JNcQUOI Avenida, for those who still dress for dinner

Let me say it from the first line. I am a member of the JNcQUOI Club. I am not neutral about this place, and I will not pretend to be.

So read this less as a review and more as a confession.

A restaurant inside a theatre

JNcQUOI Avenida lives inside the Teatro Tivoli, on Avenida da Liberdade. The building was designed by Raul Lino for Frederico de Lima Mayer and opened on 30 November 1924, with the film Violetas Imperiais.

Look at the façade and you will find four roses. They are for Lima Mayer's four daughters. In 1997 the building was classified as a Property of Public Interest.

In April 2017 it became the first step of Amorim Luxury, the company of Paula Amorim, into restaurants. The founder and CEO of JNcQUOI, Miguel Guedes de Sousa, wanted something Lisbon did not have: a grand dining room in the European tradition, open all day, where people actually dress up.

Three floors, three moods

Upstairs is the restaurant. Around ninety seats, very high ceilings and frescoes almost a hundred years old, restored when the space was rebuilt.

And in the middle of it all, a life size velociraptor skeleton. Everyone asks about it. Nobody forgets it.

The interiors are by Lázaro Rosa-Violán, the Barcelona designer behind some of the most photographed rooms in Europe. The mix of green velvet, brass, mirrors and old murals works because it does not take itself too seriously. The dinosaur makes sure of that.

On the ground floor is the Delibar, a counter of forty two seats with a wine cellar behind it. There are no reservations, and after eight a DJ takes over. Below, in the basement, is Fashion Clinic Men.

What you actually eat

Chef António Bóia cooks a menu that is half Portuguese and half international classics. Fish, seafood, steak, a few dishes you will see on every table.

This is not a tasting menu restaurant and it does not try to be. You come here for a perfect version of what you already love, served properly, in a room that makes the evening feel like an occasion.

My take

Is it the best food in Lisbon? No, and it does not claim to be. For that, I send you to Belcanto or Henrique Sá Pessoa.

Is it the best room in Lisbon? I think so. Nowhere else in the city do I see such a mix of Lisbon at the same time, on a Tuesday.

The group's ambition in fine dining is serious, too. In 2026 JNcQUOI Table, by chef Filipe Carvalho, received the Michelin Opening of the Year award in Portugal.

Curious facts

• The Tivoli opened as a cinema, and the opening night was a silent film.
• The four roses on the façade are a father's tribute to his four daughters.
• The dress code at the Delibar is Elegant Chic. Take it seriously.
• Below the restaurant, the same building holds a men's fashion store, Fashion Clinic Men. Lunch and a fitting in one address.

Where and when

JNcQUOI Avenida, Avenida da Liberdade 182 to 184, Lisbon.

Open every day from noon to midnight.

How to book

Book the restaurant at book@jncquoiavenida.com, on +351 219 369 900 or through OpenTable. The Delibar does not take reservations, so arrive early.

Ask for a table by the windows over the Avenida for lunch, and in the centre of the room, near the dinosaur, for dinner.