81 Best Bars in Lisbon, Portugal

Bairro Alto is home to several of Lisbon's leading fado houses—venues where singers belt out soulful standards, accompanied by both the lute-like Portuguese guitarra and Spanish guitar—and Adega Machado is one of the best. Its artistic director is Marco Rodrigues, a leading member of the current generation of fadistas, who regularly performs here, along with Isabel Noronha, Bárbara Santos, and Pedro Moutinho. To attend the evening show at 9 pm, you must make a dinner reservation, so arrive in good time to choose from the range of traditional dishes (à la carte with mains at €30, or a €47 set menu, one of which is vegetarian). For just a taster, drop in for their daily 5 pm Fado Inside the Box 45-minute session (€17 including wine and snacks). Nearby Café Luso, at  Travessa da Queimada 10, is another famous old venue, part of the same group.

The quality of both the food and the singing is reliably great at this family-run establishment, and the setting—which calls to mind the dining room of a well-traveled older relative—is always welcoming. It's a fado vadio (vagabond) spot, meaning the night often ends with amateur singers lined up outside, raring to perform.

You may come for a glass of wine (sourced from small producers), but it’s the music and the food that will make you stay. Dishes feature everything from fresh oysters to slow-cooked pork cheek and even some vegetarian alternatives (the roasted butternut squash is to die for).

This homey bar serves bottles from Lisbon's major craft breweries, Portuguese wines, competent cocktails, and a handful of typical Portuguese snacks, as well as some atypical ones like seitan prego (typically a small beef sandwich) on sweet-potato bread.

Occupying three stylish terraces—designed by Pritzker laureate Álvaro Siza—below the ruins of the Convento do Carmo, this bar is in a prime location next to the antique Elevador da Santa Justa, but it can also be reached by taking a regular elevator (for free) from Rua do Carmo. The cocktails and views are the main attraction, but there’s also a tempting array of light meals like salads and homemade burgers. Most weekends DJs liven things up from mid-afternoon until late.

With moody lighting, rococo furnishings, and creations that look (almost) too good to drink, this spot is frequently cited as Lisbon’s best cocktail bar. It's an intimate space, so book in advance. CINCO Lounge also runs cocktail workshops for those who want to learn how to shake and stir their own boozy showstoppers at home.

Once a bakery, now a cool restaurant, bar, and concert venue, this is one of the best spots in Lisbon for live music, too. Local and international bands and DJs take the stage around 11 pm pretty much every night.

One of Lisbon's first craft breweries and its first taproom, Dois Corvos is a brewer-owned outfit known for its range of beers, from dependable session beers and IPAs to big barrel-aged stouts, experimental ales, and mixed fermentations. The taproom is a place where you can quaff with other beer lovers and brewers. All the core beers are on tap, along with seasonal experiments and a guest tap for other breweries.

Open since 1976, the city's oldest gay club remains a popular hangout, thanks in no small part to the wonderfully flamboyant drag shows. The biggest star is Deborah Kristall, who regularly calls on audience members to join in the onstage singing and dancing. In addition to its famously packed dance floor, the club now has a restaurant and table service. Book in advance if you want to catch the show.

Named for Rio de Janeiro's most upmarket beach neighborhood, Leblon attracts the same type of well-groomed beachgoer as its Brazilian namesake. Locals come here for tasty post-swim petiscos and strong caipirinhas, with things getting very busy on the weekends. Open until late during the summer, it's day drinking only from October to May.

Recently revamped, this fun and funky bar retains the giant wood-fired oven that harks back to the building's previous life as a bakery. There's now a spacious rooftop terrace, but the interior of the bar is still reliably packed with young hipsters who've turned out to hear the hottest local DJs. The lengthy cocktail menu and famous shots of strong spirits can ramp up a night on the town.

This small restaurant is one of the most authentic venues in Lisbon for listening to mournful and soulful fado music. On the site of the former house of famous fadista Maria Severa, the venue hosts regular concerts, sometimes luring big-name singers to perform. You can dine in the restaurant, which serves traditional Portuguese dishes, while you listen, or try your luck arriving just for the concert (but tables may be sold out).

All the rage among local fado lovers, this performance space is housed in a tiny azulejo-lined former chapel. The traditional Portuguese food is perfectly palatable, and the music and atmosphere are always top rate. You can slip in at the end of the night, order a drink or two, and enjoy the show.

MUSA makes a range of small-batch artisanal beer using traditional methods and archival recipes. The taproom here is less a cathedral of hops and more a place to have a good time. After a few location changes, the brewing equipment is still visible inside, but on sunny days, the action is outside, on the colorful terrace. There's a roster of live music and a menu of beer-friendly snacks.

This slick minimalist cocktail bar would easily rank on a list of Lisbon’s best bars, but refreshingly put down its roots on the southern bank. The carefully curated cocktail list focuses on the flavors and vibes of each drink, rather than the booze within.

This little club was founded by late fado legend Argentina Santos in the 1950s. Over the centuries, it has welcomed many fadistas, including the acclaimed Amália. The food, which includes rich seafood stews, is as appealing as the music.

For a quiet drink in an intriguing setting, you can't beat this speakeasy-style lounge. Its five rooms are filled to the brim with fascinating junk collected over the years—from old toys to miniature statues—and it has two snooker tables where locals just might challenge you to a game. Cocktails and service are spot-on, and you may be reluctant to leave once you've settled into one of the comfy chairs.

Thursday through Saturday, DJs pack the dance floor at this local favorite, a tiny space that's nevertheless more of a club than a bar. It's usually quite crowded, so many patrons grab a drink and enjoy it on the street.

Reservations are essential at this intimate speakeasy bar, which is famed for its inventive cocktails and its air of secrecy. Post-pandemic, Red Frog made the puddle jump from its previous spot on Rua do Salitre to a new home within the confines of hipster hangout Monkey Mash (they're both under the same ownership). Alongside inventive small plates for sharing, the signature drink is the Spiced Rusty Cherry, ranked among the best cocktails in the world.

This Lisbon institution attracts some of Portugal's most accomplished fado singers. It also serves better food than many casas de fado and is one of the few touristy spots that still attracts locals. The name literally means "Mister Wine," and as expected, there are some good bottles to choose from.

The largest rooftop bar in town sits at the top of the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Hotel. It looks over Avenida da Liberdade and the castle and serves predinner drinks and late-night cocktails to a mix of locals and hotel guests.

A refined place in Bairro Alto to start off your evening (it is open during the day, until 7 pm) is the relaxed Solar do Vinho do Porto, on the first floor of a grand former palace, the rest of which is now an upscale hotel. Here you can sink into an armchair and sample port wines from a list of several hundred. You can also buy bottles to take away.

One of Lisbon's most iconic gay clubs, Trumps has attracted the city’s trendiest crowds since it opened in the early 1980s. Two separate dance floors pack with partiers dancing to everything from reggaeton and Brazilian funk to pop hits, EDM, and house.

There's nothing between you and the view where this vintage wine tricycle has a pitch in the gardens of the Torre de Belém. It peddles Portuguese wines of every style and hue, which can be sipped from reusable plastic wine glasses while sightseeing.

The intimate, dimly lit space and musical backdrop of tinkling jazz make a memorable setting for savoring a glass of wine, while sampling delicious and inexpensive versions of traditional Portuguese food. Standouts on the menu include a tasty bacalhau à brás (codfish mixed with egg and matchstick potatoes) and a photo-worthy flaming chorizo. As you'd expect, the wine list is good; the Alma de Lisboa red, from the Lisbon region (formerly known as Estremadura), is a good value. Bring cash, as international cards are not accepted.

From this bar on the rooftop of the NH Collection Lisboa Liberdade Hotel you can look over Avenida da Liberdade and see the castle at the top of the hill. It’s found next to a pool that’s open to everyone (for a fee, if you’re not staying at the hotel), and on warmer days it attracts a mix of locals and hotel guests enjoying cocktails with the views.

This hotel bar exudes a youthful upmarket vibe and features striking artwork by local street artist Bordalo II; the combination makes it a great spot to enjoy a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a beer. The outdoor terrace is another great spot for a drink and a bite to eat—the short menu includes snacks and burgers.

This bright and breezy spot with nice cocktails and petiscos buzzes with Lisboetas after dark. Order a bottle of wine and small plates to share, pull up a seat outside, and watch the party unfold.

The craft beer revolution is here in force: of the ever-changing list of 23 beers Brew has on tap, half a dozen are local. New York–style pizzas, whole or by the slice, accompany.

Stepping into this bar is like entering a wine cellar; hundreds of bottles cover the stone-arch interior. It's owned by Portugal's largest producer, Sogrape, and serves as a showcase for its wines from across the country (and from its estates in New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and Spain). To accompany your wine, order some ham from acorn-fed Iberian black pigs, salmon ceviche, or beef carpaccio or something more substantial such as slow-cooked veal cheeks.