Given the pedigree of the players involved, it’s no surprise that Bar Alimentar quickly became one of the trendiest tables in Lisbon. The casual, Italian-accented restaurant is a collaboration between chef João Magalhães Correia of the popular Tricky’s and the bar team at Imprensa, a pioneer of creative cocktails in the capital.
The dining room is refreshingly casual, with half the space given to tables and the other half ringed by counter seating. The well-organized reservations system lets you specify your preference when you book—and you need to book, as the place is popular enough to fill two reserved seatings each night.
The menu of small plates is short but covers many bases, from fresh raw fish dishes, to pasta and risottos, to a panino of beef tongue. And they’re small enough that even a solo diner can sample a good variety of different dishes, with some sold by the piece and others available in half portions.
The menu is not Italian, but it reflects the eight years that the chef spent in that country. Standout dishes include tuna tartare with the right blend of citrus and spice, stracciatella with asparagus, and polenta with beef tartare. The octopus fregola is a bit like Portuguese octopus rice, but with pearls of semolina and a sauce enriched with mollusk juices and plenty of butter. And the tongue sandwich comes with fresh parsley and lively capers.
The cocktails are what you might expect from the Imprensa team: elegant and balanced, enlivened with house-made syrups and the like. There’s also a selection of mostly natural wines, and house-made kombucha and tapache.
For more information, visit the Bar Alimentar Instagram page.
Bar Alimentar
Rua Nova de Piedade 62
Lisbon
Phone: +351 927 932 885
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday – 19:00 to 22:00 (last seating)
Photos courtesy of Velcro Studio.
