Doña Filipa
In the Hotel Infante Sagres
Cuisines: European, Spanish, Continental
About
For a reminder of just how formal and elegant Portugal can really be, come to this restaurant -- the jewel of the also-recommended hotel . It's positioned on the lobby level of a hotel that was originally conceived as a semi-private club for wine trade administrators, and as such, contains many aspects of a formal and very wealthy 19th-century private home -- including the kind of service rituals that other dining rooms abandoned long ago. Ceilings are quite high, staff is very formally dressed, and menu items have been appreciated by diners who have included the Dalai Lama, the Crown Prince of Japan, movie stars Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich, and Elizabeth II of England. Begin your meal with a creamy version of fish soup or a carpaccio of octopus with fresh peppers. Main courses might include fried filet of sole with lemon butter sauce; roasted duck with olives, tomatoes, and white wine; and "Portuguese beef," with smoked ham that's flambéed with cognac.
