Matiz Lisboa, between land and sea

The terrace, splashed by the morning sun, is an invitation to dine. It watches businessmen in a hurry, Lisbon families and tourists on the go pass each other under the plane trees of the local Champs-Élysées. Matiz Lisboa ("nuance" in Portuguese) is the new address on Avenida da Liberdade. In 2021, the Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade has reinvented its first floor, giving pride of place to its restaurant. New name, new menu, new decor... The Matiz Lisboa (its new name) now offers sophisticated, local cuisine, orchestrated by executive chef Daniel Schlaipfer.We use 95-98% Portuguese products," explains Schlaipfer.Our fish is caught on our coasts, our meat is free-range in the north of the country by cooperative farmers, and our vegetables come from Portugal.The chocolate comes from Sao Tomé, a former Portuguese colony.

German chef Daniel Schlaipfer has been working in Portugal for twenty years, ten of them at the hotel. "Matiz Lisboa offers traditional, sincere Portuguese dishes, as well as vegetarian dishes," he explains. While the menu is short at lunchtime, it becomes more gastronomic in the evening. "We have dishes that take a long time to prepare, such as sea bass in a black salt crust, which takes half an hour to cook."Daniel Schlaipfer finishes it off on the presentation counter, under the intrigued gaze of guests. For here, the eyes match the taste buds: the rack of lamb finishes cooking on a delicate porcelain barbecue in aromas of lavender, and the seafood stew"à la cataplana" is served in a traditional copper dish.

Everything is carefully and beautifully presented... and explained in French, if not English. Another nod to the Accor group is a little detour to France with a taste of grape-style foie gras. This is an exception, as the chef sublimates the Portuguese spirit, right down to the tableware signed Vista Alegre. As for the elegant, light-filled dining room, with its bay windows, it subtly "brings the outside in". The calçada portuguesa (Portuguese pavement), composed of small basalt and limestone cobblestones, seems to extend through the geometric lines of the black-and-white floor. Good eye! In the cellar, the restaurant plays on transparency with two eye-catching glass cubes. The 150 bottles (a hundred or so references) stand guard over the local terroir - with the Douro Valley in mind - and beyond. It's in the back, in the adega, that you can taste the vinho verde under the benevolent gaze of six ceramic Bacchus. For a nightcap (a port, for example), the gold-and-white Matiz Bar is just the place. After all that, it's off to one of the hotel's recently renovated rooms.

For the Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade is an excellent outpost from which to wander the city, sniff its iodized air and catch a few notes of fado on the fly. Between the seven hills, surrounded by brand-name boutiques and offices, it's just a few brisk strides (it's a steep climb!) from the Botanical Gardens and the Bairro Alto, Baixa and Chiado districts. But nothing is far away in Lisbon. And neither is the Tagus River or the Atlantic Ocean...

3 questions to Daniel Schlaipfer, Executive Chef at Matiz Lisboa in the Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade

Gault&Millau: You're German. Why Portugal?

Daniel Schlaipfer: For love! I met my wife, who is Portuguese, in Spain. We moved to her country, where I worked in 5-star hotel restaurants in the Algarve and Cascais, before joining the Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade.

G&M: Where did you learn to cook Portuguese dishes?

D. S.: I learned in the kitchen, but my wife's grandmother helped me a lot. She used to make typical dishes like porco alentejana, an Alentejo dish with pork and clams, not a very common pairing for a German. She also cooked various bacalhau dishes, which I grew to love over time. Fortunately, my taste has evolved! And I've managed to do without Bavarian sausages, leberkäse and other pretzels!

G&M: How has the Portuguese culinary scene evolved?

D. S.: When I started out twenty years ago, we cooked more traditional dishes at home or in small restaurants. Portuguese gastronomy has changed a lot over the last ten years. Lisbon has modernized and a new gastronomy has developed. At Matiz Lisboa, dishes revisit Portuguese traditions. They are rich in flavor, made with fresh, local produce from the sea and the land.

Matiz Lisboa

Avenida da Liberdade 127, Lisbon, Portugal

Matiz, Lisboa - ALL Accor Restaurants

matizlisboa.com