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.

~

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.

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

Pensão Amor

I have a curious relationship with this space. First time I heard about it, it opened along with two other cool bars in what I considered to be a sudden cultural movement in Lisbon: the pink street, named as so due to its manly pink color.

This fostered a very interesting mesh of people, on the one hand, the squalid people that hang out in the sleazy bars that dominated that area before, on the other hand, the high classes that eat tapas and caviar, that began do be attracted to this filthy street due to is new fancy places. And there was harmony, go figure!

Then, when I returned from my first trip to Budapest, Pensão Amor seemed like a wannabe Ruin Pub with selective clientele and boosted prices. And I became more disappointed, because my expectations came high. 

~

Nevertheless, I still can enjoy this place. There is a cabaret feel, kitschy stuff and furniture decorating the place. In the big room there is some space to dance and a bar with night and day prices (so watch out and don't be fooled!). On the wall a big deer head is staring at us. It is lightened by a spotlight so it comes as an important piece of the room. There is also a more kinky room near the erotic literature and accessories shops, with leopard print, psychedelic ceiling, a strip pole and mirrors.

It is not the same as the ruin pubs, but it sure is over crowded on fridays and saturdays.

Facebook / Website
Open from monday to wednesday from midday to 2h and thursdays and fridays from midday to 4h.

Salla de Estar

If you go to Lisbon you CANNOT miss Sintra. There are some sweet spaces in between the jagged streets. Salla de Estar reminds me of Wanli mixed with the Chinese Pavillion (a very interesting fancy place in the center).

The entrance hall gives access to both up and down floor. This down floor seems to be the most lively one, with a snooker table, the bar, a piano, and a tv set.

On the top floor we have wonderful view for the menu written on the sides and for the bald heads of the passing by people.

The velvet curtains give it a burlesque look and we only expected some vintage looking woman to come from there and dance for us.

This is a hodgepodge of styles! Bottle packages are floating on the wall, Chaplin is there, Heineken stuff everywhere including even a beer fountain, vintage "posters" on the walls, paintings with no special criteria, equestrian material, music discs, plates, books, nautical stuff, art nouveau wall pattern, whoa!

~

The toast degustation moment was particularly interesting. Me and my friend asked for a chicken and tuna sandwiches. But they traded them. Worst part is: we didn't notice! In our defense, tuna is a meaty fish, and with mayonnaise on top, I mean... Could happen!

Well but they're pretty big and delicious and only 3.50€ each. They had a fish shape and reminded me of a delicious dessert from the north city of Trancoso called sardinhas doces (sweet sardines).

Overall this is a kickass place to visit when you are in Sintra and I totally recommend it.

Facebook
Couldn't find the schedules of this place but ask away on facebook!

Espaço Tintin

First thing coming in we notice a "one step higher" space with three or four tables and a wall decorated with a whole lot different colored post-its praising the place and the Tintin character. To the left there are two mini sofas paired with a moroccan table next to a very small corridor with bar like chairs. Near the counter there is some bigger tables and down the stairs is the Tintin store with merchandizing.

There is also a top floor. This space opens at 20h and it's kind of a loungy mezzanine where you can smoke sheesha for 5€ (or so they said but seems too cheap). Cocktails are also around 5€.

~

The food here was inspiring. I use this word when it makes me want to repeat it at home. One of the times I've been here I ate the italian toast with cheese, ham, tomato and olives (3.60€), which is small for a guy I can say. And the other time I had a wrap with fresh cheese (portuguese thing, don't know how to translate it), walnuts, lettuce and arugola (3.50€). This initiated me in the wrap world.
My friend also asked for an ice-cream cup with 2 scoops (2.10€).

For drinking I wasn't always lucky, the lemonade (1.30€) was weird and it had no sugar, so I added but I was so eager to drink it that it ended up not melting and I just drank a kind of acid watery thing.

As for the cold tea it was wonderful and I didn't even know I liked cold tea. The galão (1.40€), well, it is hard to go wrong on this.

An amazing thing for hard workers is that there are sockets everywhere, good internet access and amazing schedule. Maybe it gets a little far for most people but at least it is near the metro. But, I must say, I never was a fan of the Tintin comics or movies. I always preferred this little fellows instead.

Facebook / Website
Open mondays to thursdays from 8:30h to midnight, fridays from 8:30h to 2h, saturdays from 9:30 to 2h and sundays from 9:30h to midnight.

Go Natural in Lx Factory

Lx Factory is filled with little places that look interesting, I keep thinking that I would really enjoy working in this place and take profit of the coworking environment. There is everything here so they end up financing each other.

Unfortunately, this is a common Go Natural. Pre-made meals that we can hit on a microwave or just take them plain cold. I am not picky: it is fast, accessible, a healthy "fast food" chain that grows proportionally to the"bio" trend. This is no rocket science. Anyway, its placement makes it more special then its siblings.

The nicest thing here is the upper floor that seems completely disconnected from the restaurant. It gives you privacy but it is quite empty so you may end up feeling that the space is too quiet. Anyway, for working concentration it's maybe a plus.

I no longer name meals by the way: there is hunger and the act of eating to satisfy the hunger.

Facebook / Website
Open from midday to 15h and from 20h to 00:30 everyday.

S.Jorge's Pizza

There is always something happening in S.Jorge cinema: Indie, MotelX, Queer, DocLisboa, French Cinema Festival and many more. A pizza and a movie make a very nice arrangement so, as suggested by a friend, we went to try those tasty thin crusted beauties.

Prices are pretty accessible. We split two pizzas by three, and they have amazing names: 7.30€ is the cost of Quarto do Filho ("the bedroom of the son", made of zuchinni and tomato) and 7.70€ costs a Roma Cidade Aberta ("Rome Open City", with chouriço, tomato and pepper). I like the son's bedroom better, I wonder if they give them these names just to make us look perverted.

Also, a small beer costs 1.50€ and a lemonade is 1€.

~

Next to the eating place there is a small balcony that is usually filled with people in the movie evenings (smokers of course). But it is a nice place to get fresh air in the hot summer.

The short session ended up being an hour documentary on Kubrick and three awkward small episodes honoring him: one was making a homage of his likeness for Napoleon, other talked about the traumatic post war life of a soldier - I Am Not The Enemy - and lastly there was one showing the Hitler portrayed in the cinema through time and was called Conference Notes On Film 05.

Facebook / Website
The regular schedule is wednesdays to saturdays from 15:30h to 22:30 and sundays from 13h to 18h. But during the festivals it changes according to the program.

Geraldine

I found Geraldine through a magazine article. It's a cultural space which activities range from clothes sales and workshops to collective diners and free movie evenings. This is not a place you can simply pop in and have a drink. It works as an office by day and only turns into an event place when the owners feel like it.

Ringing a bell and climbing a flight of stairs to enter a stranger's house has some erasmus feeling to it, it is quite odd actually, the feeling that we should be there but at the same time we are invading someone's privacy. There are some closed doors, not because of lack of trust, but they simply have nothing to offer for the guests. A kitchen is a kitchen, there is nothing very exciting about it.

The living room was full of interesting objects: a caged Donald duck, a phone with no numbers, some artworks and old gadgets. It was movie evening and an old rare burlesque was projected in a panel. We had first line sits.

~

A Virgin in Hollywood tells the story of a young journalist that lacks experience, and so, as a way to get more mature, she is told to go to Hollywood and to write about her trip and discoveries. During this travel, she grows up both intelectual and sexually, becoming more confident about herself.

The actors act a bit in a forced and fake way, the dialogues seem too fantasizing, the emotions exaggerated and the movie cuts too obvious, this gives it a clumsy feeling that makes everything hilarious. It ends with the main character finishing her story and blinking an eye straight to the movie viewer, pure gold.

The familiarity of this experience was what I most appreciated. People would ring the bell and join the crowd that was already in the living room, saying hello to everyone. We were around 20 in the end, and everyone was there for the same reason. I have nothing but respect for this free initiatives.

Facebook / Website
Open wherever there is an event announced! So stay tuned.