The Casinha das Flores guest house boasts Portuguese charm and views.
For more than five years, the Taberna da Rua das Flores has been attracting the public from Lisbon and foreigners to number 103 of this small street in the Chiado neighborhood with its quality cuisine based on traditional Portuguese recipes (That's why it's included in our Ultimate Guide to Lisbon's Gastronomic Treasures). Culinary simplicity that the diner receives with affection –and careful presentation– in a tiny space where there is not always room.
So, what do you do if you get to the door and its long queue makes you sense that you will not be one of those privileged few who will try organic salmon with celery root and sweet potato salad, caldeirada or meia-desfeita de bacalhau ? This may have been a problem before, however, now, the street has attractive establishments that invite you to walk from north to south (better in the direction of the Tagus, on the contrary it would be uphill), and even to stay to sleep in she.
Martinhal Chiado, a family hotel that looks like something out of AD magazine.
MARTINHAL CHIADO FAMILY SUITES
Years ago, only the most visionary investors detected Portugal's potential as a world tourist destination. This is the case of the marriage formed by Roman and Chitra Stern, who fell in love at first sight with the Portuguese coast (obviously), but they also knew how to capitalize on this love in a successful business idea nicknamed 'family chic' and which already has four hotel establishments spread throughout the Portuguese geography.
To its three Martinhal luxury family resorts in Cascais, Sagres and Quinta do Lago (Algarve), now we must add a family getaway hotel where the apartments look like something out of a decorating magazine . In fact, at Martinhal Chiado (from €200) there are works of art by Portuguese artists, such as Jorge Santos, Angela Ferreira or Ana Aragão, scattered throughout the spaces.
Some of the facilities they offer are 'Baby concierge', for any child care utensil you need, a club called Raposinhos for children from 6 months and a 'Pyjama club' so that they sleep supervised while you go out to enjoy the Lisbon night. and although all its apartments are equipped with designer kitchens, in their M Bar they serve light dishes both at lunch and dinner.
M Bar, a family bar, in a family hotel.
CASINHA DAS FLORES
If instead you travel alone, as a couple or in a group (but not children), it is better to choose the Casinha das Flores guest house (from €97). Here the luxury is the views of the river. In fact, its owner, Tiago Pereira, recommends booking room number 10 (out of a total of 12), because it is the one that offers the best view of the Tagus.
Regarding the decoration, both in the rooms and in the common areas, vintage objects are mixed with contemporary finishes and recovered tiles dress the walls with color and charm. At breakfast, everything is traditional, from the crude but endearing clay crockery to the cheeses, cakes, biscuits and other Portuguese sweets. It's like reliving Lisbon's past in the first person.
Ask at the concierge about the different activities offered to visitors: a vintage tour of Lisbon in a 1931 Ford, a walking tour of the city's historic sites alongside the Marques de Pombal, Vasco de Gama or Luis de Camões (sometimes these actors also appear at breakfast time) and dinner and fado sessions.
Until Casinha das Flores did not fill its terraces with pots, it is not that there were too many flowers on the street.
BY THE WINE - JOSE MARIA DA FONSECA
It would be difficult to calculate the number of bottles of wine in this tumultuous winebar that people come to share charcuterie platters and cheese boards at your side tables or at your central counter. Firstly, because they have for sale the complete portfolio of wines from this Portuguese winery (Setúbal Peninsula, Alentejo, Duero, Dão and Vinos Verdes) and, secondly, because its vaulted ceiling is covered with empty green glass bottles.
At the first flaship of Jose Maria da Fonseca in Lisbon, you have to go buy 'souvenirs', but the real ones, the ones you pay for and gladly take home, like his José de Sousa 2015 wine or his Avis Rara 2016. Others it is better that you enjoy them in situ, at numbers 41-43 of Rua das Flores, and take with you only the memory to later relive it and suffer with its longing (melancholy is one of the most celebrated characteristics of the country neighbour) . The dishes for which you will cast a tear are the octopus carpaccio, grilled octopus, cod salad with chickpeas or the new tuna patacones.
Dome of wine bottles in By the Wine, Lisbon.
COFFEE SHOP FACTORY
At number 63 Rua das Flores there is a new barista place of worship in Lisbon. Talking about coffee in Portugal are big words, so no, it is not that we have let ourselves be captivated by its vintage aesthetic, based on recycled wood and recovered furniture, and for their hearts of foam and we have forgotten what is important, the genuine flavor of the grains. What happens is that Fabrica Coffee Shop combines both things, an interior design adapted to current tastes and filter or expresso blends grown in Brazil, Ethiopia or Guatemala.
Try one or two types of coffee (from less than €2) and then buy the one you like best in the shop area (from €6.50), where They will explain the origin and history of the farm that produces each package. Of course, forget about Wi-Fi, here you come to share a good cup of coffee not on social networks, so you will have to use your own data when you want to upload photos of its colorful African murals to Instagram.
The most desired coffee in Lisbon is taken on Rua das Flores.
LANDEAU CHOCOLATE
This place dedicated to chocolate is a paradise for gourmands, but also for the undecided: they only sell one type of chocolate cake. Not an inconvenience at all if we take into account that it is so genuine and delicious that there are already those who compare it in fame and texture with the Austrian Sacher cake.
Sofia Landeau, the owner and the name given to this 'chocolate bolo' (€3.70 a portion), was encouraged to open a space dedicated to chocolate at LX Factory after winning a cake contest organized by Time Out Lisboa. Then everything was shot –and chocolated–. Now, in the new industrial-style premises located at number 70 Rua das Flores, he continues to forge his legend based on cocoa and an artisanal production that is not yet surpassed by the high and greedy demand.
One last piece of advice, once you've walked the entire street and discovered all these new businesses, turn around and 'retrace' all your steps uphill until you reach Taberna da Rua das Flores again (where we hope you haven't forgotten to sign up on the list) . In short, we are Spanish and our meal times are quite different from those of other mortals, so we don't mind being left behind on the gastronomic grill... Much less if what awaits us on the other side of the finish line/table is a fresh fish from the 'fish market' and masterfully prepared by chef André Magalhães.
Will you be one of the privileged to occupy one of the tables at Taberna da Rua das Flores?