Restaurant: Belcanto
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Visit: August 2019
Accolades: Two Michelin stars (2019) – Restaurant Magazine “Top Restaurants of the World” (Top 50 in 2019). La Liste score of 90.25 (2019). Part of Tier 4 of our Global 300 list (a rising star & new entry).
Belcanto has been around for years, but things started looking up in late 2011, when chef José Avillez took over, transforming the menu and the restaurant into one of the best, if not THE best restaurant in Portugal. A disciple of the Adria brothers at El Bulli, Avillez took their style and lessons to heart, creating a uniquely Portuguese set of dishes, but elevated with the techniques learned from his time in Spain.
“The light, the life and the people.
José Avillez
The history, the sea, our regions.
Portugal. This is where we live and grow, are inspired, tread.
Cuisine is our fado, our way of expression. “
For meals like this, we like to go for lunch, where the cost is often lower, and there is an opportunity to walk off part of the meal in the afternoon. Additionally, there was a choice of menus: the Evolution menu (pushing the boundries a bit more, new flavors, new textures) and the Classic menu (more traditional, dishes that put Belcanto on the map). We opted for the (somewhat) cheaper Classic menu with wine pairing, to get a good feel for what elevated Portugese cuisine could be.
Amuse bouches 1 & 2 
Amuse bouches 3 – 6 
Chefs at Belcanto 
Golden egg 
Dip in the sea 
Suckling pig 
Wine pairing 
Tangerina 
Desserts
Here are the dishes (which we paired with 4 local wines by the glass as part of the tasting menu):
- Amuse bouche: elderflower martini with “olive” of suspended olive juice
- Amuse bouche: Cod fish spume with micro flowers
- Amuse bouche: Foie gras “suit of cards”
- Amuse bouche: cherry gazpacho with almond foam
- Amuse bouche: pork ofal with cherry
- Amuse bouche: fried avocado
- “The garden goose that laid the golden egg”: poached egg with crunchy bread and mushrooms, in a light broth with gold leaf
- “Dip in the sea”: sea bass with various seaweeds and bivalves
- “Portuguese pot-au-feu”: deconstructed beef stew with cabbage and carrots
- “Suckling pig revisited”: suckling pig with crisps, orange & salad
- “Abade de Priscos pudding”: pudding with pork greaves, raspberry and wasabi sorbet
- “Tangerina & Mandarin”: whole “citrus” filled with creamy foam
- Dessert: peanut butter (in the shape of a whole peanut)
- Dessert: home-made marshmellows
- Dessert: deconstructed raspberries (in a raspberry shape)
- Dessert: traditional jellies
- Dessert: chocolate
Overall, the meal was amazing and gave a great cross-section of Portuguese dishes, but with a modern and elevated flair. The standout dish was the suckling pig, but also kudos to the team for staying true to local and regional dishes. Service was exceptional. Setting is to be expected in any large metropolitan city, but everything was clean and crisp and plated beutifully. Priced as expected for a “top 50” type of restaurant, although certainly very expensive for Portugal. Highly recommended if you are in Lisbon.
Price Neutral Rating: 84 (Exceptional)
Four Star Rating: 72 (Fair Price)
Details:
- Flavor: 4 out of 5 (Excellent)
- Signature Item: 4 out of 5 (Suckling Pig)
- Consistency: 4 out of 5 (Almost all items were excellent)
- Innovation: 3 out of 5 (Elevated versions of classic dishes)
- Locality/Seasonality: 4 out of 5 (All items sourced locally)
- Tradition: 5 out of 5 (All dishes had regional roots)
- Service: 5 out of 5 (Exceptional)
- Alcohol/Wine Pairing: 3 out of 5 (Very Good)
- Setting/Building: 2 out of 5 (Nice building in an urban setting)
- Plating: 3 out of 5 (Beautiful, classic plating)
- Price: 2.5 out of 5 (Not a great deal, but not highly overpriced)
The Champagne Life on a Sparkling Wine Budget
“Top 100 Travel Tips“ included in this post: #12 – Experience epic meals; #22 – Learn about your host country; #52 – Use the concierge; #65 – Eat well; #100 – Share your adventures
Pro-Tip: Getting a reservation can be difficult. We recommend planning well ahead of time, having a few days that work as options and having a premium credit-card concierge book for you.