TOP chef Nuno Mendes is stepping away from his beloved Portuguese restaurant Lisboeta – which closes its doors this weekend.
The Michelin-star chef is moving on to focus on his Portuguese ventures and a new London project.
Nuno Mendes is closing his “love letter to Lisbon” restaurant to start a new chapter[/caption]
Opened in 2022, Lisboeta was Mendes’ “love letter to Lisbon” and quickly earned a place in the UK’s Top 100 Restaurants.
Its final service will be held on Saturday, August 23.
The restauranteur is handing over the reins to the Fitzrovia-based eatery to Portuguese chef and friend Leandro Carreira.
Nuno wrote on social media: “Dear Friends, after an incredible journey of almost four years, Lisboeta as we know it will be coming to an end this Fall.
“We’ve had an amazing ride and it’s fantastic to see the love and support of our patrons from the day we opened our doors.
“I feel proud of the fact that we’ve helped to cement Portuguese food culture here in London and beyond.
“Our incredible teams, past and present, through their passion, dedication and hard work have made this possible. Our successes couldn’t have been achieved without you.
“Thank you to you all. Lisboeta is a deeply personal passion project to me and a brand that I would like to continue to grow and develop internationally.
“It’s first steps will be into Lisbon but then we will go to other territories further away.
“I will continue to focus on my projects in Portugal, Cozinha das Flores and The Largo in Porto as well as Santa Joana in Lisbon.
“Both are going from strength to strength and we still have many goals to achieve.”
He continued: “The site of Lisboeta will stay and my dear friend and colleague, Leandro Carreira will be launching an exciting new project with the team from MJMK.
“It’s called LUSO and I’m sure it will be a great addition to the London food scene. I’m excited to try it!
“LUSO will offer something new, rooted in our shared culture but seen through Leo’s contemporary lens. I have no doubt it will be extraordinary.
“Last but not least, thank you to Marco, Jake and the whole team at MJMK for believing in Portuguese Food and for coming along on this journey. I wish you lots of success in this and all of your ventures.
“Thank you friends and I hope to see you either in Portugal or in London someday soon.”
Restaurant group MJMK, which owns the site, will transform the space into Luso, reopening in September after a refurbishment.
MJMK co-founder Marco Mendes and Jake Kasumov said the decision was mutual and made “on a high note” after more than four years working with the chef.
“We’ve been working with Nuno for well over four years and remain big fans. But in that time he’s taken on other projects, so after three years of Lisboeta we all sat down and made a plan.
“We thought it would be best to end on a high. He’ll focus on his restaurants in Portugal, and we’re relaunching with a new love letter to Portugal in Luso.”
They added that the new restaurant will be more casual in tone and said: “We’ve been working with Leandro to develop a straightforward, traditional Portuguese restaurant — one not so much about the chef, but the country.
“We’re not trying to be cheffy. We want to focus on simple, slightly elevated Portuguese dishes made with simple ingredients. Pricing will be similar, maybe a little lower.
“We want to be busy all the time, especially at lunch when people can come in for a beer and a sandwich.”
The high-profile eatery will be turned into a ‘traditional’ Portuguese restaurant[/caption]
Nuno is handing over Lisboeta to his ‘dear friend and colleague’ Leandro Carreira[/caption]