Portugal

is often called “sexy,” you can dine while sitting in a Saarinen chair fashionably placed on
a polished concrete floor.
Surprising tastes and combinations greet you. Ever had a mango-tomato-avocadohoney
vinaigrette? It’s served with grilled cheeses from the Azores. For your main, opt for
the cod confit with garlic-laced sautéed spinach or perhaps loin of deer with grilled shiitake
mushrooms and a corn foam. The kitchen shuts down at 12:20am, but the club
stays open later.
Rua da Moeda 1A. & 21/393-00-74. Reservations required. Main courses 13€–21€. AE, MC, V. Daily
7:30pm–2am. Metro: Cais do Sodré.
IN THE ALCANTARA
Alcântara Café INTERNATIONAL/PORTUGUESE Established in 1989, this is
one of the city’s most fun dining-and-entertainment complexes. Entertainment is provided
by some of the best DJs in Portugal. It lies within the solid walls of a 600-year-old
timber warehouse and attracts a hip, attractive, fun-loving young crowd. Today the vast
building has forest-green and Bordeaux walls, exposed marble, ceiling fans, plants, and
simple wooden tables and chairs. The varied clientele includes resident Brazilian, British,
and American expatriates. Chefs make the most of regional foodstuffs and prepare hearty
fare that is filled with flavor and plenty of spices—maybe too much for some palates.
Menu items include rillettes of salmon, fresh fish, lacquered duck, steak tartare, and a
Portuguese platter of the day, which might include fried bacalhau (codfish) or a hearty
feijoada, a bean-and-meat stew inspired by the traditions of Trás-os-Montes.
Rua Maria Luisa Holstein 15. & 21/363-71-76. www.alcantaracafe.com. Reservations recommended.
Main courses 16€–36€. AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 8pm–1am. Bar daily 9pm–3am. Bus: 12 or 18.
Espalha Brasas PORTUGUESE/TAPAS This is our favorite of the many
shoulder-to-shoulder restaurants lined up at the Alcântara Docks, although part of your
evening’s entertainment will involve picking whichever of the 20 or so cheek-by-jowl
restaurants you actually prefer. You’ll enter a high-ceilinged room whose centerpiece is a
weather-beaten wooden statue of a nude male beside stairs leading to an upstairs balcony
with additional tables. The setting is comfortably cluttered and amiable, with candlelit
tables and a display of whatever fresh seafood and meats can be grilled to your preference.
The finest menu items include every imaginable kind of meat or fish, grilled the way you
prefer, as well as daily specials that include rice studded with either turbot and prawns or
marinated duck meat, baked haunch of pork, and codfish stuffed with prawns and spinach.
Doca de Santa Amaro, Armazém 12. Alcântara. & 21/396-20-59. www.espalhabrasas.eu. Reservations
recommended for dinner Fri–Sat nights only. Main courses 11€–27€. AE, MC, V. Sept–July Mon–Sat noon–
1am; Aug daily 7:30pm–1am. Bus: 57. Tram: 15 or 18.
IN LAPA
Nariz de Vinho Tinto PORTUGUESE This is one of our favorite restaurants
in Lisbon—and known only to the most discerning of palates—so don’t tell anyone
about it. In the elegant Lapa district, the restaurant—“Red Wine Nose” in English—is
owned by Antonio Ignacio. He gives equal attention to his wines as he does to his market-fresh
produce. In two small dining rooms, decorated with cookbooks and wine bottles,
he serves a cuisine that raises many dishes to gastronomic heights for Lisbon. His
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SETTLING INTO LISBON 5
WHERE TO DINE