Espiral

Espiral is a place about nature, ecology and spirituality. There you can find a bookshop, a bioshop, a gym for therapy and martial arts, and a vegetarian restaurant(also serving fish).

I have only tried the restaurant, so this post is about that. Being a meat lover I don't know many vegetarian restaurants, but so far this is my favourite. It is cheap and well served, calm and cosy and some nights you get live music. There is free tea with your meal, and you have a variety of dishes to choose from(check the website), the ones I tried were good.

It is a good place to take your date, specially is she/he is eco/bio/vegan nature lover, the decoration is good and they have candles ;)

Misc:

Average price: ~8 Euros

Multibanco/Visa: Yes

Smokers: No

Closes at: Does not close

Pros:

- Excellent quality/price ratio

- Cosy and calm

- Live music

- Great food variety and large doses

Cons:

- Not good for large groups

- No near places for a drink afterwards

Facebook page

Website

Google maps

Restaurant - Toscana

Almost every time I meet a new person and we end up talking about restaurants in Lisbon, Toscana is referenced as one of the best places to eat fish.

It is small, typical, is not expensive and the waiter is very funny, treating the ladies with cute names and always multiplying your order by 10(but you really get what you ordered).

I strongly advise the codfish, but only if you like it with garlic and olive oil. Every other fish is also good and I can't tell about the meat because... I haven't tasted it yet.

It is a known place so you may see there some celebrities and expect it to be crowded, book a table or get there early ~19:30.

Misc:

Average price: ~13 Euros (not sure)

Multibanco/Visa: Don't know

Smokers: Don't know

Closes at: Sunday

Pros:

- Good quality/price ratio

- Excellent fish

- The waiter is very funny

- Afterwards drinks at Santos, not far

Cons:

- No near Subway

- Difficult parking

- Small, not good for large groups

- Crowded, go early or book a table

Google Maps

Restaurant - O Pocinho

In portugal we have a lot of restaurants, most of them are what we call Tasco, they are small, family managed, cheap and have typical Portuguese food.

Pocinho is one of my recurrent options because of its location(in Santos), good quality/price ratio and of course, it is smokers friendly. There are also 2 strategically placed TVs, always good for football nights, and for a snack while watching the game you have Tremoços(lupines?), Clams and Snails!

They have different dishes every day of the week, like roasted pig leg, duck rice, grilled fish, feijoada, cozido à portuguesa, codfish, etc. You can check out the Portuguese cuisine here.

After many years browsing the roads of Lisbon for Tascos, I'll let you in on a few secretes to find the good ones:

#1 - They are almost never located on the main streets, look for the secondary small roads.

#2 - Check the prices on the window/door, good Tascos have dishes around 5 ~ 6 Euros.

#3 - Look for typical Portuguese daily dishes, like stews.

Misc:

Average price: ~9 Euros

Multibanco/Visa: Yes

Smokers: Yes

Closes at: Sunday or Monday, not sure

Pros:

- Good quality/price ratio

- Lots of places nearby for a drink afterwards

- Try the roasted pig leg!

Cons:

- No near Subway

- Difficult parking

- Small, not good for large groups

Google Maps

Association - Ilusão Paralela

UPDATE - Unfortunately Ilusão Paralela has closed on 1/12/2011.
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Translated to Parallel Ilusion, it is an association, and as many others in Lisbon, it's a place where you can have a drink, eat, play board games, listen to music, attend workshops, read a book, watch art exhibitions, have parties, watch football games, etc. Make yourself a member to get discount at the bar, and like the facebook page to receive the events notifications.

Thursdays it's board game night with Vasco Chita, if you like board games you should go there, you will discover new games, make some friends and have fun!

They have lots of games like, Settlers of Catan, Dixit, Puerto Rico, Times Up, Tichu, Atlantis, Chinatown, etc. And thursdays Vasco brings even more games.

Quiz nights are Tuesdays, so if you are into general knowledge trivia feel free to show up, teams are of five, 50 questions and the winning team gets a prize. Don't worry if you can't round up a team, just show up and ask to join one of the teams.

There is also the Origami workshops and the role-players gathering, and many other activities, check the facebook for the dates and details.

You can talk to the owner and have a private dinner and/or a party, or have an exhibition with your photos, paintings, sculptures, etc.

Misc:

Beer price(20cl): 80 Cents for members

Smokers: yes

Multibanco/Visa: yes

Closes at: Sunday and Monday

Pros:

- Nice place to take your friends for a drink and chat

- Many different activities

- Stays open till late

- Restaurants and bars nearby

Cons:

- Difficult parking

- No near Subway

- Lots of smokers

Facebook page

Restaurant - Grill 20

There are days I feel like having a steak... a good large yummy steak. Usually I would go to Tachadas, but it has a problem, sometimes the meat is not excellent, just OK. So if you want to pay a bit more and have an excellent steak I advise Grill 20.

You can have the several types of meat and sizes, varying from ~6 to ~14 Euros and a free buffet of vegetables and sauces, with rice, French fries or spinach as a side dish.

I usually go to the Braancamp restaurant, as you can see in the site(link below) they are in 5 locations, also from the same company there is a butcher's shop, maybe the secret for their great meat.

Misc:

Average price: 10 ~ 20 Euros

Smokers: no

Multibanco/Visa: Yes

Braancamp closed at Sunday

Pros:

- Excellent meat, salad buffet

- Good for large groups

- Central, Subway near

- Good service

Cons:

- Can be expensive if you are not careful

- Difficult parking

- No near places for a drink afterwards

Website

Restaurant - Farah's Tandoori

I must admit I love Indian food, hot spicy and strong flavoured tastes, there are many Indian restaurants in Lisbon but unfortunately most of them have been slightly occidentalized so that we better accept the Indian gastronomy.

There are few restaurants that feel a bit more genuine, this is one case, in Farah's you will get good strong flavoured food, nice sauces, tasteful samosas and a good service!

But beware when asking for hot food because it will burn you!

Misc:

Average price: ~16 Euros

Smokers: no

MultiBanco/Visa: no

Closed at: Monday

Pros:

- Good tandoori food, large doses

- Sometimes they have different dishes, like crab curry

- Cosy and quiet, good for couples

- Good Samosas

Cons:

- No near subway, difficult parking

- No near places for a drink afterwards

- Small place, not good for large groups

- Not very cheap

Google maps