Café Luso

Café Luso

7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Monday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Tuesday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Wednesday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Thursday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Friday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Saturday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
Sunday
7:30 PM - 2:00 AM
About
The "Café Luso" established in Lisbon in 1927 at nr.31 of Avenida da Liberdade and later in 1939 moved to the Palace Brito Freire in the Bairro Alto borough. This Palace built in the late 17th Century for an aristocratic family, survived the catastrophic earthquake of 1755 and has remained almost untouched up to today. The "Café Luso", Fado House and Restaurant, is located within a solid and austere area, the former cellars and stables of the Palace Brito Freire, also known as Palace of St. Roque. The decorative patrimony includes the ceramic panels by Master Ferreira da Silva (1960's) and more recently the paintings of acrylic on canvas by Mr. Norberto Nunes. The "Café Luso" fulfils daily its destiny: to combine the sensibility and taste of the artistic and gastronomic talents, by permanently paying attention to its main aim , to preserve and innovate, making sure that stimulates and keep a cohesive Team, both skilful and creative. Being the Fado a tradition that cannot be translated, the Café Luso summons all those who visit us to return and feel the sounds of the Portuguese Soul.
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The area

Address
Neighborhood: Encarnação
How to get there
  • Restauradores • 4 min walk
  • Rossio • 6 min walk
Reach out directly

See what travelers are saying

  • Helena Pereira
    19 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    The menu that is on the site is not the current menu of the restaurant, which is misleading because it works with a menu per person or a la carte options with very little variety and little flexibility. The prices practiced are absurd - 15€ for a mini dessert? The green broth, 12€? The slice of corn bread and lingus described in the green broth is an aperitif toast with a thin roll of lingus. An anecdote... Although the staff that served us was friendly qb, I did not like the environment. Stressed employees, rude to each other, worried about billing at all tables... the fado was nothing special. Not to come back.
    Visited November 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written November 9, 2024
  • Stefano S
    26 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fairly touristy place, located in the high barrio of Lisbon, the nightlife area of the city. Very characteristic as a setting. The main feature is the possibility to dine with live fado music, very suggestive. The menu includes à la carte dishes and a set menu. The expense in my opinion is proportionate to what is offered. As far as I could see, the service is very efficient and courteous. Reservation is required.
    Visited December 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written December 28, 2024
  • juliacoleen
    London, United Kingdom91 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    It wasn’t crowded when we came so we got to enjoy the fado show at its finest. However, our full course meal was unsatisfactory; the appetizer of sausage and fish butter platter was salty. Their main dishes come in big servings; the steak that i ordered was okay but its chips doesn’t seem well-cooked. Lastly, the coffee pudding that i ordered saves this 50:50 fiasco
    Visited January 2025
    Traveled with friends
    Written January 23, 2025
  • Roger F
    Lausanne, Switzerland3 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    We appreciated the technical quality of the musical performance. For the rest, no, no and no again. No emotion although this is precisely what fado should convey, perhaps the enormous room does not lend itself to it. Canteen food for the price of a 4*, service let's say "inadequate". Truly feels like just one credit card among thousands of other credit cards.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 5, 2024
  • Dimitris K
    1 contribution
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    We went to Café Luso in Portugal as a company of 15 people. Although the music and the fantastic spectacle seemed to save the evening, our overall experience was overshadowed by the behavior of the meter. We paid 25 euros per person, which included the spectacle and two glasses of wine. Although we asked for dry wine, the meter brought us sweets and, when we pointed out the mistake, he categorically refused to serve us. Insisted on drinking the sweet wine without giving any solution to our request. The inappropriate behavior of the meter spoiled the atmosphere and left us a very negative impression. It is truly a shame that such a historic place with excellent music is degraded by such service. I would not recommend it to anyone who expects professionalism and good service.
    Visited January 2025
    Traveled with friends
    Written January 6, 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.2
3.2 of 5 bubbles450 reviews
Excellent
106
Very good
110
Average
92
Poor
54
Terrible
89

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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Dimitris K
1 contribution
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Friends
We went to Café Luso in Portugal as a company of 15 people. Although the music and the fantastic spectacle seemed to save the evening, our overall experience was overshadowed by the behavior of the meter.

We paid 25 euros per person, which included the spectacle and two glasses of wine. Although we asked for dry wine, the meter brought us sweets and, when we pointed out the mistake, he categorically refused to serve us. Insisted on drinking the sweet wine without giving any solution to our request.

The inappropriate behavior of the meter spoiled the atmosphere and left us a very negative impression. It is truly a shame that such a historic place with excellent music is degraded by such service. I would not recommend it to anyone who expects professionalism and good service.
Automatically translated
Written January 6, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Elina B
3 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Friends
The restaurant really was a tourist trap. We went there with a tour group and were served 3 foods and wine. The whole experience was quite poor, even though the music was good, we would not recommend overlooking the bad experience of food and staff just because music was good, there surely must be a better place where to enjoy it. We were served soup, chicken and a strange dessert, I had to ask for the staff to explain what they are serving, our table did not have the opportunity to choose what we ate, we were just served something. Soup was ok, but chicken was really bad, and dessert bad as well. There were around 150 people in total in the cafe and the whole place was understaffed. We had to ask multiple times for out wine to be refilled. Probably worst of all was the final coffee, which was not a real coffee, but served as one.
Written June 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DayTrip16661914468
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
Cozy atmosphere, very good food. The fado and dinner experience was fantastic. The service is very good, personalized and very friendly. Menu for 45 euros, with musical experience included, is well worth it.
Google
Written December 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Biserka T
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Couples
We spent a New Year's Eve there. The ambiance was just right to feel the old town of Lisboa, food was very good and plentiful, prepared and served with a lot of skill and attention, very nice and effective service. Fado show was fantastic, with top musicians and four different singers, giving us four different approaches to singing and feeling fado. All in all it was an evening we will cherish in our memories forever. I can not comment on how other people were disappointed with the food in Cafe Luso, but I would like to say that the atmosphere was fantastic mostly thanks to the fact that there were not many tourist present. Two tables with mostly English speaking guests were unfortunately the ones that have to be told to low down their voices an behavior during fado performances. It seems like for them it was just another place to get merry and drunk, and if you want do that, maybe Cafe Luso is not the best choice. For some places you have to be willing to understand a little bit more about the culture and customs of the country you're visiting, respect it as they are and not just take tourism for the fun to do what you wouldn't do or you are not allowed to do in your own country.
Written February 14, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MeganMunro
Toronto, Canada1,446 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023
To be honest, I didn't love this.
I really wanted to feel the authentic energy of a fado...but the experience was underwhelming and overpriced.
The food was pretty bland...and the steak looked grey.
The server tried his best but the whole experience felt cheesy.
Would not recommend.
Written July 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

h l
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Beautiful location for an introduction to fado on historic grounds. I don't know why there is such a negative response here, but we found the service very nice and the food excellent. The music was varied with three female soloists and one man. The youngest singer still has something to learn, the middle one was spectacularly dramatic and the third woman really sang a story. The guy was pretty good. And the four of us at the same time was beautiful.
Google
Written November 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Antonio C
Lisbon, Portugal20 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
At Café Luso there are efficient and attentive employees, the fado singer Elsa Laboreiro in times gone by may have had a good voice for fado... Green broth with lots of potatoes and very little cabbage. The fado singer Iola Dinis is much better. The guitar solo is very good. The sea bass and steak were tasty and on point. The fado singer Ana Marta sings well. The fado singer Cristiano de Sousa is heard with some enthusiasm, he provided a pleasant and well-sung sing-along with the other 3 fado singers in the house.
Café Luso is a fado house in Bairro Alto, easily accessible and not to be missed.

Google
Written November 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David S
New York City, NY93 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Friends
We had a fine dining experience that didn't cost a fortune, and the music was absolutely top shelf. Owing to circumstance, we ended up getting seats pretty far from the musicians, but the sound quality was excellent, and other than some slightly-noisy diners, we loved everything we heard during the show.

Better yet, as we were about to leave, they announced that we could stay for the late show, and since almost everyone else had departed, we moved up right in front of the stage. We got another drink or two and enjoyed another 40 minutes of fado that was even better the second time.
Written April 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Larry G
Des Plaines, IL309 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
Came here as part of a Rick Steves guided tour. The food was ok, the singers were good. What I didn't like was the crowded atmosphere with people eating, drinking, talking while the Fado was occurring. I felt like a sardine in a tin can. Our group experienced Fado again later in our trip in a smaller group setting, no drinks and no food were served...excellent singing and instrument playing was served.
If you make reservations, I suggest booking a late show. I believe that's when more locals attend the shows, not tourists.
Written March 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter Bazinet
Pasadena, CA21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022
On a trip to Lisbon in 2020, we had the opportunity to visit Lusa and listen to the Fado. It was amazing. All the singers were so passionate and moving. We also had the opportunity to meet all the singers after the show and they couldn't not have been more wonderful and welcoming. It was truly a moving evening that I hope to duplicate again very soon on my next trip to Lisbon.

As for the food, we found it amazing and delicious. Everything was flavorful and cooked to perfection. I requested that my steak be seared on the outside and rare on the inside and it arrived exactly as requested with the most delicious seasoning. Our waiter suggested our wine and we couldn't have been more pleased.

Between the great food and the steller vocalists, we had an evening none of us will ever forget.
Written August 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Café Luso (2025) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Reviews)

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