Boubou’s in Lisbon: A Culinary Journey
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Discover what it’s like to eat dinner at Boubou’s. With separate tasting menus designed for vegetarians and omnivores, the upscale bistro is notable for its modern international cuisine and inspired wine program.
There’s a fictionally held version of Lisbon – a rendition where Portuguese descendants of Vasco de Gama, Luis Camões and Amalia Rodrigues roam calçada strewn streets, jump on the 28 tram and eat pasteis de natas after every meal.
Open since 2018, BouBou’s contradicts this version.
The real Lisbon has rough and ready neighborhoods like Mouraria and Martim Moniz, broken escalators, over-touristed streets and avenues filled with international immigrants from Brazil, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Ukraine. These people of many nations traverse the city alongside the local Portuguese who have called Lisbon home for millenia.
It’s important to understand Lisbon’s global background when you eat at Boubou’s. It provides context. But BouBou’s is a restaurant where the food tells the story. And, in our case, the food told two stories – one terrae (of the land, i.e. vegetarian) and one omnivorous (both plants and meat).
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Our Dinner at BouBou’s
We made some good decisions for our dinner at BouBou’s.
For starters, we arrived early, at 7:30pm, and sat at the chef’s counter. This early arrival time allowed us to leisurely enjoy our multi-course meal while our seats gave us a front-row view to the action. Don’t get us wrong – the patio dining room’s pastoral decor is lovely. But, to us, it’s fun to watch the innovative chef and her talented brigade at work while partaking in the restaurant’s vast food vision.
Another good decision was to order two different tasting menus, terrae and omnvorous, and their associated wine pairings. While we’re usually ‘by the bottle’ people, Ukranian sommelier Anastasiia Kornilova’s thoughtful wine selection is the better way to go.
Kornilova has sourced an eclectic selection of wines locally in Portugal as well as from countries like France, Germany, Georgia and Spain. During our meal, highlight pours included a crisp riesling from Mosel, a fruity yellow wine from Catalonia, a brilliant macerated orange Rkatsiteli blend from Georgia and a rich red from Bairrada (which is becoming one of our favorite Portuguese wine regions).
However, we found the meal’s true highlights in the food. Each course, or moment as they’re so often called these days, was visually striking – none more so than the meat-free ‘dim sum’ dumpling served early in our meal.
That dumpling was deceptively small – essentially just one bite. But a bite into the delicate dumpling skin revealed curry masala flavors that took us directly to Lisbon’s international immigrant alley, the Rua do Benformoso, in Mouraria.
Another bite into an artfully composed sardine served with a charcoal laden sauce over a delicate crunchy tuile transported us to Lisbon’s Madragoa neighborhood in June. That’s the month when Portuguese grills crackle and smoke as the little fish grills over open coals.
We should mention that Bourrat’s food is utterly beautiful – adorned with flowers, artful foams and balanced yet innovative sauce work. Her hamachi ‘moment’ verified this point. While Lisbon is a city filled with an inordinate number of Japanese restaurants, this fish dish channeled the art of Japanese cuisine more so than any of those establishments hope to achieve.
Bourrat’s food transported our taste buds beyond Lisbon.
One of her signature dishes placed small gnocchi-like mounds of sweet potato atop leche de tigre and kaffir. The chef went an extra step by garnishing the beautiful melange with chili. Bourrat loves to travel and, in this dish, she achieved plenty of tropically inspired acidity plus a good dose of heat from the chilies which belies her French roots.
Unfortunately, like many fine dining rooms these days, BouBou’s is caught on Michelin’s conveyor belt of dining homogeneity. The side effects include fashion model plates, snacks that provide an overly extended overture, overly conceptual food and one too many desserts that make the end of a meal feel like the end of a four act opera. (Bourrat told us that she has ambitions to open a bistro. We’ll be the first in line when and if that happens.)
One of our desserts, green apple panna cotta, would have been a fine end to our meal. It had a wonderful balance of sour apple acidity that artfully combined with petit mounds of fatty panna cream. However, two more desserts (plus delightful sips of 20-year tawny port) followed. One, a mystical marriage of black garlic, miso and shitake in a sweet and salty package, was the dessert that sealed Bourrat’s Top Chef win.
Boubou’s is a worthy splurge if you’re looking to celebrate a special occasion or if you want to experience some of Lisbon’s most innovative cuisine. It’s a restaurant with a talented chef who could cook anywhere in the world. We feel lucky to have her here in Lisbon.
Boubou’s is located at Rua Monte Olivete 32A, 1200-280 Lisboa, Portugal. It has selected restaurant status in the current Michelin Guide.
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
The Boubou’s website has a user-friendly online reservation system. Note that reservations require a credit card imprint and can be canceled up to 48 hours prior to the reservation.
At the time of our second meal, tasting menus prices ranged in price from €95 to €125 while wine pairings ranged in price from €75 to €105.
As always, prices are subject to change.
No. Tipping is optional in Portugal. Note that BouBou’s adds an optional service charge to each bill.
Boubou’s doesn’t have a dress code. Most guests including us were dressed in a style best described as smart casual.
The restaurant’s Principe Real location is easily accessed by car, public transit or foot depending on your location and comfort with traversing Lisbon’s many hills.
At the time of our dinner, the BouBou’s menu included two options – seven courses and ten courses – for both vegetarians and omnivores.
Yes. The culinary creations at BouBou’s are special. We recommend booking seats at the chef’s counter and splurgin on the wine pairing so that you get the full BouBou’s experience. The plant-adorned dining room is great too.
🇵🇹 Lisbon Travel Checklist
Check out our guide to eating in Portugal as well as our picks for the best Portuguese foods and the best Portuguese desserts before your trip.
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