Chef Marlene Vieira made big food news in early 2025 when she became the first female Portuguese chef to earn a Michelin star in 30 years. In many ways, it was long overdue, not only because her namesake restaurant, Marlene, (comma theirs), had been open for three years already but also because she’s been a mainstay in the city’s dining scene for more than a decade.
Vieira has been connected to the kitchen since she was 12 years old, and she first made her name as a professional chef in 2012, with the opening of Avenue on one of Lisbon’s main arteries, as well as a popular stall in the Time Out Market food hall. Marlene, in a dark, moody room beside the cruise terminal, marked her return to fine dining and announced her goal of earning a star.
The restaurant follows a tasting menu format, with options for 9 or 12 courses, all based on Portuguese recipes, traditions, and seasons. Although some inspirations are French and Asian, the products are relentlessly local, such as goose barnacles, cockles, amberjack, and carabineiro prawns. There’s always a cornbread that follows her grandmother’s recipe.
The restaurant was one of the first in Lisbon to put the kitchen in center of the dining room, with the best seats in the house lined up around the sides of it so diners can watch the chefs in action.
For more information, visit the Marlene, website.
Marlene,
Lisbon Cruise Terminal
Av. Infante Dom Henrique
Lisbon
Phone: +351 912 626 761
Email: marlene@marlene.pt
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday – 19:00 to 24:00
Photos by Miguel Manso courtesy of Marlene,