Taberna do Mercado

"Chef Nuno Mendes shot to fame with the opening of the ever-so-scene-y restaurant at the Chiltern Firehouse—namely for his crab-filled doughnuts. At Mendes' follow-up, Taberna do Mercado, the concept is almost the antithesis of his glitzy, star-filled restaurant at the Chiltern. Here, in a whitewashed space decorated (or rather, undecorated) in simple wooden, country-style furnishings, Mendes and head chef Antonio Galapito are re-creating the food of Mendes' childhood memories in his native Portugal. In a sense, it's homestyle cuisine, but served up anew in the chef's trademark molecular gastronomy style. It's a tiny, well-priced menu accompanied by an extensive selection of excellent Portuguese wines and fortified wines."