146 Bar — Restaurant in Lisbon

I'm not sure what to make of this cocktail bar and I don't know why I always have such high expectations for hotel bars, when the majority never live up to the hype.

146 Bar is odd... it seems like they focused so much on aesthetics and presentation that they forgot about taste? Even stranger is that some of the presentation is a bit silly. I won't say amateurish because I don't think people understand how difficult designing even a simple yet effective garnish can be, and I have seen much worse. But the flavours let down what on paper sounds interesting.

To me, this is the epitome of a hotel bar.

Quirky, gimmicky, Instagrammable, over-garnished cocktails that are all rather simple tasting to appeal to largest number of tourists possible from all over the world. That's also necessary to be noticed on social media these days. It is a huge ask of hotel bars, even more than craft cocktail bars. They can never be too creative, unique, challenging, or complex. Even if the bartenders are excellent, which I suspect their bar manager here is. They just seem limited by the fact that it is a hotel.

I say all this thinking about "Sloth". I didn't know it was the Homer Simpson cocktail, but in case anybody wants to know. It is a rather juvenile looking cocktail (further proven by the fact children in the bar saw my drink and immediately wanted one as well), but it's cute and fun if you're not looking for refined and classy. The ambiance of the bar itself would imply a more sophisticated cocktail list, but again... hotel. The taste of the drink was overly sweet, so much that I couldn't finish it. And I couldn't taste any alcohol. Frankly, I don't see why you can't serve it to kids, lol.

We also got "Greed" which was a significantly better offering. A little more complex, a little less sweet. And it came with a surprise piece of cake which was, perhaps, the most tasty thing we had but confusing why it was there.

I saw another drink and it was in a Nick and Nora glass... with an icecube! Not only is that a cocktailing fauxpas, but I know those glasses usually hold about 5.5-6 oz. When half that is taken up by a big ice cube, the amount of drink you're getting is TINY. For it to be worth anything, that absolutely must be heavily spirit-forward. But this did not appear to be. (I could be wrong.)

It's things like that. Their social media makes it look fabulous. Garnishes, photos, etc. But in reality, it fell pretty flat, especially after tasting them.

Maybe it was the time of day, but we felt ignored by the staff, who seemed to love talking to each other and not anyone else, and more than once we had to stand up to get their attention from across the bar. It's lucky we didn't stay downstairs in the exclusive yet empty "museum-lounge". I think they would forget completely.

Note: this is a really, really unique space that no other bar I've ever been to has. Not only is their legit archeological discovery of the 700-year-old Medieval ruins of Fernandina city walls on display, but they have other artifacts and exhibits of historical importance. It's accessible only to guests of the hotel. It is well worth a trip to the basement if you are staying there.

If I was managing the bar program, I'd work on somehow integrating that incredible and unique feature into the menu for inspiration somehow. It would make it far more cohesive than a "7 deadly sins and some other random stuff" menu they currently have. (I get that it has to do with the name of the hotel but... yeah.)

The upstairs is a fairly generic modern bar in both design and atmosphere, but downstairs is something to really focus on. It's special but as of now, completely ignored. Which is a shame.

The drinks are not cheap, and I expected something more complex in order to feel like it was good value for money.

This bar has a lot of potential, but for me, it sort of missed the mark. However, it does seem like a perfectly acceptable hotel bar. Just don't expect it to be on the same level as the best craft cocktail bars...

We entered on a whim while on our way to another restaurant. “We’ll grab a drink and be on our way,” I told my partner. Famous last words.

Upon entry, it’s clear to see why this place is rated so well. You’re met by friendly staff like Francisco who do everything that they can to make your experience perfect. Our eight month old baby was given a high chair without us needing to ask; pillows to sit on in case we wanted to hold him; things to play with; such is the service.

The food blew us away. We ordered two cocktails (both delicious) and a carpaccio, “just to accompany the drinks,” we said - but we both knew that we would be staying the night here, even after a few minutes. That was soon followed by a burrata salad, a shrimp dish, and a burger cooked to perfection. More cocktails soon followed. Before we left, we also had the privilege of being visited by Mauro, who had prepared our drinks that evening. We had a long discussion about his process - and how he and the team come up with their unique cocktails. It was a perfect way to conclude the evening.

We can’t recommend this place enough. Truly our most memorable meal in all of Lisboa, and a place we will remember fondly for a long...

Our two week trip to Portugal with friends got even better when we checked into the Corpo Santo Hotel , and then our minds were blown when we spent time in the hotel's bar- 146 Bar

The bar is a craft cocktail bar with an awesome team of bartenders that have all the tricks up thier sleeves to mix us amazing drinks, entertained us for hours and the live music on Friday and Saturday by Rafeal was a blast to sing along to.

Hats off to Bar Manager Luis his equally capable partners Ana and Ricardo! They were great people and incredibly nice to our group of 6 who kept them busy with tons of custom drink requests each night we came in.

Awesome selection of spirits, and creative cocktail menu had it all! This is a must visit bar when in Lisbon!

P.s. The food was on point as well, with a raw bar and Sushi that had us all from Seattle( where we have great seafood as well) very happy and impressed.

Thanks Luis, Ana,...