Fauna & Flora- Anjos — Restaurant in Lisbon

Lisbon is finally discovering the joys of brunch and I was very happy to spot this new local offering a while ago and today on a lazy Sunday thought I'd check it out.

Arriving at 11.30am the place was buzzing with a queue of people outside waiting for a table, travelling solo I was immediately offered a place at the bar - happy days.

The menu came quickly, the order was promptly taken. The surroundings were pleasant in a slightly stereotypical trendy brunch sort of way - white walls, plenty of wood, lots of glass jars with food stuffs and plenty of plants. The atmosphere was buzzing, full of Lisbon's good looking, bright young girls & guys. Maybe 40-50 people fitted in, acoustics were bad the space being open plan - lots of echo and conversations bouncing off the parallel, hard surfaced walls. I could just about discern some music playing under the noise of voices but had no idea what it was.

Glasses on, book out, one page in and my bowl of chips arrive. Doh - English schoolboy error, chips don't mean chips they actually mean crisps, I've lived on the continent long enough to know I should have double checked but my €3 had brought a bowl of cold, sweet potato crisps with some sort of dried herb on (when salt was needed) rather than some nice hot french fries or (proper!) chips.

Next up came my sparkling water and a passable flat white and very shortly after came my Botanica - crushed avocado on (hardly) toasted bread, wild mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, sous vide poached eggs, parmesan, rocket leaves and a few seeds scattered around. At rush hour on a Sunday the speed of service was impressive.

So on cutting in and tasting, everything was fine. No special sauces, just simple ingredients simple put together and nicely presented. The avocado was fine, if slightly greying. You can't go wrong with fried mushrooms although oozing with herb butter would have been better. The roasted tomatoes were slightly acidic when usually slow roasting salvages even the saddest of tomato. The eggs were warm with a yolk that stumbled rather than ran. The abundance of undressed rocket was, well rocket like and the seeds were in a raw state, no toasting or fanciness going on.

Intrigued by the speed of delivery I took another look at the menu. It is full of long time brunch favourites - juices, shakes, pancakes, granola, eggs. A lot of repetition in ingredients - sous vide eggs (rather than the style you want) and fields of avocado. The menu oozes "fast brunch" rather than telling the story of a chef's character and influences. It is sort of brunch by numbers, with emphasis on presentation, minimal use of heat or any slow cooking techniques. It's a formula rather than seeing what is fresh and in season and creating something. There were no specials and I will be surprised if there ever will be. I also didn't see any mention of the words bio or organic, which I'm philosophical about with vegetables but definitely like to see next to things like eggs and meat.

Now don't think I'm criticising, I'm just being objective and I walked away not unhappy but not amazed in anyway either. The food was fine and instagramable, the interiors were modern, trendy and instagramable but a bit like Instagram there are hints that commercial considerations are more important than the content and when you look under the surface sheen the substance is not quite delivering on the visual promise.

On a purely positive tip though the staff were stuper efficient, polite and helpful and I applaud Fauna & Flora for helping nudge Lisbon into the modern culinary age and I feel that similarly minded cafes and restaurants are still much needed in Lisbon and respect to Fauna & Flora for filling a gap.

Rather than walk down the road again though I shall make the much longer trek over to Cafe Dede's where ingredients, creativity and love are king and which still wears the crown for me of Lisbon's top...

overpriced, bad service, bland tasteless food, zero seasoning, possibly the worst place I have been to in Lisbon ever.

It looks so pretty but so so shallow. Despite the generic menu with zero relation to the area, country or even an attempt at "fusion" credentials the decor is inviting and manicured the presentation is flawless but possibly the worst food I have had in years. Bland, flavourless, terrible choices all over the menu with smoked salmon that ends up cooking up and losing flavour for example, presunto that is cooked and chopped in such a way it no longer has any flavour, an absence of seasoning, an apaling offer of hot sauces (Tabasco or black pepper I was told when asking for some hot sauce to try and get some flavour into the food I was having). The service is bordering on offensive despite the abundance of staff who is smiley, friendly but not very good at basic hospitality skills such as bringing cutlery, napkins, or asking how the food is and if we need anything else. Prices are ridiculous for what is essentially glorified unseasoned breakfast/brunch with, I admit, amazing plating and presentation. It is all about presentation and zero content here.

Some tips: the iced coffee is an espresso still hot with some ice and water, save yourself the Surcharge and get a regular espresso and ask for a glass with some ice cubes don't go, save yourself some money and respect your tastedbuds. there is no lack of offer around the area that is cheaper, infinitely tastier, and with much better service. You might lose on the looks of the food and the decor but unless you are going for an Instagram meal that...

What a cute spot. It’s such a quaint space, lush with greenery and hanging plants. It’s buzzing with guest. Seems like every time I looked up, the door swung open and guest scurried in. That’s always a GOOD sign in my book! I wish I could have loved this spot but the cons out weighed the pros for me.

☺️ What I loved •Great vegan options

•Menus in both Portuguese and English

• Lively urban chic venue with an eclectic crowd. Small, but still good space for groups of 4-5+

😐 My No-Likes • Service is ok, but not consistent. I had to look for my server several times or ask another to get me what I need. I also had to request for my bill twice. After still waiting some time, I had to walk up to the counter for my bill.

•There we’re people seated AFTER us (My mom and I) who were served and left while we had been there for some time.

•Pricey for what was served/service given. I had the wild mushroom avocado toast w/ eggs and Moms had the salmon toast w/ eggs. We both had the juice of the day (carrot mango) water and I had a oat milk cappuccino. Bill was €39,50

•Our food was cold. Eggs and toast should be at least warm. Possible our food was sitting out and just wasn’t served to us in a timely fashion.

It’s possible they were off that day, but I’ve been in busier establishments that still had consistent and better service. I really wanted to love...