Restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal
Casual Portuguese sharing plates, no fuss.
Oficio is Lisbon's most coherent case for modern Portuguese cooking at a mid-range price. Ranked in Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list and rated 4.4 across 1,500+ reviews, it delivers sharing-plate meals with real technical intent in a Chiado tavern setting. Book for a weekday lunch, ask for counter seats, and order widely.
If you are planning a relaxed weekday lunch in central Lisbon with a friend who appreciates well-executed Portuguese cooking without the formality of a tasting menu, Oficio is the right call. It also works well as a second visit to the Chiado area for anyone who has already done the obvious tourist circuit and wants something with more culinary intent. The format — sharing plates, snacks, and seasonal specials in a contemporary tavern setting , suits groups of two to four who want to graze rather than commit to a fixed sequence. Solo diners and couples who prefer counter or bar seating will find this format particularly rewarding, as the menu is built around small plates that arrive as they are ready, making the counter the natural vantage point for the meal.
Oficio describes itself as an "atypical Tasco" , a contemporary take on the traditional Portuguese tavern. That framing is accurate. The menu is structured around sharing: starters, snacks, hot specialties, and sharing boards, with seasonal dishes rotating through. The cooking is modern Portuguese in technique but relaxed in register, and there is a thread of Mexican influence running through certain dishes. Chef Hugo Candeias previously worked at the now-closed Hoja Santa in Barcelona, the Albert Adrià restaurant that made serious use of Mexican culinary traditions, and that background surfaces occasionally in the menu. The vegetable sea taco is a direct expression of it; the beef tartare with bone marrow and the cod with roasted potato foam lean more firmly into Portuguese territory.
The address , R. Nova da Trindade 11k , places Oficio almost directly opposite Bairro do Avillez, José Avillez's multi-concept food hub in Chiado. That proximity is useful context: Oficio is a deliberate counterpoint to the more produced, tourist-facing energy across the street. It reads as a locals' room with a point of view, which is partly why it has earned recognition from Opinionated About Dining, ranking #313 in Casual Europe in 2024 and climbing to #517 in the broader 2025 list , a ranking that reflects continued consistency rather than a one-season spike. Google ratings sit at 4.4 across 1,558 reviews, which is a meaningful sample size for a small restaurant at this price point.
The sharing-plate format at Oficio rewards seating at or near the counter or bar, if available. Dishes come out as they are ready, the menu shifts with the season, and the pacing is conversational rather than choreographed. At the counter, you are closer to the rhythm of the kitchen and better positioned to ask about what is new or what the kitchen is running short on. For a second visit, this is the move: skip the table in the main room and ask for counter seats. The experience is more immediate and the interaction with the food feels less transactional. The price range (€€) means the financial stakes of experimenting with an unfamiliar dish are low, which makes counter grazing through four or five plates the practical way to cover the menu.
For returning visitors specifically: if you ordered the tartare and one sharing board on your first visit, the second visit is the moment to work through the seasonal specials and probe the Mexican-inflected dishes. The sea taco and whatever is currently running as a snack are the entries into Candeias's Barcelona-trained register, and they are worth the detour from the more predictable Portuguese items.
Oficio is open Tuesday through Saturday, 12:30–3:00 pm for lunch and 7:00–11:00 pm for dinner. It is closed Sunday and Monday. The price range is €€, which for Lisbon's Chiado neighbourhood represents genuine value at this level of culinary intent , expect a full meal with drinks to land comfortably below what you would pay at any of the city's Michelin-starred addresses. Booking is direct; this is not a difficult reservation to secure, and the OAD recognition has not yet pushed wait times into the territory of Belcanto or Loco. That said, weekend dinner slots fill faster than weekday lunch, so if flexibility exists, a Tuesday or Wednesday lunch is the lowest-friction option. No dress code is specified; the tavern format and €€ pricing signal smart-casual is the right register. For broader context on eating and drinking in the city, see our full Lisbon restaurants guide, our full Lisbon bars guide, our full Lisbon hotels guide, our full Lisbon wineries guide, and our full Lisbon experiences guide.
Quick reference: Tue–Sat, lunch 12:30–3 pm / dinner 7–11 pm. Closed Sun–Mon. €€. Easy to book. Counter seating recommended for return visits.
See the comparison section below for how Oficio sits against Lisbon's wider restaurant field, including alternatives at the €€€€ end of the market.
If you are building a broader Portuguese dining itinerary, the country has a strong roster beyond Lisbon. Vila Joya in Albufeira, Casa de Chá da Boa Nova in Leça da Palmeira, The Yeatman in Vila Nova de Gaia, Ocean in Porches, Antiqvvm in Porto, and Il Gallo d'Oro in Funchal all represent the serious end of the national dining scene. For Portuguese cooking abroad, Porto in Chicago and Guincho a Galera in Macau are the reference points. Within Lisbon itself, A Taberna da Rua das Flores, Café de São Bento, and Solar dos Presuntos cover the traditional Portuguese spectrum at the mid-range, while Belcanto and 2Monkeys anchor the creative end. Oficio sits between these poles: more considered than a traditional tasca, less formal and less expensive than the tasting-menu tier.
Lunch is the better call for a first or second visit. The 12:30–3:00 pm window is quieter, the room is easier to navigate, and the sharing-plate format plays well at a slower midday pace. Dinner from 7:00 pm fills faster, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays. If you want to linger over multiple rounds of small plates without feeling rushed, a Tuesday or Wednesday lunch gives you the most comfortable experience. Dinner is fine, but book earlier in the week if you want the same relaxed energy.
Smart-casual. The €€ price point and tavern format mean there is no dress code to worry about, but Chiado is a polished neighbourhood and the room reflects that. Jeans and a good shirt or equivalent is the practical standard. You will be underdressed if you arrive in beachwear and overdressed if you arrive in a suit.
Bar or counter seating is available and worth requesting, particularly for return visits. The sharing-plate format is designed for informal, sequential eating, and counter seats put you closer to the kitchen rhythm. Ask when booking or on arrival , it is not guaranteed, but the format of the restaurant makes it a natural fit and staff are generally accommodating.
A few days is usually enough for weekday lunch. Weekend dinner is tighter , aim for at least a week out, more during high season (June through September) when Chiado is busy. Oficio's OAD ranking gives it a degree of visibility among food-focused travellers, but it has not yet reached the booking difficulty of Belcanto or Loco, where months-ahead planning is sometimes needed. It remains an easy reservation by Lisbon standards.
It depends on what the occasion needs. Oficio is a good choice if the celebration is about good food in a relaxed setting , a birthday lunch with close friends, a low-key anniversary dinner where the conversation matters as much as the meal. It is not the right choice if the occasion calls for formal service, a set tasting menu, or an impressive room. For that register, Belcanto is the Lisbon answer. Oficio's €€ pricing and tavern format are features, not limitations, but they set a specific tone that suits informal celebration better than formal commemoration.
For a similar price point and informal sharing format, A Taberna da Rua das Flores is the closest peer , traditional Portuguese, small plates, no reservations policy, harder to get into spontaneously. If you want to step up in formality and spend more, Belcanto is the obvious escalation. For creative cooking at the €€€€ tier, 2Monkeys offers a different energy. Oficio's specific value is the combination of OAD-recognised technique at a mid-range price with a menu that gives you genuine choice rather than a fixed sequence.
Lunch is the easier entry point: the €€ price range makes a weekday midday visit low-commitment, and the room is typically less pressured than evening service. Dinner runs later into the night (until 11 pm Tuesday through Saturday) and suits a more unhurried meal working through the sharing-plate format. Neither session is a clear winner — it depends on whether you want a quick two-course stop or a full spread with the group.
Oficio describes itself as an atypical tasco — a contemporary tavern — so the register is relaxed. There is no dress code to speak of at a €€ neighbourhood-style spot like this. Come as you would for a casual lunch in the Chiado area: neat but informal.
The sharing-plate format at Oficio works well at the counter or bar if seating is available, since dishes arrive as they are ready rather than in a structured sequence. It is a practical option for solo diners or pairs who want to eat without a full table booking, though availability is not guaranteed.
Book at least a few days ahead for weekday lunch, and a week or more out for weekend dinner slots. Oficio is closed Sunday and Monday, which concentrates demand across five days. At €€ with OAD Casual Europe recognition (ranked #313 in 2024, #517 in 2025), it draws enough repeat visitors that leaving it to chance is a risk.
Only if the occasion fits the format. Oficio is a sharing-plate tavern at €€ — the vibe is convivial and informal, not ceremonial. It works well for a birthday dinner with a small group of people who enjoy ordering widely from a menu, but if the occasion calls for a tasting menu or private dining, look at Loco or Belcanto instead.
For the same casual, modern-Portuguese register at a similar price, Grenache is worth considering. If you want to step up to a more structured tasting-menu experience, Loco or Feitoria offer stronger culinary ambition at higher price points. Belcanto and 50 Seconds from Martin Berasategui are at the formal end of the Lisbon market and serve a different purpose entirely — fine dining rather than a relaxed tavern meal.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
