O Faia - Casa de Fado
Lisbon
At a glance
O Faia - Casa de Fado is a cherished venue in the vibrant Bairro Alto district of Lisboa, offering an authentic experience of traditional Portuguese culture. Known for its nightly fado performances, this establishment combines the soulful music of Lisbon with a menu of classic Portuguese cuisine. The atmosphere is intimate and welcoming, making it an ideal spot for those looking to immerse themselves in the rich musical heritage of Portugal.
The venue is renowned for its talented roster of fado singers, who are accompanied by skilled musicians playing the guitarra portuguesa and viola. This combination creates an evocative and emotional experience that captures the essence of fado. The setting is elegant yet cozy, providing a perfect backdrop for the performances.
O Faia offers a menu that features a variety of traditional Portuguese dishes, allowing guests to enjoy a full dining experience alongside the music. The wine selection is extensive, with options ranging from local favorites to international selections, catering to both casual diners and wine enthusiasts.
Whether visiting for the music, the food, or both, O Faia provides a memorable evening that celebrates the cultural traditions of Lisboa. It is well-suited for couples, small groups, and anyone interested in experiencing the unique blend of music and cuisine that defines this historic city.
Reviews
There's a variety of ways to judge this place. The first is as a fado house. Fado is the soulful Portuguese music characterized by a singer showcasing powerful vocals at a dinner show. As the oldest operating fado place in Lisbon, this expectedly delivers on this front. The music is simply fantastic - we were seated right next to the singers and guitar players, and were treated to an absolute show. There were three singers throughout the night, each separated by 20-30 minutes or so, but when a singer comes on everyone stops eating and watches them in silence and attentiveness. The power showcased by these singers is truly impressive, and the guitar players do their job amazingly as well. To me, this experience was fully worth it. The second part is as food. With a single price of admission, you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert. There are about 5-6 options for each. For my starter, I had the grilled sardine. This was fine - just a small part of a sardine rather than the full thing. Quite small. The entree was the confit cod. This was actually pretty solid. The cod was super tender, although the skin was quite soft. But the best part was the chickpeas in the surrounding sauce. Once the egg, hollandaise, and hummus mixed together - it created a really damn good sauce to coat everything in. The dessert was not great either. It was basically all just meringue which didn't taste like much. The price per person is quite steep - coming in at over 90 euros per person as the default for the price-fix menu. But this brings up a way to judge the price in a way I haven't had to deal with before. Is the food worth the price? Not even close. But when you consider the show? That's when things get more interesting. Obviously, fado on its own isn't worth that amount - you can go see much cheaper fado in a lot of places in Lisbon. When you combine the two? I'm still unsure, but at least the fado was damn good. Overall, go here expecting a lot from the singers and not a lot from the food, and you won't be disappointed. 7.75/10
Wonderful experience. Waitstaff was extremely attentive. I suggest the cheese and pear salad, and the octopus. The steak was good also! The fado starts around 8 and lasts until 10:30-11. Unfortunately we had to duck out early due to our early flight home the next day bug everyone was very understanding.
When you dream of a beautiful cozy "lovely restaurant" in Lisbon, this is the place you would think of. Pleasant atmosphere, elegant setting but simple, the "daughter of the owner" Maria, hosting along with her great uncle waiting tables, nice music, a corner table and crystal glasses with beautiful Portuguese wine. Dinner was delicious, the service impeccable (didn't get our writer's name, sorry). Then we checked out the restaurant next door - the owner, Pedro (Maria's father), perfectly groomed congenial, funny and a great host invited us to the Fado performance - blown away! What a beautiful show with amazing muscicians and singers. Just a perfect evening. Waiting for our job interview so we can move to Portugal! Thank you for an unforgettable evening! Guillermo and Marita. PS. We paid around $200US - yes it is expensive, but to keep that restaurant in such great shape, buy supplies, pay employees and taxes and keep it all tigether is not cheap. The Fado show alone would cost $75 a ticket anywhere in the world. Also - Pedro's barber and clothier can't be cheap! It's a gem in Barrio Alto which is showing signs of the take over of cheap bars, low end restaurants and questionable patrons.
The setting is gorgeous and the food and service was of very high quality. A particular highlight was the bean and prawn stew served with the duck and the pica pau beef starter. The true highlight was the fado, with each artist giving heartfelt performances accompanied by incredibly talented musicians. The pace of the evening with the courses weaved amongst the singers was excellent. We were very lucky to have Lenita Gentil as our final performer, and she gave a spectacular set as one would expect. A real highlight of our visit for certain and worth every cent.
Traditional Portuguese restaurant in the old city centre. Set price menu has plenty of choice, with optional wine pairing. Live Fado music - 3 amazing singers (individual sets) accompanied by guitar and mandolin. Narrow streets are restricted to local residents and specific taxis so best to walk there. Wheelchair access would be tricky.
