Encanto - José Avillez em Lisboa

We had an amazing dinner at Encanto last week. The space was intimate and comfortable; it was almost like being in someone’s home (you even ring a doorbell to gain entrance). The staff was warm, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable – attentive without being intrusive. And the food was the best we had in Portugal and among the best we’ve had anywhere. The twelve-course tasting menu (plus a bonus at the end) was entirely vegetarian. Each dish showed imagination, creativity, and perfection in execution that produced a wonderful blending of tastes and textures. And the beautiful presentation of every course was an Instagrammer’s dream! We were not familiar with most of the wines on the small wine list, but the staff talked us through the options without pretentiousness. After dinner, we had a chance to visit the kitchen to thank the chef and his team personally. Not cheap, but well worth the money. You can’t go wrong at Encanto, unless you don’t like vegetables.

We try to visit Michelin restaurants wherever we visit. When we found this vegetarian one in Lisbon we were beyond excited and had to go. It is in an interesting space built by fantastic cabinetmakers. We did have to move table as our original was alongside the bar and the noise and staff chatter was not a great experience. The food combinations and presentation did not disappoint. The first dish with hummus filled ‘eggs’ covered in gold leaf was outstanding. We did the wine pairing and the map made it easy to visualize the provinces. It was expensive if you are spending AU$ at €500 for two and far exceeds the price of our finest, but hey you don’t go on holiday to save money and we were so glad to experience it. It reminded us of The Botanic in Adelaide. One piece of advice I’d give, is to not have a sommelier script. It’s a bit of a giggle to hear the descriptions throughout the night verbatim at every table.