Goethe Café (closed?)

This place is in the Goethe Institute but it is more specifically located on an open air garden inside the building. The meal place is an adorably colorful kiosky thing. There are a lot of tables to sit in, including some near a projection screen.

In there is a fountain, a hammock (not suitable for big swings I guess), and some very interesting mosaic artwork on which this girl took part.

This is probably the only place in Portugal where they celebrate Oktoberfest by the way, and the only one with Paulaner beer.

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Today's vegetarian dish was leek-à-brás (like our traditional dish with codfish but a vegetarian version instead: leek, eggs and chips) that costed around 6€. And I also asked for a lemon-verbena, mint and orange cold tea (1.5€). Approved. My friend asked for a chicken salad (5.80€) and next to us some other dishes were served like stuffed potatoes and the traditional sausages.

One thing I enjoyed a lot was that the girl in the kiosk trusted me to go to the bank to take some money. You cannot pay by card and she just let me go although it was the first time she saw my face. Isn't it nice to know you can still trust people?

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From tuesday to friday from 9h to 21h and saturdays from 9h to 17h.

Os Tibetanos

I dragged my vegetarian-food-resistant father to this restaurant and he loved it. Vegetarian food is yummy but sometimes there is a chance that if it is not cooked so good it will taste all very bland.We asked for three different dishes: Momos, which was some kind of tibetan fried pastries with seitan; tofu stake, with goat cheese and pesto; and finally something which consisted on fried mushrooms.

The deserts were amazing, even though I don't like strawberries, the Mont Blanc cheesecake with strawberry puré was super delicious and I regretted immediately that I didn't asked for it. I tried to find the internet recipe but without success. The requeijão (type of cheese, don't know how to translate it) and papaya tart was also good, and the chocolate cake... Well, it's chocolate.

It was a really nice evening. They have a covered backyard with some waterfallish elements and there is also a place to have meditation classes but I don't know if it was working at that time.

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Open from mondays to fridays from 12:15h to 15:45h for lunch, and from 19:30h to 23:00h for dinner. The saturday schedules are from 12:45h to 16:15h and from 20h to 23:30h.

Clube Ferroviário

One year ago I watched Real Combo Lisbonense play music here, it was an amazing concert. This is, I think, a more nighty space, but it can be pretty nice in the evening. The sits outside are old plane seats, there is some beautiful light piercing through the nets, blankets for cold nights, a foosball table and a projection screen (rooftop cinema anyone?)

But if you don't have a car and you live in the suburbs, this may look a bit boring to access. If you want to eat something cheap, this may seem overpriced. And if you want to get drunk, well, don't come here and go to Bairro Alto. This is the problem: the price. We are no kings, we had to share a toast and still we paid 3€ for HALF. Note: a salty muffin is the same price as half sandwich.

Stating the obvious: whoever comes has some money. When we asked the size of the sandwiches the woman open the palm of her hands and described a not very convincing diameter. We told her we wanted to share, she said that they were not that big but if we were hungry we could ask another one.

Hello?! That is why we are sharing one in the first place! Not because I am fat or something.

Then there was the pão polar (polar bread) problem. They can't cut it in half, so we had to ask for another bread. For what I paid, it was disappointing, it had chicken, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise and it came with a mixed lettuce salad with pineapple. I hope that polar bread would have made this a magnificent and exotic sandwich.

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I was hard on food but I really like Clube Ferroviário, I understand that its pricey menu includes the view and all the managing costs that they have to spend to maintain the place. So if you have money what makes sense is to go there and have some savories of different kinds.

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Open from monday to thursday from 16h to 2h, thursday and fridays and saturdays from 16h to 4h and sundays from 12h to midnight.

Royale Café

Some time ago I decided that I deserved a big lunch, even if it was over my student budget. So I did two firsts: Royale Café and polvo à lagareiro (a super tender octopus recipe with roasted potatoes). It was 10.85€, which is cheap for what it was, it was freaking delicious.

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Recently I returned to Royale but my throat was so bad and so full of aphtae I could only eat liquids. A beet soup for 3.30€ it's not the cheapest thing but I was starving. We ate inside but there is a small balcony/esplanade on ground level surrounded by a wall of vines. I am specially fond of the porcelain animals that decorate the place.

The fun factor of the day was seeing a little kid hammering the floor with his dad iphone (or similar). Adorable ingenuity!

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Monday to saturday from 10h to midnight. Sunday from 10h to 20h (no dinners are served this day).

Arte e Manha (closed) (now: Sagrada Família)

 

It is not the most obvious place, but it is one of the most multifunctional ones. Food, events and workshops, something new everyday announced in the calendar.

On the first floor you can enjoy some calmer music while you eat, or you can pay 5€ and go downstairs for the bigger concerts. Beware that the drinks are not cheap, my martini was 3.5€. This basement is a little bit Bacalhoeiro style (another cool place you should definitely go). I came to see this concert.

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The space is open from wednesday to monday from 11h to 6h, and tuesday from midday to 15h.
The kitchen is open for lunch from midday to 16h and for dinner from 19h to 3h.
Snack-bar works form 8h to 4h.

Café da Gulbenkian

 

Gulbenkian library is a place where a lot of students take refuge to work. It has everything needed for a perfect study session: individual space, plugs for everyone, books for consultation, café, restaurant, esplanade where people can relax and smoke a cigarette, and it is situated in the middle of a big garden where you can lay belly up and take a nap.

The most boring thing is that they know we are dependent of the library, so they rise the prices for the meals. A small coffee with milk is 1.5€ and a smallish little cup with a dessert was 3€. The sweet dessert was good but the price takes away a little bit of the enjoyment. If it would cost 50 cent that would taste amazing. For 3€ I expect royal quality.

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The galão story made me remind of a new product: powdered galão from Nescafé. My problem with it is that you do it by adding milk to the package content. But if normal powdered coffee with milk is already galão, where does this differ? Aare making us look stupid by saying: join coffee to milk and you will have coffee with milk! The powdered cappuccino, for example, is done with water.

And they call it the original galão! What do they mean original? Should I invent the original ham and cheese toast?

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Gulbenkian esplanade is pretty nice but you ought to be careful with the sneaky crumb stealing birds as they can fly and inch short to your scalp.

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Open from tuesday to sunday, from 10h to 17:45.

Ler Devagar

I have a deep fondness for Ler Devagar (Read Slowly). This junction of a bookstore/library and a café/bar/restaurant proves that there are certain barriers that exist for no reason and that prohibition only makes breaking rules more tempting. There is a belief that food doesn't go with books. But library goers are smart enough to appreciate and respect the book as an object. Who doesn't like to read while sipping a coffee? There is nothing wrong with placing a coffee plate over a Dostoevsky, Calvino or Boris Vian.

This bookstore offers trust and people feel it, that is what makes it so good. If by accident we ruin a book (accidents do happen) then we know the price to pay.

The beauty of this place is to submerge in the old books. It is virtually impossible to reach some, as the highest shelves are way beyond human reach. If you are brave enough you can try to ask for the library stairs, but the temperament of the owners is unpredictable. Sometimes they are darlings, others not.

The good part of this indiference by the owners is that we can sit quietly without asking anything and they wont bother, each one on its own, which I kind of like.

The price is a though bone to chew on, it is one of the most expensive places maybe in terms of coffee, but the space is so amazing (and they know it). I already have my prefered place near the window and the cheeses. And there go 3€ for a galão, and more 3.5€ in a tiny weenie sandwich.

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This old printing factory was considered one of the prettiest libraries in the world. On the top floor you can still see the rusty printing machines, and this is also an exhibition place.

There is also what I like to call the Moustache Chilling Room. Maybe to dark to read inside but it is relaxing for sure. On the ceiling there is a rope that when pulled triggers a mechanic hand that hits a drum or plate and makes a small sultry sound. There is no point here, but the silliness of it all is pleasant and addictive.

Under the big stairs there is another surprise: a space reserved for small children to play (yes, in a library).

There is also a small exhibition/conference room, with a big piano that anyone can play (at least we did). The funny thing is that some people join sometimes, if you are a good piano player, and it may end up in some very interesting moments.

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Open tuesdays to thursdays from midday to midnight, fridays and saturdays from midday to 2h and sundays from 11h to 22h.