Fado in Chiado
A 50-minute fado concert in Chiado, Monday to Saturday, from €23, with 918 reviews and a 9.1 score.
- Price
- from €23
- Duration
- 50 min
- Guest rating
- 9.1/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Fado in Lisbon
Fado show in Lisbon: which one to book
Three fado shows you can book ahead in Lisbon, with the same facts for each: length, price, dinner, age rules and refund terms.
- Show sheets
- 3
- Cheapest
- from €13.99
- Most reviewed
- Fado in Chiado
Checked on 4 October 2026
Lisbon
Portugal
Verdict
Our pick, by who is going
First time in the city
Fado in Chiado
Fado in Chiado has the most evidence behind it: 918 reviews with a score of 9.1, far more than the other two. It lasts 50 minutes, costs from €23 and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
from €2350 min9.1/10Free up to 24 h before
Seen one before
Associação do Fado Casto
Associação do Fado Casto is the only product here where you sit at a table in a fado house in Alfama instead of a concert hall. Its score of 8.5 is the lowest of the three, and the older, better-known houses have to be booked directly.
from €503 h 15 min8.5/10Free up to 24 h before
A night for two
Associação do Fado Casto
Associação do Fado Casto fills a whole evening on one ticket: dinner with drinks, then a one-hour concert, 3 hours 15 minutes from €50. The two concert halls leave you to arrange dinner yourselves.
from €503 h 15 min8.5/10Free up to 24 h before
With children
Fado in Chiado
Fado in Chiado admits all ages, sells a child rate for ages 4 to 11 and lets under-4s in free. The 17:30 show (April to October) ends by 18:20 and the 19:00 show by 19:50.
from €2350 min9.1/10Free up to 24 h before
At a glance
The numbers before the words
Starting price
Usual start times
- Fado in Chiado17:3019:00
Each bar runs from the start to the end of the show. Not published: Lisboa em Fado, Associação do Fado Casto
Anyone searching for a fado show in Lisbon ends up choosing between two different evenings. One is a short concert in a hall with rows of seats, over in about an hour, usually before dinner. The other is a casa de fado, a restaurant where you eat for two or three hours and the singers perform in sets between courses.
The catalogue we work with sells three seated fado performances in the city: two concert halls in Chiado and Baixa and one dinner house on the Alfama hillside. We read the booking terms for each on 4 October 2026 and checked the venues' own pages where they exist. We have not attended any of them, so nothing here judges the singing. For the best fado in Lisbon by reputation you would also look at houses that are not in this catalogue, and we say which below.
Side by side
The shows compared
Scroll sideways to see every show.
| Venue | Fado in Chiado | Lisboa em Fado | Associação do Fado Casto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest rating | 9.1/10 · 918 reviews | 8.8/10 · 254 reviews | 8.5/10 · 264 reviews |
| Type of room | Theatre | Theatre | Fado house (restaurant) |
| Price | from €23 | from €13.99 | from €50 |
| Duration | 50 min | 1 h | 3 h 15 min |
| Room capacity | Not published by the venue | Not published by the venue | Not published by the venue |
| Dinner | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Drink | Not included | Included | Included |
| Usual start times | 17:30 · 19:00 | Not published by the venue | Not published by the venue |
| Minimum age | All ages | 4 and over | All ages |
| Dress code | Not published by the venue | Not published by the venue | Not published by the venue |
| Seating | Not stated | First come, first served | Not stated |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 h before | Free up to 48 h before | Free up to 24 h before |
| See the show sheet | See the show sheet | See the show sheet |
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Show sheets
One sheet per show
Lisboa em Fado show
A one-hour fado show in Baixa with a glass of port included, from €13.99, the cheapest of the three.
- Price
- from €13.99
- Duration
- 1 h
- Guest rating
- 8.8/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 48 h before
Associação do Fado Casto dinner and fado
Dinner with drinks and a one-hour fado concert in an Alfama house, 3 hours 15 minutes, from €50.
- Price
- from €50
- Duration
- 3 h 15 min
- Guest rating
- 8.5/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
You book on Civitatis, the ticket platform, under its own terms.
Work out the timing of your eveningCompare shows from different cities
Before you choose
How the houses differ here
Start with the format, because it decides the whole evening. A staged show such as Fado in Chiado or Lisboa em Fado is a concert: you sit in rows facing a stage, nobody serves food, and you are out in 50 to 60 minutes. It costs from €13.99 to €23, starts in the late afternoon or early evening, and leaves you free to eat wherever you like afterwards. It suits a first visit, a tight schedule or children.
A casa de fado works the other way round. You book a table, order or receive a set dinner, and the lights go down several times in the evening for sets of three or four songs. Talking and eating stop while someone sings. The evening lasts two to three hours and the bill is mostly the meal. The one dinner house in the catalogue, Associação do Fado Casto, runs a fixed version of this: dinner with drinks first, then a one-hour concert, 3 hours 15 minutes in total, from €50.
The long-established names (Clube de Fado, Sr. Vinho, O Faia, A Severa, Adega Machado, Parreirinha de Alfama, Mesa de Frades) are not sold as products in this catalogue in English, Portuguese or Spanish. They take reservations directly. If one of those is the reason for your trip, book it with the house. What the catalogue adds is a fixed price, free cancellation and a confirmed seat.
Then check the small print that differs between the three. Lisboa em Fado refunds only up to 48 hours before, the other two up to 24. Lisboa em Fado does not admit children under 4, the other two have no minimum age. Associação do Fado Casto is not wheelchair accessible, the two concert halls are. None of the three venues publishes its capacity, so we cannot tell you how small the rooms are.
Plan
The evening, step by step
Before the show
Fado in Chiado plays at 17:30 and 19:00 for 50 minutes, so both shows end before most people in Lisbon sit down to dinner. Eat afterwards. Lisboa em Fado includes a drink but no food and does not publish fixed start times, and at Associação do Fado Casto dinner is the first part of the booking, so arrive hungry.
Arriving
The catalogue asks for 15 minutes at Fado in Chiado and Associação do Fado Casto, and 10 minutes at Lisboa em Fado. Lisboa em Fado seats first come, first served, so there the early arrivals choose. The other two do not say how seats are given out.
The show itself
The two concert halls run 50 and 60 minutes with the audience seated in rows. Lisboa em Fado is unamplified, asks for absolute silence and allows no food or drink in the hall, while Fado in Chiado uses amplification. At Associação do Fado Casto the concert is one hour out of 3 hours 15 minutes.
Getting back
All three venues are in the old centre, within walking distance of Baixa-Chiado metro (blue and green lines). The metro runs until 01:00, which is later than any of these evenings should end. From Alfama the walk back to Baixa is downhill past the cathedral. Tram 28 also passes there, but we could not confirm its last departure.
Where
Where the houses are
Chiado
Fado in Chiado is at Rua da Misericórdia 14, on the hilltop side of Baixa-Chiado station. That exit climbs a long series of escalators, and the hall is about a 10-minute walk from the metro. It is a theatre with a stage and projected backdrop, not a restaurant.
Baixa
Lisboa em Fado is at Rua do Crucifixo 84, down in the flat grid of streets that the other Baixa-Chiado exit opens onto. It is the cheapest of the three (from €13.99) and the only one that states it is unamplified.
Alfama
Associação do Fado Casto is at Rua de São Mamede 8A, on the lower slope of Alfama close to the cathedral. The metro does not climb this hill: the usual ways up are on foot from Baixa or by tram 28. It is the one dinner house on the page and it is not wheelchair accessible.
Common questions
How long is a fado show in Lisbon?
A staged show runs 50 minutes at Fado in Chiado and about an hour at Lisboa em Fado. A dinner evening is much longer: the Associação do Fado Casto booking lasts 3 hours 15 minutes, of which one hour is the concert.
What is the difference between a fado show and a casa de fado?
A fado show is a short concert in a hall with theatre seating and no food. A casa de fado is a restaurant where you dine at a table and singers perform in sets through the evening. The first costs from €13.99 to €23 and takes an hour, the second costs from €50 and takes the night.
Is the dinner worth paying for?
It depends on what you want from the night. At Associação do Fado Casto the €50 covers a full dinner with drinks plus the concert, so the extra over a €23 concert ticket is roughly the price of a meal out. We have not eaten there and cannot rate the food. If you only want the music, a concert hall and a restaurant of your own choosing gives you more control.
Do I need to book fado in advance?
The catalogue does not set a minimum notice for any of the three shows, so same-day booking is possible when seats remain. Fado in Chiado has two shows a day at most and none on Sundays, so summer dates can fill. Booking ahead costs nothing extra as long as you stay inside the free cancellation window.
Can children go to a fado show?
Yes at two of the three without restriction. Fado in Chiado and Associação do Fado Casto have no minimum age, and Lisboa em Fado admits children from 4. Audiences are expected to stay silent during the songs, and Lisboa em Fado states this as a rule, so a 50-minute early show is the easier choice with young children.
Can I cancel a fado ticket?
All three can be cancelled free of charge: up to 24 hours before for Fado in Chiado and Associação do Fado Casto, up to 48 hours before for Lisboa em Fado. After that, or if you do not turn up, there is no refund.
Sources
Price, duration, what is included, minimum age and cancellation come from the Civitatis catalogue. Room capacity, dress code and start times come from each venue's own website. Everything on this page was checked on 4 October 2026. Prices are starting prices and move with the date. How the sheets are built
The same kind of show elsewhere
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Paris
Six bookable evenings in four houses, with showtimes, minimum ages, dress rules and refund terms read from the small print.