Buna Coffee & People

Founded in 2019 by two former schoolmates from Moscow, Olga and Ana, Buna has grown from a single counter near Sao Bento into a small Lisbon group, with this Santos address — a corner spot by the 28 tram line — built around a Japanese-inspired minimalism of bonsai and manga rather than the reclaimed-wood look common elsewhere in the city's specialty scene. The signature is Coffee Omakase, priced from 15 euros: three to six coffees chosen by the barista rather than the customer, Lisbon's first cafe built around that specific trust-the-barista format.

Beans come from Manhattan Coffee Roasters, Friedhats, Gardelli, and Sumo Coffee Roasters rather than an in-house roast, run through an open bar counter designed for conversation with whoever's behind it. There's no kitchen on-site, so pastries come from local partners rather than a house bakery. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables, and the open, sociable counter format extends to monthly coffee workshops for anyone who wants to go deeper than a cup.