Grupo Nicolau

What Grupo Nicolau does

Grupo Nicolau, operating commercially as I Love Nicolau, is a privately-held Portuguese restaurant group headquartered at Rua de São Nicolau in Lisbon's Baixa district. Founded in summer 2016 by the team behind Nicolau Lisboa Café, the group runs a portfolio of seven café and bar brands across three Portuguese cities (Lisbon, Cascais, and Porto), each carrying a distinct character-based identity (Nicolau, Amélia, Basílio, Olivia, Glória) with differentiated interiors and adapted menus. The core offering centers on all-day brunch, healthy meals with vegetarian and vegan options, smoothies, salads, pancakes, and craft beverages including a proprietary artisanal beer called Nicolando. Pricing ranges from €1.40 for espresso to €18-20 per person for fixed brunch packages.

The business monetizes primarily through dine-in food and beverage sales across its physical locations, supplemented by four ancillary revenue streams: corporate catering (catering.ilovenicolau.com), digital gift vouchers sold via Giftpro (€15 per person, six-month validity), branded merchandise (granola, reusable lunchboxes, homemade spreads), and third-party delivery through an Uber Eats partnership. The company targets health-conscious consumers and brunch enthusiasts as the primary use-case segment, with secondary demand from tourists (notably at the Cascais and Foz do Porto locations) and corporate clients seeking event catering. Distribution spans physical storefronts, an online voucher storefront, a delivery marketplace, and a dedicated catering subdomain. The legal entity is TESOUROJASMIM, Lda, a Portuguese private limited company, and the group has disclosed no external funding rounds.

Operationally, the group is self-funded and growth has been driven entirely through organic unit expansion: from the original Nicolau Lisboa in 2016 to Amélia and Basílio Lisboa in 2018, Nicolau Porto in 2019, Olivia Lisboa in 2020, and Nicolau Cascais and Amélia Foz in 2022, with Glória Clube Porto (a bar/nightlife concept) listed as upcoming. No management team, headcount, revenue, or financial metrics are disclosed in the source material.

Name

Grupo Nicolau

Legal name

TESOUROJASMIM, Lda

Website

https://ilovenicolau.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Grupo Nicolau is a privately-held Portuguese restaurant group operating seven café and bar brands (Nicolau, Amélia, Basílio, Olivia, Glória) across Lisbon, Cascais, and Porto. It serves health-conscious consumers and tourists with all-day brunch, catering, and gift vouchers under the I Love Nicolau brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee Chains & Franchise Cafes (THAFADAB), Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)

Keywords

• Casual dining restaurants
• All-day brunch cafes
• Corporate catering services
• Healthy breakfast chain
• Brunch restaurants

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in restaurant sales: The primary revenue stream comes from food and beverage sales at their café locations. They offer all-day brunch, breakfast items, lunch, dinner, and desserts across 7 locations in Portugal (Nicolau Lisboa, Amélia Lisboa, Olivia Lisboa, Nicolau Cascais, Nicolau Porto, Amélia Foz, Glória Clube Porto).
2. Catering services: Corporate catering services for company events and celebrations, offering customizable menus for corporate Christmas parties and events.
3. Gift vouchers: Digital gift vouchers sold online, valid for 6 months at all locations in Lisbon and Cascais. Vouchers are priced at €15 per person for brunch.
4. Delivery and take-away via Uber Eats: Partnership with Uber Eats for food delivery and take-away services, allowing customers to order from multiple locations including Nicolau Lisboa, Amélia Lisboa, and Nicolau Porto.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grupo Nicolau (trading as I Love Nicolau) operates a portfolio of café and restaurant locations across Portugal under character-driven brands such as Nicolau, Amélia, Olivia, Basílio, and Glória Clube. The group serves all-day brunch, breakfast items, healthy bowls, salads, pancakes, smoothies, and globally-inspired dishes across 7 locations in Lisbon, Cascais, and Porto. Additional revenue lines include corporate catering, digital gift vouchers, and a branded merchandise shop.

Product overview

Grupo Nicolau operates a portfolio of cafe and restaurant brands across Portugal. The group consists of multiple location-based brands (Nicolau Lisboa, Amélia Lisboa, Olivia Lisboa, Nicolau Cascais, Nicolau Porto, Amélia Foz) offering all-day brunch, healthy meals, smoothies, pancakes, and international cuisine. The portfolio also includes Glória Clube (nightlife bar in Porto) and supporting services including catering, digital gift vouchers, and a merchandise shop. The restaurants share a common philosophy of healthy, delicious food served in relaxed environments with vegetarian and vegan options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nicolau Lisboa Café: The flagship all-day cafe focused on healthy brunch and breakfast food, open since summer 2016 in Lisbon's Baixa neighbourhood.
• Amélia Lisboa
• Basílio Lisboa
• Olivia Lisboa
• Nicolau Cascais
• Nicolau Porto
• Amélia Foz
• Glória Clube

Products and services

• Nicolau Lisboa The flagship Nicolau café located in Lisbon's Baixa neighbourhood, offering all-day brunch, healthy meals, smoothies, salads, pancakes, and Brazilian-inspired dishes in a relaxed environment. Open daily for dine-in service.
• Amélia Lisboa Café located in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon, with an elegant, art nouveau pink-themed décor serving delicate brunch and comfort food. Open Sunday to Thursday 8h30-20h00 and Friday/Saturday 8h30-22h00.
• Olivia Lisboa A pet-friendly café in Lisbon's Avenidas Novas district offering exotic flavors, internationally-inspired cuisine, and globally-influenced dishes. Open daily 09h00-23h00.
• Nicolau Cascais A pet-friendly beachside café in Cascais, offering Portuguese classics, Asian-inspired dishes such as Tom Yum Soup, homemade ice cream, milkshakes, craft beer (Nicolando), and merchandising items. Open Sunday-Thursday 9h00-20h00 and Friday-Saturday 9h00-22h00.
• Nicolau Porto An all-day café in Porto's Cedofeita neighbourhood serving brunch daily with colorful bowls, salads, pancakes, and vegetarian/vegan options. Open daily 09h00-22h30.
• Amélia Foz A sophisticated Parisian-inspired café in Foz do Porto combining city charm with proximity to the sea and Douro river, offering world flavors including Shakshuka, Chow Fun, and Duck Tacos. Open daily 09h00-19h30.
• Glória Clube Porto

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUber Eats partnership for food delivery services. Allows customers to order from multiple Nicolau locations including Nicolau Lisboa, Amélia Lisboa, and Nicolau Porto for home delivery. Vouchers also available through Uber Eats platform.
• Corporate event clientsminorOthersCorporate catering services for company events and celebrations. The company positions its catering as suitable for corporate Christmas parties and business events, offering customized menus.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Le Pain Quotidien: Global café-bakery chain offering all-day breakfast, healthy bowls, and communal dining. Comparable on café-bakery format, healthy menu positioning, and multi-location scale, but at much broader international footprint.
• Bill's Restaurant: UK-based brunch and casual dining chain with multiple locations. Comparable all-day brunch positioning and lifestyle branding, though at much larger scale and in a different geography.
• Café de Flore: Iconic Parisian café with strong brand identity, lifestyle positioning, and tourist footfall. Comparable in the sense of being a character-driven café brand with tourism-driven demand, though Nicolau operates a more casual all-day brunch model.

Others

• Uber Eats: Listed not as a competitor but as a current channel partner for delivery and voucher sales. Relevant ecosystem participant — exposes Grupo Nicolau to platform dependency and commission economics.

Direct peers

• The Mill: Lisbon-based brunch and specialty coffee café with a strong lifestyle-brand identity and visual aesthetic. Comparable target customer (urban, health-conscious brunch audience) and similar price points.
• Copenhagen Coffee Lab: Lisbon and Porto-based specialty coffee and brunch café chain with multiple locations. Competes directly with Nicolau on all-day brunch, healthy bowls, and the multi-city Portuguese expansion playbook.
• Go Natural: Portuguese healthy fast-casual chain with multiple Lisbon and Porto locations. Comparable on health-and-wellness positioning, vegetarian/vegan options, and Portuguese multi-city presence.
• Honest Greens: Portuguese healthy-eating restaurant chain expanding across Lisbon and Porto. Directly comparable on healthy/vegetarian positioning, multi-location Portuguese footprint, and target customer (urban professionals seeking wholesome meals).
• Hello, Kristof: Brunch-focused café concept in Lisbon with strong visual branding and all-day brunch positioning. Comparable to Nicolau on menu architecture, target demographic, and table-reservation model.
• Heim Cafe: Lisbon-based specialty brunch and healthy-eating café with multiple locations. Closest direct competitor to Nicolau in the all-day brunch segment, sharing similar pricing, vegetarian/vegan positioning, and Instagram-driven aesthetic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/nicolaucafe
• Instagraminstagram.com/nicolaulisboa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grupo-nicolau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grupo Nicolau