Pigmeu — Restaurant in Lisbon

We will start by saying that we came to eat at Pigmeu without being fully aware of the menu and the restaurant's offerings. The website doesn't clearly explain the gastronomic options, and it states that the menu offers a third of vegetables, when in fact, the individual dishes are composed of a third vegetables. The restaurant's philosophy is admirable because it uses the whole pig, including parts that are typically discarded and not eaten, promoting sustainability and a circular food approach, which is commendable.

We chose this restaurant for our last evening in Lisbon, trusting the Michelin guide, as both of us work in the hospitality industry (service and kitchen). I am a vegetarian and do not eat meat. After communicating my dietary restriction based on an ethical choice, the waiter widened his eyes and looked at me with a surprised and somewhat annoyed expression. He repeatedly asked if I was sure I didn’t eat any type of meat, including bones used to make the broth. I don’t usually criticize service, as I work as a waitress and recognize the challenges behind dealing with customers who are hard to satisfy, but the waiter made me feel like I was in the wrong, as though I should reconsider my choice, which has lasted for eight years. At that point, we should have politely gotten up and left. However, since my partner is a fine-dining chef who appreciates food from all countries because he understands and studies it, we decided to stay. Our decision to stay was also influenced by the fact that the waiter, after consulting with the kitchen, said he was willing to offer two vegetarian variations of two dishes from the menu, assuring me they would make sure I was fed. The waiter later informed us that if we had mentioned a vegetarian guest before coming, the kitchen would have been better prepared (I’m not sure how we could have notified them, as we tried calling several times but never received an answer).

After ordering two dishes each, we asked for wine, which took twenty minutes to arrive and was not explained to us, despite me asking about its origin and the composition of the blend. From the beginning, we both felt extremely uncomfortable, both due to how my dietary restriction was handled and because we were treated with insufficiency, almost as if we were second-class customers. I regret expressing such strong opinions because this involves the work of people, but I am convinced that every restaurant should be ready to cater to even the most demanding and difficult palates, especially a restaurant of this caliber.

The dish of pork croquettes my partner received was appreciated, but I was left without food until he finished his dish, and even after that. When my first dish arrived, I honestly thought it was strange. The portion was minimal (and from the photos online, it should have been significantly more substantial); in two spoonfuls, I finished the scrambled eggs and the asparagus (which were very tough), which were supposed to fill me halfway but were comparable to an amuse-bouche. Additionally, there were pieces of roasted pork in the dish, which suggested that they had been added by mistake and hastily removed.

At that point, frustrated and annoyed, we decided to get up and leave the restaurant, apologizing once again to the staff because the initial mistake was ours. We were simply met with an "okay" and paid for everything we had consumed.

With regret, we left a place we had high expectations for, where we thought we would be treated differently. Despite the restaurant’s philosophy, which is located in a highly touristy area like Lisbon and should therefore be prepared for inconveniences and surprises like this, I believe that today, every restaurant should at least be open to offering a non-meat option and should consider every...

Thoroughly disappointing experience. Given this restaurant is in the Guide and has been recommended to me by others, I was under the impression it would live up to the standards of casual fine dining. It did not.

The biggest downside is the staff. On a disorganised and badly timed set menu, the staff rarely bothered to explain the dishes. We were never given fresh cutlery or wine glasses, nor was the staff attentive to the fact that we waited over an hour for the first course to arrive. One waiter spilled red wine all over the table and didn't even bother to clean it up.

Our neighbouring table asked for ketchup with their chips, but instead of politely declining, the waiter was very rude in saying no and made us uncomfortable in the process. Something I may have brought up to staff if we were asked how our experience was, but that also didn't happen. We were instead asked what our "favourite and least favourite dishes" were, which is an incredibly crude way of asking your customers anything.

I found the dishes to be unimaginative and poorly presented. It shows that the kitchen is understaffed and the service not coordinated. The dessert on a set menu was confusing, two sets of flan and one chocolate mousse, so we awkwardly had to share in what was not designed to be a sharing concept.

I am a seasoned restaurant-go'er, and I don't mind a place that is both rough and charmingly disorganised. But if you have a Bib Gourmand, which in this case you also decided to proudly put under a spotlight on your outside walls, you need to care about your...

Very underwhelming experience considering the restaurant being Michelin guide listed and the many 5 star reviews here.

We had the 6 course tasting menu. The fact they're using all different parts of pig in the menu is great but it all seems kind of gimmicky when it doesn't turn out as tasty food. For example the pig heart had absolutely zero flavor and it was just a portion of bland meat. On the other hand most of the courses were way too salty and that's coming from a person who likes to eat quite salty food in general. Bifana was almost uneatable for being overly salted. Desserts were extremely sweet, I couldn't finish mine. It felt like the chef hadn't tasted anything they put out. The pancake was delicious but that's the only thing I would even consider eating again. Portions are small as expected. We ordered one extra course after the savory part of the tasting menu was done. I was still a little hungry when we left.

The restaurant was very noisy on a Thursday night. When the waiter told us about the dishes I had to ask what he had said from the person sitting closer to him. Service in general was nice and the wine they recommended was one of the best I...