Emme — Restaurant in Mafra

Emme sits on a hill overlooking the Portuguese Atlantic coast. The inside space is a gorgeous work of design. Concrete floors, a ceiling clad in dark timber. A nice calmness inside and out.

A wall of exposed wine fridges anchors the dining room and adds to the atmosphere, showing off the strength of the Portuguese wine scene. Service was warm and friendly.

The couvert included a whipped butter with salt flakes, but it was the seaweed butter that truly stood out. Creative, briny, rich without being heavy. Their Nordic rye bread was flavorful and dense but a tad dry. Marinated olives were enjoyable, the pickled vegetables were less remarkable. Still, it was a strong opening and quietly confident.

But then came the mains, and with them, a steady unraveling of that confidence.

I ordered the “Grilled Cuttlefish with Cuttlefish Ink Creamy Rice,” which on paper reads like an example of local cuisine with character. The cuttlefish itself was beautifully done and sliced into fine 3mm ribbons, tender and expertly plated. The rice however was the problem. Pitch black from the ink, it had a glossy, stringy texture that suggested a generous inclusion of cheese which was possibly aged, definitely fatty. While initially flavorful, it quickly became overwhelming. There was no texture to break the richness, no acidity to lift it, no contrast to refresh the palate. Given the season we’re in with fields of cabbage and leek growing just north of Ericeira something as simple as braised cabbage or crisped leek would have provided both balance and texture. Instead, it felt like a monotonous song played at full volume.

My partner ordered the “Alentejo’s Grilled Pork Neck with Asparagus and Tomato Bread Meal,” which was frankly, a misfire. The pork was sliced thin and served pink to rare in the middle, with large ribbons of unrendered fat. Whether or not pork should ever be served rare is one question, whether this particular cut which was dense with fat and connective tissue should be is another. In this case, it simply didn’t work. Much of the meat ended up cut away, uneaten. The only bright spot was the baby asparagus. The rest of the dish not good at all.

We didn’t send the pork neck back. Not because it wasn’t warranted, but because we lacked the energy to go there. When a dish leaves the kitchen in that state, it suggests the kitchen stands behind it and explaining our disappointment felt like an argument we didn’t ask for. We chose to pay and quietly leave.

That said, beverage service was strong. The wine pairing alongside the cuttlefish was thoughtful and tasty.

Emme wants to make a statement about Portuguese cuisine, and I admire the ambition. Too many hotel restaurants drift into safe and anonymous menus (club sandwiches, burgers, pasta bolognese). You may remember Emme fondly for many reasons such as the architecture, the views, the service, the wine, but the food, at least on this visit, doesn’t join them. And in a restaurant, that’s where memory...

Instagram v.s. reality failure. At first the service was nice. Oysters were good, can’t do much wrong there, far overpriced tho. Main dishes were very average…Didn't want to say anything at first and gave another chance with dessert. Unfortunately had to send it back, ice cream had ice crystals, tasteless and watery. Brownie was dry and average. Now I had to say something…After all you pay a fortune for what you get. Expected at least some sort of solution to our disappointment, like a coffee on the house or something to compensate but that didn’t happen. Looking from previous reviews (we should have read before), it seems like they’ve had this feedback before but did not change a thing. All in all, if you know good food, this is not your place. Beautiful aesthetic’s but can’t judge a book...

Emme is the restaurant on the ground floor entrance of the 5* Immerso Spa Hotel with great views over the valley to the sea, in classy minimalistic design in a spacey ambiance with a modern fusion menu, quite an exclusive wine menu and efficiently discrete service.

We were 4 at lunch with couvert, waters, a couple of excellent Açores Rosé, tuna tartars for starters, for mains octopus with potato, prego & fries, veggies & pasta, secretos with an absolutely delicious sweet potato puré salad, and for dessert the brownie, and a surprisingly tasty pineapple slush, plus coffees.

We were extremely well guided and served by Telmo through this excellent...