Portugal and wine – a love story as old as time. And I can absolutely see why. I´ve been living in Lisbon for over a decade at this stage, and I am a die-hard Portuguese wine fan at this stage. To back up that statement I´ve been to countless wine tasting and have tasted wine from all corners of this country. Between you and me, I´m crushing hard on the whites from Dão lately! Undervalued and completely mind-blowing if you ask me. My husband and I also have a pretty nice wine collection at this point. I know the basics about tannins, terroir etc, and finding cool wine bars might as well be listed on my resume nowadays. So without further ado, I thought I´d run you through four wine bars I´m obsessed with (and that also happen to be dog friendly, because we are proud dog parents that like taking their furry friends everywhere through and through). Spoiler alert: one just opened but I am so confident in its potential that it made the list after just one visit there. Let´s go?
Insaciável
French owned Insaciável is somewhat of an institution in the neighbourhood of Santos. If you´ve ever walked the Rua da Esperança, you´ve surely noticed it next to the museum of marionettes, with its green lounge chairs and few tables on the sidewalk under a large tree, inviting you to sit down and order a glass of everything. Which unfortunately you won´t be able to because they have a crazy large selection of wine. What you can do however is come back over and over again and never feel like you´ve exhausted your options. The staff will be glad to hear about your preferences and bring you a couple of bottles to taste from until you find your favourite. Grab some tomato salad to go with your wine, enjoy the complimentary olives, and maybe get the labneh if you´re feeling peckish. You might leave tipsy, but happy.
Address: Rua da Esperança 156, 1200-660 Lisboa
Opening Hours: Tue – Sat from 17:00 to 23:50 , closed on Mondays and Sundays
Parra Wine Bistro
Not too far away, on the same rua da Esperança lies the sexy Parra Wine Bistro, with its red table and picture perfect steak tartare. Seriously it´s the prettiest steak tartare I have seen in my life. I personally love the outside tables (that´s my pattern), but I think the inside tables are also perfect for an intimate date with a partner or with your girls/boys. The space once housed a butcher´s shop, and though the owners tried to preserve some old elements like some of the rose marble, you would never know what was here before. The menu has quite a few wine options, and according to their website the focus is on”low-intervention producers, Portuguese avant-garde wineries, modern classics and bottles that have shaped contemporary wine culture”.
Address: Rua da Esperança 72, 1200-658 Lisboa
Opening Hours: daily from 17:00 to 00:00
Futuro Lisboa
Ajuda´s new wine bar opened this July 2026 after its owners moved to Lisbon from Spain and opened up this small space where you´ll fine great wine and small bites downstairs, and a cute ceramic studio upstairs. All on the sound of the nice beats coming out of the massive sound system downstairs. Futuro has few seats, but despite only just opening, it already draws a small crowd that´s happy to stand or improvise seats indoors and outdoors, while petting the owners´ dog and nibbling on the gilda pintxos. Did I mention their three oysters and a glass of the week´s wine deal for 14€? Utterly worth it, especially as they´re always rotating wine and this way you can just keep coming back every week and try a new wine and the same delicious oysters.
Address: R. Amadeu de Sousa Cardoso 61, 1300-319 Lisboa
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri from 18:00 to 23:00, closed on the weekend
Café Flâneur
The ultimate new kid on the block overlooking the Gulbenkian garden is Café Flâneur, a wonderful little café that focuses on a slow brunch during the AM and wine and sexier bites during the PM, turning into a wine bar. This is the aforementioned place that I´ve only ever been once to (it literally opened only two days ago), but that I am adding to this list nonetheless as I feel it has all the potential in the world to become a new favourite of mine. From the design indoors, wooden accents and big vases of flowers, to the sleek French wine glasses and the little tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of the café, it all screams France meets Portugal to me, and I cannot wait to come back again and again here. Especially since it´s a bit farther away from the touristy areas of Lisbon and gives one the opportunity to visit the Gulbenkian museum while you´re closeby. An absolute favourite of mine since forever.
Address: R. Marquês Sá da Bandeira 86B, 1050-067 Lisboa
Opening Hours: Wed – Sun from 10:00 to 23:00 , closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
That´s all for now, but keep checking my Instagram at @choiceofmagic for more recommendations that I might share there exclusively (or at least faster than I do here). And if you´re not one for wine but prefer brunch instead, check out this article I wrote about the best brunch places in Lisbon.
No Comments