The story
On the Doca do Jardim do Tabaco, overlooking the Tagus, Marlene, is a restaurant that feels both intimate and ambitious. Here, executive chef Marlene Vieira and head chef Mário Cruz have created a space where the flavours of Portugal are reimagined with precision and respect. The dining room is calm and contemporary, with counter seating that brings you close to the kitchen’s rhythm.
Marlene Vieira has been connected to the kitchen since she was twelve. She opened her first restaurant in 2012 and now runs three concepts in Lisbon, but Marlene, is her most personal statement. At the stoves, Mário Cruz leads the brigade. Born in Guimarães, he trained in the Azores and New York, and after working in London and Lisbon, he joined Vieira first at Avenue, then Zunzum, and now here. Together with sous-chef Marcela Fernandes, they build each menu around the seasons and the sea.
The menu is presented as a tasting journey: nine moments for 150€ or twelve moments for 180€, with an optional wine pairing. The kitchen works primarily with seafood and fish, reflecting the Portuguese coastline and the team’s conviction that tradition and innovation can coexist. “It is the reflection of my memories and beliefs,” says Marlene Vieira, “in a mix of tradition and innovation.” The dishes change without notice, dictated by the market and the chef’s instinct.
This is modern cuisine rooted in a clear mission: “to contribute to the construction of a new Portuguese cuisine, respecting tradition without fear of reinventing it.” The Michelin star awarded in 2026 acknowledges the precision and identity of the work. The restaurant also holds distinctions from Boa Cama Boa Mesa and Mesa Marcada, and has represented Portugal at Madrid Fusión and San Sebastián Gastronomika.
At Marlene,, the dining experience is a quiet, confident conversation between the past and the present, served one moment at a time.
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