Simpli Coffee Picoas

House-roasted Arabica behind the Picoas counter

Simpli roasts its own Arabica and calls itself a hand craft roaster, and Picoas is the Lisbon room where that coffee meets a pastry case. The group runs several Portuguese cafés, among them Braamcamp, Avenida, Chiado, Aliados and Bonjardim, and this branch works as part coffee shop, part brunch room and part bakery counter rather than as a restaurant. Architecture, comfort and food are treated as one visit: a modern vintage room inside, seats outside, and espresso the group is confident enough to lead with.

What is on the shelf

The coffees are named by origin, with Brazil Stª Izabel, Colombia Magdalena, Ethiopia Akaako, Kenya Thiba, El Salvador Los Manos and Peru Zaña on the retail list. That range is the clearest way into the bar: take the espresso first, then ask which origin is open if you want the coffee poured as something longer. Breakfast, brunch and pastry make up the rest of the day, so the room reads as a daytime café built around the roast.

Order the pistachio croissant, then the shrimp bun

Start with the pistachio croissant if the visit is mostly about pastry. For something savoury, the Bun de Camarao is a soft bun with a hot shrimp filling. Around them sit daily artisanal pastry and slow, naturally fermented sourdough made with artisanal flours, plus a brunch menu designed to sit beside the coffee rather than replace it. The kitchen leans fresh and vegetable-forward, and the packaging is biodegradable, compostable or fully recyclable.