Went to Alma in Lisbon, Portugal as a solo during their lunch service. Opted for the “Alma” menu or the Chef’s classics. Courses are as follows:
Apps (Pictures 1-7):
I. Strawberry Tart
II. Don’t really remember the name but it was a cold dish
III. Cracker with Jamón bits (Left), Fried Bell pepper w/ red pepper dip and smoked vinegar gelee (Right)
IV. Tuna and Seaweed
V. Sardine and Sabayon
VI. Amberjack, Cucumber elements, Kombu, Lime
-Bread w/ Olive Oil & Smoked Butter- (Pictures 8-9)
Mains (Pictures 10-13)
VII. Carrots, Apricot purée, goat cheese, bulghur
VIII. Foie Gras, apple, granola, beetroot, coffee
IX. Salted Cod, coriander, kale, seaweed chip, brandade
X. Pork, potatoes, red pepper paste “bulhão pato” clam sauce
Dessert (14-16)
XI. Orange Elements, Almond, Onion Crisp, Jelly
XII. Brisa Do Lis: Garden Peas, Chamomile Ice Cream, cured egg yolk, wafer
XIII. Petit Fours
Opinon:
Presentation: of each dish was phenomenal, you can tell they put a lot of thought and effort into giving guests an “experience.”
– EX: When presenting the B&B they came out with a bottle of olive oil that when poured out, slowly covered the Alma emblem until it was submerged.
Ambiance: It was lunch time and I was a solo diner so didn’t expect too much but not too noisy not too quiet.
Service: A few gaps that were easy to spot such as course timing, silverware/glasses, early clear(s), but to be fair, the dining room filled up mad quick and they got hit with a random lunch rush.
Food: Some highlights were the III./VI./VII./VIII./X.
III. Fun dish, very entertaining to eat as it was coined as the restaurants’ “french fries”
VI. Overall good, clean finish and a nice palate cleanse for the start of mains.
VII. Damn. texture was on point and sweet flavors of carrots meshed so well with the goat cheese and puree.
VIII. I was skeptical of the coffee at first but that along with foie gras, beetroot, and apple foam made the dish surprisingly balanced.
X. Solid, pork had great texture and flavors were very interesting. However, could get a little bland if not enough sauce was present on each bite.
Dessert:
In theory, the desserts make sense but in practice, I don’t think the flavors stood out at all compared to what I was having throughout the meal.
– Orange & Almond: I get it, it’s supposed to be a pallet cleanser but this dish didn’t really leave an impression. The jelly tasted like jelly, sorbet’s flavor was similar to that of a la croix, and the onion crisp just gave me weird aftertaste that lingered until the petit fours.
– Main Dessert: Traditional to Portugal, but if you told me this was a savory dish I might just believe you. Chamomile and egg yolk did a goo d job of providing for a lot of the flavor and texture but everything else on the plate felt like it was thrown on to take up space.
– Petit Fours: It’s petit fours
Overall, a very enjoyable solo lunch on November. After water service, a mocktail, and tip I paid close to ~$240 USD. Pretty worth it, in my opinion. I asked one individual there which menu they would choose if they decided to come in and eat , and he said he would’ve chosen the “Coast to Coast” and added the pork dish. I see his reasoning behind it. Seafood dishes looked more creative and it’s Portugal “known for their seafood” but I had been traveling around the coast for the past 6 days at that point, and I did not want to see another crustacean or fish so I’m fine with the decision I made LOL. let me know if I can clarify anything.
1 Comment
Went to Alma in Lisbon, Portugal as a solo during their lunch service. Opted for the “Alma” menu or the Chef’s classics. Courses are as follows:
Apps (Pictures 1-7):
I. Strawberry Tart
II. Don’t really remember the name but it was a cold dish
III. Cracker with Jamón bits (Left), Fried Bell pepper w/ red pepper dip and smoked vinegar gelee (Right)
IV. Tuna and Seaweed
V. Sardine and Sabayon
VI. Amberjack, Cucumber elements, Kombu, Lime
-Bread w/ Olive Oil & Smoked Butter- (Pictures 8-9)
Mains (Pictures 10-13)
VII. Carrots, Apricot purée, goat cheese, bulghur
VIII. Foie Gras, apple, granola, beetroot, coffee
IX. Salted Cod, coriander, kale, seaweed chip, brandade
X. Pork, potatoes, red pepper paste “bulhão pato” clam sauce
Dessert (14-16)
XI. Orange Elements, Almond, Onion Crisp, Jelly
XII. Brisa Do Lis: Garden Peas, Chamomile Ice Cream, cured egg yolk, wafer
XIII. Petit Fours
Opinon:
Presentation: of each dish was phenomenal, you can tell they put a lot of thought and effort into giving guests an “experience.”
– EX: When presenting the B&B they came out with a bottle of olive oil that when poured out, slowly covered the Alma emblem until it was submerged.
Ambiance: It was lunch time and I was a solo diner so didn’t expect too much but not too noisy not too quiet.
Service: A few gaps that were easy to spot such as course timing, silverware/glasses, early clear(s), but to be fair, the dining room filled up mad quick and they got hit with a random lunch rush.
Food: Some highlights were the III./VI./VII./VIII./X.
III. Fun dish, very entertaining to eat as it was coined as the restaurants’ “french fries”
VI. Overall good, clean finish and a nice palate cleanse for the start of mains.
VII. Damn. texture was on point and sweet flavors of carrots meshed so well with the goat cheese and puree.
VIII. I was skeptical of the coffee at first but that along with foie gras, beetroot, and apple foam made the dish surprisingly balanced.
X. Solid, pork had great texture and flavors were very interesting. However, could get a little bland if not enough sauce was present on each bite.
Dessert:
In theory, the desserts make sense but in practice, I don’t think the flavors stood out at all compared to what I was having throughout the meal.
– Orange & Almond: I get it, it’s supposed to be a pallet cleanser but this dish didn’t really leave an impression. The jelly tasted like jelly, sorbet’s flavor was similar to that of a la croix, and the onion crisp just gave me weird aftertaste that lingered until the petit fours.
– Main Dessert: Traditional to Portugal, but if you told me this was a savory dish I might just believe you. Chamomile and egg yolk did a goo d job of providing for a lot of the flavor and texture but everything else on the plate felt like it was thrown on to take up space.
– Petit Fours: It’s petit fours
Overall, a very enjoyable solo lunch on November. After water service, a mocktail, and tip I paid close to ~$240 USD. Pretty worth it, in my opinion. I asked one individual there which menu they would choose if they decided to come in and eat , and he said he would’ve chosen the “Coast to Coast” and added the pork dish. I see his reasoning behind it. Seafood dishes looked more creative and it’s Portugal “known for their seafood” but I had been traveling around the coast for the past 6 days at that point, and I did not want to see another crustacean or fish so I’m fine with the decision I made LOL. let me know if I can clarify anything.