Belcanto
Portuguese restaurant · Chiado ·
Modern Portuguese classics with creative flair from chef José Avillez
Modern Portuguese classics with creative flair from chef José Avillez
"Now ranked 31 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and the first Lisbon restaurant to earn two Michelin stars, José Avillez’s flagship is chic without being stiff. The tasting menus are the move: the Evolution menu marries Portuguese flavors with new textures—plump scarlet shrimp in curry sauce with apple; delicate minced squid tucked into ultra-crispy roasted chicken skin; and perfectly cooked crispy suckling pig with puffed potatoes—ideally with a Portuguese wine pairing. Service is impeccable, and the experience feels special from start to finish." - Abigail Malbon
"Ranked No. 42 on the 2025 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list." - Erin DeJesus
"Bairro do Avillez is great, but Belcanto is José Avillez’s crown jewel. There is both a tasting menu and a la carte offered inside this elegant dining room that’s housed in an old monastery: two tastings and one à la carte, with dishes like lobster paired with white beans, marrow, and caviar, and razor clams with lupin bean ice shavings. Book a table in advance, and plan on leaving your afternoon or the rest of your evening free. This is a main-event kind of place you’ll want to tailor your day around." - rita geraldes
"A renowned Two MICHELIN Star restaurant in Lisbon known for exceptional Portuguese cuisine." - The MICHELIN Guide
"Belcanto boasts a superb location in the Bairro Alto (Chiado) district popular with tourists, on a corner close to a former convent damaged by the large earthquake that devastated the city in 1755. In his culinary empire’s showcase gourmet restaurant, chef José Avillez offers a modern à la carte and a single tasting menu entitled Belcanto that takes guests on a journey of gastronomic discovery in a dining room divided into different spaces, alongside a chef’s table in the kitchen. Avillez explains that all his dishes are influenced by Lisbon’s different light, its maritime shoreline and its distinct districts: in the words of this celebrated chef, “cooking is our very own fado, and our own form of expression”. He recreates recipes that recall our childhood memories, such as the classic “sweet eggs and citrus” (doce de ovos e citrinos), which boasts a sublime delicacy and a truly special flavour. Interestingly, the napkin provided for dessert is in the shape of a sleeve, recalling the way the chef once wiped his mouth on his sleeve as a child!" - Michelin Inspector