Our Take on Bar Américain
The Monumental Palace opened on Avenida dos Aliados in 1923, and its Bar Américain plays the date straight: velvet booths, Art Deco brass, low amber light, and a jazz soundtrack held at murmur level. Viver o Porto describes it as a hidden bar celebrating the glamour of the twenties, and the hotel entrance does make you work slightly to find it.
It drinks like a prohibition fantasy with Portuguese manners. Time Out includes it among the best bars in Porto, and it is the Baixa address for a cocktail that arrives with full hotel polish.
Reading the Room
The lounge sits off the hotel lobby, plush seating and subdued lighting, with armchairs built for two hour conversations. Mr & Mrs Smith singles out the rakish, prohibition era styling and the soft jazz. Nobody hurries here; the room sets the tempo and the staff keep it.
The Menu, Edited
Who Shows Up, and When
Cocktails sit at Porto's top price band, roughly 14 to 18 euros, which still undercuts the equivalent hotel bars of Lisbon by a few euros a glass.
Hotel guests mix with Porto's dressed up date crowd. Friday and Saturday run until 01:00; weeknights wind down at midnight. Smart casual reads right.
The Word on the Street
- Time Out lists it among the best bars in Porto.
- Viver o Porto calls it a hidden bar that celebrates twenties glamour.
- Mr & Mrs Smith highlights the velvet booths and the soft jazz soundtrack.
Go, or Skip
- Anniversary drinks that need Art Deco gravity
- Cocktail students tracking Tiago Oliveira's list
- Avoid if you want standing room noise and sneakers dress codes
The bars worth going to, weekly.
One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 168 cities worldwide.
Reach bar-goers in every major city.
Sponsored listings, newsletter placements, and city guide partnerships across 168 cities.