Sr. Fado — Restaurant in Lisbon

This place used to be amazing. Such a shame to have ruined it.

I knew the place and loved the atmosphere, Ana Marina, Duarte and Nadia. At the phone (when I booked), I asked wether I am at the right place. The person confirmed and promised me an amazing evening for my mother and sister who travelled to Lisbon for the occasion. I found odd he insisted and called me back again to confirm… I should have checked the ownership of the restaurant at that point…

When we arrived, few things seem even weirder. An incredible amount of staff, tacky decoration. Nothing genuine. Nothing personal. Nothing known. The inside is changed and looks (frankly) dodgy.

We are advised to wait across the road to a “wine bar”. The crew needs to “get ready”. Again all of it is very odd.

We wait… and wait. Nobody comes. After the opening time, I decide to step in to see that the staff has “forgotten us” (very professional hm).

This is when I had the pleasure to meet the new owner (who takes care not to mention it). He is slimy and weird - honestly, I feel uncomfortable and become very suspicious. He served me all kind of lies including the death of Duarte or of family member (all kind of blabla that is as unnecessary as strange). He actually pretends to work with them and that they could not make it because of the death (although it turns out they’ve simply retired). He probably has “forgotten” to mentioned it and lied to my face by mistake.

Later on, he could see I was checking the information on my phone and googling the place. What a ridiculous move he made - when you think about it it’s quite pathetic.

The fado was average. Ana Marina, Duarte and friends are difficult to equal.

One of the musician (very talented at the Portuguese guitar) simply cannot keep it quiet (even disturbing his colleagues or singing when they -desperately- attempt to speak with the audience). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all to encourage new generation and youth but quite frankly I’m not sure why someone didn’t step in to tell him to stop being rude. No talent in the world could justify his behaviour.

Food was the only thing that seemed a bit similar although nothing could really compete with what it used to be before. The drinks are massively reduced but well… they offered me a coffee I guess…?

The Fadista has a really good voice and musicians are talented. A shame one is improvising himself singer. I doubt that’s his thing. She really has loads of potential. I hope she can find a nice place with as much authenticity sr fado used to have. She deserves it and her humility makes her even better (as a musician and a person).

The experience is however unsuccessful and I must admit I am really disappointed.

We’ve travelled from far and have been fooled, mocked and disrespected (I’m not even sure why as we might have come anyway if we’d known the situation beforehand - although the sour taste would not be here).

I have checked the receipt after payment and reach out to a Portuguese solicitor as soon as at home to get the obvious confirmation: the place is now owned by someone else… well done pita gourmet.

I hope you’ll enjoy the money and shine when it lasts. An advice though: do not treat people like this. It is backfiring.

I will never return and I’ll make sure your dishonesty is known from here to home and at work.

I had recommended this place to colleagues and friends and will ensure they all know who...

Duarte and Marina Santos are the gracious hosts of this intimate restaurant in ancient Alfama, Portugal. Together they do it all. She cooks the traditional Portugese meal consisting of seafood and/ or pork, and he is your waiter and bus boy . Although you are a complete stranger in these surroundings you will feel as though you are family or at least a close lifelong friend. You will get to know the other dinner guests as well, since the entire restaurant is really not much larger than the average American family room. Several hours later after you have been satiated with good home cooking and yes homemade wine, Marina will shed her apron and bandana and emerge as a femme fatale in a form fitting dress and silk scarf, and Duarte will sit down with his well worn guitar. He will be joined by another musician donning a Fado mandolin , and the most remarkable evening of entertainment will unfold before your eyes and ears. Everything about the Alfama and Sr.Fado draw you into the epicenter of saudade , the melancholic longing for love and loss, the emotions we as humans all experience but only the Iberian Peninsula turns into a true art form. You will become part of this oral tradition of poetry set to music, you will be immersed in a multi cultural atmosphere and experience, and the polyglot in you will be inspired to communicate in foreign tongues. Though attending a Fado show might be a cliched tourist activity , this one is truly an exceptional window into an centuries old tradition and well worth your time and money . Obrigada Marina and Duarte for an unforgettable evening of food , wine and song. And felicidades to that adorable Spanish/Portugese couple who got engaged in the midst...

First of all, one star is for the musicians and the other one for the waitresses… This is a complete tourist trap! We paid 58€ per person and couldn’t eat anything other than starters which were also below the average. There was humus and babagannush in the starters and the owner argued that humus is Portuguese because it’s their own humus recipe… I mean just because you make humus in Portugal with your own recipe, it doesn’t make it a Portuguese dish obviously! There was also „pasta in white sauce“, which was basically pasta with cream and cheese, also tasteless, also claimed to be a Portuguese dish... the most annoying thing is that he takes you for a fool! Also the main dish with fish was the worst seafood I’ve ever had in my life! They tossed it all with some vegetable broth in a pot and cooked it until they are in pieces and tasteless. The pork was a bit better but still wasn’t anything special! The dessert was even worse with a few apple slices, literally one strawberry and a few banana slices with really bad whipped cream and cheapest chocolate sauce. There was also the worst almond cake ever, way too sugary, tasteless and not fresh. We couldn’t even drink the wine, very bad quality… and the atmosphere was also horrible with lame blue light… the only positive thing was music which I couldn’t enjoy personally with that horrible light and wine! Apparently the owner was changed and the quality is nothing close to what it used to be… It’s Lisbon, you have wonderful food here, just stay away...