Pavilhão Chinês
A bar-museum in Príncipe Real
Pavilhão Chinês opened in 1986 inside a 1901 building on Rua Dom Pedro V, in the heart of Príncipe Real. It is a legendary Lisbon institution known as a bar-museum: five wood-panelled rooms crammed with antique curiosities — toy soldiers, dolls, model trains, mannequins — displayed behind glass cabinets that line every wall.
Curiosities and conversation
The atmosphere is old-world and quirky, a place for a slow drink and conversation rather than dancing. A billiards room sits at the back. The crowd is mixed and the mood unhurried, which sets it apart from the louder bars down the hill in Bairro Alto.
An enormous cocktail list
The draw beyond the decor is the cocktail menu, which is famously huge, served with table service at mid-range prices. There is no terrace and no DJ — this is an indoor, sit-down bar built around its drink list and its cabinets of oddities.
Practical notes
Entry is free. It opens Monday to Saturday 18:00–02:00 and Sunday 21:00–02:00. Card payment and English-speaking staff are standard. Find it on Rua Dom Pedro V, a short walk up from Bairro Alto and near the Príncipe Real garden.
The menu
How a visit works
- Push through the discreet door on Rua Dom Pedro V after 18:00
- Order from the enormous cocktail list — take your time with it
- Settle into one of the wood-panelled rooms among the curiosities
- Come for a slower, conversational drink rather than a big night out
- Move on to Bairro Alto down the hill when you're done
Facilities & highlights
- Cocktails
- Extensive drink list
- Billiards room
- Table service
- Antique 'bar-museum' decor
- Card payment
- English-speaking staff
- Indoor only
Find us
Rua Dom Pedro V 89-91, 1250-093 Lisboa · Principe Real · Lisbon
On Rua Dom Pedro V in Príncipe Real, a short walk up from Bairro Alto and near the Príncipe Real garden.
Good to know
- Opened 1986 in a 1901 building — a Príncipe Real institution
- Five wood-panelled rooms crammed with antique curiosities behind glass
- There's a billiards room at the back
- A conversation-and-cocktails bar, not a dance club
- Indoor only, no terrace
- Mid-range cocktail prices; the menu is enormous
