One of the rooms of the TAG hotel, in Chiado.
The Chiado It's the place. The Trindade Square , the reference, and a building from the 50s, the thumbtack. It doesn't seem like it, but this "property" in the heart of Lisbon hides in what until not long ago was a family residence, a small hotel with two interesting art and gastronomy spaces for the use and enjoyment of travelers and their own. Welcome to The Art Gate.
Its rooms can literally be counted on the fingers of one hand. Few and chosen, they are also, the guests of his tiny and chameleonic restaurant , with only one table where almost the same ones fit as the one Da Vinci painted, and the artists and craftsmen pop-up venues displaying his work on their walls (and floors and ceilings).
TAG facade, Chiado Lisbon
Behind "this new concept with the ambition of creating a space with three complementary realities (hospitality, gastronomy and visual arts)", as he himself defines it, is Diego Figueiredo , who, despite having just faced "the crisis of the thirties", has been developing successful concepts for years with everything that has to do with food.
Diogo Figueiredo, owner of TAG, Lisbon
The story of TAG it was that of an arrow. "It all started with what I felt when I visited space for the first time. I realized that the original infrastructure should not be changed and developed a concept that could enhance the five rooms of this apartment, directing it to a exclusive hosting experience , but also being an open door to the local community, through dynamics linked to gastronomy and art", he explains to Traveler.es.
Now it is Lisbon, but its vocation is to continue growing , assures: "Our hope is to expand to other countries, starting first in the European market and creating a community within a city/country, with a TAG experience personalized by the uniqueness of the city itself."
TAG Gallery, Lisbon
THE SUITES
Only one superior, two duplexes and one master, between 30 and 70 square meters, are the suites at this hotel. All with their solar floor, your sumptuous breakfast (which can also be taken in the kitchen), all with their traditional views of the Trinidad Convent , which presides over the quiet square where it is located... And all, of course, decorated with original contemporary artwork and with an interior design supervised by Figueiredo himself, in which different craftsmen have collaborated and who pays almost exclusive attention to the " Made in Portugal".
Breakfast in bed, at TAG, Lisbon
The furniture, much of it handmade, has been exclusively created in collaboration with Atelier Catarina, and are combined with Galante lamps or chairs, Mera Atelier flowers or My Friend Paco cushions. 8950 is the brand chosen for the amenities, soaps and gels made from ingredients from Caldeirao, in the Algarve, natural and sustainable , that " transport to the city the spirit of the mountains and the rivers According to its creators.
The TAG Master Suite, 70m2, original ceiling and artwork by Pedro Cabrita Reis.
SLEEP, AND WHAT ELSE?
"In most cases, people who visit TAG they want an experience, not just a place to stay . They prefer a discreet, quiet and exclusive environment, but with a close relationship with those who receive them, and seek, in one way or another, to enhance the accommodation experience. In general, they are people who appreciate art, in the broadest sense of the word, and want to be part of emerging concepts in the world," says Figueiredo.
That's why, the gallery is the first space they encounter as soon as they walk through the door . It claims to be "a extension of the artists' own galleries , in the heart of the city", with samples that Joana Valsassina (currently curator of the national program of itinerant exhibitions of the Serralves Foundation) and Eleanor Carrilho , linked to the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), part of the EDP Foundation, regularly schedules.
The current one, Almost Nothing, opened on June 1 and will be on display until September 30th , combines "the tangible and the intangible" through the work of emerging local artists such as Claire de Santa Coloma, Francisca Aires Mateus, Horécio Frutuoso and Sara Chang Yan, who experiment with materials and emptiness and with concepts such as subtraction or evocation.
Hugo Candeais for TAG
WHAT IS EATING TODAY?
The third leg of TAG, the gastronomic one, is not an ally of boredom either. Ideally the guest restaurants change every three months . So chefs from all over the world can have a space for their most personal creations in petit committee . Specifically, around its only table, for twelve people, which has been designed by Mircea Anghel, from Cabana Studio, and which, by the way, is made with wood from an African tree that supposedly has magical powers.
The first to premiere it were WE ARE ONA, a project led by Luca Pronzato, who passed the witness to Hugo Candeais , to offer their food with an influence of Portuguese and Mexican techniques "which makes the menu much more complex and people can have fun and understand the message behind the food" explains Candeais.
The cook, who arrives from Saint leaf , the Mexican of Albert Adrià in Barcelona, assures that "The dinners are very dynamic, relaxed, delicate Y elegant, refined . The idea is to create closeness with all guests and make them feel at home, being comfortable and well cared for , with a very good atmosphere and fun, but polite staff". "After ten years in kitchens -he reflects- I felt that I was going to have my own language, dialogue and create a different way of having an experience in the restaurant. In this case we can mix the hotel concept, art and, of course, gastronomy. This is a concept that has no limits on ideas or creativity."