Lisboeta

Lisbon in London

Grilled Carabineiro

Portuguese restaurants are hard to come by in London, for some reason, it does not get the love like Spanish cuisine but I found Portuguese is just as good and exciting as Spanish. I recalled when chef Nuno Mendes launched Taberna do Mercado in Spitalfield Market in East London back in 2015, it was something so new in London and to these days, I still found it to be the best Portuguese restaurant in London, despite it being closed down already. Fast forward to 2022, Nuno is back with a new concept Lisboeta, offering a slice of Lisbon food culture to his new restaurant, I was generally really excited to give it a go. The menu center around many small plates, with four dishes that are ideal to share.

Bacalhau à Brás

Aged Bavette Steak with Pica Pau Sauc

The classic Bacalhau à Brás is similar to what I have encountered in Portugal, well-aged salted cod with crispy onions and potatoes, it had a lovely balance of texture. I am pretty sure the scarlet prawn was imported in frozen condition, but the taste was still outstanding, well seasoned, and grilled to perfection. The prawn was so soft and sweet, almost cut like butter. The waiter really pushed me to order the seafood rice and I was so glad I did, the rice was loaded with cuttlefish, razor clams, and red prawns, along with a mixture of spices. All the seafood together delivered a fabulous umami sensation, while the rice happily absorbed all the amazing flavours. 

Seafood rice with red prawns, cuttlefish and razor clams

Egg custard, almond tart and biscuit cake

I am pleased that with Lisboeta, I now have a good Portuguese restaurant to go to without needing to fly to Portugal, but if I compare directly with Taberna do Mercado, I somehow found Taberna has just the edge, largely down to it can use humble ingredients, using classic cooking methods and turn out wonderful tastes, while Lisoeta appears to go for using more luxury ingredients with faster cooking methods. Having said that, I do think Lisboeta is going some places given the star status of Nuno Mendes, and everything he has a hand on usually would become very successful.

Food 3.5/5

What I paid: 
£74 per person with a cocktail

Average cost without drinks and services:
£60

30 Charlotte St, London W1T 2NG

https://lisboeta.co.uk/