A typical day in the life of a lonely man who works in an unsuccessful tavern located in the historical center of Guimarães, an old town in Portugal. During the day, the man spends his time coming up with new menu items for his tavern, while at night he gets ready to meet someone special.

Having just finished Le Havre in the titular French city, Aki Kaurismäki hopped over to Guimarães, Portugal to shoot his segment of the anthology film Centro Historico. Attuned to the gentle rhythms of the small tourist town, Tavern Man is a yearning, dialogue-free meditation on unfulfilled dreams.