O Faia - Casa de Fado — Restaurant in Lisbon

Starter: Sautéed Shrimp, crab and pennyroyal polenta

The shrimp is pan-fried with olive oil and then drizzled with a sauce. The sauce is quite fragrant—could it be made from crab roe? Below, I heard it’s a mint corn puree?

Main：Octopus, pumpkin and rosemary rice.

This octopus is really huge! The octopus has been grilled, and it’s not tough at all—it’s actually quite tender. While it’s not exactly melt-in-your-mouth, it’s still easy to bite into. The grilled aroma of the octopus is amazing, especially the tentacles—they’re particularly fragrant and crispy.

The rosemary risotto is cooked in a cast iron pot, with carrots added in, making it very soft. It’s different from how we make it back home, much softer. Based on the name, it should have rosemary added during the cooking process. I’m not sure if there’s pumpkin puree or corn puree in it, though.

Dessert：Chocolate cake, pistachio paste, and amarena ice cream

This dessert has ice cream on top, a layer of pure dark chocolate in the middle, and chocolate cake at the bottom. The dark chocolate layer is really delicious, offering a rich, intense chocolate flavor. There’s also something on the outside that I couldn’t quite identify (perhaps a pistachio?), but I couldn’t figure it out. Pairing it with Portugal’s sweet Port wine is the perfect match for the chocolate.

At the end, the restaurant served some cookies. They were very thin, baked, and smelled amazing, but I couldn’t quite figure out what they were made of. I hope the restaurant can tell me.

Fado： Today’s Fado performance had a total of three sets, each with about five to six songs, around five songs on average. Each set lasted about twenty minutes, from 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM. There were three different groups performing, each with two accompanists: One played the regular guitar. The other played the Portuguese guitar.

These two musicians were likely the owners or operators of the restaurant. The three lead singers were: The first and third singers were ladies. The second singer was a man, with a very high and clear voice. The songs were probably all about love, but I couldn’t understand the lyrics. Still, they sang really well.

The last singer is Lenita Gentil. Can find her songs in...

Nice food, but also rather pricey. Also nice and interesting Fado performances. But! Extremely rude personnel. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the small sign on the table saying that no one should take pictures etc. Therefore, I took a few pictures without flash (!) and recorded about 20 seconds of the performance. Just for personal memory and to show it to friends - to recommend Lisbon and Fado music. The waiter however - without any warning or any kind request to stop recording came to me (only after we paid, of course - maybe he was not happy with the tip?) and rudely/ coldly said “you cannot record the show!” And left. He did so, while other guests even took pictures with a flash. He didn’t say anything to them though. The flashes were really disturbing - but I got told off like a naughty child. The waiter left us feel really unwanted and not welcome anymore. We left early. In the end, the whole experience was ruined and we felt like rude children and as if we had done something criminal. We respect the music and performances a lot and it would have been nice if someone had told us earlier not to record a second of it. I had nothing bad in mind but left feeling upset and guilty. This should not be the case, especially after having paid a rather high amount of money for a unique experience. All in all: I would not recommend this place for a nice evening out and would go to another place next time, even if the music and...

My family and husband are all from Sao Miguel and we all currently reside in the United States. We have gone to Lisbon a few times, but in August my husband and I took this trip with my parents -- as they have gotten older, it's harder for them to travel solo and I knew that a Portugal coastal trip was something they had always wanted to do. We started in Porto and worked our way all the way down to Algarve over two weeks. My mom had always wanted to go to a Fado show in Lisbon. I planned it that we were in Lisbon for their 48th wedding anniversary! I picked O Faia off of the amazing reviews and we were absolutely not disappointed. Everything... and I mean EVERYTHING was absolutely perfect. The food, the atmosphere, the hospitality -- everything was just absolutely 5 Stars!! The restaurant manager was the kindest soul. The Fado itself was incredible. Even if you aren't a big Fado fan, you can't help but get taken in with incredibly powerful music with these extremely talented singers. I was mesmerized by the gentleman playing the guitar. His smile and passion while he played was something out of this world. I later found out that he was one of the owners. This place is just an absolute gem. Absolute perfection. I have to admit that it's not in the greatest part of Lisbon, but well worth it, regardless. I hope to go back again soon. Obrigada O Faia pela o amor, carinho e uma noite...