Belcanto — Restaurant in Lisbon

Such an incredible experience -- my expectations were incredibly high coming into this dinner, but Belcanto managed to live up to all the hype and its reputation as one of San Pellegrino's top 50 global restaurants. While the food itself was amazing, what really made my dinner at Belcanto one of the best meals I've ever had was how remarkably the team came together to form such a holistic, delightful meal. We were warmly greeted when we arrived, and then promptly given a tour of the entire restaurant, as well as a walkthrough of the kitchen. We got a chance to meet the entire kitchen staff, including Chef Jose Avillez himself; it was such a lovely, special touch to be able to meet every single person involved in crafting such a lovely experience.

The restaurant was also gorgeous, with beautiful, yet simple and elegant furniture, and a classic white tablecloth and candle. The dim, intimate lighting helped me feel super relaxed, and the service was also incredibly friendly and attentive. My glass never dipped below half full; they were completely on top of it with refills, as well as clearing and setting up the table between courses.

My mother and I both decided to do their chef's selection / tasting menu, which our server described as a journey through Chef Jose Avillez's experience of Portugal...a love letter to the country, if you will. Each course came with a small index card, which showcased the course with a gorgeous little watercolor painting, as well as a few adjectives that the chef hoped the meal would communicate. At the end of the meal, they packed up all the cards and included a little note from the kitchen, which was such a lovely gesture. They also did a fantastic job accommodating dietary restrictions; they emailed me the week beforehand to confirm any allergies / restrictions, and they made all the substitutions necessary on the day of. The substitutions didn't feel inferior to the standard set at all, and I might even argue that some of my alternative plates were even better...

Every single course was incredible, but some of my favorites had to be:

(1) Poached sea bass with lettuce and caviar -- This was one of their substitutions (offered to me instead of the suckling pig), and it was just divine. The fish was SO tender; if it didn't have the lettuce leaf on the outside, it definitely would have completely collapsed the second I touched it with my fork. While it looked quite simple, the bass packed a ton of flavor, but also let the natural flavors of the seafood shine. It was topped with a dollop of caviar, which offered a great contrast in texture and in flavor profile, and also came with a bit of seaweed...yet another ode to the ocean, but from a completely different angle.

(2) Shrimp -- I'm genuinely obsessed with this dish. The shrimp was remarkably tender, and it went beautifully with the various sauces and the toasted rice powder. I know this dish can be a bit hit or miss for folks, given how seafood-forward it is, but I personally loved the bold flavors. The squid ink was certainly a strong addition to an already seafood-centric plate, but it came together wonderfully.

(3) Mandarin dessert -- This was another substitution, offered in lieu of the cheesecake. It was genuinely one of the best desserts I've ever tasted; it was so light and refreshing, and it really helped me appreciate the mandarin so much more. The dessert was shaped like a mandarin orange, with an outer shell made of mandarin juice; the juice / ice peel concealed a delightful mandarin foam, and the entire thing was served with a bit of yuzu ice cream.

(4) The garden of the goose that laid the golden egg -- Another classic Belcanto dish. It includes a beautiful egg that...is not quite poached, but has a similar consistency. The yolk is gorgeously runny and the whites just melt in your mouth. The ground mushrooms and broth offer a great earthiness, and the hazelnuts are a great crunch. The gold leaf may not taste like anything, but it definitely made the whole dish feel a little...

Don't pass this restaurant up when in Lisbon. Belcanto boasts an unassuming entrance. This building is clearly hundreds of years old and probably withstood the earthquake of 1755. Walls hewn from stone, easily three feet in thickness and vaulted ceilings of mortar and brick. The music in the background is hip and cool. I'm transported in time to some rat pack scene of the 50s where Sinatra and Martin are about to walk in and croon their way into my heart. The seating was on point. Since I ate alone, there was no extra offending chair before me. Around me English was the language of the night. Every single table echoed American English. The servers were attentive, willing to cater to my every whim. I was informed from the start that if I needed to get up from the table I must let my server know beforehand so they can halt the pace of dishes until my return. I chose the tasting menu. To begin: a melody of tastes meant to be enjoyed in a particular order: caviar, cod, foie gras that melts in your mouth (my favorite) and titillates your taste buds, ending with a tomato palate cleanser. Next: Mar: seaweed topped with green apple and cucumber with a puree of sunflowers. To die for! Served almost ice cold this was small but potent in flavor. Beets were next with pine milk and mustard seeds. The bread was excellent as was the butter selection: traditional, made from farinheira (a type of sausage) and smoked rosemary. Of course the traditional olive oil was also served. Next a marriage of sea and land: Lirio fish in a cozido broth. Only the Portuguese can understand this. It was not my favorite but I appreciated the idea. Egg with mushrooms was next. I was asked to break the egg and mix with everything. The best way to eat this dish for sure. Having started with champagne, it was time for a suggestion and it came in the form of a viognier from Lisbon. It won a vintage award in 2017. Yum! I did not go with the wine pairing although that is an option. Carabineiro—I have no idea what this is. Some sort of shrimp is my guess with baby octopus. Delectable! Here I am thinking it’s over but no, now come the main dishes. Jesus! This is why I don’t have these gastronomic extravaganzas often! It’s just too much food for me. I ask the waiter to pause the meal. I need time to tell my stomach to make room. They oblige. My taste buds are having a party at the expense of a very small stomach. Next: lingueirao, don’t ask. It was delicious. Next: pigeon. I can’t believe it but that’s what it says on the card. I don’t know if I’m ready for it. Interesting taste and smell. It came with asparagus and earthy mushrooms. I ate it but admit it wasn’t my favorite. I am close to the end of my meal and every table is now full of patrons. This is a most successful 3* Michelin restaurant. At this point I was offered a visit to the kitchen. Well organized and over 50 employees in there alone to prep and make my wonderful meal. It was truly an honor and that’s all I have to say about that as I got to meet the chef. Next up dessert. I was asked to swap out my napkin for a sleeve which I did. Yes. I made sure to wipe my mouth with it several times. It came in handy. The dessert was a goat cheese ice cream with figs and rice paper figures. I lapped it up. I was so happy at this point nothing could go wrong. A pudding infused with ham was next. OMG! Intense and sublime flavors coupled with the tartness of citrus. The sommelier danced around the tables with much aplomb and fanfare. Knowledgeable and well-spoken, his English was impeccable as was his history of varietals. All wines were Portuguese. Hooray! Finally as it began, so did it end with a melody of flavors brought out in the shape of two hearts. Again, I was asked to eat in a particular order ending with my espresso served in traditional Vista Alegre china. In the end, a souvenir: “I have within me all the dreams of the world.” Alvaro de Campos. Admittedly, my own loose translation. This was an experience. Isn’t that what...

wrongly awarded michelin stars!. he does not deserve a michelin star at all. Firstly, I would like to say that I am french, I have been raised travelling in michelin stars and 50 best restau all over the world. just the week before I was at Geranium and Noma who definitely both deserve their ranking. So I was hoping for a good experience at Belcanto. Firstly I noticed that a couple seating next to me were having some very traditional meat dishes. big portion. classic sauce and vegetables. nothing interesting. So instead of having the Belcanto menu at 175€, we opted for the evolution menu at 195€. the waiter said it will more inventive and with few surprises. what a disappointment, firstly we got most of the dishes from the belcanto menu and 2 more dishes that were coming from the a la carte menu. so absolutely no surprise here! and no play with textures, no jelly, no nitrogen, no foam. absolutely nothing exciting or interesting. dishes were typical 80's- 90's french chef. the only interesting part of the menu were the amuses bouches that were really nice but we are talking of 4 tiny portions and the pre dessert also a tiny portion but at least inventive and 1 starter ( the carrot and olive one). BUT all the dishes we had ( 6) were absolutely blank! traditionally cooked fish with a beurre blanc sauce. traditionally cooked prawn with a bisque. all well executed but absolutely no originality and very heavy portion. we even had a fish cooked in a buttery heavy sauce and to make it inventive ( that s how they call it), they bring few pieces of bread with a fig butter and recommend to butter the bread and dip it in the sauce. ok, the fig part seems interesting but NO a big No, this is a very heavy buttery creamy plate, no need to add extra bread and butter. another plate was a caesar salad with lobster. it was literally what it is. a heavy lobster salad. big portion. nothing special in it. we also had a pigeon with a mushroom sauce and a puff pastry filled with mushroom. totally 80s dishes. worst was probably the dessert. they call it tomato texture. what a joke. it was actually 2 scoop of classic strawberry ice cream with some vanilla custard and they added a little piece of confit tomato on the custard. heavy plain. nothing inventive or original. a Pure total disappointment and waste of our evening in Lisbon. Fortunately we were lucky enough to secure a table the day before at LOCO ( 1 star michelin) which deserve 2 stars very original inventive dishes and very good philosophy from the chef, naturally sourced ingredient. reuse- very good non alcoholic pairing. PS: belcanto does not offer any non alcoholic pairing. we also had a dinner at FEITORIA the night before- also 1 michelin star who deserve 2 stars. many interesting ingredients and texture play. we were also served caviar and white truffle in some very interesting playfull dishes. overall I do think that belcanto has it 2 stars michelin and kept them for political reasons as it was one of the first restau awarded 2 stars in Lisbon or even in portugal. they obviously don't deserve it. the chef should be ashamed not to at least try to live up to the expectation but I guess he does not care. he was not in the restaurant and he also have 3 to 4 restau in town including a pizzeria. So do yourself a favor. avoid belcanto and try the other 1 michelin star restau I suggest. much...