Restaurant Zunzum Gastrobar in Lisbon: nice but dishes with a little unbalanced taste

Zunzum Gastrobar in Lisbon offers a contemporary Portuguese-inspired menu, nice dishes and beautiful cocktail creations. Not really gastronomic for my taste but almost, it allows nevertheless to indulge ourself at affordable prices.

For this long stay in Lisbon I tried to alternate different types of restaurants, from gastronomic to small traditional restaurants. For this first evening I aimed between the two: Zunzum Gastrobar proposes dishes of Portuguese inspiration but revisited in a contemporary and international mode. More than a restaurant, it is also a bar that puts forward its creations in terms of cocktails. It seemed like a good compromise to start with.

The property is classified “Bib Gourmand” by Michelin which means that the Guide finds qualities and a specific interest without putting it at the level of the gastronomic restaurants and I think that it is largely justified.

You will find all the articles about this trip to Portugal at the bottom of the page.

The concept of the restaurant

It is a modern cuisine restaurant with a Portuguese base. As the name suggests, great attention is also paid to cocktails and one goes to the Zunzum Gastrobar for one, the other or both.

It is owned by chef Marlene Vieira who also owns the Marlene restaurant next door.

The setting of the restaurant

The restaurant is in a modern building near the cruise terminal, so its style is in line with that.

As soon as you enter, you’ll find the bar where you can eat, unless you prefer the dining room.

IMG_4499

Then we find the dining room with a modern and warm style, a rather streamlined decoration.

IMG_4500
IMG_4521

The Menu

The restaurant offers a nice cocktail menu to start.

IMG_4493

Then the hot and cold starters.

IMG_4494
IMG_4495

The main courses and the current set menu.

IMG_4508
IMG_4498

There is finally a tasting menu, that will be my choice.

IMG_4497

It’s quite promising: there is a local base but revisited in a very modern way. Let’s see if the promise is kept.

Dinner and service

I arrive at the beginning of the evening, I had a reservation at 8pm.

IMG_4490

The welcome is warm, they ask me if I prefer to dine at the bar or in the dining room, I will choose the room.

I will start with a cocktail: the delichioso. Correct but for me who prefers short drinks it is a little too liquid.

As said before I chose the tasting menu and will trust the waiter for a red wine by the glass.

The first course arrives quickly.

Avocado toast, crab and roe

IMG_4502

Nice presentation. Fresh and good but the fish eggs cover the taste of the rest.

Tuna tartar tartlet with bearnaise sauce and mustard pickle

IMG_4507

Again a beautiful presentation.

Good and fresh and I like the spicy side of the mustard. But the béarnaise/mustard pickle duo makes the tuna completely disappear. Shame.

Since my arrival the light has been dimmed a little and it is more pleasant, less cold.

Octopus with romesco sauce

IMG_4509

Perfectly cooked but once again the sauce is a little too present.

So far, in all the dishes, there is an imbalance in the mouth between the main and secondary ingredients.

Creamy rice with shellfish and coriander

IMG_4511

Good but once again the coriander is omnipresent and eats the taste of the other ingredients.

Black pig from the Alentejo fed with acorn and fried corn

IMG_4513

Excellent meat and sauce, and perfectly cooked. But the vegetables on it had to be seasoned and marinated and they were too dominant. Too sour. But if I take them off it’s great.

The polenta with which it is served is too salty and its presentation not very engaging: either there is not enough polenta or the dish is too big.

IMG_4516

Sweet rice parfait, rice cookie, lemon and cinnamon cream

IMG_4517

Light, not stuffy, very good.

I will finish with a coffee.

IMG_4519

In the end, this meal leaves me with a mixed feeling: it is very well presented, there are ideas and research but it remains unfinished. There is a problem in the assembly of the flavors and almost all the dishes are unbalanced with an ingredient which imposes itself and makes disappear the taste of the others.

It’s good, but there’s not much missing to make it really fine. For me it is not yet possible to speak of a gourmet restaurant, just a good creative table.

The atmosphere

The music is quite present, varied (electro, 80s, 90s) but very bearable and even rather nice.

The service

Well-paced and very nice staff.

Bottom line

A good meal but leaves a slight frustration because, taken individually, each dish was almost very good but it’s the almost that you remember at the end.

If it was as good as it is beautiful it would be perfect…

The Michelin was nice: yes it’s interesting but it can be improved.

Articles about this trip to Portugal

Review Type Post
#1DiaryPreparing my birthday trip to Portugal
#2FlightParis Orly-Lisbon – TAP – Business Class – Embraer 195
#3HotelSheraton Lisbon
#4RestaurantZunzum Gastrobar, Lisbon
#5RestaurantSolar Dos Bicos, Lisbon
#6RestaurantCura, Lisbon
#7RestaurantO Frade, Lisbon
#8Restaurant100 Maneiras, Lisbon
#9RestaurantNomada, Lisbon
#10DiaryLisbon day #1: downtown
#11DiaryLisbon day #2: Belem and beyond
#12HotelFour Points by Sheraton Sesimbra
#13RestaurantO Batel Sesimbra
#14RestaurantEspadarte Sesimbra
#15LoungeTAP Premium lounge Lisbon
#16FlightLisbon-Paris Orly, TAP, Business Class, Airbus A330Neo.
#17DiaryDebriefing of the trip to Lisbon and Sesimbra
Bertrand Duperrin
Bertrand Duperrinhttp://www.duperrin.com
Compulsive traveler, present in the French #avgeek community since the late 2000s and passionate about (long) travel since his youth, Bertrand Duperrin co-founded Travel Guys with Olivier Delestre in March 2015.
1,324FansLike
954FollowersFollow
1,272FollowersFollow
370SubscribersSubscribe

Trending posts

Recent posts