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.

Frutalmeidas

This place doesn't seem to have the sophistication touch that some places have with their comfy sofas and weird objects. Contrarily to the more modern spaces, Frutalmeidas, with more than 30 years, lives from the elders tradition, our parents came here for a little break, to sit down and eat something and maybe do some grocery shopping before heading home.

My father still remembers coming here, it is interesting when people open their eyes and say excited "Ooooh! That place!!". You feel you just brought up an old memory. I like it when people still conserve the taste of youth on their tongues and kind of return to it momentarily by remembering a flavour.

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They had an enormous variety of juices and as the weather was heating up I had two of them (watermelon and plum) for 1.50€ each and a pastry for 1.20€. This is the Santini of juices I must say. My friend got an almond pie (1.75€). There wasn't much to chose from in terms of chewables. Maybe 17h was already too late.

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Open from mondays to saturdays from 8h to 20h.
Also located on Rua Pedro Nunes, 25, 1050 Lisboa.

As Vicentinas

Beware of the entrance, you can easily pass by it (I think). But this historical looking sign should offer you no doubt you are in the right place.

Vicentinas, also known as Santa Isabel teahouse, initiated in the 50's as a sewing saloon in an old banana warehouse that was ceded to the Vicentian Group so they could help the needed.

In that place there were as well fashion shows to display the garments and it was offered tea and scones to the guests. This trend started to have some success and that was the beginning of the tea house. Scones overruled fashion, the spontaneous pleasure was better than the long lasting one.

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It is impossible not to notice the religious motive that is going on. Jesus figures here and there. This looks like a selective place. Most of the people are elder, and probably religious, I fit neither of them and I can't help feeling a bit dislocated.

There was a table FULL of cakes and I was drooling. Try not to look at it while passing by, because a bit further there is once again one of those inside/outside esplanades. You can see the sky covered by the tree branches and through one of the windows you can see a sewing room.

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I asked a cold tea first, the best ever, it was something fruity but not too red fruity or else I wouldn't have liked it. The other one was black tea and lemon. They were 1.50€.

The scones that came were amazing and I had to ask for more, 1.90€ for two (because the second one doesn't need to bring butter so it is 10 cents cheaper). I started to have the feeling I should be eating like english royalty.

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Monday to friday from 11:30h to 19h. Saturdays from 15:30h to 19h. Closes sundays.

Orpheu Caffé

The wallpaper hits you in the face the moment you go in: it fits like a glove. We decided to sit one a big table near the entrance with enough space for working. Lana del Rey was playing on repeat for the four hours we were there, I wanted to kill myself.

Orpheu was a vanguard magazine in which participated a lot of personalities from the beginnings of the XX century that are part of the portuguese cultural history. 

The space is amazing and so is the service: when we asked if they could cut the toasts in three parts they actually brought three plates each with the two toast parts in it.

The esplanade seemed cool but we ended up staying inside (sockets!). Reminded me of Royale Café in a way, an open air isolated area, an inside/outside, I love this kind of paradox spaces.

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The drinks come in large sizer (yes!). I never shared a drink before but they made it possible. We split a lemonade with groselha (redcurrant juice) and a mazagran. If you start with the sweet groselha/lemonade, then the mazagran will be kind of a disappointment, because the sweetness is already taking over your mouth and it will taste too watery and plain. Later my friend asked for an orange juice with rooibos (I think that was it). Kind of weird I must say.

As for the food, the first toast was so good it disappeared quickly form everyones' plates and I didn't photograph it. It had tuna paste, tomato and cucumber (5.50€). The other one had eggplant, goat cheese and marmelade, slightly stuffy and less good but still yummy. It was around 6.90€.

They also have a lunch menu for 8€ (soup + mini dish + café) and a summer menu for 6.5€ (soup + salad). Well, not to mention cakes, scones, pastries, brownies, all looking at us with their baky eyes.

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Tuesdays to saturdays from 11h to midnight and sunday from 11h to 20h. Closes on mondays.

Nata Lisboa (changed place)

Note: I think this palce changed location so I will put the nearest one to Principe Real

I think I was one of the first to try this (I hope! Finally!). It made some noise when it opened in Principe Real and now it is expanding very quickly! A success history. I actually hard some bad rumors about who could be the one behind this franchising, well, that aside, it is really a nice place, it surprised me in two peculiar aspects:

One: (because I was there to work) there are electricity sockets in the backyard but not inside! This is the total opposite of most coffee shops. Ok, moving on.

Two: The other thing was an interesting and interactive wood sculpture placed in the middle of the garden. The stairs were pretty wobbly and we were scared to death from falling but we did climb, and what it does is that it enables you to see beyond the enormous roof that is obstructing the view at ground level.

It reminds me of a work from the tv show Work of Art. We were kind of alone so we just started to behave like little kids and tried every single chair and thingie on the garden. We also questioned why was a cactus in the bathtub.

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The name is not by accident, the famous pastel de nata is the main item sold on the café.

First time I went there I ate a ham and cheese sandwich (1.65€), a faux pas, maybe... But it tasted like no other, at that time, it was the best thing I could have had. The bread was amazing, the prices are competitive, the service was impeccable (put an emphasis on that). The cold tea was 1.15€. No pictures because it was so good I forgot.

Second time I went there I did try the pastel de nata. Oh mamma. I won't say no more, just go.

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Monday to saturday from 8h to midnight and sunday from 10h to 18h.