O Asiático

Kiko Martins travelled a great deal before he started opening restaurants, and O Asiático is the one where that shows most directly. It is pan-Asian street food — Thai, Vietnamese, a bit of Japanese — cooked with Portuguese fish and Portuguese meat, and it works because the kitchen is confident enough to let the Portuguese ingredient stay recognisably itself instead of drowning it.

The bao are the thing everyone orders and rightly so, soft and generously filled. Beyond that, look for the ceviche-adjacent raw dishes, anything with the house curry, and whatever noodle dish is running. Heat levels are moderate by Asian standards and adjustable if you ask. Portions are built for sharing and the menu is designed so a table of four eats better than a table of two.

Cocktails are a strength and the room knows it — the drinks list leans tropical and is made properly rather than sweetly. The space is dark, plant-filled and lively, and it works as well for a group as for a date.

Honest notes: if you have spent real time in Bangkok or Hanoi, this will read as a European interpretation rather than the thing itself, and the seasoning is dialled back accordingly. It is also not cheap for street food, which is the usual tension in this format. Taken as a good Lisbon restaurant that happens to cook Asian food rather than as an authenticity exercise, it is a genuinely fun evening.