The Lisbon Connection

Opening in 1782, Restaurant Café Martinho da Arcada, located in the corner of the Praça do Comércio 37 near the Tagus river, is the oldest café in Lisbon.

The terrace under the beautiful arcades. Movie Praca do Comercio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuLEkL0Ue4. Situated downtown, this cafe was once the ideal setting for the so called ‘tertúlia’s‘ (café talks). Well known names from Portuguese life, such as Bocage, Amalia Rodrigues and Portugal’s most famous 20th C. poet Fernando Pessoa, were some of its usual customers.

Owner of Restaurant ‘Martinha da Arcada’, senhor Antônio Barbosa de Sousa. Pessoa (1888-1935), worked and lived in the Baixa, he wrote pieces of his work in this restaurant after closing time.

Pessoa’s table is still there… his favorite dish: juliana soup, cod and fried eggs with cheese. Until the autumn of 1989 the cafe was retained in the style in which Pessoa enjoyed it.

These days mainly employees of the surrounding ministries and businesspeople meet here for lunch. The staff is very friendly. Prices: not cheap, but the quality is excellent.

We enjoyed some fantastic fish dishes…all washed down with some excellent Portuguese wine. The menu lists regional Portuguese cuisine; try a cataplana (clam stew)! Open: daily from 08:00 - 22:00. Close on Sundays.

More about Fernando Pessoa on this website