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

The Confraria de Sushi in Cascais is considered one of the best places to eat sushi in greater Lisbon. Now the good news for me: they opened their second restaurant, in Chiado, in my street!

Confraria LX is located inside the newly opened LX Boutique Hotel, at the end of Rua de Alecrim, near Cais de Sodré trains station. The decoration is modern and intimate.

The food, as expected is geat. They offer a wide range of innovative sushi and sashimi dishes. I normally order the Confraria dish, which is a kind of flavour-of-the-day mix of different sushi pieces.

Reservations are recommended, since I am not the only one who is a fan of the Confraria.

Package tip: dinner at Confraria LX and a night out in Cois de Sodré!

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Confraria LX | Restaurants (Japanese) | Total dinner € 30
Rua do Alecrim 12 A | Chiado & Baixa | +351213426292
Mon – Thu 12:30 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 12:30 – 02:00

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 Largo Restaurante

“Largo” opened its doors in the end of 2009 and it seems to be quite a success. That is, if you judge “success” by the difficulty to book a table at this fine restaurant. I was lucky the 3rd time round and I must say that it was worth the effort.

First of all, the place itself is just delicious! The restaurant is located next to the nicely renovated Largo do Picadeiro and is housed in an old cloister. The interior is a mixture of modernity and heritage. The furniture is very stylish and the huge aquarium housing dozens of jelly-fish is just awesome!

The food is good, but that should be expected from the former chef of Porto’s most famous restaurant “Bull & Bear”. The menu lists a mixture of international cuisine and more traditional dishes. The winelist is extensive (mind the wallet). They serve until late, which is also rather convenient.

Overall, a very nice place to have a great dinner. Expect to pay though, ‘cos it ain’t cheap! Spend at least an hour looking at how the jelly-fish change color in their tank. Breathtaking!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Restaurant Largo | Restaurants (Intern.) | Dinner & wine € 50
Rua Serpa Pinto, 10A | Chiado & Baixa | +351213477225
Mon – Fri 12:30 – 00:30, Sat 18:00 – 00:30

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 lisbon.theperfecthotels.com

Besides having rather nice (and pricy) rooms, the hotel hosts a terrace with a breathtaking view of Baixa and the castle. A great place to have a drink.

Bring your wallet, because each beer will cost you around €4.00.

The entrance is right next to the Armazens de Chiado. Just step into the lobby and head for the elevator.

This terrace has a different view from the Hotel Bairro Alto terrace. So visit both while you are in Lisbon! In case of lack of time, stick to Hotel Bairro Alto, since it is less windy and heated in the winter.

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Hotel do Chiado | Bars | Beer & view € 4.00
Rua Nova do Almada 114 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213256100
12:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

Portuguese love their tiles, or Azulejos as they call them! And they should, since they are beautiful and represent a rich multicultural past. So, after you have probably visited the Azulejo museum, you are now ready to some yourself before flying back home. You have come to the right place.

I don’t really like to write about “tile stores” in Portugal, since most of them are a bit cheesy. But this one is the real thing. It opened pretty recently, but it looks already 500 years old, which, in the case of Azulejos, is a good thing.

They primarily sell antique tiles (so don’t ask for an azulejo with “Cristiano Ronaldo” written on it please) and are also in the business of restauration of azulejos.

Prices range from “I can afford that” to “this is going to be a very expensive bathroom”.

Have a look, it is smack in the middle of Chiado and who knows, maybe you will bring a bit of Portugal back home.

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d’Orey & Cardoso | Art & culture, Shopping
Rua do Alecrim, nº68 | Chiado & Baixa | +351912948961
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 19:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Erik Lassche

I love this place! It is “hidden” at the top floor of the Benetton shop at the beginning of Rua Garrett. Fabrica is the Benetton Group international communications research center (I had to llok it up as well!). This space has an ever-changing variety of design objects, both useful and useless, but always interesting. It displays work of Portuguese artists (as for instance JIMMY styleshop does) and international works. All items are for sale, ofcourse.

Besides this “shop”, half of the space is dedicated to temporary exhibitions. This means that you will always find something new and interesting when you visit (especially compared with Benetton clothes, but that’s a personal opinion).

If you are not one convinced yet: you can step out on one of the small balconies and have a bird’s-eye view of Rua Garrett.

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Fabrica @ Benetton | Art & culture, Shopping
4º andar, Rua Garrett, 83 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213556764
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 08:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon

Image by Veronica

A Vida Portuguesa is the kind of store that mesmerizes every visitor: on display you’ll find an amazing archive of genuine and typical Portuguese products, some of which I thought were no longer in production. It’s a walk through memory lane, which brings great childhood recollections!

Located in the late David & David building (an old perfume company and warehouse), the store maintains a lot of the place’s original features.

This is the spot to find Portuguese goods with superb quality, design and authentic retro flair. They have a careful selection of the best kitchen, home, bath and beauty products, as well as school supplies, ceramics, jewelery, toys and much more!

You must visit this place to discover its real Portuguese spirit – as it’s claimed on the company’s manifesto “These are our products. These products make us who we are”!

Vee’s Favourites – Old advertising posters, Bordalo Pinheiro porcelain designs.

Rita’s Favourites – Portuguese crafts designer Rosa Pomar tote bags made with chita (a vintage flower-pattern fabric) and Ach. Brito hand-made soaps.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
A Vida Portuguesa | Shopping
Rua Anchieta 11 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213465073
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 20:00, Nov 24 – Dec 24 10:00 – 21:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Lisbon