Do Beco Padaria
Brunch as an adjective not noun
- Arroios or Anjos (Linha Verde)
- €€
- R. Passos Manuel 106A, 1150-053
'Fancy brunch' in the Anglophone world no longer means "would you like to enjoy a meal that is neither specifically breakfast or lunch foods, served during an otherwise uncategorised time window which also does not align to either mealtime". No - 'brunch' is now an aesthetic: a style, a possibly bottomless (in your 2-3 hour window) all-you-can-Prosecco session.
When our main sourdough proprietor went on holiday for the month of August, we found ourselves a little further afield at Do Beco, and - being the gentrified sheep that we are - we were immediately drawn to their dine-in menu using words like 'benedict' and 'shakshuka'.
As we've mentioned before, 'brunch' doesn't translate directly in Lisbon as it does in other cities (i.e. those with a large contingent of media/tech industry workers). Nonetheless, we headed into Do Beco for 'brunch' one morning, and the reason it's worth writing about is because it 100% delivers on all the expectations.
Delicious, decadent eggs on even more decadent breads (all of which they bake in-house) and genuinely superb coffee in the city of €1 espressos.
Do Beco is a family-run joint, and I couldn't be happier for them with the amount of business they are attracting. There's a whole other argument to be had on whether Lisbon should be for Alfacinhas or the tourists - this is an argument being had all over the world, so I won't attempt to talk about this here.
What I can say is that if you want a good brunch and a good coffee, Do Beco is leading the charge on what I believe will become the standard in Lisbon in the next decade.