Lisbon after dark: Pink Street, the rooftops and the brewers of the east

A guide to Lisbon’s nights: the bars of Cais do Sodré and the Pink Street, the rooftop bars of Martim Moniz and the hotels, the beer halls and the craft brewers of Marvila, with a directory of the bars in our guide.

Lisbon goes out late and easily. Dinner is rarely before nine, the first drink comes after, and on warm nights the city spills into its streets and onto its roofs. It is a night for walking: from a rooftop at sunset to a cocktail bar, and on, downhill, to the river.

This is our guide to the city after dark, area by area, from the pink-painted street of Cais do Sodré to the craft brewers who have made the old warehouses of Marvila their own.

Pink Street

The Rua Nova do Carvalho in Cais do Sodré, painted pink and known by everyone as Pink Street, runs down towards the old docks, and it is the city’s liveliest strip of bars. Pensão Amor, a bar and small hotel on the street itself, pours on its first floor and runs a programme of events.

The rooftops

Lisbon is built on hills, so a high terrace is never far away. At Martim Moniz, TOPO sits on the sixth floor of a shopping centre with the castle hill straight ahead, and the Rooftop Bar Mundial, on top of the Hotel Mundial, looks over the Baixa to the Castelo de São Jorge. Book or arrive early for sunset.

At the top of the Bairro Alto Hotel, the BAHR & Co. terrace looks across the roofs to the Tagus. On a clear evening the light on the Tagus is reason enough to make the climb.

Lisbon goes out late: dinner at nine, a drink at eleven, and the city still awake at two.

Beer halls and brewers

Cervejaria Trindade, a short walk up from Chiado, pours its beer under painted tiles, with shellfish and steaks to go with it. For a newer taste, head east: Dois Corvos brews in Marvila, among the old riverside warehouses, and pours in its own taproom, while Musa pours its Lisbon-brewed beers in its own taprooms.

Cocktails

For a serious cocktail, ring the bell at Red Frog, a speakeasy off the Avenida da Liberdade, or settle into Procópio, the classic bar tucked away in a quiet square near the Amoreiras. In Príncipe Real, CINCO Lounge stays open late.

Our advice

Our advice: watch the sunset from a rooftop, eat late, then walk downhill; Lisbon’s hills are kinder going down. Take a taxi home rather than tackling the steepest streets at two in the morning.