Where Macau's regulars eat and drink.

Taipa

OTT: the dice game pub

OTT stands for Old Taipa Tavern, on R. de São Joao in the old village lanes of Taipa. It calls itself an Aussie/NZ gastropub: two floors, a long list of craft beers and ciders, and enough screens to catch rugby, the EPL or F1 without asking anyone to change the channel.

The reason to go early is the dice game. During happy hour you roll the dice, and if you hit the lucky number your drink is free. Reviewers keep mentioning it as the surprise of the evening, which tells you most people walk in not knowing about it. Now you do.

Practical notes. It opens in the afternoon and runs to about 2:30am, so it works as a pre-dinner pint or a late one. Weekends get packed, so go on a weeknight if you want a stool without a fight. Beer is not cheap by Macau standards: one recent visitor paid MOP178 for two pints. The dice game takes the sting out.

Taipa

Macalhau: the neighborhood Portuguese

Macalhau sits at 34 R. dos Mercadores, a short walk from the Taipa food streets. The name is a wink at bacalhau, salt cod, and the menu leans into Portuguese home cooking: cod dishes, sangria, the kind of food that makes a small room feel full.

It is small. Reviewers describe the upstairs as feeling like someone's village home, and the rating sits at 4.9 from well over a hundred reviews, which for a neighborhood place is about as good as it gets. Service gets mentioned by name more than once.

One thing to know: hours are not published widely, so check their Instagram (@macalhau.macau) before you walk over.

Peninsula

3 Sardines: the Portuguese tavern

Across the water on the peninsula, 3 Sardines hides at 34 R. de São Roque in the St. Lazarus Quarter, a few minutes' walk from the Ruins of St. Paul's. It is a Portuguese tavern built around petiscos, the small plates the Portuguese eat alongside drinks, plus sangria and Portuguese wine.

The kitchen is run by brothers Pedro and Mauro Almeida, chefs from Chaves in northern Portugal cooking traditional recipes. The room is part of the fun: vintage pieces shipped from Portugal, including original 1980s TAP Air Portugal seats. People who have been say it feels like a little trip to Lisbon.

Hours are 12:00 to 23:00 Friday through Sunday, and 15:00 to 23:00 Monday to Thursday. It is a small room and it fills up, so book ahead rather than walking in.

Put it together

Make an evening of it

Do OTT and Macalhau as one Taipa evening: dice game first, dinner after, both on foot. Save 3 Sardines for a peninsula day built around the Ruins of St. Paul's and the St. Lazarus Quarter lanes.

End the evening with a show:

For the bigger picture, our dining guide covers the Michelin rooms to the egg tarts. The trip planner will slot dinner into a day-by-day plan built from our guides. And check events before you go: October and November are packed, and you do not want to miss the fireworks or the Grand Prix.

Questions

Frequently asked