As I walk through the towering gates of Palácio do Grilo, the majestic vastness of rusty pink walls punctuated by a myriad of windows and doors might give me a sense of what I’m about to discover. Yet the room for surprise expands with each step.
Located at the corner of Rua do Grilo and Calçada dos Duques de Lafões, in the Beato neighborhood, the palace gained new life thanks to Julien Labrousse. This French native switched Paris for Lisbon to get his creative hands on one of the city’s most stunning and mysterious 18th-century buildings.
The restaurant has become the showpiece of Palácio do Grilo. Here a team of performers and actors presents visitors with live theatre, movement and gestures that leave us wondering and dreaming, all while sipping on a cocktail or delving into one of the many dishes of a sumptuous and refined menu, inspired by the uniqueness of the location.
Palácio do Grilo is open to everyone—an inspired and inventive home for the arts and everyone who chooses to enter this world of wonders. One of the upper floors, however, restricts wandering visits since it is now an artist residency where actors and performers can stay—and where Labrousse, his wife and children lived for over a year when they moved to Lisbon to feel even closer to the palace’s aura. There are even rumors of ghosts—perhaps the ultimate contribution of the duke and all of his dreams within a dream to the palace he has forsaken too soon.
