This is the latest restaurant project from the SANA Group. Located in the new hotel building in Lisbon, it hides nothing from its customers.
Twice a day, it’s common for the scent of freshly roasted coffee to intensify around Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo in Lisbon. Bread & Friends, the newest addition to the area, roasts green coffee beans daily. The aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries is ever-present. Just like the roasting machine, visible right at the entrance, the bakery and pastry production areas are also in full view.
“Here, we see the sunrise—we’re not working in a basement,” says Tiago Vaz, 26, the head baker responsible for everything coming out of Bread & Friends’ three ovens. He starts his shift at 5:30 AM, before sunrise, to begin baking everything that will be sold later in the day.
This is the latest addition to the SANA Group’s portfolio, located in the same building as the new EPIC SANA Marquês hotel. However, it has an independent entrance—there’s no need to pass through the hotel reception. In recent months, another concept has already opened here: the Italian restaurant Allora.
At Bread & Friends, everything is produced in-house, from the coffee to the bread and pastries. From the outside, customers can see the ovens and the entire preparation area where doughs, pastries, and fillings are crafted. A glass wall extends inside, allowing full visibility into every stage of the process.
You probably won’t be there at 5 AM to witness it, but Tiago Vaz explains what happens at that hour: “I start by bringing the dough to room temperature, which here is between 24°C and 25°C, shaping the loaves, and placing them in the ovens.” All the doughs go through a slow fermentation process, taking at least 18 hours before they are ready to be baked.
The bakery offers eight types of bread, including corn and rye broa, Alentejo bread, rye bread, and even chestnut bread. Each dough has its own resting and fermentation time, but they all undergo a cold-proofing stage for several hours at temperatures between 1°C and 2°C.
The pastry selection is also crafted using a sourdough base. “It helps make the pastries lighter,” explains Paulo Carvalho, 47, the head pastry chef. “We wanted to blend Portuguese sweets with traditional French pastry, creating something different from what’s usually found here.”
Some standout creations include:
- Cruffin – a hybrid between a croissant and a muffin, filled with dulce de leche or Nutella (€3.50).
- Choux Craquelin – a unique take on a choux pastry with a muffin base (€3.50).
- Bolas de Berlim – Berliners filled with Kinder Bueno or vanilla cream (€2.50).
These options are displayed in the counter where customers place their orders. The menu also includes scrambled eggs and yogurt with granola for breakfast, chicken toasties, and smoked salmon salads for a light meal.
Everything can be paired with a house-roasted coffee, featuring two specialty varieties: Robusta from Uganda and Arabica from Guatemala.
It’s clear that this is not your typical bakery or pastry shop. The attention to detail extends beyond the menu to the interior design, with stone tables, cushioned chairs, and a cozy lounge area featuring a fireplace (on a screen). There’s also an outdoor terrace.
The SANA Group intends to expand the Bread & Friends concept to new locations, not necessarily within its hotel buildings.
Take a look at the gallery to explore Bread & Friends up close.
By NIT
