Soho House, we’ve all heard of it, the place where Harry and Meghan met in the quaint Dean Street location. Personally, we love any opportunity to meet fellow creatives across the world, and is there anywhere more creative than Lisbon?
A Soho House expansion to Lisbon is long overdue, but in the meantime, the city has expanded regardless, gracing us with a multitude of clubs tailored for individual personal styles.
From the private members’ clubs popping up right left and centre in Lisbon, a few have particularly caught our attention. Whether you’re drawn to maximalist opulence, artsy creative circles, or power networking over cocktails, there’s a Lisbon club that speaks your language.
For the Boujee Hedonist, JncQuoi Club
If a French 75 with a side of Berlioz playing in the background is your ideal evening, then JncQuoi club is the place for you. It’s the place where Lisbon’s sophisticated creatives gather to enjoy some of the best social activities the city has to offer.
Like the other JncQuoi locations, the club was designed by architect Vincent Van Duysen – who you may know from his partnership with Zara Home. The club treats luxury as something to be felt, not announced. The space is unapologetically theatrical: eclectic pieces, moody lighting, velvet surfaces that feel lived-in rather than looked at. It’s the kind of place that understands craft, whether in a cocktail or a conversation.
Its three rooms operate like chapters. Supermondo, the main stage,the Paris-Lisbon fusion whose audience knows that good food is not just about Michelin stars. Petit Mondo is for when you need to disappear into an intimate conversation without ever checking the time. Finally, Discobar, which does exactly what it says. DJ sets, cocktails, dancing the night away.
It’s cool, refined, elevated, without arrogance and attitude.
Images © JncQuoi Club Instagram
For the Cultured Connoisseur, Grémio Literario
Once the home of Portugal’s 19th-century literary and aristocratic elite, Grémio Literario now draws in the intellectually curious, the cool kids who know the proper use of the Oxford comma and crave stimulating discussions fit for an afternoon “bica.”
The club was founded in 1846 by Alexandre Herculano and Almeida Garrett, two of Portugal’s most influential literary figures. Just enter into the club’s palace, and you’re immediately faced with decor that screams history and indulgence. Swans, romanesque sculpture, leather furniture, and a bar that transports you to a 1920’s cabaret, all that’s missing is a flapper dress and a cigarette holder.
This is where you come when the conversation matters as much as the setting. where heritage isn’t preserved behind glass but lives on in every debate, every reading, every connection made over a glass of wine that’s older than most startups.
Image © Go Discover Portugal
For the Creatives, Aethos Club
Live music on Wednesday and Fridays, Yoga & movement classes throughout the week, movie nights on Fridays… Doesn’t that sounds like the dream?
Aethos describes itself as a home for “modern explorers,” but really, it’s a nest for Lisbon’s new creative class. It’s a place where you can interact with like-minded creatives, exchange ideas, fun stories, and who knows? Maybe you’ll meet your next gallery co-founder there.
Aethos even partners with artists such as Luis West to create an atmospheric space that represents everything it’s about. Fun. Connection. Creativity. Calmness. And most of all, belonging.
Think of Aethos as your fun aunt, the one who always a story to share from her many travels filled with sun-soaked rooftops, unexpected friendships, and nights that ended somewhere between a jazz bar and a sunrise.
Image © Aethos Club
For the Business Minds, OneThousandClub
The age of big rooms with small talk is over according to OneThousandClub. Instead, the club caps memberships at 1000 people. 500 locals. 500 foreigners. It offers 8 gatherings per month, all small, concentrated and intentional.
The goal of OneThousandClub is to create lifelong connections. Some members have gone into business together, some kept in touch, and ultimately the club facilitated those connections, whether professional or personal.
OneThousandClub believes that the magic of connection doesn’t lie in the wine or playlist, but instead in the design. In the dinner table and dimmed likes that make sharing ambitions, secrets, and laughter, easier, and more personal.
It’s proof that in the right room, with the right people, conversations can become catalysts.
Images © OneThousandClub
