PORTUGAL - LISBON - BAIRRO DO AVILLEZ

Oct 23, 2017
2 min read

BAIRRO DO AVILLEZ

For our third and final lunch on our short Lisbon trip, we decided on something more modern and trendy after two very traditional restaurants.

From the outside, the place looks relatively small, but it is actually two restaurants in one building. The front is the Taberna and delicatessen, which serves small plates and tapas and has a buzzy atmosphere.

The rear is the Páteo, a full-service restaurant with modern interpretations of Portuguese cuisine.

We dined at Páteo, the main restaurant with a kitchen that opens into a spacious patio dining room. This creates a pleasant atmosphere, which I imagine would become quite noisy when full in the evening.

It was about a third occupied for our lunch.

To start, we had: Améijoas Bulháo Pato (house style clams)

Gambas con alho malaguet (garlic and chilli prawns)

Barriga atum conserva (tune belly, homemade preserve with miso sauce, lime, and ginger)

Pica pau lomo (beef tenderloin pica-pau with three sauces)

Mains were:

Bifo do lomo (ribeye steak grilled over coals, with a slice of dry-cured ham and special sauce).

Pres porco Alentejano (Iberian pork presa grilled over coals with a smoked garlic sauce)

Vazia maturada (aged beef loin steak grilled over coals with béarnaise sauce) Picture by our friend @Stretford_Dogs

Legume Salteados (grilled lettuce heart, roasted tomato, almonds and pumpkin, parmesan and lemon vinaigrette)

Desserts followed:

Mil folhas pastel nata (this is chef José Avillez’s take on the Lisbon classic custard tart)

Avelá (hazelnut ice cream, hazelnut foam, freshly grated hazelnut and fleur de sal served in a glass)

From the extensive wine list, we had

One white, Anthea Alvarinho (€20) and one red, Papa Figos (€22)

All the food was well prepared and delicious, and the service was friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient.

For four people, we ordered four coffees and three bottles of water, which brought the total bill to €240. While the prices are slightly above average for Lisbon, Chef Avillez is well-known in the media, which likely contributes to this. Additionally, the portion sizes are relatively small considering the price.

The wall on the way in - Picture by our friend @Stretford_Dogs who joined us for lunch