Lisbon Noir

A lot of major cities around the world are intertwined with industrial sites that historically have been an inseparable and necessary part of the economic welfare of these cities.  A lot of these industrial buildings and sites have been demolished over the years, but fortunately not everywhere and some of these sites have been preserved by artists and local residents who moved in and created their own communities.

Good examples are Dumbo, in Brooklyn, NY where almost an entire neighborhood consisting of former factories and warehouses now has been converted to artist spaces, galleries, shops and living spaces and the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, the Netherlands where an old gas works factory is used by artists and for cultural activities.

In Lisbon there is also such a converted industrial site, which is called the LXFactory. It lies in the shadow of the 25 de Abril Bridge in Alcântara, which through the late 19th century was an industrial area with lots of small factories and warehouses, however a lot of these buildings have been demolished over the years.

LXFactory consists of several buildings which have been converted to artist spaces, offices, small stores and a nice taverna where visitors and residents can have a drink and something to eat.

LXFactory
Rua Rodrigues de Faria, 103
1300-501, Lisbon

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Throughout Lisbon you can find remnants of an extensive aqueduct system, called Aqueduto das Águas Livres (or “Aqueduct of the Free Waters”). It was built in the 18th century and at that time supplied Lisbon with much needed drinking water.  Nowadays it is no longer in use and parts have been destroyed but through the Museu da Água (or “Water Museum”) you can still access two reservoirs, the Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras Reservoir, which is the largest reservoir, and the Patriarcal Reservoir, the Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Room and part of the Águas Livres Aqueduct itself.

Reservatório da Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras & Reservatório da Patriarcal

For an update of this post see the Cioccolato page

Portugal has a great tradition of pastelerias and these can be found on almost every street corner. Chocolatiers and stores that sell good chocolate on the other hand are more difficult to find, but even these can be found, offering anything from Portuguese artisanal chocolates to international chocolate brands. What follows is a chocolate tour through Lisbon’s neighborhoods.

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Bem me quer – Av. Almirante Reis, 152-A, Lisbon (Praça do Chile)

Opening hours: Mon – Sat 8h – 19h

Bem me quer (or ‘daisy’ in English) is a really nice vegetarian restaurant / coffee shop that also makes and sells its own chocolates.  They do not sell a wide range of chocolates, but have some interesting flavors such as lemon thyme, pepper and salt with whole peppercorns and different (green) tea flavors. All chocolates are made with Valhrona chocolate and no sugar is added. And if you have time to sit down, you have to try their banoffee pie, which, although vegan,  is really creamy without being overly sweet and in itself worth the trip to this part of Lisbon.

Sept. 8, 2009 update: It seems like they are no longer selling chocolates, although this still needs to be confirmed.

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Cacao Sampaka- Amoreiras Shopping Center (Amoreiras)

Opening hours: Mon – Sun 10h – 23h

This chocolate store in the Amoreiras Shopping Center is part of the Cacao Sampaka chain a Spanish chocolate manufacturer with stores in Al-Kobar, Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Dubai, Madrid, Malaga, Tokio and Valencia.  It has an extensive collection of chocolates in 8 different  palettes:  single bean origins, dried fruit and nuts, cocoas and spices from the Americas,
herbs and flowers, liqueurs, fruits and preserves and truffles. Besides their chocolates they also offer an extensive range of chocolate bars, chocolate sauces and spreads and chocolate for cooking, fondues, and hot chocolate.  There is also a small café, where you can try their delicious hot chocolate, which is as hot chocolate should be ‘rich and thick’ and can be ordered in different flavors.

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Claudio Corallo – Rua Cecilio da Sousa, 85, Lisbon (Principe Real)

Opening hours: Mon – Fri 10h – 19h and Sat 10h – 14h

Claudio Corallo makes his own chocolate on the tiny volcanic archipelago of São Tomé e Príncipe, where he and his family are managing their own plantation and are producing pure chocolate without any additives. In their Lisbon store they sell a variety of chocolate from their plantation such as the pure 100% chocolate, soft 70% chocolate and 80% sablé with tiny coffee beans covered in chocolate as well as a very limited selection of fine chocolates.  They also serve their own coffee, which comes with a piece of their own chocolate, and they have their own chocolate ice cream.

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Mercado Chocolate – Mercado de Campo de Ourique, Loja 34, Lisbon (opposite the Santo Condestável church in Campo de Ourique)

Opening hours: Tue – Sat 10h – 14h and 15h – 19h

A quaint little shop on the outside of the Mercado Municipal in Campo de Ourique.  They sell delicious artisanal chocolates and truffles from several Portuguese chocolatiers, although strangely enough there is no indication who the chocolatier is of a particular selection of chocolates.  The chocolates have unique and delicate flavors and include  such flavors as tonka, balsamic vinegar, madeira wine and pepper & salt. Besides chocolates they all sell other gourmet chocolate products varying from cooking chocolate, chocolate covered dried fruits, hot chocolate and tea with a chocolate aroma.

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Rojoo – Rua de Santa Justa, 84, Lisbon (Baixa)

Opening hours: Mon – Sat 9h – 20h

Rojoo is a small café / chocolate shop in Baixa and they are the sole distributor of Zotter chocolate in Portugal. Zotter is an Austrian chocolate manufacturer famous for its organic chocolate bars that come in flavors such as Pink Grapefruit with Cashew Kernels, Sour Cherries with Sesame and Hempseed and Mocha and Portuguese inspired flavors such as Madeira Wine, Poncha, Maracuja and Vinho do Porto. The store carries all the Zotter ranges including the hand-scooped chocolate bars, plain chocolate bars, drinking chocolate  and balleros, which are described as ‘delightful feats (dried fruit, roasted pieces of nuts and all sorts of grains) rolled in chocolate and at Rojoo they even have their own chocolate brownies and ice cream made from Zotter chocolate.

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São Tomé hand made chocolate

São Tomé hand made chocolates are completely handcrafted and made in Portugal with the pure and special cocoa from São Tomé. The chocolate is presented in 5 different kinds that all have 70% cocoa: Chocolate 70% cocoa, Chocolate with crystal sugar, Chocolate with orange, Chocolate with raisins and brandy and Chocolate that can be used for culinary purposes.

The original store is in Evora but São Tomé chocolates are on sale in several stores in Lisbon including Mercado Chocolates and the following store:

Jimmy Camões – Portuguese Styleshop, Rua das Flores, 100, Lisbon (Praça Luis de Camões

Opening hours: Mon – Sat 10h30 – 19h30

This store also sells other original products made only by Portuguese designers.

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Xocoa – Rua do Crucifixo, 112-114, Lisbon (Baixa / Chiado)

Opening hours: Mon – Sat 10h – 20h

Hidden behind Armazéns do Chiado in Baixa you can find Xocoa, which is part of a Spanish chain and is the first store outside of Spain. Xocoa is nicely designed store offering different chocolates in flavors such as green tea, ginger, wasabi or tequila and a even wider range of chocolate bars and other unique chocolate products such as a chocolate cd, chocolate lollipops or buscapés, which are small praline bars covered with a layer of chocolate and cocoa.

Besides chocolate Xocoa also sells artisanal cookies from Demasié, which come both in unique salty flavors such as Pesto or Pizza and sweet varieties such as yogurt, orange or chocolate.

Abandoned building close to the waterfront in Santos.