The Espelho de Água was designed by António Lino in 1939 as one of the pavilions of the Exhibition of the Portuguese World, which opened the following year. Originally, the building was made up of two units. In 1943 the building was extended by Cottinelli Telmo in order to permanently house a restaurant. In 1990, Graça Dias and Egas José Vieira intervened on the western end of the building in order to turn it into a private club.