Hello Kristof is run by Charlie and Malaylack, who came to coffee from several different professions and took over the café after deciding that Portugal was the place to settle. The menu has plant-based and non-vegetarian dishes, homemade pastries, toasts, bowls and a weekend brunch, and the cafés also sell magazines.
The coffee is roasted in-house in small batches, from farms and cooperatives in regions such as Guatemala, Colombia, Ethiopia and Costa Rica. The roastery is in Hello Kristof São Bento, the newest of the three cafés, where guests can see the roaster at work. São Bento has 60 seats, a filter coffee menu and dishes inspired by the Laotian roots of Malaylack, the chef. It began as a laptop-free space and now keeps a small area for laptops, with a drink and something to eat for each hour, and tables can be booked.
The other two cafés are Hello Kristof Bica, small, quiet and intimate, and Hello Kristof Alfama, which looks out on the Pantheon from Campo de Santa Clara. The baristas brew espresso, V60, Chemex and AeroPress, beans are sold in the cafés for home brewing, and all three cafés are pet-friendly.
Photograph: Hello Kristof