<a target="_blank" href="http://www.lisboeta.co.uk/">Lisboeta</a>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:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>2023 Filipa
Pato &amp; William Wouters Bairrada Branco Nossa Calcário&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</td>
 <td>93</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2007 Niepoort Redoma</td>
 <td>93</td>
 </tr></tbody></table>
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 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-64-goodge-street-london-uk-sep-2023">64 Goodge Street</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-akoko-london-uk-sep-2024">Akoko</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-noize-london-united-kingdom-aug-2020">Noizé</a> all a mere stone’s throw away. Tucked
behind Oxford Street, I find that Fitzrovia conjures a Continental vibe when
the sun shines. 

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290412244-frontage_VT.JPG">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.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290714553-trout_VT.JPG">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.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290792524-bacalhau_VT.JPG">Bacalhau à Bras.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290809880-chicken+skewer_VT.JPG">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?<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290907247-prawn+rice_VT.JPG">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.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758290952275-lamb_VT.JPG">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.

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758291032124-poached+meringue_VT.JPG">Farófias&nbsp;(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). <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758291101633-nossa_VT.JPG">

<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1758291119942-redomo_VT.JPG">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 &amp; 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. &nbsp;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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