Martinho da Arcada

Portuguese restaurant · Rossio ·

Martinho da Arcada

Portuguese restaurant · Rossio ·

Historic cafe with coffee, cakes, and hearty fish dishes

Information

Praça do Comércio 3, 1100-148 Lisboa, Portugal Get directions

@afar

25,132 Postcards · 3,702 Cities

"Martinho da Arcada, the Oldest Cafe in Lisbon Martinho da Arcada is a Lisbon legend. Thanks to a friend's recommendation, I passed through it just to experience the phenomenon and look inside. The cafe was founded in 1778 as Café do Gelo (the Ice Cafe) and mostly sold beverages and ice. After passing through the hands of different owners, in the early nineteenth century it was called the Casa da Neve (the House of Snow) and sold ice cream to the best of Lisbon society. Only in 1845 did it receive its current name—after its owner at the time, Martinho Bartolomeu Rodrigues, who turned it into one of the finest and most popular cafes in the city. Its two-century history is closely linked to the social, political, and cultural life of Lisbon. If you come for dinner, make reservations."

Cafes in Lisbon

Martinho da Arcada

Avril A.

Google

A conveniently located restaurant near the coast of central Lisbon. The service staff are attentive and fast to respond. The grilled teabags was excellent and fresh. Just lightly salted and fish is not dry. The sardines were too salty, but if you de-skin it before eating, the flesh tastes good. The green cabbage soup was somewhat bland and the shellfish soup too salty. Otherwise, this place is limited to certain good dishes only.

Awesome2 F.

Google

This is a wonderful location, right off Praca do Comercio. The service is very kind, prompt and polite - the outdoor seating area is pet-friendly. Unfortunately, the food is not great, but it is economically priced.

Jen

Google

Came for lunch because Pessoa was a regular here. I tried Portuguese sardines for the first time, grilled and salted, simple food done right. The experience was transformative!

Serge H.

Google

Very helpfull server find the right dish for my wife, that's not an easy job. Nice food everything where cook perfect and the flawors too. Is not cheapest but it is only negative thing i can see

Xinyu Wang (.

Google

My wife and I are from China, and we came here because we read about this place in Pessoa’s books. The staff warmly welcomed us, introduced us to the seats where Pessoa and Saramago used to write, and even helped us take some photos. After the meal, we asked for and took a photo together with him. It was truly an indescribable experience. And of course, the food was absolutely delicious!

igab

Google

Lovely place to have authentic Portuguese food. The fish was a delight and the sardines were marvelous. They also have a good variety of desserts. It is also the place where Fernando Pessoa used to come, they even have the table where he used to be.

Eamonn K.

Google

Loved the food and service.best meal so far. Would recommend this place to eat.

Angelo B.

Google

Had dinner here twice with my family. It was a lovely experience. Food was superb: I had roasted rabbit with chestnuts and potatoes and pork stewed in a sauce with olives and clams. My family had beef in madeira sauce and lamb chops. Desserts were excellent as well: I asked for a pastel de nata (not included on the menu), but rice pudding and apple meringue were amazing as well. Service was very welcoming and friendly. A great experience: my heartfelt thanks to Martinho da Arcada!

Kirk S.

Yelp

Cute, but expensive for what you get. I tried this place on a whim, mostly due to the location - it's right on Praça do Comércio, so it's really hard to beat the location. Being able to sit down and relax in the area was alone worth the cash. In terms of the food, well... it was good, but probably not as good as the price indicated. This place charges for its location. That said, the fish I tried here was definitely fresh and cooked fairly well, so I can't complain too much.

Craig C.

Yelp

Service was moderate. Food was not good at all. Very bland, would not go back. They push you hard to buy the most expensive thing.

A S.

Yelp

Feels like an old school Portuguese restaurant, with a spacious interior and an outside area overlooking the Tagus. Staff are friendly and speak very good English. Good for fish, recommend the grouper with roast potatoes and vegetables, steeped in garlic. Alternatively try the corvina, a soft flaky white fish. All the food was very flavoursome and tasty. Probably not the cheapest restaurant in town but not horrendously expensive given its location. About €90 for 2, one course and a bottle of wine, sharing a dessert, inc tip.

Art C.

Yelp

The food here in this old restaurant in a very touristy part of town was pretty delish. We had the traditional cabbage soup, bacalhau à brás, and a beef filet, Portuguese style. All quite tasty, though not mind blowing. Most of our issues came down to service (or lack thereof). The waiters were a bit rude. We had to scavenge for water since they disappeared in the middle of service (I think they were changing shifts or something but still). They also charged us for a takeout container (silly) and maybe something else we didn't ask for. Hard to tell... Anyways, if you have to wonder if you're being ripped off, and the service is already bad, that's not a place you want to be.

Manna C.

Yelp

Stopped by this cafe as I was by Praça do Comércio and needed a cup of espresso. The cafe says they have been open since 1782. It's a nice place to look into the plaza without actually eating or drinking at the restaurants in the plaza. The waiter was super friendly and attentive since there wasn't that many people there at the time. Nice place to grab a drink (alcoholic drinks available) and people watch.

Gustavo N.

Yelp

It is a traditional restaurant from 1778. However the food was not as good as expected for such tradition. I ordered Bacalau à Bráz and it was reheated with some parts cold.

Areej Q.

Yelp

After a lengthy walk around Praca de comercio, this was the perfect spot to sit down, relax and watch passerby's as we imbibed our coffees. We sat on the terrace, with the sun overhead and a view of the Tagus, chatting with the wait staff who were polite and professional, offering recommendations on sites to see. What appears to be a small cafe, is anything but. The interior and exterior both offer ample seating. We didn't order any food so this review is strictly about the coffee and service, which were excellent. Shoutout to Antonio Gomes and his team for leaving an impression :)

John T.

Yelp

We stopped by here for a very quick breakfast before heading out for our next trip. We came in the morning around 8:30am and were able to get seats right away. Seems this place is popular amongst tourist and locals for a quick bite. Quality of the pastries were just ok for us. We ordered about half savory and half sweet, asked them to heat up the savory ones but they were still cold when they served us. Also, the sweet ones were overly sweet. It's supposed to be one of the oldest cafes in Lisbon, the servers were nice but we weren't crazy about the food.

Vintage B.

Yelp

Had the feeling of being ripped off a bit. The food wasn't bad. But we got a different menu than others (Portugees) did with very different pricing. The waiters were hanging about watching us, hovering in times of Covid!, (nothing to do I guess) and at the end pointing out specifically where to add the tip. Filled in 0 sorry to say.

James P. B.

Yelp

The food is overpriced for the quality, probably because they are cashing in on the fact Fernando Pessoa used to eat here.

Ling L.

Yelp

While this is a restaurant, I can only comment on their breakfast, or snack fare. I was surprised to conclude that their natas were even more delicious then the ones in Belem, served warm and still crunchy. Sitting outside, sipping coffee and admiring the view from Praca do Comercio is a priceless experience, the location does make a difference. The waiter was extremely nice, and accommodated our every request, although no, he did not have strawberries to go with the sweets. He instead offered a fruit cup, which was fresh and generous. Would love to go back, better natas without the hike? Sounds like a good deal to me.

Zhen L.

Yelp

Ordered the cod fish and the shrimp with garlic. Fish taste so fishy and bad. The shrimp was over cooked and not fresh.

Laura M.

Yelp

On the square which is fun to sit and people watch. We had a big water, omelet, grilled cheese and ham sandwich, octopus with garlic, fish soup, toasted bread and milk for 40 Euro. Everything was good. The omelets come with french fries and a salad. This place fills up quickly with tourists and locals. Grab a seat don't wait. The staff will move you if you are in the wrong area.

Sidney K.

Yelp

It feels like we were taken advantage of. We were charged 2.75€ for each piece of bread and 15€ for cheese. During checkout they charged us 25€ more by doing wrong addition, this is outside of the gratuity. For a party of 8, we paid an extra 60€. This is upsetting. Check your bills and ask for price upfront.

@afar

25,132 Postcards · 3,702 Cities

Cafes in Lisbon

Martinho da Arcada

Avril A.

Google

Awesome2 F.

Google

Jen

Google

Came for lunch because Pessoa was a regular here. I tried Portuguese sardines for the first time, grilled and salted, simple food done right. The experience was transformative!

Serge H.

Google

Very helpfull server find the right dish for my wife, that's not an easy job. Nice food everything where cook perfect and the flawors too. Is not cheapest but it is only negative thing i can see

Xinyu Wang (.

Google

igab

Google

Eamonn K.

Google

Loved the food and service.best meal so far. Would recommend this place to eat.

Angelo B.

Google

Kirk S.

Yelp

Craig C.

Yelp

Service was moderate. Food was not good at all. Very bland, would not go back. They push you hard to buy the most expensive thing.

A S.

Yelp

Art C.

Yelp

Manna C.

Yelp

Gustavo N.

Yelp

It is a traditional restaurant from 1778. However the food was not as good as expected for such tradition. I ordered Bacalau à Bráz and it was reheated with some parts cold.

Areej Q.

Yelp

John T.

Yelp

Vintage B.

Yelp

James P. B.

Yelp

The food is overpriced for the quality, probably because they are cashing in on the fact Fernando Pessoa used to eat here.

Ling L.

Yelp

Zhen L.

Yelp

Ordered the cod fish and the shrimp with garlic. Fish taste so fishy and bad. The shrimp was over cooked and not fresh.

Laura M.

Yelp

Sidney K.

Yelp

Martinho da Arcada

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