Bonança – Where Art Déco elegance meets Lisbon’s maritime heritage

Text: Chris Graeme; Photos: Supplied.

Where can you affordably lunch or dine in Lisbon that’s not in the crowded hustle and bustle of the city centre but provides a relaxed environment with good quality fresh seafood and amazing views over a marina and the riverfront?

The answer is Bonança, a fairly new restaurant at Doca de Belém that is as much about art, history and maritime heritage as it is about the stunning location and amazing cuisine.

Come to this elegant eatery close to the city’s museum district and you can actually learn something about Lisbon and its seafaring past because the whole gastronomic and visual experience is a discovery in itself… of Portugal’s links to the exotic far-away places it discovered set in the Art Deco comfort of the inter-wars period.

The interior décor is a visual hymn to Portugal’s discovery of the ocean route to India in the late 15th century when intrepid voyager Vasco da Gama set off with four caravels and 150 sailors to discover India and its silks and spices.

The creation of this space within what had been part of the dilapidated headquarters of the Lisbon Naval Association (ANL) was a costly €3 million labour of love for partners Salvador Sobral, Diogo Pereira Coutinho, Filipe Farinha dos Santos and the Germano de Sousa family who restored the building to its former glory.

Art Deco elegance

Bonança has many features to commend it. The first is the elegant wood-decked terrace where diners can eat ‘al fresco’ with lovely views over the Tagus River waterfront and admire the sun shimmering off the white yachts in the marina against the backdrop of the Monuments to the Discoveries museum.

The second is the late-1930s, early 1940s Déco style interior with semi-circular dining booths reminiscent of the legendary Hollywood Perino’s restaurant, but also gives the impression of a dining room in a 1930s ocean liner such as the Normandie, Aquitania or Queen Mary.

Inspired by history

The third is the artwork. As you enter the main ground floor dining room the eyes are met by an impressive and carefully restored floor-to-ceiling mural from the 1940s that dominates the room with scenes of the famous Portuguese Embassy to Rome in 1514.

This was a lavish diplomatic mission sent by King Manuel I to Pope Leo X, entering the city complete with gifted elephants from India on March 12, 1514. Led by Tristão da Cunha, it aimed to demonstrate Portuguese wealth, secure papal recognition of maritime conquests, and pledge obedience to the new Pope.

For those interested, one of the beautifully restored gold gilt carriages from this mission can still be seen today in the nearby Coach Museum.

Upstairs, the mood changes to the late 19th century and early 20th century, reminiscent of the sunset of the Portuguese monarchy and its sailor king Dom Carlos whose fate was to be assassinated in the city’s Terreiro do Paço in 1908.

The walls are lined with artifacts, photos, and maritime flags which echo what had once been Lisbon’s Royal Naval Association – now next door – which had been founded in 1856. It has the relaxed and faintly aristocratic feel of an Edwardian era yacht club, and today the Lisbon Naval Association, which Bonança adjoins, still promotes sailing, regattas and rowing sports in Portugal.

Exotic maritime flavours

But the best is reserved for last – the cuisine. Naturally, fresh fish and seafood dominates the menu which you would expect for an eatery that seeks to preserve and pay tribute to those courageous maritime explorers who set off from very near this very site over 500 years ago to discover the world.

Brazilian chef Carlos Nunes pays tribute to Portuguese maritime flavours with a menu dominated by fish and seafood including the prawn pasta (€27) featuring sea urchin butter, fresh seasonal fish in a green curry sauce, fine herbs and naan bread (€29).

If you come with a group of friends why not share a range of starters such as the Burrata, pomegranate vinaigrette & pistachio (€13), Red shrimp carpaccio, trout roe & yuzo kosho vinaigrette (€25), and the Tuna tartare, ponzu, green apple & wasabi (€21), or the Beef tartare, romesco & egg yolk (€18).

For fish and seafood lovers – and that’s precisely what most people come for – Clams with bulhão pato sauce and toasted bread (€25), Prawns “à guillo” & toasted bread (€22) are also great sharing dishes while the main courses tempt with Shrimp spaghetti & sea urchin butter (€27), Tuna steak, sweet potato puré & spinach (€26), Razor clam rice (€22) or Scarlet prawn rice & lemon (€30).

And for those who want to round off the perfect evening with a sweet, there’s Vanilla crème brûlée, dark chocolate hazelnut ice-cream & cocoa nibs, and Pão de Ló, Maldon salt & orange ice-cream, among others to choose from.

A famous family

My lunchtime host is Salvador Sobral (a direct relation to the 2017 Portuguese Eurovision winner also called Salvador Sobral – the famous singer is his cousin and his other cousin Luísa wrote the winning song “Amar pelos dois” (Love for the Both of Us).

Looking up at the huge mural in the main dining room, the wooden panelling and naval motifs Carlos explains the design concept behind Bonança which was a combination of two factors – the Portuguese World Exhibition (Exposição do Mundo Português), held on this site from June to December 1940.

This was a massive propaganda event staged by the Estado Novo regime celebrating 800 years of nationhood (1140) and 300 years of independence from Spain (1640) but fewer overseas visitors came because of World War II.

“The space that houses the current restaurant, which was built for the exhibition, is essentially a celebration of the sea and the Discoveries. No one knows exactly who painted the mural but I am trying to discover its origins. We know several artists were involved but it might have been done or inspired by José de Almada Negreiros,” Salvador tells me.

The building was gutted by a fire in the 1980s but the mural survived. Salvador and his partners restored and refurbished everything and now has a 26-year lease with the Lisbon Naval Association to explore the space.

Romantic sunset dining

And the space is explored well. Relaxed lunching for tourists visiting this museum district in the day can enjoy affordable quality cuisine ‘al fresco’ while stunning sunsets await those early evening diners in the summer months out for a romantic riverside dining experience.

When the weather is inclement, as we had this January and February, the inside dining spaces designed by legacy studio Onani Studio provides an opulent fine dining experience that transports one to the interwar period.

But late at night at the weekends, as the diners melt away or choose linger, the space takes on a completely different vibe as Bonança becomes an intimate upmarket night club open to 3am with guest DJs, artists and bands.

On the second floor a dedicated whiskey bar sponsored by Macallan has just been completed providing an intimate, private yet comic space for those Instagram shots.

Salvador says that in the early days when they first opened most of the diners were Portuguese, but the profile has been changing and the partners are working with the tourism board Turismo de Lisboa and several classy boutique hotels that match the ambient they’ve created to get Bonança known among overseas visitors.

We’re having lunch but Salvador promises that the view is spectacular at sunset while at night everything is illuminated providing a romantic riverside dining experience.

Bonança’s late licence means that the restaurant can host events, but as Salvador says, “we don’t overdo it since we want to create a balance between being a venue and a restaurant.”

The restaurant, which is served by a main kitchen and a service kitchen, can easily cater for around 200 diners at any one time.

And while wanting to get in the Michelin Guide, Salvador says chef Carlos Nunes who has been expanding the menu, has no aspirations to win Bonança a Michelin star. “When you’re dealing with high numbers of diners you can’t really cater at Michelin star standards and attention to detail. You have to choose”, he admits.

At the end of the day – or during – if you want to enjoy fresh Portuguese seafood imbued with tastes from Portugal’s trading and colonial past, and learn something about Lisbon and its maritime history, this eatery has it all: tradition, history, art deco sophistication, Edwardian elegance, and entertainment into the week hours of the morning.

What: Restaurant Bonança
Where: Lisbon Naval Association, Doca de Belém
When: Mondays to Thursdays 12 noon to midnight( Fridays/Saturdays 12 Noon to 3am)
How much: €50+ a head.
Bookings: reservas@bonança.pt/Tel. +351 916 884 669