Espaço Lampião

Av. Baía dos Golfinhos 50: the number where Pipa's main avenue begins, at the entrance to the village. That is where Espaço Lampião puts Portuguese cooking and Brazilian cooking on one menu — luso-brasileira, as the house calls it — and salt cod comes first of all: it appears twice, à valenciana and à tasca, with lobster and octopus alongside, lunch with a sea view, and live music. It opens at noon and runs into the night, all seven days.

Salt cod shows up twice on their menu: message them on WhatsApp and ask about both versions.

Espaço Lampião at a glance

What to eat

The house calls its own cooking Portuguese-Brazilian, and the menu backs that up: salt cod and seafood on the Portuguese side, beef fillet and mignon on the Brazilian side, all à la carte at lunch and at dinner alike. There is no buffet and no set plate of the day — you order dish by dish, and the same service covers midday and evening, at waited tables.

Alongside the big plates there are small plates and dessert, both on record from the restaurant, and late-night food. That opens a second way to use the place: you do not have to arrive ready for a two-hour plate of cod. You can come in at the end of the night, order something light with a glass, and stay until closing. And if the plan is to eat at the apartment, the house does takeaway.

Salt cod, twice over

Cod is the fish the menu names twice, in two preparations: bacalhau à valenciana and bacalhau à tasca. Both are preparations a Portuguese kitchen knows by name, and having the two of them on one menu is this kitchen's signature. If salt cod is what brought you to the table, here the choice is between two.

From the sea

Next to the cod, the menu carries lagosta grelhada ao molho de ervas — grilled lobster in herb sauce — and camarões e polvo mediterrâneo, which brings prawns and octopus together on one plate. Those are the three types of seafood the house publishes by name: lobster, prawn and octopus.

From the land

The Brazilian side of the kitchen shows up in the filé recheado espinafre e queijo, a beef fillet stuffed with spinach and cheese, and in the mignon ao molho de champignon. For a table without meat, the house lists vegetarian options and the menu names shitake salteado no azeite, shiitake sautéed in olive oil. Desserts close it out, also à la carte.

What to drink

There is a bar on site, and the full drinks list is on record: wine, beer, cocktails, spirits and coffee. In a kitchen that leads with salt cod, wine is the natural choice at the table, and having it stated by the house is what lets you plan the whole meal in one place.

The menu also includes signature cocktails made by the house, and they go with both services: the midday one, with the sea view, and the evening one. You order them the way you order the dishes, à la carte, from the noon opening onwards. And the coffee at the end closes the dessert without leaving your chair.

The room

The restaurant describes itself in four words: cosy, casual, romantic and quiet. Together they explain what the table is for: you walk in without dressing up, you can talk without raising your voice, and dinner for two holds up on its own. There is a toilet and a bar inside, and service is at the table.

The first thing the house leads with is lunch with a sea view: it is the plan they describe before any other, and it shapes their midday. Live music is the other piece of the atmosphere here; to find out who is playing the night you go, their WhatsApp is the shortest route.

There are outdoor tables as well as the dining room, which lets you choose by the hour: outside for lunch with the view, inside for the music in the evening. Service is à la carte from end to end, from noon through the evening, with no break between lunch and dinner: you can walk in at noon for a slow plate of cod or at 9pm for lobster, with the same menu on the table.

When to go

It opens all seven days from midday onwards, so no day of the week rules it out, Monday included.

Sunday to Thursday, service runs to 11pm. Fridays and Saturdays it stretches to midnight: those two nights are the ones for an unhurried dinner. And if the sea view is what you are after, the time to come is lunch, which starts at noon every day.

The house takes bookings, and there are two moments worth using them for: lunch with the view, because the outside tables are the ones everybody wants, and Friday and Saturday nights, the two that run to midnight. For the rest of the week, midday is looser.

Where it is and how to get there

Av. Baía dos Golfinhos 50, at the start of the avenue that crosses the village centre. Number 50 places it at the entrance to the village, before the busiest run of bars and shops, and a walk from the rest of the centre.

From there you go down to Praia da Pipa along the same avenue. Their own site has a button to plot the route on a map and an option to call an Uber.

If you are still working out how to reach the village, see the options for a transfer to Pipa from Natal airport.

Parking

The house states open-air parking, both free and paid, and at the same time that spaces are hard to find. All three describe number 50 on the avenue well: there is somewhere to leave the car, there is a free option and a paid one, but the space is not guaranteed. If you drive in for weekend lunch, allow a few extra minutes; if you are staying in the centre, the avenue is walkable and the problem disappears.

With children

The restaurant states that it is kid-friendly and that it has high chairs. With unbroken hours from noon, that becomes concrete: a family can have an early lunch, before the room fills, or dinner at seven without negotiating with the kitchen.

The outdoor tables help, because a table with children outside is easier on everyone, and the small plates settle the order for the youngest without waiting for a full main.

Who it suits

Anyone looking for salt cod in Pipa. Two preparations on one menu, à valenciana and à tasca, at the start of the village's main avenue.

A long lunch with a sea view. Open at noon all seven days, and lunch with the view is what the house leads with.

A dinner with live music. Until 11pm Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Frequently asked questions

Is Espaço Lampião open every day?

Yes, all seven days, always from noon. Sunday to Thursday it closes at 11pm; on Friday and Saturday, at midnight.

Do they serve salt cod?

They do, in two preparations: bacalhau à valenciana and bacalhau à tasca. Both are on the menu.

Do you need to book?

Bookings are accepted. Worth using for lunch with the view and for Friday and Saturday nights: you book on +55 84 3246-2069, the same number the house publishes for WhatsApp.

Can you have lunch with a sea view?

You can. Lunch with a sea view is what the house puts first in its own presentation, and service starts at noon every day.

Is there live music?

There is — the house works with live music. To find out who is playing the night you go, message +55 84 3246-2069.

Are there vegetarian options?

Yes, on record from the restaurant itself, and the menu names shitake salteado no azeite, shiitake sautéed in olive oil.

Is there parking?

There is open-air parking, with a free option and a paid one, though the house warns that spaces are hard to find.

Can you bring children, eat outside or order takeaway?

All three: it is kid-friendly and lists high chairs, there are outdoor tables as well as the dining room, and the house does takeaway.

Book the sea-view lunch table on WhatsApp, which is the service the house leads with.