Restaurante Antiqvvm — Restaurant in Porto

Stone walls, glass large windows, curved vaulted ceilings and a waiter lurking discreetly at hand only to materialise table side at the merest suggestion of need or want. We were a little early and there was no one else there. It had a large open terrace visible from the front, facing out over the river, and you could see all the way out to the Foz (river mouth) and the Atlantic. Inside Antiqvvm was a somewhat classic affair – a large bar running all the way down one side of the antechamber, then a further room filled with dining tables and so far no other diners. We were seated right by the window where the sun streamed in. it felt like summer even though it was December. Despite the fact I had come to think of Porto as Lisbon’s rainy and cold English-weathered cousin, this week it was putting on a stunning show of blue skies when I knew for a fact it was cold and rainy back in Lisbon. Our waiter was young and pleasant and not too pushy; helpful and polite but not stuffy. We were offered a food menu but I had to ask specially for the wine list. We were asked if we wanted to order the degustation or a la carte. I asked about the large degustation and the waiter said in his opinion it was too much, instead suggesting the limited degustation. We took his advice. We also asked them to bring us wine that would suit the first several courses and they obliged. Each course was precise, particular, and unexpected, with rewarding seasonal flourishes. The portions were tiny and highly engineered, with just a mere suggestion of the rich variation of flavours being presented. 4 types of Portuguese bread, including honey bread, corn bread and olive bread. A seaweed butter lovingly shaped until it resembled a smooth grey-green river pebble. The light first course was a tiny sliver of ‘cutlassfish with trout roe and flowers, coriander, tomatoes and citrus. The second a foie gras mousse with smoky eel, pine nuts and beetroot, served with a sticky dense elderberry brioche. Curried blue lobster seemed like an extremely posh marine version of curry wurst, an incongruous curry powder dusting the plate, and accented with yuzu, avocado and mango. It worked but it wasn’t a flavour I would immediately recommend to be paired with lobster. Red mullet topped with sea urchin foam and several textures of cauliflower. An unexpected combination of fresh special and earthy flavours. Delightful and unctuous but I was slightly disappointed the sea urchin wasn’t offered in a more tangible format than essence thereof. Seared pigeon breast, more foie gras, artichoke, hazelnuts, beetroot, and a single slice of black truffle added tableside with a flourish.

The chef seemed to go completely off script to finish, as if struck by dessert tourette’s, spewing forth multiple dessert courses followed by an entire plate of large and rich petite fours to accompany our coffee. No wonder the waiter had advised us against ordering the full degustation! Dessert also marked the beginning of the visual trickery shenanigans. An azeitao cheese mousse tricked out to resemble a miniature wheel of azeitao with even a printed label made from (hopefully unconsecrated) sacral bread. Plus a dark onion jam, and cherries. Then a round decorative yellow shell disguised as a lemon, and a ‘bolacha maria’ illusion, which was a typical Portuguese supermarket milk cookie (bolacha maria) topped with tiny coffee cream blobs and a second ‘bolacha maria’ which was in fact a denser sweet coffee paste in an exact replica of the original cookie but designed to have the colour and consistency and taste of a cookie recently dipped in coffee. Very convincing and supposed to be evocative of childhood. And to finish a tiny perfectly formed blueberry macaron, its crispy little feet clamped together concealing the sweet sticky moist interior. On the whole I found the meal almost faultless; imaginative, creative, delicious food. But so refined and diminutive that I found myself wishing I had had more than a tiny morsel in each course, to savour it...

Nice setting, comfortable atmosphere and very comfy seats. We had bad luck with the weather, so we could not take advantage of the terrace.

We opted for the full tasting menu, which is 160 euro p.p, 30 euros more than on their website (as of 3/7/21), we had the small wine pairing to accompany the food.

The following comments are obviously very subjective the quality of the produce is fantastic.

The menu: Bread: Two kinds of butter and olive oil. The butter was not special, the bread was good but again not very special. The olive bread was great. Summer: Great dish, the only critique was there is a lot going on in a single dish. Timeless: Again a great dish, again too much going on. The eel is delicious but it is adding one flavor too much. Influences of the World: Recurring theme in this dish, too much happening at once. Different textures, temperatures and strongly contrasting flavors. Unfortunately, this happens at the cost of the lobster as the curry is overwhelming. We told the maître d’ that we thought it was too much, he confirmed that he heard this “critique” before. Cumplicity: Probably the best balanced dish, crayfish at perfection. The asparagus was slightly bitter. Coral: Good course. Tradition-Innovation: A good dish, the sauce was too creamy and overpowering. The pickled onions were a nice contrast. Classic Revival: Best dish of the evening. A perfect pigeon. Really enjoyed it! Deserts: two deserts, one with cheese. The other one was a lemon desert which was probably the best desert I have ever had at a Michelin star restaurant. Great flavor, sweet and sour. Not overly complicated just perfect. Wine: Selection of Portuguese wines. All good but I had more interesting pairings before.

Few comments regarding the service. Kind and professional though not very engaging. I prefer a more open and playful service, the atmosphere was a bit more tense here. Service was a bit slow here and there in removing used glasses, cleaning the table etc.

We spent approx. +3hrs for the full experience, oddly enough the pace of the food coming felt somehow rushed, cant really explain why. We had a 21-course tasting menu a couple of days earlier which felt much more paced.

Summarizing, the food was good but often felt like there was too mich going on at once. A nice restaurant but not an experience that one I will return for. Value for money is not as good as in other restaurants we have tried. But all in all a...

My husband and I were thrilled to be able to go to Antiqvvm during our honeymoon, but we were sorely disappointed by our experience.

The wait staff was all over the place with their attention and service. We were simultaneously ignored and rushed through our service. When a course was placed in front of us, our server rushed through the explanation of the course and could not answer our follow up questions. (For example, we asked what kind of spices were in a curry we were served, and it could not be answered.) He did not offer to ask a coworker or a chef about our questions and gave the general impression like he wanted to move on from us.

As we were eating our course, we would be asked multiple times if we were done, and this happened through multiple courses. However, between courses, when we wanted our water refilled or to get more bread or to even ask a question, we had to call and wave down ANY staff for service.

While these complaints may not have so much weight in other restaurants, this is a two Michelin star restaurant. It is not an inexpensive meal, and the service and food are EXPECTED to be impeccable. To make matters worse, my husband and I were actively witnessing other tables receive a very different experience.

The staff was encouraging questions and having general chats with their other guests. They were carefully watching from a distance to see when the guests were finished their course and refilled their water, wine, and bread without them ever having to ask. Now comparing this to having to wave to get attention in such a restaurant definitely feels like a insult, and with my husband being one of the two people of color, race related.

Perhaps Antiqvvm is becoming antiquated in their thinking. Any establishment with this kind of cost cannot treat any of their guests like this.

In terms of the food, my husband and I both remarked that we found some of the dishes too salty and surprisingly simple in taste and texture. (However, I understand that those critiques are more of a personal preference in our food.) And that night after our dinner and the next morning, my stomach felt off. By the next evening, I had full blown food poisoning. Luckily, my husband did not get sick.

All that being said, our one positive experience was when we were brought back to see the chefs at work. They were very enthusiastic about their dishes and their processes of crafting the dishes, which was...