Mesa De Frades

We came for Fado show and dinner. This restaurant is located in an old chapel and has amazing interiors and spectacular tiles. Service was superb and food was excellent. Fado musicians and singers were exceptionally talented. We highly recommend this place for your Lisbon Fado and traditional Portuguese food experience.

Lovely atmosphere, nice staff, beautiful Fado, terribly oversalted and overcooked food. The atmosphere is adorable with hand painted tiles and a friendly staff. You are offered simple wine to start and some bread rolls. They were generous to bring gluten-free bread to our table. The melon soup was forgettable, the cheesy bread a nice bite, the tuna pate and butter spread also nice but that’s where it ended. The entrees for us were all terribly salty and the beef overcooked and hard to cut. The fado was nice but only two out of the three guests had a view to see it. The third person had to stand up to view the performers as we were seated upstairs. None of us ended up eating our main dish and went elsewhere to finish dinner. Unfortunately, I would not recommend.

Had the best time here. The music was great and went on through out the night with breaks while dinning. The star of the show was definitely Bruno and the chocolate moose. He made our experience great. Will definitely be coming back here on our next visit to Lisbon.

The cod was delicous- melt in your mouth fish with a crisp cornbread topping. When I declined the bread they offered a gluten free alternative which was quite kind. I had the red wine and that was the best I've ever had (keep in mind I'm Canadian, you may have different experiences with wine) the Portuguese dessert was interesting. It was made with egg yolk, syrup and cinnamon with a texture I'd never experienced before. The yolk was shredded and chewed like it had been cured in sugar? I have no idea how they made it but it was an experience for sure. And the MUSIC! Ugh- each of the singers filled the space beautifully. It was almost like they were playing with the acoustics sometimes, I loved it. And the guitar players were both amazing. What a great environment with the performers and workers laughing together, making moments to be silly. I had a wonderful time. Thank you Mesa De Frades for hosting my first Fado experience 💞

What an amazing experience. The food was nothing to write home about, nice but nothing spectacular. But then dessert comes and the music starts and you forget you were meant to be eating. From around 10:30pm to around 2am we were delighted with 9 different singers and two amazing guitarists. It truly was out of this world. Make sure you stay until the end, it is totally worth while.

We were there on Dec. 27th. The food is very good and the venue very nice : a former chapel with lovely tiles on the walls. Plus the room is not too big so you feel comfy and not to in a tourist attraction. Yet there was no interactions whatsoever with the fadists; no introduction, no presentation of the songs, no communication with the public. You sit there and have dinner in silence to listen to the music and all over sudden, it is over without understanding it really is. It wa as if we were in the rush. We had to wait 15mn outside for the second service to be set. And everything went quickly after, ordering, eating and listening to the fado. It was also very cold, given the door kept opening on an on (for fadists to smoke?) and there is no curtain to protect lthe old chapel’s wooden door from the cold outside. So in short, good but a strange atmosphere, as if the quicker the service is done, the better.

Amazing for the ambience and the music. You do have to make reservations in advance as it is a small place and gets booked up. Ring the bell until the doors are open. Food menu is limited but good. At desert, Fado musicians preform. They are breathtaking! Hi

Our first experience, so take it for its worth. Musicians were extremely talented, and the singers had their heart and soul into it. We had excellent company on the table next to us, so it made the experience even more special