Lamelas

The story

Lamelas, Porto Covo: New Alentejo Cuisine by Chef Ana Moura

A New Alentejo Kitchen

Perched above the bay of Porto Covo, with a panoramic terrace, Lamelas is a family project rooted in affection. Its mission: to serve a new Alentejo cuisine – one that prioritises comfort, technique and creativity, all in the service of local ingredients. Since 2024, the restaurant has been part of the Michelin Guide’s recommendations in Portugal, and it recently received the prestigious 1 Sol Repsol distinction.

Chef Ana Moura

Ana Moura’s connection to the Alentejo, and especially to Porto Covo, goes back to childhood. The restaurant named after her mother’s family reflects that deep bond with the land, its people, its products and its local businesses. She trained in jewellery and marketing, but cooking is her true passion. In Portugal she worked at Eleven, in Spain at Arzak and Astelena, among others, before leading Cave 23 in Lisbon. She opened Lamelas in May 2021, and in October 2024 was a guest speaker at the prestigious San Sebastián Gastronomika festival.

“Something I learned from an Alentejo woman who told me one day: ‘Alentejo cooking is – today you have coriander, you cook with coriander; tomorrow you have rabbit, you cook with rabbit.’ There is no obligation to use this or that ingredient. What matters is that it tastes like home, that it tastes like the Alentejo.”

Seasonal and Sustainable

For Ana Moura, “the most important thing is flavour and respect for the products.” The result is a seasonal, sustainable contemporary Portuguese cuisine rooted in Alentejo traditions, with a strong focus on fish, seafood and rice dishes – one of the chef’s favourites. Every plate is meant to “refer back to home, to the memory of flavours that are familiar to us.” The wine list privileges terroir and low-intervention bottles, with most references coming from the Alentejo coast, though it opens to other regions for diversity.