Come Prima — Restaurant in Lisbon

Category: Fine dining. While staying in an apartment in Lapa, which is a residential area of western Lisbon (not in the tourist areas), we found this Italian gem within walking distance, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is rated one of the top 70 Italian restaurants on Earth. This two-level restaurant simultaneously feels old-world and cozy, yet modern and sleek, with the fiery maw of a pizza oven greeting you at the door, zig-zag-upholstered banquets, earth-toned tiled floor, and white tableclothed tables downstairs, and dark wood tables with white linen runners, hardwood floors, and wood paneled vaulted ceiling upstairs, and colorful Italian (or maybe Portuguese) ceramics throughout. We especially liked the tables along the second floor steel-and-wood catwalk, which looks over the first floor dining room. The charismatic chef, Tanka Sapkota, is a Knight of the Truffles and Wines of Alba (yes, that’s a thing, achieved only by a brotherhood exclusive enough that all of the Knights can surround one big Round Table). Among his many distinctions, the chef is known for having bought one of the largest truffles ever (337 lbs.). Chef Sapkota, who also helms a few other Lisbon restaurants and strives for excellence in food and service, has achieved both in this popular, non-touristy restaurant. Needless to say, the menu is truffle-centric, sourced — this surprised me — from Portugal, after the Treasured Tubers were recently discovered growing there. Many dishes incorporate truffles, there is a truffle tasting menu, and truffles may be added to many (maybe all) dishes. Although the kitchen offers many dishes that we would have happily tried (some traditional Italian and some more creative), we shared three pastas, all of which were house-made: ravioli with goat ricotta and spinach, tagliatelle with mixed mushrooms, and rigatoni with veal and Alentejo acorn-fed pork ragout. All were absolutely delicious, perfectly prepared, and expertly presented by our server. Our dinner was capped by a complimentary glass of Limoncello, which reminded me of my first visit to Rome, where I first encountered this magical elixir. After our meal, Chef Sapkota visited us at our table. It was clear from our conversation that this guy has a philosophy of excellence and is not happy unless his guests are happy, which means that he strives to perfect every detail of the dining experience. He capsulized his philosophy better than I ever could: “the restaurant is a home for hospitality, for sharing, for creating beauty through food. Behind every plate there must be intention.” The only sad aspect of our experience was that we don’t live in Lisbon, and therefore cannot become regulars and spend more time talking with this inspired and inspiring chef. I have only one suggestion: offer a printed menu instead of a QR code or tablet menu (a big negative in my book and universally disliked and absent from fine dining restaurants since the Pandemic ended), which would be more excellent and much more in keeping with the fine dining experience, which was perfect in every other way. Chef agreed and promised work on this, so we are hoping for a printed menu in our next visit. YouTube’s...

TOURIST TRAP

After a few days of reflecting on my dinner from Saturday, October 5th, I felt it was important to share my experience, especially for those traveling through Europe with some understanding of Italian cuisine.

I’ll break the review into three parts: Service, Ambiance, and Food.

Service (5/5) The service was top-notch. From the moment we walked in, we were treated with care and attention. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable, offering appetizers and a complimentary digestif, which is typical in quality Mediterranean restaurants. The only negative was being prompted to review them via a QR code at the end of the meal, which felt a little forced, likely driven by management’s desire for high ratings. Still, when I mentioned my disappointment with the food, the waiter kindly offered us a bottle of wine on the house, which was a very generous gesture. Overall, the service truly deserves 5 stars.

Ambiance (3/5) The restaurant is aesthetically pleasing, with a quaint trattoria vibe and soft, romantic lighting. However, the atmosphere felt overly curated, almost like a theme park experience designed to impress tourists—particularly Americans unfamiliar with authentic European dining. Little details, like serving mojitos in highball glasses during dinner and letting customers pour their own wine from a decanter, felt out of place and detracted from the authenticity. It gave the impression that the restaurant was more focused on catering to tourists than providing a true Italian experience.

Food (2/5) The food was the biggest letdown, especially considering the restaurant's bold marketing claims. I overheard other tables talking about how it’s one of the top 70 Italian restaurants worldwide, but anyone familiar with Italian cuisine would be able to tell otherwise.

We started with a Mozzarella di Bufala that lacked flavor, which is surprising for Bufala cheese. My girlfriend’s spinach and cheese ravioli were passable, but nothing memorable. I ordered a calzone that was quite small for the price (€17) and filled with very basic ingredients: tasteless mozzarella, industrial-looking salami, and tomato. Despite claiming to include ricotta, I couldn't detect it. The whole dish was bland and left me indifferent. To top it off, the dessert—a chocolate mousse—was served in a cheap-looking glass, like something from a neighborhood eatery’s set menu.

In conclusion, while the service was outstanding, the food and overall experience felt like a tourist trap. The restaurant is clearly aimed at visitors unfamiliar with authentic Italian standards, and the prices reflect that. If you’re looking for real Italian cuisine, this is a...

Believe the hype. This should be a benchmark for 5/5 review rating.

Not only is this the best meal of our time in Portugal, but maybe the best overall meal we’ve ever had traveling.

Part of my enthusiasm is that my wife made the suggestion we try it after a few mediocre local meals, and didn’t mention it was a top 70 Italian restaurant world wide…so the quality caught me off guard

I’m not saying it’s the absolute best tasting food, because we’ve had better but had to pay more, including in Italy.

We had amazing bruschetta, it didn’t have any balsamic glaze like Americans enjoy, just Olive Oil. The fried eggplant was really good as well…the sauce is on the salty side. It the eggplant balances it out nicely, I would have been happy to make that my entree. I also ordered prosciutto pizza with a side of spicy ham (they won’t add in on) which was as good if not better than what I tried in Naples. My wife had seafood pasta and it was one of the best she’s ever had, fresh pasta with balanced tasty seafood sauce and the Seafood was fresh and not dry or overcooked.

We capped off the meal with panna cotta and tiramisu, both excellent. The PC jiggled and wobbled like it should, the TIramisu had a nice thick layer of cocoa powder.

Interesting note is the chef is not from Portugal nor Italy, but from Nepal.

We did enjoy good Portuguese cuisine, but the Indian and Italian food was just more to our taste and of a higher quality. This is unfair to say or compare, since we grew up eating Italian and Indian food, so theres a natural bias, but if you want to try something Other than egg tarts in Belem, pork sandwiches, chorizo, paella, seafood rice, Mozambique style samosa, fried cod…come to Come PRIMA. The quality is just not that great at most of the hot spots you find downtown through google or trip advisor

Make the effort to travel a bit further away for Come PRIMA and their sister restaurants. Thank you to Paulo for a wonderful evening. It was great way to say...