16 Best Bars in Lisbon, Portugal

Bairro Alto is home to several of Lisbon's leading fado houses—venues where singers belt out soulful standards, accompanied by both the lute-like Portuguese guitarra and Spanish guitar—and Adega Machado is one of the best. Its artistic director is Marco Rodrigues, a leading member of the current generation of fadistas, who regularly performs here, along with Isabel Noronha, Bárbara Santos, and Pedro Moutinho. To attend the evening show at 9 pm, you must make a dinner reservation, so arrive in good time to choose from the range of traditional dishes (à la carte with mains at €30, or a €47 set menu, one of which is vegetarian). For just a taster, drop in for their daily 5 pm Fado Inside the Box 45-minute session (€17 including wine and snacks). Nearby Café Luso, at  Travessa da Queimada 10, is another famous old venue, part of the same group.

The quality of both the food and the singing is reliably good at this family-run establishment, and the setting—which calls to mind the dining room of a well-traveled older relative—is always welcoming. It's a fado vadio (vagabond) spot, meaning the night often ends with amateur singers lined up outside, raring to perform.

This cool restaurant, bar, and concert venue is one of the best spots in Lisbon for live music. Local and international bands and DJs take the stage around 11 pm most nights.

This small restaurant is one of the most authentic venues in Lisbon for listening to mournful and soulful fado music. On the site of the former house of famous fadista Maria Severa, the venue hosts regular concerts, sometimes luring big-name singers to perform. You can dine in the restaurant, which serves traditional Portuguese dishes, while you listen, or try your luck arriving just for the concert (but tables may be sold out).

Popular among local fado lovers as well as visitors, this performance space is housed in a tiny azulejo-lined former chapel. The traditional Portuguese food is palatable, although most people come for the consistently top-rate music and atmosphere. You can slip in at the end of the night, order a drink or two, and enjoy the show.

This little club was founded by late fado legend Argentina Santos in the 1950s. Over the decades, it has welcomed many fadistas, including the celebrated Amália. The food, which includes rich seafood stews, is as appealing as the music.

This Lisbon institution attracts some of Portugal's most accomplished fado singers. It also serves better food than many casas de fado and is one of the few touristy spots that still attracts locals. The name literally means "Mister Wine," and as expected, there are some good bottles to choose from.

Some of the biggest names in modern-day fado—Jorge Fernando, Fábia Rebordão, Vânia Duarte, and André Baptista—are in residence at this establishment. The dark candlelit dining room is located in the remains of a Renaissance building; the atmospheric location matches the melancholy and strong emotion of the music.

An international crowd comes to this spot to hear established performers and rising stars take turns at the microphone. Dinner is pricey, but if you arrive around 10:30 pm, you can skip the food and concentrate on the music.

There is more entertainment than authenticity in the 30-minute fado shows at this restaurant, although the performers are first-rate and include a number of the genre's current famous names. A theme traces the evolution of fado from the 19th century to the present, and folklore shows feature dancers in old-fashioned costumes.

Grab a seat—or a sunlounger—at this riverfront kiosk and listen to live pop, rock, or samba as the sun sets over the Tagus. Musicians gather here on sunny evenings to entertain the totally chillaxed crowds.

This long-running fado house was first established by fado singer Ana Marina and fado violist Duarte Santos, who had the idea of serving guests home-cooked Portuguese food before their performances. They specialize in cataplana (a dish cooked in a copper pan) of seafood or pork, but there’s also a bean and vegetable stew for vegetarians.

This homey fado tavern is also known for the high quality of its typical Portuguese dishes that are meant to be shared, such as tempura green beans, codfish cakes, and bell pepper salad.

The fado-loving owner of this informal space—once used to store olives and sausages, now lined with photos of famous fadistas—opened this bar serving simple food almost three decades ago; it has established itself as the city's best-known venue for fado vadio, or "vagabond fado," with mainly amateur singers, on Monday and Wednesday. Performers put their heart and soul into it (some even have half-decent voices), and the very competent musicians hold things together. Later on, professionals often turn up to do a turn when nearby fancier fado houses close. Tasca do Chico has an offshoot in the Alfama neighborhood, at  Rua dos Remédios 83, where there's fado Thursday through Sunday.

This tiny, somewhat divey music bar has a cozy living-room vibe. Its hard-to-find location makes it more popular with local music lovers than with tourists. The concerts tend to be informal, often more like jam sessions (not just fado) among local and touring musicians who head here after their own performances; things really start rolling around midnight.

Prominent fadistas, both traditional singers and next-generation artists who are expanding the boundaries of the form, perform most nights in this modern café attached to the Museu do Fado. Reservations are essential in the evening.