Eat by area: our top restaurant picks in Chiado, Lisbon

Belcanto, led by celebrated chef José Avillez, offers an innovative journey through Portuguese cuisine in Lisbon’s Chiado district. The two-Michelin-starred establishment blends contemporary design with historic architecture, setting an elegant stage for Avillez’s culinary artistry. Diners can choose between two tasting menus: the Carousel, honouring Portugal’s culinary traditions with reimagined classics like marinated sardines and the Evolution, a modern exploration featuring standout dishes like sea bass paired with avocado, lime zest and dashi. Signature dishes include the renowned Garden of the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs and the citrus-forward dessert, Tangerine. Belcanto’s curated wine list emphasises Portuguese selections, complementing the distinct flavours of each course.

Set in Lisbon’s Chiado district, Epur offers a minimalistic fine dining experience curated by Chef Vincent Farges, who emphasises purity and ingredient-led creativity. We feel that the restaurant’s interior is elegant, with wood tables and blue Portuguese tiles that reflect a simplistic Scandinavian influence. Known for its seasonal tasting menus, Epur focuses on simplicity and refinement, offering courses like water, greens, and sea, showcasing the essence of each ingredient. The kitchen, a former Bulthaup showroom, is partially visible, adding to the streamlined aesthetic. Epur’s wine list features exclusively Portuguese selections.

Encanto is José Avillez’s one-star vegetarian dining room in Lisbon neighbourhood Chiado, built around a single tasting menu of 12 moments. There is no à la carte, so the kitchen sets the pace. It holds a Michelin Green Star, awarded in 2025, for a sustainability-led approach that includes local sourcing and full use of ingredients. Most produce comes from small Portuguese farmers, with additional crops grown at Casa Nossa, the group’s farm in Alentejo. Expect legumes, leaves, seaweed, mushrooms, flowers, fruit, eggs and cheeses treated with fine-dining precision. Courses move between raw, crisp and broth-led, with acidity and umami doing the heavy lifting.

Located in Lisbon’s Chiado district, Ofício Tasco Atípico blends traditional Portuguese tasca ambiance with a contemporary edge, guided by Chef Hugo Candeias. This Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded spot features a playful, seasonal menu that reimagines classic dishes with modern flair. Inside, the restaurant’s design evokes a bustling yet sophisticated vibe, featuring a counter for casual dining and tables with touches of marble. Highlights include Algarve spider crab spread on toast, beef tartare served with grilled brioche and a signature cheese tart dessert. Ofício also boasts an extensive wine selection, focusing on small producers.

Set on the rooftop of Lisbon’s Bairro Alto Hotel, Bahr provides a sophisticated yet relaxed dining experience helmed by chef Nuno Mendes. The open kitchen and bohemian decor merge seamlessly with a terrace offering sweeping views over the Tagus River. Mendes crafts a menu that marries traditional Portuguese ingredients with global culinary influences. Notable dishes include amberjack carpaccio with pickled onions and chorizo served with charred cabbage leaves, while the signature squid grilled on a josper sizzles with seaweed purée. Complementing the dishes, Bahr’s wine list highlights DOC Vinho Verde which is something that we frequently sip on, adding to the vibrant terrace atmosphere.

Red marble sets the scene at Vibe by Mattia Stanchieri, a tight tasting-menu room that keeps the open kitchen in view. The Michelin Guide recommends it for seasonal chapters that pair Portuguese produce with a rotating world-cuisine reference, offered as three set menus. There is no à la carte, so the story arrives course by course. Stanchieri is Italian and trained at Geranium, Da Vittorio and Belcanto, and the cooking leans precise, clean and high-acid. Expect fish and citrus, herbs, smoke and neat sauces, with wine and cocktail pairings built to match each course. Bookings run on a two-hour table window, so arrive ready to eat, then drift back into Chiado.

Gunpowder in Lisbon brings London’s modern Indian hit to Chiado, with small plates that lean coastal and borrow from the Mediterranean. Algarve oysters arrive with pickled kachumber. Wild Madagascar prawns come with roasted garlic and tomato dressing. Grilled stone bass gets green coorgi sauce, often chosen straight from the fish display. Classics stay on the card, including crisp prawn toast and the spicy lamb and vermicelli doughnut. The brand began in 2015 and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in London. Harneet Baweja’s group runs three London sites, and Lisbon keeps the energy with a local wine list, cocktails and chaat built for slow tables. Extra bread helps mop every sauce.

Inside The Ivens in Lisbon, Rocco is an Italian restaurant that leads with spectacle, starting at a central bar stacked high with brightly coloured bottles. Barcelona-based designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán shaped the rooms, shifting between old-school glamour, nautical stripes, dense wall art and a dark, velvet-toned dining space that nods to classic Italian trattorie. The menu sticks to Italian standards with a modern gloss: veal carpaccio, truffled steak tartare, scarlet prawn risotto and rigatoni all’amatriciana. The signature move is tiramisu assembled tableside, served straight after it is built. Negroni drinkers get their own dedicated menu, with the classic version sitting at the centre of it all.

Tequila, smoke and a bit of mischief run through Carnal, Ljubomir Stanisic’s Mexican gastrobar in Lisbon neighbourhood Chiado. It is part of the 100 Maneiras group and carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand for good-value cooking. The room backs it up with fast service, loud tables and heat that stays in balance. Order like a regular: two-at-a-time tacos al pastor with Porco Malhado, pineapple and green salsa, or cauliflower with kimchi mayo and salsa macha. Add a white-corn tostada, then a gringa folded with tomatillo and melted cheese. If you want the dare, the menu includes guacamole with insects. Try the tequila cocktail list first. Leave room for a tostada dessert.