Sim Chef! — Restaurant in Lisbon

I have eaten dinner twice here and lunch once. From what I could tell, dinner and lunch share similar menus. It's very much a tapas/family style place to eat so highly recommend going with more friends so you can try a variety of dishes.

As others have mentioned, the price to quality is unbelievable! It's also a very personal experience since the space is so small and probably sits a maximum of 18 people. When I first went (2 years ago), there were 2 waiters but now there is only one. It's pretty chill though, so 1 waiter is good when they anticipate parties to stay for most of the time they are open for that meal. There is no pressure to turn tables, so you never feel rushed to leave.

When I first went, the waiter stated that for a party of 2 he recommended 2-3 dishes as we wouldn't be able to eat more. We ordered 4 and had a lot of leftovers 😅 My favorite dish is definitely the oxtail and the cheese filled puff pastry with pumpkin jam. But honestly, I have been fortunate to go there with a group of 7 and try most of the dishes and I'm a fan of all except maybe the bacalhau, not because it's bad but it just isn't as great as the other options.

I will say they are not a pastry spot so dessert options are pretty limited. The only dessert I would get again is the broken lemon pie.

They have a variety of drinks and they offer sangria (white or red) at a good price. The waiter makes all the drinks and you can see what he does if you're seated across from the counter area.

I recommend this spot to any of my friends that visit Lisbon and have so far gotten stellar reviews. For being small, in a not super busy neighborhood (away from downtown), it's a place where you can experience Lisbon's charming hole in the wall...

My partner and I were looking for restaurant nearby to lisbon airport as we had an early flight out the next morning and Sim Chef! was the most highly rated one. What can I say but this place deserves what it's been rated so far (and more!). Our Portuguese was not the best, but the chef, Hugo, was on hand to go through each and every item on the menu with us, explaining in English on what each item entailed. We started with the oxtail tapas dish, which was DIVINE, proper melt in your mouth type stuff - my partner and I raved about it, in and out with the restaurant. For mains my partner had a razor clam style risotto and I had a maranho - a Portuguese take on a haggis. It was both our first times trying these types of food and it was simply a fantastic way to end our time in Lisbon. As a Scotsman who has had many a haggis, the maranho that Hugo cooked up was definitely something I would order again and would recommend it as a dish to savour, and, devour. This is authentic and local Lisbon dining at its finest. The atmosphere and hosting by Hugo and team are the cherries on the cake to what is culinary brilliance! We'll be back for sure next time...

We discovered Sim Chef! for a last meal in Portugal. Located about ten minutes from the airport, they have a small, friendly space, ~5 tables. The night we dined there, there were three chefs in the open kitchen. The food we enjoyed was thoughtfully prepared. We appreciated the visible knife skills, fresh herbs, with some unexpected twists to traditional Portuguese dishes.

The chef working the front of the house that evening was clearly passionate about the food they serve and was happy to suggested some menu highlights for us, including a variety of flavors and textures.

After enjoying the fresh bread and olives, we enjoyed braised oxtail bruschetta. We hadn’t ever seen this preparation, but the braised oxtail was soft, well-seasoned and a nice contrast with the crunchy bread below. Next, we enjoyed octopus served over a combination of cubed sweet potato, red onion and zucchini. Following this was a plate of perfectly cooked fried cuttlefish with a garlic aioli. Dessert was a traditional cake – Torta de Farofias, which was rich and flavorful. Tapas were medium-sized, so three plates + dessert was perfect for two hungry travelers. Highly...