I had dinner here yesterday evening (03-29-16) and I had a wonderful experience. Quermesse is situated on a downward-sloping hill a few blocks away from the Avenida da Liberdade, and truly is a hidden gem within the city. I entered the restaurant in a party of three around 10pm and was promptly seated by the waiter, and given a menu (made of cork! So neat). The ambiance was incredible -- the other guests seemed to be in the 30-50 year old range, but were all extremely hip, dressed in beautiful, chic monochromatic articles of clothing with perfect cuts. Most people seemed to be drinking wine, and though many people were already finished eating their meals by the time I arrived, they seemed to linger in the restaurant (because it was so NICE!!). The inside has an extremely elegant decor as well, primarily consisting of black and white, with a back wall made up of door-like fixtures. It was very neat. Also the small plates that we were given for sharing appetizers were all different, and they were all soo beautiful, each in their own unique way. Anyhow, after perusing through the menu (the menu had both English and Portuguese, which was extremely helpful) and browsing through some images on Yelp, we decided to order the seafood soup, the goat cheese + fig jam salad, crusted cod dish, pulpo (octopus) dish, shrimp + crawfish risotto, and later on, the cheesecake. I'll review the food in one moment, but first -- service!
I loved our waiter -- I found him to be extremely kind and charming. He was really patient with me (even though I ordered the cod way after he already placed our order for everything else) and he chuckled when I tried to practice my very limited Portuguese (which essentially consists of "obrigado", haha). He was very honest about his dessert recommendations, and highly suggested we order the cheesecake. He talked to us about the chef, and the restaurant's original chef, and I found that he made the experience extremely personable. However, my parents definitely thought he was conceited based on his first impression upon them. Nonetheless, they quickly warmed up to him as well, and ultimately, we collectively found him worthy of a nice tip.
Back to the food -- it was SO GOOD!! I'll probably be back before I leave Lisbon because WOW. Meticulously crafted and eloquently presented, none of the dishes we ordered failed any of us (and I was with a pretty picky crowd!). My personal favorite was the Shrimp + Crawfish Risotto, but I'm just a major seafood and risotto lover, so that might have been it. The crusted cod was so flavorful, and it was presented so beautifully, but I'm not a major fan of potatoes, so that's why it wasn't my #1 favorite (my parents LOVED the potatoes though -- I've just never been a fan!). The seafood soup was also fantastic, and the goat cheese/fig jam appetizer was perfect to share with three others. For the price, we were given soo much food, especially considering the value of some of the items (goat cheese/seafood is not cheap!). The cheesecake with its homemade berry sauce was a perfect way to end my evening, leaving my palette with an inextinguishable desire to consume more (just not at the moment, because I was pleasantly stuffed).
I can confidently assert that I had a fine dining experience at Quermesse, and I am confident that I will pay the local gem another visit before I leave the area. read more