Ceia

Ceia, which means supper in Portuguese, was one of our most memorable fine dining experiences ever. 

The restaurant, which is part of a project called Silent Living, is located on the ground floor of the Santa Clara, an intimate six-room boutique hotel with privileged views of the Tagus River and the Pantheon. Kristin Liebold, a member of the Silent Living team, is the hostess in the historical building (from 1728). 

We were second to arrive at the dinner, and Kristin served us a refreshing non-alcoholic welcome drink. We mingled and chatted with the other guests until everyone had arrived. Only then did Kristin open the double door that led to a very cinematic dining room, with a huge long single table, and allocate a specific seat to every one of our party of 11 (five couples and one teenager, our son). This was quite unusual and we were all a bit surprised by this setting, hoping it was not a reenactment of the movie “The Menu” (if you don’t know it, check it out and you’ll understand). 

Once we were all seated, dinner could begin. Renato Bonfim and his team came to greet us and introduced the menu called “The Last Harvest” which consisted of nine dishes: “Home”, “Ecosystem”, “Bond”, “Different Yet the Same”, “Time”, Adapt & Evolve”, “Movement”, “Inspire” and finally “Ground”. 

Each dish was wonderfully conceived and prepared, both visually and to eat. From the amuse-bouche to the dessert, even the bread, the whole ensemble was amazingly created, prepared, cooked and served. 80% of what we ate, both animal and vegetal, came from the chef’s local farm. Sustainability seems to be very important to him and his team. 

Even though we did not opt for the alcoholic pairing, we could tell the wines served to the other guests had been chosen with great care by the sommelier. As for our non-alcoholic drink pairings, they were all a perfect match to our meal. We could sense the enthusiastic and creative work of a team seeking to bring pleasure to sober guests. 

The service by Kristin and the kitchen team was flawless and extremely efficient. The company around the table turned out to be very international, interesting and delightful. 

Ceia was amazing on every level: the concept, the setting, the location, the hostess, the chef and his team, the service, and above all the food! As one of the guests summarized it later on: it was an enchanted evening. And definitely one of a kind. We loved it.

Ceia

Campo de Santa Clara 128, Santa Clara, Lisbon,

1100-473 Lisboa

Portugal

Telephone : +351964 362 816

https://ceia.superbexperience.com