Boi-Cavalo, the gallop of an original restaurant

The restaurant Boi Cavalo, the Gnu, is located in Alfama.

Boi-cavalo in english the wildbeest, is in one of the widest streets of this universe of intertwined alleys that is Alfama: Vigário Street.

Twenty places no more in this author’s restaurant, located in a former butcher’s shop.

The butcher’s fridge remained, participating in the staging.

In the open kitchen of the Boi-Cavalo, chef Hugo Brito and his brigade of only 4 people, prepare dishes of a rare originality.

This former plastic artist, a conceptual video artist tired of his own “creative delusions”, has converted to cooking out of necessity. After a trip to Venice, then especially to Holland where he learned everything, Hugo Brito decided to come back to Lisbon 5 years ago.

His Boi-Cavalo is part of what is known as “bistronomy”. But the 45-year-old chef mainly makes a contemporary Portuguese cuisine.

Another originality and not the least: Boi-Cavalo offers a unique 8-course menu, take it or leave it. A way of doing things that discourages tourists who feel frustrated that they cannot choose.

Here in Boi-Cavalo, imagination is in power. Surprising blends, unusual associations, and always at the heart of concerns, the Portuguese authenticity.