The best wine bars in Lisbon are small, run by people who know their producers, and pour Portuguese wine by the glass. Our shortlist: Vino Vero in Graça, Black Sheep on Praça das Flores, BA Wine Bar do Bairro Alto, Garrafeira Alfaia, By the Wine in Chiado, Senhor Uva in Estrela and Prado Mercearia near the cathedral. We run a wine shop and tasting room in Graça, so yes, we have opinions. These are the places we send guests when they ask where to drink after our last session.
How we chose
Three things: Portuguese wine by the glass, someone behind the counter who can tell you what is in it, and no tourist menu with a photo of every dish. We left out rooftops and hotel bars. The views are great. The wine lists usually aren’t.
Opening days change, and a few of these places close on Sundays or Mondays. Check before you cross the city.
Wine bars in Graça
Vino Vero
The Lisbon branch of a natural wine bar from Venice, on Travessa do Monte, a few minutes’ walk from us. Italian and Portuguese bottles, small plates, and staff who are happy to open something odd if you ask. Good for a long evening once the sun has gone down over the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte.
POP (that’s us)
We are a tasting room more than a bar, so be warned: we close early. Every day, every hour from 14:00 to 19:00, our sommelier pours five Portuguese wines or five Ports and explains each one, for €35 per person from 2 guests. It is the best way to find out what you like before you go anywhere else on this list. Book a wine tasting in Lisbon.
Wine bars in Bairro Alto and Chiado
BA Wine Bar do Bairro Alto
On Rua da Rosa, tiny and always full. There is no point turning up at nine on a Friday without a booking. Tell them what you usually drink, and they pour Portuguese wines that are close to it, then some that are not. The cheese and charcuterie boards are generous.
Garrafeira Alfaia
Rua do Diário de Notícias, open since 2003, and only Portuguese wine. It is half shop, half bar, with petiscos (small plates) and a list of wines by the glass that changes every couple of weeks. A good place to try an Encruzado from the Dão or an old-vine red from the Alentejo.
By the Wine
A big, easy room on Rua das Flores, with a vaulted ceiling covered in wine bottles. Less of a discovery than the others, but it works when you are a group and nobody agrees on anything.
Wine bars in Príncipe Real and Estrela
Black Sheep
On Praça das Flores, one of the prettiest squares in the city. Very small, very good, and focused on small independent growers, many of them natural. The bottles they open change every day, so two visits never look the same.
Senhor Uva
In Estrela: natural wines, mostly European, and vegetarian sharing plates. More restaurant than bar in the evening, so book if you want dinner.
Wine bars near Baixa
Prado Mercearia
The shop and wine bar of Prado restaurant, just below the cathedral. Portuguese wines from producers who work with as little intervention as possible, bread, cheese and simple plates. Calmer than anywhere in Bairro Alto.
What to order in a Lisbon wine bar
“Um copo de tinto” is a glass of red, “um copo de branco” a glass of white. After that, a few safe bets: a Vinho Verde from Alvarinho if it is hot, an Arinto from Bucelas or Lisbon if you like crisp whites, a red from the Douro or the Dão if you want something serious. For food, order queijo (cheese), presunto (cured ham) or a tin of good conservas with bread.
Lisbon goes out late. Wine bars fill up after 21:00 and stay busy until midnight or later.
Wine bar or wine tasting?
In a bar you pick your glasses, talk to your friends and learn very little. In a tasting, someone explains five wines side by side in an hour, and you leave knowing which regions and grapes you like. We would do the tasting first. Then the wine lists in the bars above start to make sense. Our Port wine tasting works the same way, if Port is more your thing.
Questions we get asked
What is the best wine bar in Lisbon?
It depends on what you drink. For natural wine, Black Sheep on Praça das Flores or Vino Vero in Graça. For classic Portuguese wines by the glass, Garrafeira Alfaia or BA Wine Bar do Bairro Alto.
Do I need to book a wine bar in Lisbon?
For BA Wine Bar do Bairro Alto, yes, especially at weekends. Most of the others take walk-ins, but small bars fill up after 21:00.
Where can I drink wine in Graça?
Vino Vero on Travessa do Monte in the evening, and POP on Rua da Senhora do Monte for a guided tasting, every day from 14:00 to 19:00.
What Portuguese wine should I order?
Vinho Verde or Arinto for a fresh white, a red from the Douro, the Dão or the Alentejo, and a glass of Port or Madeira to finish.