CAFÉ DA GARAGEM || A Hidden Cafe with Tasty Eats, Housemade Lemonade and a Sweeping View of Lisbon
This was our first stop for food after we settled into our Airbnb in the Alfama neighbourhood in Lisbon.
A few streets from the center of all the tourist action, Café da Garagem is nestled within the theatre company Teatro da Garagem. We walked past a few other cafes on the way and thought we had missed its entrance, but it turns out the cafe is hidden two floors down from the nondescript entrance of the theatre company.
The breathtaking views of the city appear as you descend the stairs, and large armchairs are oriented towards the windows that reach the ceiling. We had stopped by during the late afternoon, and the cafe was buzzing with energy. Groups of friends catching up with drinks, solo visitors settled comfortably into their armchairs flipping through pages in their books. Then there’s us, venturing onto the sunny patio to soak up some Vitamin D (so much so that I ended up with a side of my shoulder burnt).
Large armchairs beckon for us to settle in to take in the city view.
The city view from Café da Garagem’s patio.
The sweeping city view isn’t the only notable thing about this cafe because the menu is tasty and unbelievably economical. As it was just before dinner, we thought we would share two appetizers to tie us over until dinner. We tried to pick dishes with interesting descriptions, so we settled on Tuna and Beef Ceviche and the beet and brie waffle. To cope with the summer heat, we also ordered a housemade lemonade with ginger and cinnamon — an interesting combination for a summer iced tea. However, seeing that it was our first international vacation in over two years, we wanted to try something new.
This housemade lemonade had an interesting combination of ginger and cinnamon which made it refreshing and intriguing!
An interesting dish pairing fresh tuna with beef.
This would be the first of many tuna dishes we would enjoy during our trip to Portugal, as their tuna (and other seafood dishes) are especially fresh. Mixed in with raw beef strips and topped with fresh greens and cubes of beet, the dish presents an interesting medley of flavours we haven’t tried before but was refreshingly new from the tuna and avocado mix we usually get in North America.
The next dish was my favourite — the waffle with fried cheese, beet paste, a generous slab of brie cheese, topped with arugula and drizzled honey. The dish also came with yam chips, which makes the portion more than enough for a proper meal.
The most surprising thing of all was the prices for the two dishes. Even with the generous portions, the tuna and beef dish was only 8.50 euros, while the fried cheese waffle was 9 euros. Considering the recent inflation woes in Vancouver, where a comparable dish would be 20 dollars each plus tip, these prices were less than half of what we would be paying back home. Not to mention that the tipping custom here is to round up to the next dollar, although our online research shows that the staff here do not expect an additional tip on top of the menu prices. No wonder recent reports have listed Portugal as one of the best (and cheapest) places to retire!
That said, if you are dining out in the tourist district, you could expect a twenty to thirty percent premium on these prices. Café da Garagem is located in a less touristy part of the neighbourhood, and thus the prices are lower. We hope you find the time to visit this hidden gem just steps away from the main tourist attractions!
Fried cheese waffle with beet paste, brie, arugula and finished with drizzled honey.