So José Avillez has a bunch of casual restaurants in addition to his 2 star Mich Belcanto. Of course we didn't make reservations early enough for Cantinho do Avillez but his website redirected us to try his Mini Bar restaurant. Inspired by the success of the identical Mini Bar in Lisboa. Specializing in cocktails and tasting bites screaming of innovation, surprise, mystery and a bit of confusion. The theme is "nothing is what it seems". Some dishes are executed perfectly. Some fail to deliver but throughout the experience, you can see the creative side of the two star Mich chef. The prawn with lime was interactive but uninspiring. The roasted chicken was probably the biggest failure of the night. Essentially three different sauces with a thin crisp that tasted like chicken skin. The tuna tar tar and fish n chips were probably the best. The JABurger and Viet sandwich was nothing to praise. The veal with tripe in truffle sauce was very good. The parting dessert was some marshmallow and peanut confection. Peanut thing is amazing. The menu isn't complex but the process on how to order was incredibly confusing. 1. Hostess only brings you the cocktail iPad but doesn't give you the food menu at the same time. We saw countless patrons asking for the dinner menu. Why not give us both at the same time? 2. There are too many ways to order which leads to the most confusion as we saw patron after patron asking the servers to explain how to order again and again. 3. There is an a la carte menu, a tasting menu option and a mystery tasting menu option. On top of that, you're given a sheet to tick off what items you want. Some items do not even appear on this sheet. So this was way too confusing and the manager needs to address this in order to be successful. The servers are super cool so that makes up for a whole lot. read more

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Giving this place some love since it doesn't deserve a 2/5. I thought the food was really awesome delicious and surprising. I did read the other reviews and avoided the chicken. We ordered: Apple margarita: interesting flavors Ferrer rocher: pretty yummy, loved the hazelnut and texture Beef tartare: super yum, expertly seasoned Tuna tartare: also umame and delicious. Croquettes: just okay, wouldn't get again Potato: kind of like a deconstructed tater tot, wasn't as special as the other stuff Veal rice: pretty filling. Husband like it, I just thought it was okay Burger, full sized: pretty yummy. Cooked medium as requested, meat was extremely soft and tender Foie gras terrine: super yummy and flavorful. Hazelnut dessert. Super decadent but not too sweet (the way I liked it) Two people getting these things came out to be 80 euro. A lot the was really great so I think it was worth it read more

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All concept, no restaurant. Poor service, inconsistent food, small pours, overpricing. Don't waste your time or money.

Interesting takes on foods you'd normally see at an "upscale" restaurant. The menu is mostly fun finger foods meant for a light meal or with drinks. We got the "ferrero rocher" (which is a fun concept, and they have you try to guess what it actually is), avocado tempura (as good as it sounds), beef tartare and tuna tartare (both good, tuna was probably better), the braised cod (cheesy goodness), the wagyu burger (Ok, not too different from any other burger) and the Vietnamese pork sandwich (delicious!). For dessert we did the lemon-line globe which had a cool and fun presentation but I found it to be too sour for my tastes - the textures and flavors were still good though. It was a fun experience but not sure we would go again. Nothing there was particularly ground breaking or new but the different style of presentation was appreciated! TLDR: typical "upscale" foods in novelty formats read more