Over time the space became the meeting point for intellectuals, artists, writers and free-thinkers weathering financial difficulties and finally a tourist attraction, as much as another coffee shop.

The café, initially spelled A Brazileira, was opened by Adriano Telles on 19 November 1905 at No.122 (an old shirt shop), to sell "genuine Brazilian coffee" from the State of Minas Gerais, a product generally unappreciated in homes of Lisboetas of that period.

[2] By 1993, the café had weathered its mid-century financial problems, and had applied for funds from the Lisboa 94 Capital Europeia da Cultura program to remodel and restore the building.

[2] The building is a narrow, two-floor rectangular plan (main floor and basement), with a front façade that includes the establishment name A Brasileira and respective address number.

[2] The long narrow hall includes mosaicked floors in alternating marble tiles (in black and white), a roof with ornamental friezes and square pillars along the walls, also decorated in sculpted wood.

[2] It was a favored haunt of intellectuals and academics, including Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa,[4] the writers Aquilino Ribeiro and Alfredo Pimenta.

The University of Lisbon's Faculdade de Belas-Artes (English: School of Fine Arts) is located within the Chiado district, and its approximately 1300 students transit the quarter regularly, competing with tourists for open-air tables.