A Tasca do Chico

A Tasca do Chico is a fado tavern at Rua do Diario de Noticias 39 in Bairro Alto, Lisbon, opened in 1993 in a former tavern. The room is small and densely hung with paintings, posters, photographs and football scarves, with seating on close-packed wooden benches. Performances are fado vadio, the amateur tradition in which anyone present may sing, so the evening mixes established fadistas with local singers and occasional visitors; music generally begins around 21:00 and continues late. There is no admission charge and no minimum spend, which distinguishes it from Lisbon's larger dinner-show fado houses, though the room holds few people and fills quickly once the singing starts. The kitchen serves simple tavern food, including chourico flamed at the table, alongside wine and beer. A second branch operates in Alfama. The tavern is reached on foot from Chiado, or by the Elevador da Gloria funicular up from Restauradores.