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Amongst the hottest restaurants in Lisbon at the moment, Prado dishes out innovative sharing plates in a casual, relaxed setting with fine dining standards.
One of my favourites here is this flavour bomb of a single bite – beautiful, ruby red Portuguese Minhota beef mixed with finely diced shiitake, tucked into grilled cabbage leaf. Outstanding.
Taste: 4/5
There’s a surfeit of great dishes at acclaimed Prado, opened just 2 years ago in a former fish factory by young rising star chef António Galapito.
A trompe l’oeil of Azorean squid "noodles" is at once novel yet comforting, perfectly mimicking the look and feel of the real mcCoy, but also possessing a squidgy crunch that's unmistakably squid. Bathed in a rich pork broth swimming with crunchy eryngii mushrooms, this was a sublime, heartwarming bowl of goodness.
Taste: 4/5
It boggles the mind to have something as bizarre as mushroom ice cream, and I admit I wasn’t exactly eager to dig in, but this truly innovative dessert wasn’t gimmicky just for the sake of it. Turning my preconcieved notion on its head of what constitutes acceptable ice cream flavours, my attention was held captive by the prominent earthiness of milky fungi, impeccably balanced with the sultry rich sweetness of dulce and caramel. What an inspired touch of texture too, the addition of chewy grains of pearl barley.
Taste: 4/5
Pardon the pun, but this was flan-tastic! Velvety smooth flan, drenched in a syrupy, punchy coffee sauce and topped with crunchy toasted hazelnuts. Indulgent but not overbearingly so, and so very eatable.
Taste: 4/5
No one should get squeamish about pink pork because when cooked right, it can be some of the best you’ll have eaten. The prized presa cut is mouth-wateringly tender and fatty, and here they serve it with plump cockles, spinach and coriander for a full-flavoured but clean tasting dish.
Taste: 3.5/5
Love it or hate it, mackerel divides with its oily, fishy flavour, but I belong to the former camp. What is palpable here is the strong Japanese influence, with the fish simply cooked and seasoned, and blanketed in mizuna and seaweed.
Taste: 3.5/5
