There are some mouth-watering restaurant names in Lisbon such as “Viagem de Sabores” (“Voyage of Flavors”) or “Tentações de Goa” (“Goa Temptations”), but then there are others that make you think twice before you book your table. These are our favorite least favorite restaurant names in Lisbon:

SOFISTICATO - Rua São João da Mata, 27
A restaurant that calls itself sofisticato is anything but. It’s simply trying too hard. And that’s a turn off. Still, the place does look quite nice. It’s aiming for a cosmopolitan clientele and what you’ll see served on your plate will be quite refined. There is a little of New York in the décor but it’s the Mediterranean that is found all over the menu. You won’t be disappointed with anything you choose from on the list on the chalkboard, and this is in fact a cool place. Just never mind the name.

BICA DO SAPATO - Av. Infante Don Henrique, Armazém (Warehouse) 8
Bica do Sapato (literally “the shoe tap”) is the name of the street behind this riverfront warehouse that was turned into a restaurant. Apparently when thinking of a name for it, the owners (actor John Malkovich being one of them) must have thought it was an interesting name, and that’s what they baptized it with. Today the restaurant is Lisbon’s trendiest, and you really won’t care about the name when you’re savoring its fine cuisine.

ZÉ DOS CORNOS - Beco dos Surradores, 5
This one could very well have been included in one of the previous “Weird Lisbon” posts.  Zé dos Cornos means “Joe of the Horns.” It’s a very informal place serving traditional home-style Portuguese food to an almost 100% Portuguese clientele. Expect big portions and a good hearty lunch, and don’t even bother asking how they came up with that name.

CLUBE DOS JORNALISTAS - R. das Trinas, 129
The food is good, and the decor and ambience quite nice (especially if you sit in the charming garden). But with a name like that (The Journalists’ or The Press Club), it feels like we’re invading a restricted space for card-carrying members-only clients. Despite the not very inviting name, this is a welcoming place open to all.

See all of GoLisbon’s restaurant recommendations here.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under Food & Drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.