While Portugal is famous for many things including its sunny weather and beaches, it is equally famous for its coffee. It is easy to find good coffee in this country as there are small shops around every corner, especially in the capital. Making one of the best coffee you will ever taste. But, if you also want to have a great atmosphere along with that cup of coffee, there is plenty cafes in portugalWhere you can relax and enjoy a cup of hot coffee while also enjoying the service offered by these cafes.
10 best cafes in Portugal
You will find most of these cafes in the capital Lisbon and the city of Porto. There are plenty of historic cafés in Lisbon, which you will eventually discover when you visit the capital city.
1. Café a Brasileira
It is one of the oldest cafés in Lisbon, having been started in 1905 by a man named Adriano Teles. He was from Brazil and wanted to promote Brazilian coffee. It was the first café in Portugal to serve the popular black coffee becca. It became very popular during the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic in 1910 and artists and writers began to visit this café. If you ever visit the café, you will find a bronze statue of the famous Portuguese poet and writer Fernando Pessoa on a chair outside.
One of Lisbon’s historic cafés, Café a Brasileira is a charming little café on a cobbled sidewalk. By placing small chairs and tables outside, under the shade of an umbrella, you can also sit outside and watch the view around you. The café’s interiors are equally interesting, oozing old-world charm with high ceilings and quite interesting paintings. It is a café that is steeped in history and also serves some amazing coffee.
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2. Pois Café
Pois Café in Lisbon is located in a street in Alfama, one of the oldest areas of the capital. The atmosphere here is lively with chairs and tables of different sizes, and people sitting and interacting with each other; Although they may be complete strangers. Additionally, there are also interesting artworks and books to keep you company while you sip coffee and enjoy some delicious and healthy food. It serves some healthy food including freshly squeezed juices. It is crowded almost all the time, especially on weekends, and that’s when you need to share your table with other people. It’s fun because you can strike up conversations with the locals there and find out things you’ve never heard of!
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3. Majestic Cafe
As the name suggests, this is one of the most majestic and oldest cafes in Portugal. In fact, it has even been named one of the ten most beautiful cafes in the world and rightfully so. It began in 1921 on Santa Catarina Street, the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare.
Here too, there are chairs and tables with umbrellas placed on the walkway to protect you from the sun. Once you step inside, you feel as if you’ve been transported back to the 1920s with luxurious decor and high ceilings complete with chandeliers. This is another café frequented by writers, politicians and artists. With music from live piano performances echoing throughout the café, it is an extremely romantic setting and makes you feel like one of the elite who lived in the 1920s. Since the place is absolutely majestic, so are the prices. They have an amazing menu and coffee, but they are a little pricey. However the atmosphere compensates for the high cost.
There is also a terrace at the back of the café, if you want to have a coffee in peace while enjoying all the views, or who knows, you could even write a book inspired by the beauty of this café.
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4. Pastis de Belém
Cafés are not just about coffee, they also offer snacks and namkeen. By the way, this cafe is known for its pastries. This little pastry shop next to one of Portugal’s oldest monasteries is famous for Portugal’s famous custard tart, Pastis de Nata. To this day, they still make tarts in the traditional way, which they have followed for centuries. This unique little pastry shop is located on a former sugarcane refinery. There is a story behind the history of how this place came to be, which is quite interesting.
At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a sugarcane refinery right next to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Hieronymite Monastery). Due to the Liberal Revolution, all the convents and monasteries in Portugal were closed and all the workers lost their jobs. As a means of earning a living, a man from the monastery started selling these sweet pastries in a shop attached to the refinery. This pastry became famous and was named ‘Pasteis de Belém’.
So, it’s a trade secret and an ancient recipe, and has been passed down for generations. So, if you want to taste some Portuguese sweets and snacks, visit this bakery cum café that also serves some great coffee.
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5. Fabrica Coffee Roasters
It is one of the most recent additions to the city of Lisbon. It’s been just three years since this cafe opened in the city’s Bairro Alto district. Coffee can’t get more authentic than this place. It is a family owned enterprise and they source coffee beans directly from farmers. It has gone through many processes here before achieving the final result. They use different roasting and extraction methods and the cup of coffee that eventually arrives at your table is the purest form of caffeine you can ever have.
As modern as this place is, the decoration is also equally modern. Outside, on a wooden platform, they have placed some chairs and tables if you want to enjoy your coffee outside. The interior is elegant, and at the same time, informal in its setting. There are murals of superheroes like Captain America and Spiderman and also some murals depicting ancient times – the perfect blend of old and modern world.
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6. Copenhagen Coffee Lab
Yet another modern café, which has its base in Denmark, specifically, Copenhagen and hence the name. It started in Denmark in 2013 and gradually expanded its footprint to the city of Lisbon, where it has about three to four branches. They call themselves a roastery, which literally means a place where they roast, in this case, fresh and high quality coffee. Every coffee on their menu has been tried and tested by them and every coffee on the menu has a unique taste. Not just coffee; People also come here for the sumptuous breakfast; Their menu features delicious meals like avocado toast topped with a poached egg and freshly baked sourdough bread.
As far as the decor of the café goes, they have kept it minimal with plain white walls and white stools and tables. You enter the café, and you actually feel like there is a full-fledged laboratory working there.
7. Nicholas Cafe
The café, which opened its doors in 2016, is a brightly lit spot in Lisbon. With small charming chandeliers hanging from the pillars with low ceilings and aqua green tiles, the colors and ambiance of this café are very soothing and you can enjoy your coffee in a relaxing environment.
To keep you company, this super-cool café has two main characters. The first is Nicolau and the second is his girlfriend Amelia. While Nicolau is wearing a tux with a tie, Amelia is dressed in a blue dress. You’ll find his photos hanging on the walls in cafes; Oh, just one more thing – they’re dogs! Created by artist Caterina Rosa of the Tell to Tell project, which is dedicated to animal painting, these paintings are the first to catch your attention when you enter the café.
The café serves some healthy, yet tasty breakfasts; Popular among them are pancakes and acai bowls. Apart from these, they also have smoothies, salads and many other healthy options to choose from.
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8. mill
This Australian-Portuguese café in Lisbon is popular with locals as well as tourists. They serve one of the best coffees in Lisbon and offer you a menu with an Australian touch. The ambiance isn’t that great, but they make up for it in the food and beverage department.
The food and drinks are fresh. They have a variety to choose from; Their pastry section is definitely worth a visit. However, people come to cafes for their breakfast. The vegetarian breakfast they serve includes scrambled eggs, smashed avocado on wilted spinach toast and sautéed mushrooms and more. Plus, you have a wonderful coffee or orange juice. They have some Australian favorites like steak sandwiches and more.
When it comes to coffee too, they have a blend of Portuguese and Australian blends. From Pingado to even Australian favorites like the flat white and long black.
9. Pop Cereal Café
A café doesn’t always have to be about coffee and pastries and no other café proves this more than Pop Cereal Café in Lisbon. As the name suggests this place is filled with grains from all over the world and you will be a happy little ‘kid’ as this place reminds you of your childhood. The owner, who traveled to the US and other places, was so inspired and influenced by the cereal culture of those countries that he decided to start a cereal in Lisbon.
With racks and racks of cereal to choose from, this place is a wonderland for those who love a typical American breakfast. You can either choose from a fixed menu or if you’re adventurous enough, try your own mix and match, with not only a variety of cereals available but also a variety of milks to choose from. Rice milk, soy milk, almond milk – there’s no shortage of options for milk or toppings! The walls are decorated with pop art, giving a colorful decor to the place.
10. Portuguese Culture Café
It may not be such a famous café, but ask the locals and they will guarantee you this cozy little café. The decor of this café is quite simple, with a warm fireplace and a large photo of Lisbon in the background on the wall. But, appearances can be deceiving, especially for this location in Lisbon.
Apart from serving refreshing coffee and food, this café is mostly known for its hot chocolate. People from all over the city come to this café to enjoy this amazing drink, which has made this place even more special. The chocolate for hot chocolate is ‘crafted’ by the café itself and is its purest form. And, it’s not just the usual hot chocolate that they make at this place, but also different flavors, including coconut! Plus, they even give you a chocolate mustache, isn’t it fun!
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Cafés in Lisbon, Portugal are a diverse mix of past and present. While there are some historic cafes in Lisbon and Porto, there are also modern cafes that are experimenting with the drink and its concept. Whether you crave old-world charm or interiors with a more modern ambiance, there are cafes for every person in Portugal. Thus, make a list of all the coffee shops you want to visit on your trip to Portugal
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