The good times continue to roll for Portuguese haute cuisine with ten new restaurants now boasting a Michelin star, while Fifty Seconds received its second afte a gala award night in Funchal.
Portugal has ten new restaurants honoured with a Michelin star, with Fifty Seconds, by chef Rui Silvestre, winning its second star. The awards were presented at the third edition of the exclusively national gala, which took place in Funchal, Madeira, on Tuesday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
In addition to Fifty Seconds, chef Angélica Salvador was recognised for her work as head of the In Diferente restaurant, becoming the fourth woman to receive a star in the country. Before Salvador, only Marlene Vieira (2025), Rita Magro (2025) and Maria Alice Marto (1993) had been awarded a Michelin star.
Ten new restaurants thus entered the Michelin Guide Portugal 2026 with one star, which honours "high-level cuisine that pays to stop". Three have already had their distinction cancelled - Al Sud, in Lagos, and Arkhe and Eleven, in Lisbon - bringing the total number of restaurants in this category in the country to 44.
Among the restaurants awarded one star are Alameda (Rui Sequeira, Faro), A Cozinha do Paço (Afonso Dantas, Évora), MAPA (David Jesus, Montemor-o-Novo), Kappo (Tiago Penão, Cascais), Largo do Paço (Francisco Quintas, Amarante), dop (Rui Paula/ Sandro Teixeira, Porto), Éon (Tiago Bonito, Porto), Gastro by Elemento (Ricardo Dias Ferreira, Porto), In Diferente (Angélica Salvador, Porto), and Schistó (Vítor Matos/Vítor Gomes, Peso da Régua).
The Bib Gourmand distinction, which recognises restaurants with good value for money, was awarded to two new venues: Mesa15 (Petr Kiss, Leiria) and Taberna Sakra (Hugo China Ferreira, Alverca do Ribatejo). The total number of restaurants with this distinction now stands at 26.
The restaurant A Cozinha do Paço, in Évora, run by chef Afonso Dantas, was also awarded the new green star, which distinguishes sustainable gastronomy. In Portugal, there are already seven restaurants with this distinction.
The guide also recommends another 34 restaurants, all located in mainland Portugal. Portugal still doesn't have a maximum classification of three stars ("a unique cuisine justifies the journey").
The 'young chef' award went to Francisco Quintas(Largo do Paço, Amarante), who also won a Michelin star at the gala, while the 'room' award, which honours service, went to Adácio Ribeiro (Vila Foz, Porto). The award-winning sommelier was Carlos Monteiro (Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Leça da Palmeira).
The JNcQUOI Table restaurant (Filipe Carvalho, Lisbon) was honoured with the Opening of the year distinction - awarded for the first time this year.
The Michelin Guide 2026 gala took place at the Savoy Palace hotel in Funchal, with the restaurants in Lisbon and Porto remaining the main centres of attraction. However, the Michelin Guide highlights a growing interest in inland destinations (source in Portuguese), such as the Alentejo region.
