Quinta de Lemos, Silgueiros

As a true representation of the creative and architectural boom in the hotel and catering sector after the devastating 2008 recession in Portugal, it’s no coincidence that I am speaking to you today about the Hotel Quinta de Lemos. It echoes all the more at a time when tourism is going through the most difficult period in its history.

Let us take a moment to look back and why not take as an example a country that had built on its natural assets: its sun and beaches, its rich cultural heritage, the innate hospitality of its people and a deep desire to create a Portugal that the nation could be proud of and that would attract others to its shores.

Even if the situation in 2020 is different, no one will deny the tangible and collective energy that is currently emerging in the sector in order to overcome the crisis.

So here I am in the midst of…

Trees and scrub adorn as far as the eye can see the otherwise arid, sun-beaten, gently rolling landscape of the Dão Valley. Here you can hear the air. In the distance and slightly elevated, I can see a concrete slab winding its way through the landscape while strangely blending into the surrounding wilderness. The image is sublime. It is indeed the roof of a single-storey building that nestles among the large rocks that protect the building from the wind. At night, the building glistens like a luminous trail. By day, the rural vineyard landscape dresses the walls of the building with sand, scrub, golden sunlight and a blue sky.

The 1 star Michelin restaurant Mesa de Lemos is located in Quinta de Lemos, 5 minutes from the picturesque village of Santar, known for its wine production, and 20 minutes from the town of Viseu.

The highly esteemed chef Diogo Rocha, in charge of Mesa de Lemos, shows with each menu a cuisine based on the best flavours, and is always on the lookout for local products that are almost extinct, such as Viseu hazelnuts, which he skilfully incorporates into his menus. To get to know his creativity, we offer you the chef’s menu, which includes seven moments. There is also the Lemos menu, with five moments – all of which include the chef’s compliments, with unique local flavours and elegance.

Initiated by the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, this place is an extraordinarily successful juxtaposition of styles: a minimal room as close as possible to nature, an audacious, uncompromising and linear spa, all blending forcefully into this large space without dominating or diminishing it.