Encanto (José Avillez and João Diogo), Kabuki Lisboa (Paulo Alves), Kanazawa (Paulo Morais) in Lisbon, Euskalduna Studio (Vasco Coelho Santos) and Le Monument (Julien Montbabut), both in Porto, are the five new restaurants in Portugal to receive a star (' top-notch cuisine, it pays to stop') in the Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal 2023.

With the announcement of the new Portuguese award winners, chef José Avillez adds Encanto to his already 'starred' restaurants of Belcanto (two stars, Lisbon) and Tasca (one star, Dubai), and is also the first vegetarian restaurant to be distinguished by the guide in Portugal.

Portugal hosting 2024 event

Usually, the Spain and Portugal new guide is announced in a single ceremony, which has the majority of the time, been held in Spain. However, from next year there will be separate awards for each country, a sign of the “growing excellence” of gastronomy at a national level.

“Starting next year, we will not have just one celebration, but two, in Spain and Portugal”, announced Gwendal Poullennec, at the opening ceremony of the presentation of next year's guide, which took place in the Spanish city of Toledo.

“We are not going to unveil the selection again at the same time, but we will give both destinations their own celebration,” he said, adding: “The culinary scenes of both countries deserve their own boost and we want to better promote what makes them unique.”

“With a dedicated event in Portugal, the unveiling of the restaurant selection, and the consequent deployment of editorial content to be shared on the Guide’s various platforms, the Michelin Guide aims to contribute to promote Portugal as an unmissable European gastronomic destination”.

In Portugal, there are now a total of 31, one-star Michelin-starred restaurants (including the five new editions) and a further seven, two-starred restaurants. You can find a full list of those featured in the guide here.