Mini Bar Lisbon

May 20, 2019  •  Europe, Lisbon, Portugal, Travel

I was excited to visit Lisbon for the first time. And whenever I visit a new place, I like to pick one special place to eat – in Lisbon, that was Mini Bar Teatro by Michelin starred Chef José Avillez. He has a number of restaurants in Lisbon, and we chose the less formal, funky one to experience his cuisine.As we sipped our basil gin drinks, we decided to opt for the more adventurous of the Chef’s tasting menus, where you are surprised, more or less, with each course presented. In their words, “The Epic Menu makes a big entrance. Made of savoury, spicy, sharp, and sweet moments, each dish is a character you will not forget. In this saga, we visit old acquaintances and open the way to new feats. From the Mediterranean to the East, from the distant Americas to Portugal’s inland, embark on this adventure.” It was certainly epic and our waiter was right, it was fun. Here we go!

Icy cold apples dipped in spices and salt to mimic a margaritaTaken from the chef’s friend Ferran Adria, El Bulli Olives,
one of the first reverse spherification dishes that was introduced at el Bulli in 2005A nod to “Ferrero Rocher” candy, foie gras and hazelnuts with a touch of dark chocolate topped with edible gold leafAlgarve prawns in ceviche served on a lime so that you squeeze the juice into your mouth as you eat the prawn“Roasted chicken”with avocado cream, cottage cheese, piri piri and lemon –
the base is a piece of very crisp chicken skinDuo of tartare cones, steak and tunaWhat seemed like a riff on carbonara to me – a raw egg yolk with Parmesan, garlicky bread crumbs, and a touch of truffle oil – you stir it all together and eat it sort of like a bread soupPan seared scallops with Thai flavours of coconut and green curry – I love the stone serving platters with the flame underneath made specially for the restuarantPDO Beef Slider with formed patatas bravasDessert that was promised to blow our minds – it did not, at least not for me.
To be fair, I don’t love dessert and was stuffed at this point.
And it was peanut butter based in flavor which would never be my choice for dessert.Mango marshmallows with frozen peanut butter shaped like peanuts. The marshmallows were outstanding!

Details:
Mini Bar Teatro Lisbon
Website
Rua António Maria Cardoso, 58
1200-027 Lisboa
+ 351 211 305 393

Monday to Sunday
To have dinner: 19:00 – 1:00
To have a drink: 19:00 – 2:00

OTHER RESTAURANTS BY CHEF JOSÉ AVILLEZ
Belcanto
Bairro do Avillez
Barra Cascabel
Beco – Cabaret Gourmet
Café Lisboa
Cantina Peruana
Cantina Zé Avillez
Cantinho do Avillez Chiado
Cantinho do Avillez Parque das Nações
Cantinho do Avillez Porto
Casa dos Prazeres
Jacaré
Pitaria
Pizzaria Lisboa
Rei da China
Tasca Chic

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