An Evening of Portuguese food and Fado

Lisbon is the historical capital of a once-glorious naval empire. And in this capital originates two main Portuguese influence to the world – Portuguese food and Fado.

What is fado?

Fado is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Born along the waterfront, the dramatic songs of Fado speak of life, struggle and passion. In 2011, UNESCO recognised Fado on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Fado is known for how expressive and profoundly melancholic it is. In fado music, the musician will sing about the hard realities of daily life, balancing both resignation and hopefulness that a resolution to its torments can still occur.

It can be described by using the Portuguese word “saudade,” which means “longing” and stands for a feeling of loss. This loss is generally permanent and of long-term consequence.

Fado music often has one or two 12 string guitarras (Portuguese guitars), one or two violas (classical guitars), and sometimes a small 8 string viola baixo (bass). This evening was a really small setup with a classical guitar and a Portuguese guitar.

Fado houses were concentrated in Lisbon’s historic quarters, mainly in Bairro Alto, from the 1930s onwards. From then on, the reputation of this very Portuguese musical genre escalated and it was in the 1950s that the prestige of Amália Rodrigues, the standard figure of Fado, crystallised. 

The fado genre was brought to the music world mainstream by Rainha do Fado (Queen of Fado) Amalia Rodrigues (July 23, 1920 – October 6, 1999). Known as Amalia throughout the world, she became one of the most important personalities for the genre and the main inspiration for contemporary and modern fado. There’s a small altar displaying her photos and her record covers in this Fado house near the San Antonio Chapel.

I would not be able to comment the standard of Fado here, but definitely there was a lot of passion and enthusiastic singing, particularly when the owner/bartender joined in a serenade.

Bohemia LX San Antonio

Lisbon is abbreviated as LX, Bohemia LX has two Fado houses in Lisbon. I visited this one near the Saint Anthony Church (Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa). After a long day walking around the old castle and old town, I was attracted by the beautiful bar and 5€ Sangria Verde, a refreshing cocktail made with blue curacao.

The main dining area is a cozy place with all tables having a visibility to the performance before the fireplace (which has been sealed). On the walls are paintings with the Fado theme, and on the piano was a statue of the patron saint of Lisbon, local boy Saint Anthony.

Everywhere in the main dining area was decorative items of Portuguese symbols past and present that made the place a bit like a museum.

Sardinhas Assadas com Batata e Salada | Grilled Sardines with potatoes and salad

I love fresh sardines, and I ordered this everyday while I was in Lisbon.

It was the smallest portion by far, but still as delicious.

Bife à Bohemia

Bife à Portuguesa is a large steak on a layer of prosciutto, topped with a fried egg and surrounded by round cut fried potato wedges. What makes this dish so flavourful is the combination of red wine, garlic and olive oil which creates a rich sauce that is poured over the steak and egg.

Their version came with a special creamy sauce that was a departure from the usual sauce made with red wine. I had the option of changing the fries with rice, which was perfect to mop up the delicious white sauce. The piece of sirloin was quite common, a bit overdone (they did not ask for the doneness).

Vinho do Porto

Instead of a menu, the desserts were presented on a tray with the selection of ports. I opted for the oldest one on list (a 20 year old port) and a arroz dose.

Arroz doce

Arroz doce or sweet rice is a dessert pudding made from rice mixed with milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla and raisins.

Now let’s have one last look at Fado. It ain’t over until the fat lady sings!

Bohemia LX
Calçada Correio Velho 7, 1000-171 Lisboa, Portugal
Tel : +351218870964

Visited Aug 2023

#Fado #Lisbon #PortugueseMusic #BohemiaLX