – D | Avenidas | +3513141068
Tue – Sun 08:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Claudio Carneiro

Home made ice-cream have been the latest trend in Lisbon lately, Artisani is one of them, and a very good one. This shop is also the factory shop, where you can watch their delicious ice-creams being made. They only use milk “vigor”, the best Portuguese milk ever, and water “luso”, so its all Portuguese.

The flavours go from “caipirinha” to lemon with basil, cinnamon and honey to orange with cardamom and a lot more. They do sound strange, but also taste delicious! Every two weeks there is a special and different favour to try on. I love most of them, but my favourite is the light chocolate, because it really taste like chocolate! They also have lollipop and sandwich ice-creams. And for variety, they serve huge toasts and many types of cakes.

The shop is clean white, and the fun part is that some tables have swings as chairs. The bad side is that this is an invitation to children and noise… But Estrela’s Garden is meters away if I want to eat my ice-cream peacefully and surrounded by green.

When in doubt which flavour to choose, a symptom I have very often, ask to try as many as you wish, they are really cool about that.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Artisane Home made Ice-cream | Coffee & tea, Snacks | 1 Scoop two flavours € 2.90
Av. Alvares Cabral, 65 B | Estrela | +351213976453
10:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Veronica

Imagine an old Parisian café, with little wrought-iron tables, old leather armchairs and vintage black and white pictures hanging on the walls.

Now you can transfer this image into Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, and add a touch of 21st century modernity – a wi-fi internet connection, Chill Out or Bossa Nova ambient music, some seriously delicious snacks, which mix Italian, French and Spanish ingredients – and you have Les Mauvais Garçons!

When we first found this spot it was love at first site – this is one of the cosiest bistrôs in town! In the same space you can find groups of friends having after-work drinks, couples in a romantic date and mysterious loners reading a book or surfing the web.

In its crowdest periods, it can be quite noisy as its different influences bring people from all over the world there – sometimes it can seem like the Tower of Babel!

But most of the times this is a top spot to go to, with a nice wine selection, famous appetizers and desserts and a trendy atmosphere!

Vee’s favourites – Amazing Desserts.

Rita’s favourites – Vintage leather armchairs, bruschettas and pan tomaquet (crusty bread with a spicy tomato sauce)

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Les Mauvais Garçons | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Wine € 2.50
Rua da Rosa 39 | Bairro Alto | +351213433212
12:00 – 00:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon