Parra Wine Bistro — Restaurant in Lisbon

My first experience at Parra and it is excellent. Highly recommend!

I felt welcomed by everyone. Like visiting with friends. Warm atmosphere. Great vibe and light arrangements. Pleasant acoustics and music just right level.

I walked in alone without a reservation, and being a big fan of an open kitchen, I sat at the bar with a full view into the kitchen and pleasure to see it in action.

Excellent service from Damien. Comfortably switching between French, English, and Portuguese, he knows his wines and how to pair them. A man of the world with a kind aura.

I started with half a dozen oysters and a glass of champagne. Next the tartare for which Parra is famous. A delightful creation with a brilliant 4 layered texture.

Watching the chef preparing it, from my vantage point at the bar, I could fully appreciate and follow along in each step of the process.

Toasted dark bread with just the right soft crunch. Tartare in perfect hand cut chunks, accentuating texture, tossed with a delicious blend of seasoning.

Traditionally, a tartare comes in a bigger serving, allowing for a whole egg yolk to be placed on top, if it hasn’t already been mixed in together with the seasoning.

What makes Parra’s tartare stand out for me, and solving for the yolk on top even in the smaller presentation, is how a cream of cured egg yolk is generously spritzed over it. Besides the visual effect, the cured yolk adds an indulgent and rich layer of creamy texture, pure perfection. On top, a piece of anchovy lengthwise, adding depth and umami.

In short, a delight in every bite, pure pleasure to eat. Perfectly paired with champagne. The crisp mineral and acidity contrasts with the richness and umami. The effervescence of bubbles resets your palate between bites and helps highlight the balanced interaction between each ingredient anew in each bite. The toasty notes in champagne pair ridiculously well with the toasted bread and the beef umami.

Next Damien recommended I try the onion soup. I was delightfully surprised to see it being served in a beautiful miniature copper pan with brass handles. On the side delicious sourdough bread rubbed with garlic to soak it up with. An explosion of perfectly balanced richness. Just as you imagine a great onion soup to taste. A warm embrace.

Damien recommended a second glass of champagne to go with it. Mineral and dry bubbles perfectly cut through the richness of the soup and cheese in a wonderful pairing. Delicate tones finding synergies with the caramelisation and with the sourdough bread. A classic combination.

I asked how they achieve this level of taste and the head chef kindly took the time to explain how they properly brown the onions slowly to caramelise that sweet richness you long for. They add chicken stock and let it reduce slowly until almost becoming a marmalade. Lastly a generous amount of delicious Portuguese cheese on top under a grill and they finish it off with a spoonful of creme fraice and fresh chives. I could eat this every day.

The first tartare left such an impression, causing a craving, and I ordered a second one. It is that good.

For my last dish I ordered the razor clams. Delicate, tender and with a juicy sweetness, perfectly steamed in white wine, butter, garlic and parsley. I chose to pair it with a glass of Arinto from the Açores. Subtle tones with oceanic mineral and complexity gentle enough to let the delicate clams shine along with the herbal notes. Pure pleasure.

In lieu of dessert, as I was feeling full and content, Damien recommended a lovely orange natural to round things off with. Perfect.

I very much enjoyed my first experience at Parra and I will be back. I value a place I can visit alone, on a date, with friends, with parents, and to bring people visiting town from abroad. Parra ticks all the boxes....

Overall, the experience was good but fell short of expectations, especially given the price point. We ordered the Beef Tartare, Pork Cheek Croquettes, Yellowtail with habanero and saltbush, a Tomahawk steak, and finished with the Chocolate Cake with olive oil. The Beef Tartare and Pork Cheek Croquettes were excellent, full of flavor and very well prepared. The Yellowtail, however, was disappointing, the marinade didn’t integrate with the fish, leaving the dish lacking in flavor unless you deliberately soaked each bite. The Tomahawk steak itself was very good, but the wait time between starters and the meat was over 40 minutes, which disrupted the flow of the meal and ultimately left us unable to finish the dish. Dessert was enjoyable and nicely executed. The wine was good, complementing the food well. The main drawback was the value for money. The bill came to €231 for 3 people (about €77 per person), which felt significantly overpriced considering the overall experience. Parra Wine Bistro has potential, especially with some standout dishes, but service pacing and pricing need to be reconsidered to match the...

Parra is in our neighbourhood and we have been here several times. To dine in as well as to buy wine to take away. This evening we stopped by for a glass of wine and it felt obvious that it was our last time here.

As much as we wanted to love Parra and support what we hoped would become our “local”, it just didn’t feel right. It feels like the restaurant is struggling to find balance between staff with spicy attitude and those who just dread your presence there. To top it off, when you start to feel the restaurant prioritising their bottom line over customer experience - even the nicer of their Italian wines taste cheap despite the fact that you are charged the price of a bottle for a few drops that barely cover the bottom of the wine glass (as pretty as it is).

We wanted to love Parra. But with so many other inviting, well-balanced spots in the neighbourhood where hospitality isn’t treated like an afterthought, there’s simply no reason to go back.

Ci...