Santa Joana Lisbon | Modern Portuguese Restaurant

Aug 20

4 min read

Updated: Aug 25

Soft Life Eats Lisbon, Portugal

Modern Portuguese dining inside a former convent, where beautiful design, warm hospitality, and a playful menu made dinner one of my favorite experiences in Lisbon.

Santa Joana already had my attention before anything arrived at the table. Located inside Locke de Santa Joana, the restaurant occupies part of a former 17th-century convent, where historic architecture, dramatic interiors, and lush greenery create a dining room that feels completely different from a typical hotel restaurant.

But as beautiful as the restaurant is, the experience didn't stop at the design. Between the food, cocktails, and some of the warmest hospitality I experienced during my Portugal trip, Santa Joana became a place I wanted to experience more than once. I visited the bar for cocktails one evening and returned another night for dinner—and I'm glad I did.

Quick Facts

Location: Rua de Santa Marta, Santo António, Lisbon, Portugal

Cuisine: Modern Portuguese dining

Style: Upscale contemporary restaurant in a historic convent

Best for: Solo dining, date nights, celebrations, cocktails, design lovers,

and travelers looking for an elevated Portuguese dining experience

Visited: June 2026

First Impressions

Exactly the kind of restaurant I want to spend an evening in.

Santa Joana is gorgeous. The historic architecture gives the restaurant character, while the greenery and contemporary design keep the space from feeling overly formal or traditional. Original details from the former convent—including stonework, tiles, archways, and floors—have been incorporated into the restaurant rather than hidden away.

It was completely my kind of space: beautiful enough that I wanted to look around, but still warm enough that I actually wanted to settle in and stay.

And the hospitality matched the surroundings. Santa Joana and Leve Leve were two of the places where I felt most genuinely welcomed during my Portugal trip.

What I Ordered

This was not the night for ordering one entrée and going home.

I tried a lot at Santa Joana, which ended up being one of the things I loved about the meal.

I started with the house-made cornbread madeleines with sweet paprika and smoked chilli butter, followed by the buttermilk fried chicken with dill and chilli ranch dressing.

Then came the Santa Joana Bifana, made with slow-cooked pork, choux, and mustard. The bifana is one of Portugal's classic pork sandwiches, but Santa Joana's version gave me the opportunity to try a much more refined interpretation of something I'd repeatedly heard I should eat while in Portugal.

I also had sardine tacos, French fries, and one of the cocktails I'd already discovered the night before when I'd stopped by just for drinks. Apparently I liked that cocktail enough to order it twice during that first visit—and then come back to it again with dinner.

The menu reflects Santa Joana's broader approach to Portuguese cuisine: familiar flavors and ingredients presented through a more contemporary lens.

More than just dinner

One restaurant became two completely different nights.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Santa Joana was being able to experience it differently on separate evenings.

My first visit wasn't dinner at all. I came for cocktails and sat at the bar inside the restaurant. I enjoyed the drinks and atmosphere enough that returning for the full dining experience felt natural rather than like I was simply revisiting somewhere I'd already been.

That's also part of what made staying at Locke de Santa Joana so appealing to me. Dinner didn't necessarily have to mean leaving the property, and cocktails didn't require finding somewhere completely different afterward. Santa Joana could be part of the evening—or become the evening itself.

Dining in Santo Antonio

A central Lisbon location that makes an elevated dinner easy to work into the evening.

Santa Joana sits on Rua de Santa Marta in Santo António, just north of Avenida da Liberdade. That puts it in a central part of Lisbon where restaurants, hotels, shopping, and some of the city's best-known areas are within easy reach.

Because Santa Joana is inside Locke de Santa Joana but also has street access, you don't need to be staying at the hotel to make the restaurant part of your Lisbon plans.

I'd especially consider it for an evening when you want dinner to feel like one of the night's main experiences rather than simply somewhere to eat between activities.

Honest verdict

What to Know Before Booking

Santa Joana checked nearly every box for me: beautiful surroundings, memorable food, great cocktails, and genuinely warm hospitality.

It's certainly an elevated dining experience, but what I appreciated was that the restaurant didn't feel stiff. The menu allowed me to try Portuguese flavors and familiar dishes in unexpected forms, while the setting made dinner feel special without requiring a formal occasion.

I'd also happily return without ordering exactly what I had the first time. Santa Joana's menu follows the seasons, so dishes can change throughout the year.

For me, that's actually another reason to go back.

Who is this restaurant for?

Is the Santa Joana for You?

Best suited for:

Solo diners treating themselves
Couples and date nights
Celebrations
Design and architecture lovers
Travelers interested in contemporary Portuguese cuisine
Cocktail lovers
Guests staying at Locke de Santa Joana
Anyone who values warm hospitality as much as the food

May not be ideal for:

Travelers looking for an inexpensive dinner
Anyone wanting a very quick, casual meal
Diners specifically seeking a traditional, no-frills Portuguese restaurant

Want to Dine here?

Experience contemporary Portuguese dining inside one of Lisbon's most distinctive spaces, where a former convent has become a place for food, cocktails, and evenings worth lingering over.

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