Park

A relative newcomer, this sprawling rooftop bar on a multi-storey car park at the south-western corner of the Bairro Alto gets packed on warm evenings. Beautiful young things chat amid giant pot plants, swaying to a DJ-driven soundtrack of jazz, soul and funk. The view out over the river and Ponte 25 de Abril is stunning. Snacks and light meals are available until 3pm, and then again from 8pm to 11pm.


Cinco Lounge

This New York-style cocktail bar is a colourful haven in a bit of a nightlife no-man’s-land. Its British owners have built up a loyal clientele, who come to lounge on low sofas and savour some of the 100 drinks on offer: from classic martinis through fruity mocktails to sophisticated devils such as Madagascar Bourbon and Madeline Hays. Alcoholic cocktails start from €7, non-alcoholic from €5.


Sol e Pesca

A former fishing-tackle shop has here been turned into a great bar with fishy snacks. On offer are tins of tuna, sardines, eels, mussels and more, served with slices of bread and washed down with beer or a range of other drinks. It is a great place for an early-evening or late-night drink in the bustling ‘pink street’.

This little place has metamorphosed from fishing equipment store to trendy snack bar with only the lightest of makeovers. It has kept the original name (‘Sun and Fishing’) and decor, but now sells canned fish and other delicacies to accompany the well-priced beer. You can also buy a tin to take away – some of them have lovely designs.


Red Frog

This place inspired by Prohibition-era bars in the US has a clandestine air, not least because it is in basement and you must ring the bell to be let in. The drinks list was drawn up by an expert and has lots of very creative, very good and wellmixed cocktails. It is impossible to recommend one, because the list is constantly changing. The best thing is to leave it to the barman’s imagination.


Pavilhão Chinês

Opened precisely 30 years ago, as an old-fashioned bar, with uniformed waiters, a smoking area and snooker tables. A great place to settle in for a few hours (and a few drinks). Explore its various rooms, lined with some 4,000 collectors’ pieces: toy cars, lead soldiers, model trains, fans and much, much more.

Undoubtedly Lisbon’s best bar decor, courtesy of Luís Pinto Coelho. The warren of rooms is lined with floor-to-ceiling glass cases stuffed with toy battleships, eastern European army officers’ hats and other grim ornaments. This museum of kitsch is not cheap, but it’s definitely worth a look. The back room is an atmospheric setting for a frame of pool. Another bar designed by the same man, Procópio (Alto de São Francisco 21A, 21 385 2851) near Amoreiras, has an extraordinary Wild West saloon-meets-musty museum feel.

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