Italian food may not be first cuisine that comes to mind in Lisbon, yet in the Amoreiras neighbourhood, Davvero has carved out a distinctive niche in the city’s culinary landscape — offering an authentic alternative in the capital of rolling hills.
The restaurant has become a fixture on must-visit lists, establishing its place in Lisbon’s gastronomic scene. Its name, Davvero — Italian for being the real deal, “the real one” — reflects its ethos: a classic Italian restaurant at the premium end of the spectrum.
Housed within a boutique hotel inside a restored century-old residence with just 15 rooms, Davvero retains much of the property’s original elegance. The hotel is one of two sister properties — this is the newer one, Sublime Lisboa, while the other is in Comporta, one-and-a-half hours from Lisbon.
The restaurant’s interiors blend old-world elegance with a cosmopolitan edge: crisp white tablecloths, gleaming glasses, a bartender who shakes his cocktail mixer behind the marble bar counter and plush navy velvet banquettes. There’s a touch of a New York brasserie here, with subtle French accents, while polished yet unpretentious service completes the experience.
When the hotel owners envisioned Davvero, their aim was clear: a place in Lisbon to enjoy the kind of authentic Italian dishes — spaghetti alle vongole, cacio e pepe — that had been missing from the city. Here, dry pasta from Gragnano meets freshly sourced Portuguese clams.
At the helm is chef Isaac Kumi, an Italian-Ghanaian talent whose career includes years with the Cipriani group (New York, Abu Dhabi and, most recently, in Dubai). Cipriani’s reputation for timeless, cosmopolitan glamour has clearly influenced Davvero’s sensibility.
Kumi himself, originally from Treviso, has been recognised by the Italian embassy as an ambassador of Italian cuisine. Here, his cooking philosophy marries Italy’s devotion to fresh, handmade pasta and bold flavours with Portugal’s affinity for seafood and hearty stews, even drawing on family recipes and contemporary techniques.
The menu is rich in Italian classics — beef carpaccio with parmesan cream, whipped salt cod with crispy polenta, and a Venetian-inspired baccalà mantecato. The dish, typically made from poached and whipped salt cod, is reimagined here with Portuguese bacalhau and served with authentic Italian polenta. “It’s our best-seller,” says Beatriz Carrasco, the welcoming hostess, who effortlessly switches between Portuguese, English and Italian.
Chef’s suggestions on the menu include spaghetti alle vongole, tonno e avocado (salmon tartar and avocado cream) and fish courses that lean more Portuguese, like sogliola alla mugnaia (grilled sole, sautéed veggies, lemon fumet sauce).
Dinner unfolds in proper Italian sequence and the menu is structured in Italian fashion — stuzzichino (pre-appetisers) antipasti, primi, secondi — encouraging diners to embrace the rhythm of a traditional meal. A generous bread basket arrives first. Our favourites from the evening were spaghettoni cacio e pepe (a simple dish with pecorino cheese and black pepper) and sea bass with crisp skin and meltingly tender flesh. The burrata was exceptionally fresh, while dessert brought revelations: a robust tiramisu true to its Italian roots — a lot punchier than the toned-down versions we’re used to back home and unapologetically strong.
Tartelleta al limone e passione is a lemon tart that ends the meal with refreshing taste — a lemon and passion-fruit tartlet, meringue and yoghurt gelato, which, like other desserts at Davvero, combines classic Italian pastry with vibrant, seasonal flavours.
Recognition has followed the restaurant. Davvero has been awarded “4 Ristoranti” by Sky Television as the most authentic Italian restaurant abroad and has earned a place in Conde Nast’s fine dining recommendations — and has attracted a devoted following of Italian diners in particular.
There is an extensive wine list that features impressive Italian wines among others, and the cocktail bar specialises in traditional cocktails like Bellini, Negroni and Old Fashioned.
Perhaps the real lesson Davvero leaves behind is that the best dishes aren’t necessarily the most elaborate, they are the ones built from fewer, fresher ingredients, cooked just right and never, ever with overdone pasta.
