8 Sophisticated Lisbon Rooftop Bars For Your Next Trip To Portugal

Love them or hate them, rooftop bars are part of Lisbon’s social life. Portugal’s hilly capital is dotted with spots on top of hotels, office buildings, parking garages or department stores that benefit from sweeping views over the city and the river, mild summer evenings and magnificent sunsets. While some get packed with the bachelor party crowd (the reason at least one has been forced to ban costumes), others are more civilized, attracting a more relaxed clientele, serving high-end food and offering well-crafted cocktails or unusual Portuguese wines made by small producers.

Mona Verde

With a design by the firm responsible for some of London’s swankest addresses, Mona Verde welcomes guests with jungle greenery and panoramic views. Sure, some people come for the nightly DJ sets or live music on Wednesdays—Portuguese and international artists, including Cuban bands—but plenty of others enjoy the food and drinks. The cocktails are inspired by Brazil, Mexico and Peru, including flavors such as the graviola fruit and Tajin spice, and the food also has something of a Latin American accent. There’s white fish ceviche, smoked eggplant with feta and flat iron steak with Nikkei chimichurri.

Mama Shelter

Striped cushions and woven chairs lend a breezy, summery vibe to the rooftop of Lisbon’s outpost of the sassy French hotel brand Mama Shelter. The DJs are a draw, but it’s still a place for sitting at tables, especially at lunch and in the afternoon. Some of the signature cocktails, like the one with white rum, passion fruit and lime, are served by the pitcher, and the food options range from bar snacks like panko shrimp tacos and garlic shrimp to full-on meals like pork cheek lasagna, veal udon and a grilled Tomahawk steak for two.

Terraço Editorial

The eighth-floor restaurant atop the Pollux housewares department store still remains something of a well-kept secret. It has dead-on views over Baixa and the Santa Justa Lift, with Chiado and the Tagus River to the side, and serious food and wine. Chef Rui Rebelo brings a lot of technique to the casual menu, which includes dishes like cuttlefish croquettes with ink, octopus rice with mussels and seaweed, and pork belly with kimchi sauce and ginger. There’s a whole section of burgers, and a selection of gourmet cheeses and meats. The wine list has 190 references, including many by the glass, mostly from boutique winemakers.

Lumi Rooftop

The banquettes at Lumi Rooftop have an eye-level view of the red-tile rooftops and architectural towers of the surrounding Bairro Alto and Chiado neighborhoods, with the Tagus River in the distance. The fifth-floor space doubles as an open-air breakfast room for guests of the Lumiares Hotel downstairs, but later in the day it’s open to the public for low-key drinks and Portuguese food. The all-day menu, from chef João Silva, includes standards like tempura green beans and bacalhau à Brás (salted codfish with potatoes and eggs), as well as pulled-pork sandwiches, portabella mushroom burgers and orecchiette with vegan basil pesto.

BAHR Rooftop and Terrace

The terrace at BAHR—the Bairro Alto Hotel Restaurant—is designed to be an open-air extension of the dining room inside. It has views of the river, of course, but also grown-up upholstered chairs around low tables for coffee or cocktails and dining tables for simple, sunny meals. It’s a good choice for brunch, with a menu that includes French-style viennoiserie, bread made with bananas from Madeira, housemade granola, spelt porridge with turnip greens, Turkish eggs and a croque madame on a croissant. The beverage list includes a good number of special wines by the glass. The rooftop upstairs is a more casual spot for coffee or drinks.

Seen Sky Bar

For more than a decade, the Sky Bar atop the Tivoli hotel on Avenida Liberdade has been one of the city’s best addresses for sunset cocktails. A few years ago, it strengthened its ties with the hotel’s big-night-out restaurant, Seen, a project from prolific local restauteur Olivier da Costa. New this summer is a lunch service, allowing visitors to take in the sweeping view of St. Jorge’s Castle, the Tagus River, and the Arrábida Mountains in the distance in the middle of the day. As before, there’s an array of festive cocktails (with and without alcohol), premium Champagnes, bar snacks like oysters and carpaccio, a selection of giant salads, top-notch sushi and classic plates like a lobster bun and Wagyu burger.

Insólito

The restaurant atop the shabby-chic Independente Hotel in Principe Real has also emerged from a recent redo, with a new concept that makes it a bar first—or as they describe it, a place for “cocktails, snacks and fun!” Insólito (Portuguese for “unusual”) lives up to its name with a quirky atmosphere that’s heavy on the colorful vintage furniture, ceiling plants and tassels, and a drinks menu full of insouciant names like the Trippy Mary and the Hardcore Soft Corn. The snacks are playful, too, including smoked cabbage tacos and ras el hanout hummus.

Rossio Gastrobar

From its perch above Rossio Square, the Rossio Gastrobar atop the Altis Avenida Hotel has one of the best views in the city, as well as a sophisticated, retro design with Art Deco lines, green velvet wing chairs and low-slung cocktail tables. The food is courtesy of chef João Correia, who emphasizes organic Portuguese products with the occasional detour for something extraordinary, like the Japanese hamachi (yellowtail) served with citrus at a recent lunch. The 13 cocktails were devised by Flavi Andrade, a frequent nominee and sometime champion at the Lisbon Bar Show, who has been spotlighted on the 50 Best Discovery List.