Bairro Alto · Est. 2018
Snob
A bar and a bookshop, in that order. New fiction, music books, and the longest wine list of any bookshop in the country.
"Nothing on these shelves came in as a result of a sales rep's visit."
The owners held the premise that if you want people to read fiction, you have to accept that they also want to drink wine. The result is a long room with high shelves at one end, a counter at the other, and a tendency to host small, badly-advertised readings until late.
Why go. Because it rejects the retail premise that bookshops should be quiet.
What to buy. The music-criticism section, which is unmatched in Lisbon; the stock of small-press poetry chapbooks.
Nearby. The Bairro Alto proper after dark; A Primavera do Jerónimo for petiscos; the viewpoint at Santa Catarina.