Chef Nuno Mendes has ‘captured the essence of Lisbon within four walls’ at his new London restaurant, Lisboeta, which brings a dose of the Mediterranean to Fitzrovia.
The Portuguese restaurant takes over a three-storey townhouse on Charlotte Street. Mendes tasked his architect friend João Guedes Ramos with transforming its interiors. Whitewashed walls, exposed brick and green and blue colour pops set the tone, with Ramos conjuring the old spirit of the Portuguese capital’s traditional stores and cafes via dark wooden cabinetry, built in the style of an old pharmacy.
On the upper level is a whitewashed dining room crowned by a large skylight and views over the street through floor-to-ceiling windows. Portuguese materials have been used across the restaurant’s interiors, with Sintra limestone cut for the bar and cobblestone flooring, fabricated by masons in Lisbon, installed to evoke the city’s historic streetscape.
Mendes’ art collection adorns the walls – a mix of emerging and established Portuguese artists – and his menu evolves through the day, paying homage to the rhythm of dining in the Portuguese capital. Snacks and small plates include morcela sausage and scarlet prawn toast and spiced prawn rissois, with larger platters and sharing dishes such as carabineiro prawn and razor clam rice and chanfana lamb shoulder and red wine stew. Over 100 Portuguese wines, with a special focus on those produced around the Lisbon region, are available with the lower ground floor slated to open in April as a specialised ‘Adega’ or wine cellar.
30 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 2NG
