Gunpowder Lisbon – Indian Fine Dining in Chiado

Thanks to Portugal’s connections with Goa and its South Asian immigrant community, Lisbon has its share of good Indian food. What it didn’t have was a high-end Indian restaurant—a place with artful presentation, a good wine list, and other trappings of fine dining. That changed with the arrival of Gunpowder Lisbon in late 2022.

The brand was founded in London in 2015 by Kolkata-born chef Harneet Baweja, and within two years received a Michelin Bib Gourmand. After two more successful openings in England, they expanded to the Portuguese capital.

The move makes sense, because Gunpowder Lisbon’s focus is Indian coastal cuisine, drawing influences from Mumbai, Goa, and villages in between. It’s a perfect match for Portugal’s wealth of fish and seafood.

The split-level restaurant in Chiado is stylish with pine and teak panels, diamond-shaped mirrors, Portuguese pink marble, and ’70s-inspired lamps. It also has an eight-seat table in the wine cellar for more intimate meals, seven seats at a counter with a view of the kitchen, and a terrace for sunny days.

As for the food, forget about tandoori, samosas, and vindaloo curry. Rather, there’s an authentic mixture of original and modern recipes that share an explosion of flavors. (Hence the name Gunpowder, which refers to a classic spice mix.) Most of the menu comes from the sea, but daily specials include lamb dishes made with whole-animal butchery. The spicy lamb vermicelli doughnut is a signature dish.

The rest of the menu is Portuguese fish and seafood, but as it’s rarely seen in Portugal. Algarve oysters are cooked and covered with curry or Kachumber-style pickled, with onions, tomato, and cucumber. The CPC Prawn Toast is inspired by the Calcutta Punjab Club, where Baweja used to go with his father, and the Karwari Soft Shell Crab is a fried whole crab covered with a piquant red sauce full of spices. The main dishes are designed to be shared, including grilled turbot with black pepper, turmeric, and curry leaves, and Goan-style prawns with roasted garlic and tomato sauce.

The standout dessert is Old Monk Rum Bread & Butter Pudding, an homage to a recipe that dates from the 16th-century Mughal dynasty but is given the twist of being soaked in an Indian craft rum. It’s that layering of influences and cultures that makes dining at Gunpowder such an enjoyable experience.