The project of four friends was born in the Vale da Montanha Urban Park. There you can drink cocktails, snack and dance until you forget the stress of work.
In the summer, four friends packed their bags and traveled to Greece for a few days of relaxation. And it was under the scorching sun of the Greek islands that Isabel Vieira, Ema Ribeiro, Laura Paniagua and Inês Borregana agreed that their next adventure would not involve an exotic country, but a kiosk in Lisbon.
“The four of us were in Zakynthos, more specifically on Laganás beach, when we decided we were going to try our hand at this [restaurant] business. As a tribute to the place and our desire to live life, we immediately decided that the name would be Las Ganas. At that moment, we immediately defined everything we wanted to do,” Isabel tells NiT.
After two months, on October 26, they were opening their new kiosk in Lisbon at a party that served as a preview of what the place would be like: there was a samba circle in the afternoon and then a DJ to liven up the evening. In between, there was no shortage of food. Or drink.
“We want our kiosk to be the home of groups of friends, one of those places where you know you’ll meet someone you know and it’s the obvious place to have a drink,” he says. And to make that happen, they have a few trump cards to launch in the coming weeks: quiz nights, stand-up comedy shows and parties that turn the space in the Vale da Montanha Urban Park into a “kiosk”.
Born in Porto and Vilar Formoso and aged between 30 and 31, they moved here about four years ago in search of work in their respective fields, from real estate to finance and nutrition. Their daily lives are radically different, but the weekends are always filled with group outings in search of the best parties in town.
Now they want to be the ones to organize the liveliest gatherings in the capital. Finding a location was the first challenge, which is why Isabel, a 31-year-old real estate consultant, “got to work straight away” – and found a kiosk for sale in the Vale da Montanha Urban Park. With a small garden right next to it, Las Ganas turned out to be an “ideal place to have a drink in the afternoon” and that’s exactly what customers are doing. The menu includes more traditional drinks such as capirinha (€7.50), morangoska (€8), Aperol spritz (€7), Moscow Mule (€9), espresso martini (€8) or mojito (€7.50).
If you want original creations, you can always order the Las Ganas: it costs €8 and is made like a mojito, but with a secret ingredient to turn it pink. The imperial in the space costs €1.50 and the group decided to create a card that costs €13 and allows you to order ten beers.
And, as alcohol must be accompanied by good food, the menu includes bolo do caco with garlic butter (€4.50), which is already one of the most requested dishes. The Iberian board (18€), filled with sausages brought from Spain, is another favorite. There is also cheese bread (€3/ 5 pieces) and meat croquettes (€1.50) to share.
Las Ganas can seat 80 people and, during the week, has lunch menus such as a toast menu (€8.80), which includes soup, the sandwich and the juice of the day or water, and another with salad (€9.80). The toasts can be mixed, with tuna paste or chicken and cheese.
The menu was created by Laura Pamiágua, who works as a nutritionist and manages to keep everything “more balanced”. The other members split up to wait tables and prepare the meals.
In the coming months, to protect against the drop in temperature, a pergola has been erected, blankets will be distributed and there are plans to include hot wine and other drinks such as lattes and hot chocolate on the menu.
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