Blind

The story

Blind Porto – Michelin Star Portuguese Cuisine in Torel Palace

A Sensory Tribute to Saramago

Blind is not just a restaurant; it is an experience rooted in literature. Housed within the Torel Palace Porto, a boutique hotel that celebrates Portuguese poets and writers, Blind takes its name and philosophy from José Saramago’s novel Blindness. The bar itself evokes the intimate atmosphere of a cinema, a nod to the book’s film adaptation premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Here, guests are invited to explore the five senses through a tasting menu that unfolds like a narrative — each dish a chapter, each flavour a word in Saramago’s dense prose.

The Chefs Behind the Star

The kitchen is led by Chef Vitor Matos, the most decorated Michelin-starred chef in Portugal, and Executive Chef Stéphane Costa. Matos, whose career began watching his mother cook at home, brings a deeply personal approach: “My cuisine would be different had my story been a different one,” he says. Stéphane Costa, a Ponte de Lima native, joined Blind in 2019 and took over as Executive Chef in 2025, blending his roots in traditional Portuguese cuisine with a contemporary, sensory vision. Together, they earned Blind a Michelin star in 2026.

The Blind Emotions Menu

The restaurant’s signature offering is the “Blind Emotions” tasting experience, composed of either 10 or 12 moments. Guests may choose to dine blind — without knowing what comes next — or with full knowledge. Both options can be paired with the restaurant’s curated wine selections. The cuisine is Portuguese at its core: fresh, evolving, and sensitive, built on texture and harmony rather than spectacle. As the team puts it, “We do not seek that you see them, but that you never forget them.”