Travel Guide: Lisbon, Portugal

Visiting Lisbon's new wave of bars and restaurants rekindling a love affair with Portugal's obscure grapes.

Clockwise from right: Tasca Baldracca and its aftermath, Cave da Estrela wine shop, Novo Wine Bar, Collares red, Mouraria neighborhood at night.

Recently, I wrote about the old-time, traditional Lisbon—the Lisbon of ginginha bars, azulejo tiles, creaky trams and classic tascas like Zé da Mouraria, where you eat a huge platter of bacalhau washed down with vinho verde at long tables lined with white paper, under posters of fado queen Amália Rodrigues. But to only talk about that Lisbon is to neglect the city’s new generation of bars and restaurants, as well as the exciting new wave of Portuguese wines. The influx of tourists to Lisbon has certainly brought numerous problems, but it’s also brought some nice things.

Perhaps the best place to see Lisbon’s new wave is a six-minute walk from Zé da Mouraria into a relatively gentrified strip of the Mouraria neighborhood. My choice for first stop of the evening would be Quattro Teste, one of the best cocktail bars I’ve visited anywhere in the last year. Run by Alf del Portillo, from Spain’s Basque Country, and Marta Premoli, from Lombardia, Italy, at Quattro Teste you can start with shot of cider straight from the barrel, Basque style. Then move on to Alf’s take on the low-brow classic kalimotxo, red wine and Coke with a healthy pour of Amaro Lucano and a splash of Branca Menta. Around here, we absolutely love a kalimotxo, and this rendition is a revelation. [Recipe: 35 ml Rioja crianza; 25 ml Amaro Lucano; 10 ml raspberry syrup; barspoon of Branca Menta; top with 100 ml of Coke]