Galeto
Soak up the history and sauce at a great Lisbon institution
- Saldanha (Linha Vermelha/Amarela)
- €€
- Av. da República 14, 1050-191
Along one of the grandest roads in the whole of the city, the suitably named Avenida da República, sits Galeto, a famed restaurant with a history going back to the 1960s. Set up by Portuguese founders who had emigrated to Brazil and returned to setup a snack-bar and restaurant which would go on to become a mainstay location for Lisbon's wealthy and powerful.
Galeto is split into two dining spaces. The first floor represents the snack-bar, where long banks of swivel high chairs line up against a bar, with the ingenious design of allowing staff to cover the whole restaurant without ever leaving "behind the bar". Then in the basement floor sits the restaurant with a traditional table layout. Decked out in glorious dark woods and brass metal, the whole site evokes memories of the greatest New York or Parisian dining rooms.
As popular with business people for breakfast, or late-night revellers for something sweet, Galeto is the place to come for any and all foods. Upon taking our place at the bar one lunch time, we settled in for the signature Bife Galeto and an Iberico pork chop.
One of the joys of Galeto's main dishes, is the huge serving of french fries and famous 'green sauce', a mythical concoction of green vegetables mixed to a velvety creaminess which would be just as appropriate, texturally, in one of their eclairs . The perfect accompaniment to their renowned approach to large steaks.
The Bife Galeto sees a chunky wedge of sirloin, topped with a fried egg and an extra couple of ham slices just to dial up the meat to 11. The pork chop, two on-rib servings similarly came adorned with a sharp and light gravy to help cut through the perfectly rendered pork fat. Both plates flourished with a sprinkle of some pickled vegetables.
The joy of Galeto comes from the speed of service and sense of community. It is a location enjoyed by young and old a like, and after more than 50 years of serving, we look forward to supporting it to keep going for 50 years more.
Drinks: Small waters and coffees each
Don’t forget to order: All celebrities have their signature, Bife Galeto.