Boa Bao - Sexy Southeast Asian Cuisine in Lisbon & Porto

Boa Bao, Southeast Asian restaurants in Lisbon and Porto, are a welcome addition to Portugal’s foodie scene. It is authentic, delicious, and sexy as all get out.

The evocative dining rooms are inspired by a 1920s Saigon market with bare wood tables, corrugated-metal walls, bird’s-nest lamps, and a bustling open kitchen. (The last of these is partly to look cool, but also to let skeptical diners know how hygienic the cooking is.)

(at top) Calamari and black tiger shrimp over glass noodles, (above) Interior of Boa Bao

The team is as international as can be—the owners, Gregg and Nathalie Hupert, are American and Dutch, and the head chef (who would prefer to keep a low profile and remain unnamed) is from Belgium but lived in Asia for a significant period of time. They’ve all traveled and eaten extensively in the markets of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Nepal, and China. The kitchen brigade is a diverse bunch, including chefs from Thailand, Nepal, Portugal, China, Angola, and the Philippines.

The concept is a culinary journey and although it occasionally verges on kitsch—a drinks menu designed like a heavily stamped passport, and a list of snacks to nibble while you wait for a table (and chances are, you will wait) is laid out like a boarding pass—it works far more often than it fails.

(left) Hurry If You Can cocktail, (right) Bao Uau cocktail

The same is true of the menu, which is divided into sections of small dishes, bao (buns), big soups, salads, curries, wok dishes, and sides. The best strategy is to go with a big group, so you can sample some of everything. Short of that, the standouts include Thai fish cakes, tom yang kung soup with spicy “black tiger” shrimp, and steamed sea bass fillets with lime, chili, and garlic. And for dessert, be tempted by a crème brûlée infused with coconut, Thai basil, and lemongrass.