The Fado music was phenomenal. The food could use more work…read more I came around 7 PM so this was considered early for the restaurant. But I didn't realize that the Fado music only starts at 9 PM. So I had to stay in the restaurant for two hours, but that was more of a mistake on my part. They have the singer and the musicians in the front of the restaurant and while the singers are performing, no waiters are allowed to walk around. This means that everybody needs to order their items as soon as possible and in between fado performers. The fado was so pretty, and the singer sang around 15 minutes and seeing her heart out with different styles of songs. They dim the lights and it felt very intimate. I thought the cocktail was pretty good, it tasted like a sangria. The starter also was pretty good as well, it was a breaded octopus. The sauce was fantastic. They had added some herbs to the tartare sauce that made it taste fresh and light. My only issue was the cod. Cod is a really famous thing to order in Lisbon. However, I'm not sure if it's because it was doused in olive oil, but the surrounding potatoes were so mushy because of it. My cod was also kind of rubbery and chewy. This location is English friendly. I would suggest getting a reservation ahead of the time online, but if you're also looking for different fado performances during dinner, you can consider here. This location also got kind of sketchy at night. It is located near the Prado de Comerico, but through more narrow back alleys. Be prepared to walk quick and walk with confidence.

Located in a rustic building right behind the cathedral, I was equally impressed by the beautiful…read morefado performances and the delicious food. I hadn't seen any comments about the food online, but everything tasted amazing. We ordered the fried octopus strips, bacalhau, grilled octopus, and pork cheek stew. The octopus was fresh and lightly bouncy. The pork cheek tender in a rich red wine sauce with buttered bread. My favorite dish was the bacalhau. A gorgeous portion of bacalhau cooked in a rich tomato sauce, with crispy pan fried potato slices, some vegetables with salty ham, olives, and drizzled with olive oil and a rich olive sauce. Sipping on vinho verde and snacking on slices of porco preto while listening to the performers sing was a magnificent experience. I would definitely come back for another visit

On the recommendation of a good friend, another friend and I met up here, as we happened to be in…read moreLisbon at the same time. Fado was definitely on my list of things to do, and while Mascote da Atalaia was the only place I got to experience it, it was a good experience. We ordered a la carte, which really worked for us. I read that the food was mediocre and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I didn't love the smaller dishes, except for the creamy sheep cheese, but my entree of swordfish and green beans was good. Nothing fancy, but quite tasty. We did a bottle of wine, which worked well. Skip the chocolate salami for dessert though--it's dry and not flavorful. We went to the early seating, which I recommend. We had reservations, which I also recommend. Though I don't recommend the actual seats, since they are super uncomfortable, but you don't have a choice. Also, this place is very small and uncomfortably tight. The performers were great. And this best part is that you cannot talk during the performance. You will get "shushed" by the entire place and that was awesome. Since this was my first time at fado, I thought the performers were great. While I definitely want to see other fado shows, I'd return to Mascote da Atalaia and think it's a great introduction to fado. You will have a great time here.

It's Like Fado And Dinner In My Bedroom…read more Pros: - The music was fantastic! - The food was good with a decent number of options - The service was friendly and efficient - The price (€25/person) for a 3-course meal, including 1/2 liter of wine/sangria/beer and a live Fado show was a good value Cons: - The room holding 30+ diners, 3 musicians, and 2 servers running around with food and drinks was the size of our bedroom - We arrived with a reservation for two five minutes early only to find one tiny seat by the door available - they had to tell a lady to move so we could sit down - The tables and milking stools they call chairs were tiny, and the tables crammed together like dominos - They stuck us in front of the door so, beside having a step (down) inches behind my stool (a safety hazard), I got hit in the back with cold air and people as they constantly entered and exited to go outside to smoke - The toilet door was behind one of the guitar players, so going to the bathroom during a set was impossible - During our two hour dinner, there were just 13 songs (4 sets of 3 songs and an encore), then we were expected to leave The cons appear to have it, but we actually had a very good time. Even though the place is more like a "Fado factory" than a "Fado House", our meals were good with an adequate amount of quality food and drink and the entertainment was impressive. Their focus seems to be more on cramming as many people as possible into each two-hour block than on providing a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy this unique and historic Portuguese folk music. If you are expecting to have a leisurely dinner and listen to Fado over drinks over the course of a long evening, as we were led to believe, you are mistaken. Having said that, the quality of the food and entertainment, along with the fair price, made it a good overall value. I have mixed feelings about this place, hence my rating. From all that I had read beforehand, a Fado House is an "experience" where you arrive after 9pm, eat and drink what you like (with a minimum of course) for as long as you like, and leave as late as you like (03:00 to 04:00 in some places). If you have just two hours, do not want to stay up too late, and want a condensed version of Fado, this is your place! CombatCritic Gives Mascote da Atalaia 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

It was my second time traveling to Lisbon, so I thought it was high time for Jamie W and me to try…read morean evening of dinner and fado, Portugal's traditional cabaret entertainment. But where? We were made aware of this place from a video we watched on the flight over from an expat vlogger named Dave in Portugal. He raved about it, so I made a last-minute reservation. When we arrived, we were seated upstairs in the less enticing mezzanine section where we had to watch the performers through an opening in the floor where their heads were partially hidden under the second floor walkway. What made it worse was that we were subsequently sequestered to the side of the mezzanine where we had to crane our heads to watch the festivities. The less-than-desirable seating and partially obstructed view were not going to torpedo our evening. We decided to start with the 20€ pitcher of refreshing Sangria (Photo 21). We both ordered the 64€ Menu Corrido Dinner. This included the fado show (of course), couvert (starters), one appetizer, one main dish, and one dessert. Little did we realize how long our dining experience would be. First, the Couvert arrived, rustic bread slices accompanied by marinated olives, flavored butter, and Algarve's carrot hummus (Photo 15). For our appetizers, Jamie requested the Shrimp & Bivalves Rice with bits of clam, shrimp, and garlic (Photo 2). I went for the traditionally Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup with chopped kale and chorizo (Photo 4). Both were decent enough, just not outstanding. Our entrees also fell a bit short. Jamie decided on the Slow Cooked Pork Belly & Crispy Skin, which came with sautéed savoy cabbage, chorizo, and sweet potato purée (Photo 3). I had the Roast Duck Breast & Confit Leg with baked duck rice and braised red cabbage in Madeira wine sauce though oddly missing the confit leg (Photo 7). Both were a bit overcooked and rather smallish in portion. Interspersed between the courses were the fado musicians, one playing a traditional Portuguese guitar and the other a more standard six-string guitar. Three singers performed two songs each, about 4-5 minutes per song. Their voices offered dramatic flair in their emoting. The first was a young woman, the second an older male, and the third came across as the prima donna in her confident renditions. Dessert consisted of Chocolate Mousse with Salted Toffee (Photo 5) and Condensed Milk Cheesecake with Wild Berries (Photo 6). Both were fine, but by now, the evening was clocking in at well over three hours. We had early morning plans, so we asked for the bill well before the final performances. They didn't accommodate our request, and we ended up waiting quite a while. Long night. FOOD - 3 stars...middling and pricey ENTERTAINMENT - 4 stars... the true focus as it should be AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars....probably better on the main floor, the mezzanine just felt suboptimal SERVICE - 3 stars...not very responsive toward the end TOTAL - 3 stars...the fado show was unique but the food was not..,the pricey evening came to 152€ or $177 RELATED - Exploring Lisbon? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/bCFrNN2Wyg

Located across the street from the National Pantheon. Featuring an authentic Fado Experience, by…read morethe owner Felipe (who is the manager and lead guitarist). Fado music is a song genre created during the 1600s in Lisbon by sailors wives. They offer two prefixe menus: 65€ and 128€. The 65€ course includes a 3 course menu with choice of appetizers, main entree, and dessert! We selected the cod fish fritters and Portuguese potato soup. Both appetizers were absolutely amazing! For the entree we ordered the shrimp stew over rice, which was incredibly tasty. My Polvo (grilled squid) was juicy and tender on the inside and the tips of the tentacles were slightly charred. Our desserts featured the chocolate mouse, which tasted like an almond Rocha with cherry jam and gram crust on the bottom. The cheesecake was the best that I have ever tasted! Home cooked, not store bought and the berry sauce was such a great combination! Beautiful music with a Portuguese guitar and angelic vocals. At the end of the performance, the singers and the entire restaurant say Happy Birthday to my wife! We also received a complimentary cherry liqueur shot!

Staying at the nearby Casa Balthazar, I noticed Solidó featured Fado music at 7:30p and decided to…read morestop by. Thank goodness I did because I visited twice during my stay in Lisbon. You will climb up to the second floor to be seated in what looks like a large living room serviced by a dumb waiter. Don't let the size fool you, they can fit about 30-40 people in there. Lovely servers hustle to bring you appetizers, drinks (even mocktails), yummy food and desserts. I enjoyed everything from bread, olives, and olive oil with a sardine pate, to a fresh salmon filet with fresh vegetables and a "light as air" mango mousse. I could have passed on the rice and you will be charged for a large bottle of water if you ask for it. But, it's the entertainment that makes you hungry for more. I am a new fan to Fado music. Solidó is a very solid choice for wining and dining. Obrigado!

A really nice find with good food, service, and live music! Space wise, it is a bit cramped but…read moregives an intimate vibe, especially with the live music! From the Rossio Square area, you have to make it up about 4 or 5 flights of stairs, passing by other eating places, but don't give up, and Solido it at the top! You will be rewarded for your perservance! It was nearing 10 pm at night when we arrived and was worried if they would have seating given the size and a Saturday night. But we lucked out and they took us in with little delay! Food was good and it came quickly - some spicy shrimps and Portugese style steak with bacon. Without asking, they brought us some fries. Not to worry about language, the staff spoke and understood English perfectly. They featured a fado player, guitar player and a singer - a really great trio and finished our evening of trying to experience a bit of the Portugese culture. So a somewhat not well known place that is a bit off the beaten path, but based on our limited sampling, we can say we really enjoyed the experience!

What a great fado experience in Lisboa. Some friends who went here told us about it and we made…read morereservations to come here. It is a nice and cozy place. We got there a bit early and we were able to pick our spot, closer to the bar area. There was a lot of food and wine. Don't expect gourmet; expect that some a mom and pop invited you to their house for dinner and they are sharing food and wine with you and now are going to break out and sing fado. Glad we made this a dinner stop, balancing all the Michelin star dinners we had in Lisboa.

Food? Wonderful Music? Sublime…read moreService? Unequalled Highly recommended. Any seat in the house is the place you want to be to hear Fado

This is a great Fado place. The music and singers were excellent. The room has the perfect ambiance…read morefor Fado. Food is pretty good too.

When in Lisbon, and Fado(Fa-thoo) show IS A MUST! Mexicans love their Banda and Mariachi, Hawaiians…read morehave their Pa'ina, Spain has their Flamenco, and Portugal has Fado. It is a huge part of the Portuguese culture and started out right here in Lisbon in the Alfama District. Originally, we planned to go back to Estaca Zero Fado Restaurant (where we first went 8 years ago) but unfortunately they were closed for the evening. Casa de Linhares was just down the street and so we went there and inquired if they had openings for the evening. Luckily for us, they did! On top of that, they had a Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition on the door! We killed time until our reservation at 8:30pm and we were seated promptly. The Fado show is 15 euros per person and also have a variety of food items for dinner. They offer a tasting menu as well as a la carte, so we got a few things and a great bottle of Vinho Verde. Food was staggered throughout the evening with five different fado performances. Keep in mind that this is a 3 hour evening start to finish so plan accordingly. This experience is worth every penny!

Go hungry and be prepared to stay up until midnight! For a fado, this place had some pretty amazing…read morefood and dessert. It's a small intimate space and the performers go in 15-20 min sections. For appetizers they do serve this really stinky cheese, which we didn't love. But that was the only downside to this night. We got some bread with dips, the stinky cheese, a beet salad, octopus, snapper with asparagus risotto, and two desserts - drunk pear with cinnamon ice cream and caramelized pineapple with basil ice cream. Everything we ordered was amazing! The beet salad was refreshing, octopus was so tender, the risotto was perfectly creamy, and the basil ice cream with pineapple was fantastic.

Excellent food, drinks and service! The vibes are high here, and the fado show was an absolute must…read moreto experience when visiting Lisbon/Lisboa. We came here to watch a fado show, but the entrees, appetizers and drinks were phenomenal -- the rack of lamb, in particular. Some may say it's pricey, but it was worth it, considering the entire experience.

Our last stop on our Portuguese adventure was more of the night scene variety since that was…read moresomething our hotel host recommended. This place offered live Fado Music. If you've never heard of it, join the club. It was fantastic to be fully immersed into this culture of food and music. While we did get yelled at for talking during one portion of the opening act it was a delightful experience nonetheless. The food was good if not great. But our server Diogo stole the show. One of the best servers we had on our entire trip. Come to this place for the experience if nothing else and you will not be disappointed.

One of my highlights of visiting Lisbon this summer was dining at Retiro dos Sentidos. Everything…read moreabout the meal was perfect. The host was welcoming and very informative about the menu. Our server was the sweetest woman who truly helped shape a night to remember. Sitting outside on the cobblestone streets made me love the meal even more. I highly recommend the shrimp and octopus! My favorite meal in Portugal.