Almanara

R. Basílio da Gama, 70, Republica

11-3257-7580

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This legendary Arab restaurant tunneled the way for others of its kind when it opened, eventually taking the chain route, but quality has stuck like its herbed meat between your teeth. The tidy location in the center is particularly awe-inspiring for its decadent architecture: echo-attracting ceilings, grand columns and wood to break up all that concrete. No-laughs, corporate types file in for the fixed-price lunch, which is expensive but gives the right to freely indulge in dough pockets called esfihas, babaganuche, among other goodies, served by rotating waiters impeccably dressed in shirts that are whiter than the diners' threads.