A small restaurant with quite a simple but elegant interior and delicious food! The starter with goat cheese and pumpkin was scrumptious! Mille feuille as well - loved every bite of it. Overall it was a very pleasant experience, I would definitely recommend Essencial for a dinner with friends or on your own if you are looking for good food. Food comes first here - this is the reason to visit.

One of the best restaurants in Lisbon, no doubt. Everything went smooth on our visit; delicious dishes, well combined wine, polite and professional staff with a great chef. We were 4 and tried to order almost everything on the menu, you can see some in the pictures, and none of them was disappointing. And you can definitely trust their wine choices for each dish. It will save you time :) You could definitely feel the respect and love that was given for those dishes. Each bite was amazing, we couldn’t get enough of it! When we first read the comments here we thought it could be a bit overrated, but no. Please try to book and visit this place, you will understand what all these people are saying :) Well done chef, bravo staff! We will definitely come back!

Dined on 2 April 2022. Thank you, Essencial! Most unforgettable meal during our Honeymoon en Portugal. The uni hollandaise + razor clam and Live uni with rose shrimp & foam were the standouts for us. Your concept and flavor of the lamb was undeniably the best lamb we have ever eaten. Highly, Highly recommend this restaurant. We look forward to return one sweet day in Lisboa. Obrigado, Chefs, Kitchen staff, and Wait staff! You hold a very special place in our Hearts.

This was a difficult decision to rate it 4-star. Don't get me wrong, I liked the restaurant, but there were a few things which didn't meet my expectations of a truly 5-star experience. Essencial is a cozy restaurant with à la France modernish cuisine. It is rather small and has a nice open kitchen where you can see a fair amount of staff for such a small venue. Menu is a 1-pager with starters and main dishes and a few dessert choices. You can choose between 2 options: starter + main + dessert 45Eur or 2 starters + 2 mains + dessert for 60 Eur. There is also a wine pairing offer or you can choose from by glass or by bottle wine list. Service is fantastic! Daniel, the sommelier, is very attentive, very well knows the wines he sells and has a good sense for gastronomic pairing. I particularly liked the stories behind each wine I tasted. Wine selection is not extensive, but more of a cherry picking as all wines are great with no weak positions. Dishes are good, but nothing has excited me. I felt there was a slight mismatch between the pretentious concept and somewhat unexciting dishes. They all tasted good and I can't complain, it's just doesn't meet my expectations and the value for money. Dishes were ordinary with just a nice twist, but nothing special. Nothing to be surprised with. Lacks the excitement factor. I really liked the oven baked rice dish with monkfish and prawns. That one ticked all the boxes. Sourdough bread was superb, but I learned it comes from the bakery, not the restaurant. And lastly, the restroom... You can't have the one which is even poorer than in public railway station. Especially if you aim at 100 EUR check per person. These are all small details that altogether make an overall impression. It can be that the current menu was not so special, so I promised myself to revisit Essencial next time I'm in Lisbon. I hope my next visit will have no doubts with all the efforts the team is putting in. Sorry guys, and I wish you all the best and see you soon!!

A difficult decision to give 3 stars but the restaurant aims for a high level of cuisine and does not live up to it. It gets a little pretentious. The dishes are good but neither impress nor excite. The oven rice was a good example. I think the restaurant needs to improve the choice of dishes on the menu. The service is good. The desserts are fantastic. The space is small and it has the kitchen open to the dinning room, which makes the ventilation very difficult. Moreover the air conditioning is facing the customers and you can see its filters all dirty and black, probably due to the lack of ventilation together with some lack of attention to cleaning. I found the space had too much light and would benefited from having less ambient light and more spotlights over the tables, but this is a very personal opinion. For this price there are much better restaurants in Lisbon. So I think the value for money is low.

The service was amazing, we felt welcome and enjoyed every aspect of it. We took the 45€ bistro menu and were more than happy sharing beautiful well thought out dishes. It’s a small place so best to reserve in advance!

Recommended for sure, well priced for the space. Definitely reserve before you go, not a lot of seating. But well run, good food (fish over meat - our pork dish was a little dry), great service, good wine selection, what more do you need :)

We had a wonderful dinner with traditional Portuguese dishes shaken up with creativity. The room is small, which I like, and comfortable with a modern style. It was a bit too hot when we arrived, but got much better with a growing evening breeze. Service is attentive and competent. Not chatty, not too friendly. Since we were a group of four, we decided to share everything and try several dishes. I would highlight the watermelon, tomato, anchovies salad. The anchovies melted in your mouth and combined well with the sweetness and acidity. My favorite main was the gnocchi. Cooked to perfection - toasted on the outside, melting in the inside. The cod was also delicious - very fresh and soft. The monkfish rice was a slight letdown, since it missed the essencial liver and allowed the spicy shrimp to hide other flavors. The desserts are a treat. I particularly enjoyed the cherry tart (light and soft, not too sweet), which must be seasonal. We will certainly come back often.

We found about this place from another traveler. Great location and comfortable and modern atmosphere. The food was a delicious and well plated. The service was attentive and the food well paced. We had the wine paring and the sommelier was not able to explain the wines to us in English - maybe a language barrier !? The wine paring can also be improved upon. We had a good night and good food.

Die Erwartungen sind immer hoch wenn Michelin eine Empfehlung ausspricht, aber dass die Leistung gleich so hoch ist, hatte ich nicht erwartet. Echte Spitzenklasse, aller höchstes Lob. Es war alles von höchster Qualität und handwerklich perfekt gemacht. Warum es noch kein Bib von Michelin gab verstehe ich nicht. Eigentlich war das schon auf Sterne Niveau. Toll fand ich auch, dass man nahezu direkt am Herd sitzt und die Ruhe und Professionalität live erlebt. Der Service war auch hervorragend und ganz super empfand ich, dass das Gericht von demjenigen serviert und erklärt wurde der es gemacht hatte. Bei den Gerichten lasse ich die Bilder sprechen. Hervorheben möchte ich den Seeigel, die gefüllte Zucchiniblüte und das Kalbsbries. Aber eigentlich war alles super. Vielen Dank für den tollen Abend.....Weinbegleitung war auch perfekt ausgewählt

Tasting menu was incredible. I liked this meal better than all of the other Michelin places I've tried in Lisbon (Loco, Belcanto, 100 Maneiras). Probably going to get their first star in a year or two.

I see Essencial having great potential to earn one Michelin star based on my experience. I got the full tasting menu and a reduced version of wine pairing of 3 glasses. I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve had, with the bread n spread, the sea urchin dish and the dessert being my favorites. And their wine pairing is so on point - especially the Chardonnay which elevated the taste of the seafood perfectly. The only course I felt unsure about was the veal - the texture was way too soft for me and the smokiness was also a bit overdone. However with all the other great parts and the fact that the pricing was extremely reasonable considering the premium ingredients used, I think Essencial might easily beat some of the one star restaurants already.

Chill vibe - nice music in background, not too loud or quiet. The kitchen is open so you can watch the chefs prepare the food. Service is friendly. Good value fine dining. Highlights, the sea urchin starter, froi gras starter, turbot main and pistachio dessert. The wine pairing is deliciously paired. Would recommend and go again.

Small and refined restaurant on the streets of Lisbon. We took the Bistro menu to share and it was wonderful. The food was on point, but the highlights were the staff and the service we were welcome with - great wine selection and recommendations, and to top it off, the chef shared a recipe for one of the dishes and how to make it in home conditions. A very special place and highly recommend it! ☺️

Uns hat es alles gefallen! Netter Personal, das Essen hat auch super geschmeckt und beide Menüs sind zu empfehlen! Die Chefköche haben das Essen selber serviert. Schön! Das Lokal ist aber nicht so gross, nur 7 oder 8 Tische. Zudem befindet sich das Restaurant in einer nicht so schönen und ruhigen Strasse. Bis zum Parkplatz muss man 6-8 min laufen.

Had a wonderful time at this restaurant. Really enjoyed the idea of an open kitchen - had fun watching chefs preparing various dishes and seeing a process from the beginning to the end.🙂 As for food, almost everything that we tested was sooo perfect. The main dishes were pork and fish, and they were divine! The appetizers were very tasty as well. Paris-Brest was amazing. A millefeuille was ok - a bit soggy to my taste.

Excellent dinner last night. Great service. Cozy but cool vibe. Open kitchen, lots of interaction with the Chef and his cooks (if you want it). We will be back on our next trip.

One of our favorite places in Lisbon. Always consistently delicious. Courteous service

Excellent restaurant. Food was very good, particularly the lamb and the sole. Wine pairing was good with each glass complimenting the food very well. Service was excellent. Overall a very good meal and would highly recommend a visit if in Lisbon.

A wonderful culinary experience in the Bairro Alto away from the party crowd. We will return here for sure. An excellently run kitchen in full view. Quiet, efficient and deadly delicious. Recommend the scallops, zucchini flowers and the lobster vol-au-vent is a must. Desserts were all delicious with the chocolate tart being my personal favorite. Will try the wine pairing next time. Bit of nitpicking, the constant refilling of the wine was a bit too intrusive for us, especially while eating. It is very warm next to the kitchen, dress accordingly.

this was an experience for all the right reasons. you get a view into the kitchen so directly that it partly feels like a live show. not only is the view nice so you see the cleanliness of the kitchen and the technical skill, but you see the cohesion of this team. it’s a sight to behold seeing so few words spoken but so much understood. the food was impeccable. every dish delivered timely and beautifully plated. i did the tasting menu, as i recommend you do. when they brought the third starter, i assumed my meal was done and was terrified to get three more dishes. then there was a wait between courses that got me so excited for me, and it all paid off! love this and will come back my next trip to lisbon.

Incredible place ! Extremely fine cuisine, the chef has immense talent and the price is great value for money. The space is tiny and not so comfortable but well worth it for the culinary experience and wonderful service. Must try when you come to Lisbon !

We love this wonderful French inspired cuisine with a modern twist and a very friendly environment. The staff guided us through the whole menu and made excellent wine pairing suggestions. Very good value for money for the high quality food. Our highlights were sea urchin and the pistachio dessert paris breast. Reservations recommended. Cant wait to comeback!