Povo Lisboa — Restaurant in Lisbon

I took the wrong metro line in Lisbon, and I thought now that I was around Pink Street, I should take a stroll; I saw a sign about Fado night at the entrance of Povo. A guy kindly greeted me and said their first session starts in a bit and I'm glad I decided to stick around. I had read about Fado as a melancholy and nostalgic music and didn't expect more. The band consisted of a singer, a guitar player/singer and a Portuguese guitar player. The place has a restaurant/bar setting. After the band took their position, it felt like a professional jam with a small audience group.

As soon as they started to play I figured I was up for a treat. I was blown away by the musical talent and the singer's voice. The nostalgic melancholy is just a part of Fado and it's an understatement.

The Fado I heard was a complex and engaging melange of passion from the Latin music, the sorrow of the Moorish influence, and the joyfulness of Celtic music, but unlike any of them. It expresses so many feelings I didn't even know I could feel those feelings. describing it just as nostalgic doesn't do that sole touching music justice. I was so overwhelmed by emotions I didn't remember their names or to ask if I could find their music online. I'll go back there next time i'm in Lisbon.

The beer was cold and I had a tasty duck appetizer with fried bread. The servers were attentive and the ambience was right.

I highly recommend Povo if you want to be impressed. Fado is a gem in...

An unforgettable experience which I thoroughly recommend. If you want to listen to authentic Fado without forking out for a more expensive meal, this is an excellent spot and feels more like a place the locals would go. The staff cannot serve you or take orders when the Fado is playing, which lasts around 10-15 minutes at a time and I got three rounds of it between 20:45-23:45. This means they are very busy when they can serve you, but they were all polite and working very hard. It’s on an incredibly busy street, but you don’t notice it when inside. Easy to reserve a table online and the staff are incredibly helpful despite being VERY busy. The food was very fresh and delicious. The wine selection by the glass is small but the one I had was excellent. The Fado was a wonderful experience, the only downside is the number of customers who film it on their phones which can be distracting, but not the fault of the venue. If you book a single place they sit you at the bar which is great for meeting other solo travellers, but when I mentioned I was getting uncomfortable after about 90 minutes, the staff courteously offered me a table instead. Thank you for a...

Summary - Food - okay Price - expensive for tapas Fado - Poor (better off going to a house of Fado for a guaranteed experience.)

I booked with place a month in advanced for when my parent came to visit so they could see some Fado. When we arrive they give us a table by the door, they said the Fado would be in the middle of the room. But once it started its was actually behind a wall so we couldn't see anything, and noise was blocked by the wall. Plus every-time the door opened noise from the street, sound would flood in so we could barely heard the performance. Not to mention the staff always walking in and out and customers outside stumbling in or the staff just leaving the door open during the performance. 2 other tables also had to deal with this but with a slightly better view.

The food and wine was okay but fairly expensive compared to other local restaurants. Small Tapas costing 16€ is a bit much...

If we had a different table I'm sure we would have had a much more pleasant experience, they shouldn't have these tables open for the performance. The musicians were good but the sound didn't carry too well even if there wasn't a wall...