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The Top Restaurants in Macau

Macau, city skyline at sunset.
Macau, city skyline at sunset. | © Sean Hsu / Alamy

Much like its East meets West culture, Macau’s dining scene offers a unique mix. It’s unlikely you’ll find any other place where authentic Portuguese food is served next door to Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants. Macau has it all, including its own Macanese cuisine often dubbed the original “fusion cuisine.” In Macau, when it comes to restaurants, you’re most definitely spoilt for choice. Feast your eyes on some of our favorites…

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Clube Militar de Macau

Restaurant, Portuguese

E7AXFD Entrance to the The Military Club or Clube Militar de Macau in Macau.

Built in 1870 as a private military club, the stately pink-and-white structure was restored in 1995 and reopened as a restaurant. The place exudes old world charm, complete with its colonial-style décor of teak floorboards, netted windows, and ceiling fans. It welcomes you to a much slower and quieter side of Macau; a sanctuary of peace and calm from the hustle and bustle out on the streets. The restaurant serves delicious Portuguese fare and offers an excellent selection of wines. Either The MOP$153 buffet or degustation menu (MOP$501 for two) are both good options. Reservations are required for dinner and weekend lunches.

Albergue 1601

Restaurant, Portuguese, $$

Courtesy of Albergue 1601

This place is a bit of a hidden gem. Set in a courtyard in a stunning two-story colonial building, it offers superb ambiance, character, and great food. You could be forgiven for thinking you were in Europe rather than Macau. The restaurant serves both Portuguese and Macanese cuisine, offering various dishes from seafood to roast crispy skin pork, which is delicious. Unquestionably, this restaurant is the perfect place to come for a spot of al fresco lunch, enjoyed in a leisurely fashion at one of the outside tables.

Robuchon au Dôme

Restaurant, French
This was the first fine dining restaurant to ever open in Macau and has retained its three-star Michelin status for several years. For fine French cuisine in a beautiful setting, you can’t go wrong here. The set lunch menu is one of the best meal deals in Asia. The wine list, with its 14,500 labels (the most extensive collection in the whole of Asia) is equally impressive. The traditional desert trolley wheeled out at the end of the meal is the icing on the cake. Eating and drinking here is a real treat.

Antonio

Restaurant, Portuguese, $$

Courtesy of Antonio, Macau

Come here for a taste of old Portugal in Macau. A great place to enjoy some authentic Portuguese food in the heart of Taipa Village. The restaurant itself is cosy and charming, adorned with yellow, blue, and white tiles and Portuguese-style paintings. Standout dishes include African chicken with garlic, onions, chili, ginger and coconut sauce, and the Portuguese duck rice. Chef/owner António Coelho’s has won a string of international awards for this venerable establishment – and if customer satisfaction is anything to go by, it’s not hard to see why. For the real deal when it comes to Portuguese cuisine, this place is a must-visit.

Riquexo

Restaurant, Fusion

Courtesy of Riquexo Macau

If you’re looking for somewhere to try traditional Macanese dishes (rather than Portuguese), this is the place. Riquexo is run by a former chef who is sometimes referred to as the “Godmother of Macanese cuisine.” As a casual and affordable canteen-style restaurant with a handful of outdoor tables, it has its own charm, not least because it’s one of the last remaining spots to find pure and simple Macanese food. Come here for real home-cooked-style Macanese dishes, like Macau’s very own national dish – minchi – a savory minced pork and potato dish with a touch of soy, eaten with steamed rice.

The Eight

Restaurant, Chinese

DN8GR9 Dim Sum at three-starred Michelin restaurant The Eight at Grand Lisboa, Cotai strip, Macau (Macao),

In a nutshell, come here for the dim sum, as it’s simply amazing. The lunchtime menu offers over 50 different kinds of dim sum, and we recommend the beautiful goldfish-shaped dumplings and hedgehog char siu buns (BBQ roast pork buns). The Eight is Macau’s first and only Chinese restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars, so you really can’t go wrong.

Urban Kitchen

Restaurant, Asian, Seafood, Pub Grub, Japanese, Korean, Dessert, Ice Cream

Urban Kitchen

Urban Kitchen serves all-day buffet dining here in a classy setting with excellent service and a huge variety of good quality food. Owing to the design and spacious layout, you seldom encounter those battleground scenes (you see at some buffets) where people are competing for space and bumping into each other. The buffet offers international and regional cuisine and is divided into six different food zones each with a designated chef, including seafood bar, Macau, Portugal and Tuscany, Cantonese, Beijing and Sichuan, Japan and Korea, desserts and soft-serve ice cream, and a juice station.

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana

Restaurant, Italian
If Italian tickles your fancy, then look no further than this outlet from Italian chef Umberto Bombana, often hailed “Best Italian Chef in Asia.” Nothing’s overly complicated here, but rather, finely presented and using only the highest quality ingredients. Stand-out dishes include the signature seared tuna, cooked to perfection, Trenette pasta al dente and Greffeuille AAA lamb rack and loin. Dessert lovers are not to miss the crispy pear tart. Given that chef Bombana is the only Italian chef outside of Italy to receive three Michelin stars, you cannot only expect Italian food, but excellent food at that.

Yamazato

Restaurant, Japanese, Sushi, Asian

Yamazato

For Japanese fine ding in Macau look no further than Yamazato, located on the 28th floor of Hotel Okura. Here they serve kaiseki meals – multicourse meals using only the finest seasonal ingredients and cooking techniques. We recommend you try the Kaiseki Set-Lunch priced at 600 patacas. Standout dishes include the Oita bungo beef sukini, which melts in the mouth, and the delicious rice bowl with sea urchin and salmon roe. Decked out with wooden ceilings and Japanese minimalist design, the restaurant has a zen atmosphere and its high location offers some of the best views in Macau. They are happy to tailor the meal to your own desired menu.

About the author

An award-winning writer, Matthew moved to Hong Kong in 2014 and writes exclusively about Southeast Asia. He’s written for The Guardian and BBC amongst others.

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