Tasca da Bela- Casa de Fados — Restaurant in Lisbon

This place already had so many bad reviews - we should have headed the warning, but we wanted to see Fado. We had both seen Fado before but we can tell you even if this was the worlds best Fado, it wouldn’t be worth the lack of disregard for patrons and abuse that we experienced (see pic). We confirmed our reservation time with them via WhatsApp. Their site says reservations are not confirmed until they text you. Okay, great. We got a confirmation text that said “the fado show starts at 21:00/21:30”, so we sent another text to confirm the time of the reservation. We were told 21:30, yet when we arrived we were told our reservation was for 20:45; off to a great start. The vibe was we were inconveniencing them. If only we took the hint and left right away. The fado overall was great. The food: if you love fried food served cold because it was prepared hours ago, you’ll be in heaven here. Okay, we could handle that as we knew going into it we were more interested in the music. Is it expensive at 115 euro per couple, yes, but we were told ahead of time. They didn’t tell us until day of (when we were confirming our reservation time they said was wrong) that it was cash only. Again, we can roll with that as we were going for the fado. What we weren’t prepared for: around half past midnight, during a fado performance, a group of people including 3 children (yes children, as in all pre adolescent) banged on the window and waved at the woman who turns out to be the owner. She motioned for them to come in. This is the same woman who yelled at the patrons to be quiet before the fado performance, but banging on the window is cool if you’re her family. How do we know it’s her family? Well, they did come in, and since we were seated next to the window, they were happy to knock the bottle of RED wine off the table onto us, our clothes, bags, phones, you name it. To cut to the chase: after this happened, we were told it was our fault that we had red wine spilled on us (this transpired after the fado performance was over). The most owner’s daughter who brought her kids in then proceeded to yell at us and get quite loud telling us we were “drama queens”; she’s the personification of projection. It became even more surreal as several of the locals joined in. We decided it was best to exit as mob mentality was surging. As we walked out (you can’t make this up), the male fado singer yelled at us with the owner’s daughter, and another classy young lady vaping outside threw her glass of white wine on my husband. It was -for a few minutes there- like we had been transported into a Jordan Peele movie. They yelled at us saying this place is “like a family” while we were threatened for having the gall to not take the blame for having RED WINE spilled all over us and ruining our clothes: “If you weren’t in the way this wouldn’t have happened.” The “locals only” sentiment was clearly delivered with a side of threats plus throwing more wine at us as we left. This is a business that has no respect for its patrons. What a...

Our reservation was for 830pm, and when we arrived at 825pm, we were told to come back in 5 lol. We thought it was kind of hilarious, but the gentleman, 5 minutes later, very warmly welcomed us in.

We were settled into a cozy space with walls filled with memories, and served our choice of wine. We went with the vinho verde. Easy going and crisp! (P.s. Refills are bottomless and if your wine has been out for a while they will swap your bottle for a new cold one!)

The food is a set menu and is whatever they're cooking that night.

We had what seemed like endless appetizers: olives, tuna pâté, marinated peppers and fava beans, with cheese and bread, followed by an absolutely delicious warm chorizo and blood sausage dish, and soup! I could've dunked my face into a vat of the peppers and fava beans... so good!

Main courses arrived and we shared some codfish on rice, as well as a veal stew. The stew was the highlight for me as the sauce was reduced to perfection, and I scooped it all up with the rice.

Finally, dessert arrived and we were stuffed. Chocolate cake and something creamy with pineapple? Coffee and tea upon request are included and necessary, after all the food and wine!

Now, the fado is impeccable! We had 2 extremely talented singers and you could just feel the soul in their performances!! Everyone was swaying and clapping by the end of the evening with each song. Absolutely incredible. They are a bit strict and ask you to kindly be silent, but they honestly didn't need to ask because the performances were stunning and left us gasping for more. We had 6 rounds of fado, 3 each from the gentleman and lady, as well as a bonus tribute to the accompanying musicians.

Be prepared to be there for a while though. We were there until well past midnight! Also, don't forget that it is a cash only spot! In Aug 2024, it was 55euros pp and they do not expect tips. (But tip anyway!)

Go and be wowed! It was such an amazing way to spend a first night in Lisbon! Highly highly recommend...

Mediocre food, BUT I would return only for the great fado experience. We went there for dinner (booked 2 weeks in advance). We got to the place at 9pm, most of the tables already eating, fado already started (first disappointment, considering I got a text 2 days before the dinner saying the performance would start at 21:30… so we got in late, waiting the performance to have a break). As soon as we sat down and a break in the music show was coming the food started being served (it is a fixed menu place, so no choices; this fact is confirmed also in the text you get 3 days before, but might be a bad surprise if you just get in the place with no reservations). A number of appetizers/tapas were brought to the table, mostly cold and tasting pre-pre-pre-pre-prepared (the taste of fried food is the one you spot the food was prepared some time before). Then at other breaks we were served the warm food (stuffed veal with white rice and cod) and finally the desserts, the only food I liked. Food wise, the announced “Tasting menu, a journey through some Portuguese gastronomy”, was the worst meal I got in one week in the area. BUT… The fado exhibition was a sequence different artists performing next to the tables. The intimacy of this type of music and atmosphere is created having the lights switched, while quality of sound and voices are amazingly good due to an arch under which the singers and musicians are performing. The performances were a sequence of very touching songs, belonging to 5 different exhibitions of 10-15 min and distributed over a good 2.5 hours. 2 musicians and 5 singers are performing). Highly recommended! Last info (and disappointment): the payment is cash only, even if while reserving you are requested to do a pre-payment via internet of the 25% of the total expense (fix menu=fix price). In 2024… a bit...