Maria Palato - Wine Bar — Restaurant in Lisbon

Sublime experience at Maria Palato!

We had the pleasure of being served by Rui, who runs the shop with his wife Sofia - And it really was an absolute pleasure!

We came to Maria Palato after a recommendation from a friend, hoping to try some Portuguese wines. When we first arrived, we were a little unsure of what to get, since their €50 tasting option seemed a bit excessive. However, this is when Rui took us under his care. We ended up having wine by the glass, but not before sampling several different ones before each glass.

Rui takes it upon himself as a personal mission to find just the right wine for each guest, and he won’t rest until he succeeds. If he senses even the slightest hesitation, he will promptly offer another wine to try, even if that means opening new bottles in the process. His eyes genuinely light up with passion for Portuguese wines and for ensuring the customer’s happiness.

We ended up having two full glasses of wine (each), but we sampled countless others along the way. They also offer international shipping, so we had 12 bottles sent home - a mix of white, red, white port, and red port.

All in all, an absolutely amazing experience worth everything we paid, and more.

Our advice? Have some wine by the glass. Try a few different ones along the way and see which ones suit your taste before deciding. Enjoy...

We have visited this wine bar multiple times. Each time, we always got friendly service and helpful recommendations. The cheese plate was a stand-out which Portuguese cheeses. What sets a place like this apart is they explained a little about each cheese versus just serving it. Our first visit, we sat upstairs with a wonderful couple from Germany and enjoyed small plates of food and wine together. The owners helped us to understand various port wines and gave us a mini lesson with samples. I would suggest anyone interested to arrange this ahead of time, and it was very gracious to get this impromptu tasting. We ordered several bottles including the exquisite 50-year Quinta da Devesa Branco. Having Westies at home, we had to get a few bottles of the white wine with Poncha on it shipped as well. Shipping costs are reasonable considering the packaging and care needed. Everything arrived a lot faster than expected, too, in under a month to the US. Their merchandise, such as wine openers, are of great quality. Don't pass that up, either, and it will be a better souvenir to take home. We came back for a second visit just to have a glass of wine and had the same friendly service. We returned again on the next trip to Lisbon 6 months later and will make an effort on any...

Easily one of my favorite memories I will take from my trip to Lisbon--places like this are what I, as a constant traveler, yearn for in a bustling tourist town. I absolutely loved my two visits to Matia Palato; yes, I enjoyed it for a lunch stop and then a few days later for dinner. It is both a wine bar and a great place to BUY wines and portuguese food products at great prices. Rui and Sophia are wonderful hosts who love the amazing wines and food products from Portugal and I believe truly enjoy introducing them to their customers. My wife and I tried several recommended wines and some ports, along with a plethora of tapas (bacalhau toast, pickled sardines, francesinha, torta), and all were superb. They both would take feedback on the wine recommended and then take that input to decide on another (if you wanted). That we got to enjoy the company of two cute pups as well only enhanced the whole experience. I loved it,...