The Counter and Bar

The counter runs the full length of the east wall in Estremoz marble, just wide enough to rest an elbow on. Behind it, shelving in waxed reclaimed pine holds the wine list, a few ceramics, and the day’s cut flowers in plain glass jars. The smoked Moroccan zellige tile continues from counter height to ceiling, its surface irregular enough to catch light differently at every point. Twelve of the forty covers sit along the counter itself.

The Dining Room

The Ledger Dining Table format informed the approach to the dining room tables: solid timber, honest joinery, built to take heat and weight and years of use. Tables are in reclaimed chestnut, each one slightly different in width. Chairs are in bent steel with woven rush seats, sourced from a workshop in the Alentejo. Overhead, a grid of bare filament bulbs hangs at different heights, providing an even warmth without a visible fitting. The ceiling is the original painted plaster, cracked in places and left as found.

The Exterior and Signage

From the street, the space reads almost as it always did. The original hand-painted signage — Tabacaria Nova, in gilt lettering on the glass — was restored rather than replaced, its slight unevenness preserved as part of the room’s character. The door is steel, painted in a deep oxide red that sits between rust and brown. There is a single A5 menu card in the window each day, handwritten. The Vessel No.3 on the entrance shelf, visible from outside, announces the sensibility before you push the door open.