“Tasco Atipico” is the slogan for Ofício, the casual new spot in Chiado, but it doesn’t quite do the restaurant justice. That’s because the food is not only a departure from the typical tasca fare, but because it’s also one of the tastiest and most interesting new restaurants in Lisbon.
Ofício is the new project from the team behind the Art Gate, 2020’s delightfully intimate fine-dining experience at a six-seat counter inside a five-room hotel so exclusive that they never even bothered to hang up a sign. Art Gate chef Hugo Candeias is the creative force behind this project too, working here with executive chef Micael Duarte (who worked with noted Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes at Chiltern Firehouse in London) and chef Rodolfo Lavrador (who also worked with Mendes, this time at Lisbon’s Bairro Alto Hotel Restaurante).
Here, the stakes are lower—the priciest item on the menu of sharable places is 18 euros (old-fashioned oven rice with smoked meats), and many options are less than 10 euros—and the chefs are clearly having some fun. They’ve divided the menu into cold dishes, hot dishes, and finger food.
The best way to enjoy Ofício is to sample a bit of all. The Algarve spider crab (pictured at top), which arrives in a shell with little knives to spread it on toast, is a standout among the cold stuff, though the iceberg with smoked avocado and the sea vegetable tacos are clearer proof that this place is atypical.
A giant puff of pork skin is the best introduction to the finger food portion of the menu, and once you settle into the hot dishes, you’ll find haute takes on classics like cod with onions and chickpeas, and a wildly delicious stingray with a vivid green herb sauce.
Truth be told, I ran out of steam before dessert, but it seems that Candeias’s cheese tart is the thing to get.
For more information, visit the Ofício website.
Ofício
Rua Nova da Trindade 11
Chiado
Lisbon
Phone: +351 910 456 440
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday – 12:30 to 22:00
