3. Café Luso

We knew Cafe Luso was a relatively expensive fado restaurant catering to tourists, but we figured they would at least to a good job at it. We were very disappointed with the entertainment. The performers didn't seem to care anymore, and fado is supposed to be about emotion. The singers were tuneful, if not passionate, but the accompanying musicians were shamefully sloppy. Each song had them spending the first measures finding the right tempo, and the mandolinist (the leader) made countless mistakes, obviously not feeling obligated to concentrate anymore. We are musicians ourselves and may have higher standards, since the crowd seemed pleased if he just played fast and high enough on the instrumental tune, but it was poor playing. We actually thought the folk dancers were charming, though not terribly professional, but at least they were having fun. The only value deal is the tourist menu (39 euro, all included but limited choice). If you go a-la-carte, be prepared for a 7 euro cover if you eat any of those olives or little sausages (which you can refuse) and 8 euros for a bottle of water (which was served automatically), on top of the inflated food and wine prices. The quality of the food is quite good, as is the wine selection, but the value is poor. We recommend doing what we did the next night: find a good restaurant for dinner and then go to a small, lesser-known fado joint without a big minimum consumption where people are singing and playing for the love of it and you can sit and enjoy over a few regularly priced drinks. We found one 2 blocks from Café Luso.

Being in Lisbon, of course, you want to go after the Fado tradition. Luso is a tourist spot, but a nice one. If you order the tourist menu, you will not only get a nice meal, but also a folklore show, interlaced with fado music: a very good quality/price ratio. Later on, the guests can enjoy more fado music. In Barrio Alto, the tourist will often gets illusions for a high price. There are a lot of overpriced restaurants which doesn't provided any additional entertainment. Stay in Barrio Alto with places such as cafe Luso.