We went to a few places to eat and drink that we wanted to share with you. For a great evening of authentic Lisbon we would recommend getting dinner at a place called Snob followed by some drinks at Pavilhao Chines.
Snob (Rua do Seculo 178, Lisbon, Portugal), is a restaurant with a very misleading name. Maybe Snob in Portuguese means something else because this isn't a snobby kind of place. This is a little restaurant that if Tony Soprano lived in Lisbon, he'd probably eat here... if there was baked ziti on the menu, which there is not. What we found out was that gangsters don't frequent this place, but journalists and writers do. It's tucked back on a quiet street in the Bairro Alto district. The exterior is very understated, so it's easy to walk right by. Once you find it, ring the door bell and they will open the door to let you in. Inside you will find a dark space with a bar and a dining room with green felt covered tables. We really don't like smokey restaurants, but it some how added to the ambiance of this local's joint. The small lamps made rays of light through the thick air. An older gentleman waited on us and we think his wife cooked the traditional Portuguese fare. We had the Portuguese style steak. It was a steak smothered in a ketchup based sauce, topped with a fried egg, with a pile of fresh cut fries. Definitely not healthy and not normally what we'd do to a steak, but it was really good. I wish we could show you pictures, but it was a little too dark for the photos to turn out.Pavilhao Chines (Dom Pedro V. 89) is about a block up the hill and around the corner from Snob. This is a very cool bar and a collector's paradise. The bar is heavily staffed with guys in the old-school white shirts and red vests. The bar has several rooms that have absolutely every square inch of available wall space filled with various collectibles. There are little army figurines, hats, Victorian antiques, model airplanes, ships in bottles, masks, beer steins and countless other things. We've all seen bars with a bunch of stuff on the walls, but unlike most, this place is pristine. There is no dust or weathered looking items to be found, I'd hate to be whoever has to dusts this place. The staff, clientele and the atmosphere is very friendly. There are also a few pool tables in the back. The drinks are a little pricey, but worth the ambiance.
If you are in the mood for pasta a good choice is Zafferano (Pinheiro, 18). This place looks like it could be snobby, but it's not. The interior is beautiful with black painted walls, gold leaf accents and a flower mural on the wall. The homemade pasta is fantastic and the portions are generous while still allowing for a great presentation. We had the lemon Parmesan gnocchi and the spaghetti bolognese.
