Mú - Gelato & Caffè — Restaurant in Lisbon

I've been meaning to go here for quite a while now as I've walked past it a lot and as Spring has sprung this week, I've hit it up twice. The second time just because I wanted to confirm my suspicions and as an excuse to get away from the computer.

The first time here I waited patiently in line whilst the girl in front tasted 5 different flavours all given to her on a small plastic spoon. Upon deciding on her flavour the owner kindly relieved her of the spoons and threw them in the bin. I really dread to think how many single use plastic spoons this place hasn't recycled and sent to landfill. They also use the same spoons for the ice creams. Is it just me who has been reading about all the plastic clogging up the world recently?

NOTE TO OWNER this is 2019 please find an environmentally friendly solution for your spoons and packaging - your customers and the planet will love you even more for it.

Anyway, environmental concerns aside what is the ice cream like? I tried two on my first visit - the fruit and cheese cake and the avocado and lemon. The Avocado was interesting but not quite interesting enough to buy so I went for the fruit and cheesecake. I handed over my €2.50 and went to sit in the park to analyse the flavours, it didn't take long. The fruit was fairly flavourless with the biscuit and sugar in the foreground. It was sunny so the ice cream was welcome, if uninspiring.

Earlier today I thought I would go and give them a second chance and I wanted to check out the mango ice cream that I wish I had ordered a few days earlier. Another €2.50, another reasonable scoop of ice cream on a cone. I declined the offered plastic spoon.

Off to the park and same result, the ice cream wasn't really oozing fruit flavours and was just very average. I guess the trouble is that in my book €2.50 for an ice cream should get you something quite special. I mean the place is decorated really nicely and looks very gourmet and sophisticated, its just that the ice cream doesn't live up to the outlet's interior and the price bracket of the product.

I guess on another day I would have given it three stars but due to handing out probably tens of thousands of single use plastic spoons a year I've deducted another star for crimes against the environment.

Save the planet and some money and get a Magnum on a recyclable/bio-degradable wooden stick from one of the nearby shops or kiosk...

This is a revision of the original review which was initially 5 stars. However, I have reduced yhis review to 2 stars on a recent return as they have significantly raised their prices and shrunk their serve sizes to the point that this has become closest to one of the worst quality to price experiences you can have for ice cream. Their flavours have also dropped in quality. The mango and ginger is so overpowered by the ginger that it has no taste. The white chocolate is only recognisable as chocolate from the chunks of chocolate in it, the ice cream is mostly flavourless without that. Extremely disappointed in a place that used to be our regular favourites to visit, that we will now be choosing other places in favour of Mu. What represents a small size in nearly all other ice cream stores in Lisbon is what Mu classes as medium and then they charge a premium for it of 5 euro. Too expensive and bad QPR. Very disappointed with where it has gone to.

Original Review (2020) With a larger and larger number of ice cream shops in Lisbon, it is going to be hard to find a better place for the best ice cream. A great selection of dynamic flavours that all pack a...

I have been to many purveyors of gelato worldwide and they all have varying subtleties of flavours: sometimes pistachio is more creamy, colouring varies, intensity, and so on... and we all vary on different days also depending on mood and how our palate is assimilating flavours that particular day (maybe the wine before affected our tastebuds!). Anyway I enjoyed MU. Nice attendance and importantly a person can sample different flavours without issue.This brings a generous and more friendly ambiance, though depends if there are many folks in line, so make it quick! All the flavours had a natural essence to them. Today I enjoyed raspberry though tried many flavours (salted caramel, hazelnut, pistachio, avocado and lemon (nice combo), and ginger). There are enough to savour. Another thing: the prices are reasonable both for gelato or for baked goods or coffee etc. I will be back and can't recommend enough. You can also go and sit in the neighbouring park. Thanks for this experience, and I...