Unique cocktail bars of Lisboa
The cocktail bars locals send each other to. Nine-seat speakeasies, Basque-Italian cocktail dens, secret rooms tucked into Praça das Flores — every one of them small, distinctive, and the kind of place you normally find wandering the streets off the beaten path.
By Daria Littlefield
Misericórdia
Largo Barão de Quintela 14, ground floor of Bairro Alto Hotel — what used to be Portugal's oldest volunteer fire station. High ceilings, dark wood, leather banquettes, a Parisian-brasserie feel that doesn't take itself too seriously. Bartender Tiago Santos built the menu around the address: 18 full-strength + low-ABV + alcohol-free creative cocktails, 68 beverages total. The Negroni and Martini flights are why most regulars come. What to order: A Negroni flight (the Beeswax Negroni gets called out repeatedly) or the Almond + Rooibos. Ask for the cured red mullet on toast with fennel and orange. €30–40 per person.
Pena/Intendente
Rua do Desterro 5. Cheila Tavares (Portuguese-Cape Verdean) and Semi M'zoughi (Tunisian-Italian) — a couple who built their bartending careers at 69 Colebrooke Row and Hawksmoor in London before opening here in November 2022. 1980s Milanese-trattoria interior with terrazzo counter and arched ceilings. Semi's homemade focaccia is on every table. Walk-ins only, closed Mondays. Top Cocktail Bars 2024 and 2025 lists. What to order: A Night in Tunisia (tequila, ras el hanout, prickly pear) and a mortadella-pistachio panino. The Zola e Pera (pear and gorgonzola cocktail) if you trust the bartenders, which you should.
Marquês de Pombal
Rua Luciano Cordeiro 81C. The entrance is a wardrobe — push through it and you arrive in a 300-square-metre speakeasy restaurant and bar that locals call "Bar do Armário" (Wardrobe Bar). Vintage-cosmic-stylish, candlelit, 27,000 Instagram followers and still feels like a secret. Two-hour table policy at peak times. Cocktails come from the same team that runs Imprensa next door, which is reason enough to come. Closed Sunday and Monday. Reserve 5–7 days ahead.
Rato
Unmarked door, ring the bell, descend the stairs. Marketed as a mad-scientist laboratory rather than a 1920s speakeasy — neon, black lights, dim corners. Drinks like "Garlic" (roasted-garlic mezcal) and "Cheese" (goat-cheese soda) that sound terrible and somehow work. The kind of place where you let the bartender talk you into something weird. n.
Chiado
Woman-owned by Constança Cordeiro, who spent years training in London cocktail bars before opening her own. Animal-themed cocktails (Raposa, Gorilla, Badger) made with seasonal foraged ingredients — fennel, eucalyptus flower, olive oil. Pink limestone bar, concrete walls, velvet seating. Reservations recommended; about 30 seats. Sister bar UNI on Rua de O Século 204 if you want to push deeper.
Alfama
Three square metres, four to twelve seats, no menu. Owner Manuel Barreira (Portuguese-Canadian) asks you four questions about your tastes and builds a bespoke cocktail. Portugal's largest bourbon collection. Reservation only, by email or WhatsApp, open only when Manuel is in town. World's 50 Best Discovery listing. Solo-friendly because everyone in the room ends up talking to each other — the format requires it.