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Fado singer beside the velvet curtain between the hall and the fado room

Fado house · Alfama · Lisbon

Gallery

Clube de Fado is a fado house in Alfama, by Lisbon Cathedral. These photographs show what words cannot reach: the musicians arriving along the old street, the stone arches, the fado singer at the moment of surrender, and the dishes that keep the night company.

A corner of the house with an orange-shaded lamp and bare stone
Old dresser with bottles and a lamp, beneath the wrought-iron balcony
Guitarist stepping through the velvet curtain, the piano beside him
Mushroom tagliatelle served at the table, with red wine
House couvert: olives, herbed olive oil and roasted peppers
Fish with peppers and prawns in sauce, on the platter
The bisque poured from a jug over the lobster pastry
Roasted tomato soup with a poached egg, seen from above
Bacalhau à Clube de Fado with potatoes and a crisp
Octopus lagareiro style on the turquoise plate, being cut
Cheesecake with wild berries on a black plate, seen from above
The guitarist playing beside the table, the fado singer next to him
Pata negra ham being carved on its stand at the counter
Fado singer in white, head thrown back, beneath the stone arches
Fado singer performing before the guitarist, red light on the wall
Narrow Alfama street at night, an archway at the end
Corridor with the piano and the lit dining room beyond
Fado singer and two musicians walking up the Alfama cobbles at night
Guitarist playing between the tables, diners all around
Double bass player standing beneath the arch, the room full
Fado singer performing, a wine glass blurred in the foreground
Fado singer performing beneath the floral mural, the guitarist seated
Fado singer reflected in the mirror of the house bar
Fado singer in white with a red sash, the double bass behind
Wrought-iron staircase with framed pictures and the lantern
A woman coming down the red-curtained corridor
The ham being carved at the counter, in a red apron
The house counter with the ham, the flowers and the lamp
Wrought-iron balcony rail above the mural of fado singers
The Clube de Fado banner in the street, musicians against the wall
The musicians on the Alfama cobbles, instruments in hand
Fado singer coming down the red-carpeted stairs, beneath the arch
The lit banner in the street, the fado singer at the far end
Portrait of the fado singer beside the framed pictures
Mushroom tagliatelle with cheese, at the table
Fish dish with potatoes and glasses of wine on a set table
Golden lobster pastry plated over purée
Table with white wine, starters and olives
Duck breast being carved on a blue plate
Roast meat with asparagus and purée on a blue plate
A toast with red and white wine over the table
Octopus lagareiro style with turnip greens on a green plate
Roasted octopus tentacle plated with olive oil
Roasted octopus close-up with peppers
Fish cataplana steaming at the table
Cod with potatoes and peppers in a deep plate
Desserts with red berries and ice cream, carried by the waiter
Seafood salad with cheese shavings on dark ceramic
The waiter presents a bottle of red wine at the table
Red wine being poured by the glass, prawns on the table
Double bass player in the stone archway by the set tables
A toast at the red-clothed table in the Clube’s dining room
Silhouette of the double bass player against the warm light
Guitarist seated at the table under the stone arch
Two friends chatting over wine in the dining room
The Portuguese guitar in close-up, wood and strings
The ensemble — guitars and double bass — between the red curtains
Fado singer sings with her eyes closed, guitarist beside her
Young guitarist portrayed at night in an Alfama street
The façade at night, musicians in the street by the Cathedral
The interior staircase, among reds and framed pictures
The Clube’s dining room: red curtains and set tables
The Clube de Fado banner on the tiled façade
Fado singer and guitarists walk the Alfama street at night
Two musicians carry the double bass and the viola de fado along the cobbles
The long dining table, the ensemble playing at the back
The Clube’s musicians walk the street together at night
The audience applauds at the table as the set ends
Applause at the table, double bass in the background
Fado singer between the red curtains, before stepping in

Book an evening at the Clube

Fado starts at 20:30. The kitchen opens at 19:30. The stone room is small for the demand — and Alfama’s evenings fill up in advance.

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