I confess that, as soon as I walked into MÖTAO Lisboa, near Alcântara, and saw all the decoration in very wild tones, drawing on the intense greens of the shrubs and trees of some tropical forest, I thought I was entering the Amazónico in Madrid, one of the trendiest restaurants in the capital.
Just like the space in Madrid, which has live music and DJs downstairs at The Jungle Jazz Club, at MÖTAO Lisboa, which is right next to the Tagus River, where Café In used to be, you’ll find an area where a DJ does the honors every Friday, Saturday and national holiday eve and opens up the dance floor for you to enjoy until four in the morning.
So let’s be clear: MÖTAO Lisboa is a turnkey restaurant with good food (excellent food, by the way) and a space where you can have fun dancing with friends until it’s time to go to bed (for those over 35, hehe).
An Asian experience with breathtaking views
The Tagus River, the 25 de Abril Bridge and Cristo Rei are just three of the Lisbon icons you can admire while enjoying a five-star meal at MÖTAO Lisboa, awakening even more senses in what will be a journey full of flavors and aromas of Oriental cuisine, like few others in the city.
Lisbon’s new epicenter of entertainment (and gastronomy)
The concept of one of the most recent restaurants of the Fullest Group, of which we have already visited Tapas n’ Friends and CRU, also led by businessman Gonçalo Fernandes, who already owns almost 30 restaurants, is something innovative in the city and combines haute cuisine with bold decoration (all the materials are imported from Bali), offering a contagious night-time energy to every corner of this space, which aims to become the new epicenter of dining & nightlife in Lisbon. nightlife, which is to say, dining and entertainment without leaving the same place.
With stunning decor
The first positive impact as soon as we arrived at MÖTAO was even before we tasted any of the dishes: the space is a masterpiece of design and decoration, immediately transporting us to the fresh, green jungles of countries more exotic than our own.
Even before the palate, the colors and textures entered our eyes, and this was very satisfying because there is, in fact, a surprising visual harmony that leaves us intoxicated, without us being too embarrassed to have entered a luxurious place, characteristics that quickly come to light in the velvet sofas or the elegant hardwoods.
If the evening was as described here, we were told that at lunchtime the natural light “invades” the entire restaurant, creating an even more relaxed atmosphere.
To enter MÖTAO Lisboa is to “be part of” an atmosphere that is at once urban and exotic, modern and timeless.
The Secret Lisbon experience
The Couvert (€4 per person) was the first act of a very interesting gastronomic symphony, which redefined the concept of the first tastings to what we had come for, with a real introductory tasting of the Asian flavors that define this house: the Whipped Tofu Cream with Chilli Crispy presents a silky texture with a balanced spicy touch that gently awakens the palate; the Asian Guacamole with Furikake represents an audacious and successful fusion between Mexican and Japanese influences, creating a combination of flavors we weren’t expecting; the Peanut and Spice Satay Sauce transports us directly to the Thai markets with its aromatic richness and complexity of flavors; and the Nitamago Egg with Pani Puri Soy Gel is a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Japanese marinated egg.
To accompany it, in a separate basket, Fried Rice Sheet with Nori , which offered an irresistible crunch with intense marine notes; and Mantou Bread, the traditional soft and slightly sweet Chinese bread, which turned out to be too little (only two loaves) to soak up so many good “sauces” served in this exemplary starter.
The menu available at MÖTAO Lisboa is quite extensive, one of the largest we’ve ever seen, full of sushi and sashimi combos, as well as other Asian curiosities. But as there were only three of us there, we opted for a starter and three main courses.
This was followed by an aromatic Padang Padang Salmon Ceviche (20€), which was characterized by being the perfect presentation of the cuisine that this restaurant wants to present, with products that are always fresh and of excellent quality, which is proven in the case of the salmon, marinated to perfection, with a very delicate texture and well-balanced flavours.
It wasn’t the best ceviche we’ve tasted in the city, but we’re sure it could still be. In our opinion, it lacked a little final acidity to make it “that” ceviche!
The suggestions for the following dishes took into account the house specialties, the most requested, with the Tiger Prawn Pad Thai and the Chicken and Prawn Nasi Goreng doing the honors.
Let’s start with the first: if the Ceviche we tried here wasn’t our favorite, this Tiger Prawn Pad Thai (28€) is simply divine, without a doubt the best we’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. Of course, the giant crustacean helped in this ranking, but the truth is that the flavor and aromas are all on the side of the rice noodles , which have the ideal texture, neither too soft nor too firm.
As for the sauce, it offers the perfect balance between the sweet, sour and umami of traditional Thai cuisine. This dish alone justifies a visit to MÖTAO Lisboa.
As for the Chicken and Shrimp Nasi Goreng (23€), an Indonesian specialty and one of my favorite Asian dishes, it’s also one of the house’s most requested. It stands out for its aromatic fried rice, with pieces of chicken and generous prawns to accompany the miscellany of flavors, then wrapped in the yolk of a fried egg which is like the “icing on the cake” of this famous dish.
Was it good? It was, but it wasn’t as intense as the fried rice we tasted on the children’s menu (€13), which was truly “out of this world”. Had it not been for the little one devouring more than half of the Pad Thai, we would have had to order two of these menus… and we wouldn’t have been badly served, that’s for sure!
A Suri Mocktail (14€), a non-alcoholic creation that surprised with its aromatic complexity and refreshment; and a glass of Perspectiva White Wine, Douro (34€, the bottle), turned out to be the smartest pairing (the drinks menu is equally extensive and very diverse) for this dinner, so we moved on to desserts.
We decided on the CaramelFondant (7€), a sweet full of good things made up of caramel Petit Gâteau, pineapple compote, kaffir lime, ginger crumble and pineapple sorbet, which turned out to be elegant and refreshing at the same time; and the Rice Crispy (7€), a chocolate mousse with salted caramel toffee, miso and crispy rice that immediately won over the youngest with its fun texture that popped in the mouth.
Personally, I wasn’t a big fan of either, but my dinner companion devoured it until there was nothing left.
Nightlife: when the restaurant turns into entertainment
We didn’t stay the night (ohhhhh), not least because the little one ate enough to leave him stuffed. But we know, and we could see from the DJ booth, the mirror balls and some robot lights, that after dinner you’re entitled to a party and lots of entertainment.
With House, Soul and Disco influences that transition smoothly into Jazz and Chill Outvibes, setlists created by the resident DJs, Friday nights, Saturdays and national holiday turn the restaurant into a real nightlife spot, with music until 4am.
This versatility allows you to get a group of friends together to enjoy a complete gastronomic experience and extend the evening in the same place, eliminating the need to take the car and go elsewhere.
We loved our experience at MÖTAO Lisboa, which we think is positioned as an establishment where gastronomic excellence justifies the investment made, not only thanks to the premium quality of the ingredients it uses, the good execution of Asian cooking techniques and, of course, as we haven’t mentioned yet, the attentive service , with special attention to the availability to describe each of the dishes served.
With average prices per person of between €30-50 (excluding drinks), this MÖTAO is in the upper-middle category of the Lisbon market, which is fully justified considering all the words we’ve already said. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Address: Pavilhão Nascente da Avenida Brasília 311A (Alcântara)
Opening hours: Sunday to Wednesday, from 12 noon to 1 a.m.; Thursdays from 12 noon to 2 a.m.; Fridays, Saturdays and national holiday, from 12 noon to 4 a.m.
Average price per person: between 30€ and 50€ (excluding drinks) (parking included, if available)
Menu and reservations: on the website
Don’t miss out! Follow us on Facebook,Instagram and now also on WhatsApp!