Restaurants, bars and museums in Lisbon · Page 264

Palácio Do Grilo

Lisbon · Monuments & Historic Buildings

Palácio Do Grilo stands at Calçada do Dq de Lafões 1, 1950-099 Lisboa, in Lisbon's Beato neighbourhood. This 18th-century palace is a museum, restaurant, bar and theatre in one, and visitors can treat it as whichever suits them. More than 200 rooms can be visited. The palace opens every day from 11am to midnight, and entrance is free. The palace has a history of over three centuries. Pedro Henrique de Bragança, the 1st Duke of Lafões, conceived it in the 18th century. ACUMEN Magazine calls him Dom Pedro, gives his years as 1718-1761, and describes him as a distant member of the Portuguese royal family, an illegitimate grandson of King Pedro II and Minister of Justice. Around 1750 he was a rival of the Marquis of Pombal. The grand project aimed to turn the dukes' small summer farm into their permanent residence. The setting lies on the banks of the Tagus River. Inside, sets of mural paintings by Cirilo Wolkmar Machado and tiles from the 18th and 19th centuries belong to themed rooms such as the Academy Room, the Venus Room and the Chinese Room. The rectangular chapel holds a gilded carved panel from the second half of the 18th century. Julien Labrousse, a French businessman who swapped Paris for Lisbon, found a notebook written by the Duke, in which the Duke imagined a place that is not quite a place, where the soul could take flight in whatever way suits it. Condé Nast Traveler says Labrousse bought the palace in 2020, and Visit Lisboa says it reopened in June 2022. He adapted it following the Duke's wishes, and his team kept the setting faithful to its origins, adding only a few new pieces of furniture and decoration while leaving the rest untouched. Actors and dancers perform in the various rooms, and ACUMEN Magazine says the staff are actors, with part of the company living in the palace. It credits the French visual artist Olivier Urman with staging shows that unfold with each course, described as whimsical and almost surreal, with a touch of humour. Condé Nast Traveler describes performers who parade, crawl or yell around diners. Its review also mentions a small discotheque and a bar serving cocktails. ACUMEN lists a menu of 27-month aged Iberian ham, gazpacho, fresh swordfish and homemade sorbets, plus a Portuguese wine list. Condé Nast mentions burrata and pumpkin with crispy sage, and lamb loin with pistachio paloise and goose fat potatoes.

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