William Taylor

Review of Belcanto (Chef Jose Avillez)

Oh my. Possibly the best restaurant I have been to...

Oh my. Possibly the best restaurant I have been to IN THE WORLD. The restaurant is so creative and fun - they really channel the sensibility from El Bulli and the playfulness that food can have. The service is really top notch.

We went with the "surprise me" menu. Everything that came out had some element of fun and happiness embedded in it. That's what I love to get at these ridiculously expensive restaurants - give me something fun and happy and I'm down with whatever you give me!

My favorites were the seafood dishes (well it's Portugal), the bread - absolutely unbelievable and probably the best I've ever had, and the citrus dessert at the end.

BTW, remember when I mentioned the service being top notch? It turns out that when someone in the restaurant happens to have terrible stomach issues and can't handle some of the food because of extraneous circumstances, the staff has a protocol to bring out tea and sparkling water to calm everything down. Really, so nice.

Honestly, can't wait for the next time when I'll have the chance to come to Lisbon so I can come here again.