Lisboeta

30 Charlotte St.

London W1T 2NG

BY NEAL MARTIN | SEPTEMBER 19, 2025

The Food:

Trout tartare crisp with white wine, coriander and salty fingers

Coombeshead farm bread with whipped pork fat

Nuno’s Bacalhau à Bras

Chicken skewer with piri-piri sauce

Grilled pork sausage with turnip escabeche

Arroz de Gambas (prawn rice with lemon and coriander)

Lamb “chanfana”

Farófias (poached meringue with orange and cinnamon)

Pão de Ló (olive oil cake)

The Wines:

2023 Filipa Pato & William Wouters Bairrada Branco Nossa Calcário	93
2007 Niepoort Redoma	93

I knew that I had come to London’s finest Portuguese restaurant the instant I spotted Filipa Pato, one of Portugal’s most respected winemakers, enjoying lunch at a nearby table with her husband William Wouters. Inspired by Lisbon’s cuisine and vino after my trip in March, I wanted to discover what London can offer. There was one obvious choice.

Opened in March 2022, Lisboeta is the brainchild of chef and Lisbon native Nuno Mendez, whose CV includes winning a Michelin star at Viajante. Mendez shot to fame helming the Beckhams’ favourite restaurant and celeb magnet, Chiltern Firehouse. Lisboeta is located on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, a gastronomic locale with Michelin-starred pied-à-terre virtually next door, as well as 64 Goodge Street, Akoko and Noizé all a mere stone’s throw away. Tucked behind Oxford Street, I find that Fitzrovia conjures a Continental vibe when the sun shines.

The façade of Lisboeta.

Lisboeta occupies two floors. The lower level houses a large counter overlooking the open kitchen, while there are tables and a small bar upstairs. There is also a private basement dining room with its own wine cellar. The restaurant is modestly sized and was fully packed when I dropped in for a Thursday lunch. One gripe. It’s too noisy. The wooden ceilings, floors and walls amplify chatter to the extent that I had to shout over the din. Noble Rot Mayfair had a similar noise problem when they first opened but fixed it by installing sound-dampening treatments. Lisboeta should consider the same, or even just throw down a couple of rugs as a short-term measure.

The menu offers a range of Portuguese dishes, mostly sharing plates in tapas style. The quality of the cuisine surpassed expectations. Frankly, there’s not a weak dish among them. Though Lisboeta has a lively, unstuffy atmosphere, every plate showcased well-sourced ingredients and impressive execution, all without pretentiousness. A little refinement might bring it into contention for a Michelin star, though that feels superfluous and might curtail the atmosphere.

Trout tartare crisp with white wine, coriander and salty fingers.

The meal commences in brilliant fashion: trout tartare crisps with white wine, coriander and salty fingers. The fish positively glistens, packed full of freshness, and there is a crisp “bite” from the garnish. I could have polished off another plate of these. The waiter brought out some Coombeshead farm bread that came with a small tin of whipped pork fat. Naughty, but nice.

Bacalhau à Bras.

Chicken skewers with piri-piri sauce.

The Bacalhau à Bras is one of Lisboeta’s signatures, a confit of cod served with caramelised onions, egg and shoestring fries. On paper, this seems like a slightly heavier dish, but it is light and airy, far more nuanced than expected. However, the chicken skewers with piri-piri sauce hit with in-your-face spiciness, just how they should be. The chicken is a bit banal, perhaps, but you’ll be scooping up every last drop of that piri-piri, which had more fire than I was expecting. Maybe they could just dial down the salt a little?

Arroz de Gambas (prawn rice with lemon and coriander).

The grilled pork sausage with turnip escabeche is an unusual combination, though it just about works, the turnip fresh and crisp, the pork sausage not too fatty. Personally, I preferred the Arroz de Gambas, prawns served in a risotto rice seasoned with lemon and coriander. This is beautifully balanced, the prawns themselves succulent, though I could have done with a couple more.

Lamb “chanfana.”

The lamb “chanfana” is an additional dish provided by the kitchen. It’s sensational. The lamb just flakes away onto the fork, but the star is the sublime sauce made from a reduction of Madeira, Port and wines from Beira and Macieira. It’s not too heavy and contains an irresistible sweetness countered by a gorgeous piquancy.

Farófias (poached meringue with orange and cinnamon).

We order farófias as a traditional dessert: poached meringue with orange and cinnamon. This is not too overworked nor heavy, though it might just be shaded by the fabulous Pão de Ló, a.k.a. Portuguese olive oil cake. It arrives smashed, as if had just been in a car crash, splattered across the plate. But, my word, what it lacks in presentation it more than makes up for in flavour, the olive oil just a constant background note, so moist and flavoursome.

Lisboeta boasts a comprehensive list of Portuguese wines. On the one hand, I must comment that the mark-ups are high, even by London standards. On the other hand, we are talking about an affordable cadre of fermented grape juice, so we are not talking prices that entail remortgaging the house, unless you insist upon that 2011 Barca Velha at £1,100 a pop. Therefore, despite the mark-ups, you can still drink better here than in a lot of other restaurants. There is a wide range of selections from various regions, featuring some of the Portugal’s most respected winemakers (alas, not Antonio Madeira, whose Daõ still ranks amongst the best whites I’ve tasted this year).

We begin with a white. Portuguese whites could be the most exciting category of wine at the moment, one that is flying under the radar. The 2023 Bairada Branco Nossa Calcário from Filipa Pato & William Wouters (of course!) comes from a single plot of Bical grapes in Oís do Bairro that is farmed biodynamically. It was fermented with native yeasts and raised for ten months in pipas with no lees-stirring. The 2023 has a razor-sharp, almost electrifying bouquet—tangibly driven by its limestone terroir—augmented by hints of white peach and fresh pear. The palate is built around a killer line of acidity and is suffused with such sapidity that taking another sip is irresistible. There is just a touch of lemongrass that lingers on the finish. Just a fabulous wine.  As I mentioned, the wine list has a few gems if you look carefully. I order a half-bottle of 2007 Redoma from Niepoort. I will say it now and I will say it again: there is nothing wrong with half-bottles. This has a beautiful nose with cranberry and redcurrant fruit, understated and Pinot-like in style, hints of lavender and peppermint loitering offstage. The palate has exquisite balance with gentle grip, plenty of freshness and an elegant, quite sensual finish. Absolutely wonderful.

Lisboeta epitomises what London is doing so right at the moment: creating authentic dishes that are lip-smackingly delicious, sidestepping the constrictions that those seeking stars must apply, and offering interesting dishes that impel you to pause and appreciate the food. Prices work out reasonably, especially when sharing plates, allowing diners to explore the menu. Service is excellent, and I must give a shoutout to our young and enthusiastic waiter who added a bit of theatre. With a wine list that will attract oenophiles and its central location, Lisboeta comes recommended.

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