Restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal
Australian exotics, Michelin-recognised, €€ value.
Downunder by Justin Jennings is one of Lisbon's most convincing cases for casual excellence: a €€ Australian contemporary restaurant with consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025), a 4.7 Google rating at scale, and a menu that includes kangaroo and crocodile alongside two set menu options. Easy to book and hard to beat on quality-to-price ratio.
Yes, and the answer is quicker than you might expect. Downunder sits at the €€ price point, holds consecutive Michelin Plates for 2024 and 2025, and serves Australian contemporary cuisine in a city where the format exists almost nowhere else. If you have already covered the Portuguese fine-dining circuit and want something that earns its Michelin recognition without the €€€€ price tag, this is the booking to make.
Chef Fabio Abbattista runs a small, unpretentious room on Rua dos Industriais in Lisbon, where the menu is built around Australian contemporary cooking, including exotic proteins like crocodile and kangaroo that are genuinely rare on any European menu. The format gives you a choice: order à la carte or commit to one of two set menus. Neither option is a detour from the main event. The set menus are the more considered way to experience the range of the kitchen, but à la carte works well if you want to move at your own pace or focus on specific proteins.
The Google rating sits at 4.7 across 835 reviews, which at that volume is a meaningful signal rather than a statistical anomaly. Michelin awarded the Plate in consecutive years, recognising cooking that meets the guide's quality threshold without yet reaching star level. For a €€ venue, that combination is the definition of disproportionate return.
Australian contemporary cooking, as a category, draws on influences from Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and British culinary traditions, while centering native and regional ingredients. At Downunder, the headline ingredients are the meats: kangaroo is a lean, iron-rich red meat with a flavour profile closer to venison than beef, and crocodile is white-fleshed, mild, and texturally more delicate than its reputation suggests. These are not novelty items tacked onto a conventional menu. In the Australian context, both are legitimate proteins with culinary traditions behind them. Lisbon diners who have not encountered either are getting an accurate introduction, not a tourist approximation.
For comparable Australian contemporary cooking, Sixpenny in Stanmore and Heh in Phuket represent the format at different price points and geographies, but neither operates in Lisbon. That absence matters when you are here.
If you visited Downunder once and ordered à la carte, the return case is the set menu. It covers more ground and gives the kitchen room to pace a meal rather than respond to individual orders. The two-menu structure suggests a shorter and a longer option, which makes it practical for both a weeknight dinner and a more extended occasion.
At €€ pricing, the risk of over-committing is low. This is not the kind of restaurant where a wrong decision on format costs you €150 per head. Go with the longer set menu unless time is genuinely short.
Booking is rated Easy, so you do not need to plan weeks in advance the way you would for Lisbon's Michelin-starred rooms. That said, a venue with 835 Google reviews and consecutive Michelin recognition fills on weekends. Booking two to three days ahead for weekend sittings is sensible. Weeknight availability is likely more open.
Downunder by Justin Jennings is at R. dos Industriais 21, 1200-685 Lisboa. The price range is €€, making it one of the more accessible Michelin-recognised tables in the city. Phone and website details are not currently listed in our records. Hours are not confirmed in our database, so check current opening times before you go.
For broader context on where this sits in Lisbon's restaurant scene, see our full Lisbon restaurants guide. If you are planning a full trip, our Lisbon hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest.
Beyond Lisbon, Portugal's decorated table scene extends to Vila Joya in Albufeira, Casa de Chá da Boa Nova in Leça da Palmeira, The Yeatman in Vila Nova de Gaia, Ocean in Porches, Antiqvvm in Porto, and Il Gallo d'Oro in Funchal.
Quick reference: €€ pricing, Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025, 4.7 Google rating (835 reviews), à la carte and two set menus, easy to book, R. dos Industriais 21, Lisbon.
The menu centres on Australian contemporary cooking, including kangaroo and crocodile, alongside more familiar proteins. You can order à la carte or choose from two set menus. The room is unpretentious and the price range is €€, so this is not a high-formality dinner. First-timers who want the full picture should take a set menu rather than cherry-picking à la carte. The consecutive Michelin Plates signal consistent kitchen quality, and the 4.7 Google rating across 835 reviews backs that up.
Booking is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to find it sold out three weeks ahead the way you would at Belcanto or CURA. For weekends, two to three days' notice is sensible given its Michelin recognition and strong review volume. Weeknights are likely more flexible. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm current availability, as hours and booking channels are not confirmed in our database.
At €€, yes. You are paying mid-range prices for a kitchen that holds a Michelin Plate in consecutive years and a 4.7 Google score at scale. Compare that to Lisbon's €€€€ options such as Belcanto or 50 Seconds from Martin Berasategui, and the value gap is clear. You are not getting the same service depth or tasting-menu ambition as those rooms, but the cooking quality-to-price ratio here is hard to match in Lisbon.
It works for a relaxed special occasion, not a high-ceremony one. The room is described as unpretentious, and €€ pricing means this is not a grand-event setting in the way that Lisbon's starred restaurants are. If the occasion calls for theatre and formality, book Belcanto or Eleven instead. But if the occasion is about a genuinely interesting meal, the Australian contemporary format with exotic proteins makes for a dinner worth talking about afterwards.
The set menu is the better format for experiencing what chef Fabio Abbattista is doing with Australian contemporary cooking. At €€ prices, committing to the longer of the two set menus carries minimal financial risk compared to tasting-menu formats at higher price points. The à la carte is valid, but the set menu gives the kitchen more room to sequence a meal properly. If you are returning, and you ordered à la carte last time, the set menu is the obvious next step.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in our database. Given the venue's scale and casual positioning, it is worth asking when you book whether counter or bar seating is available. For comparison, several of Lisbon's smaller creative restaurants such as 2Monkeys do offer counter formats, but we cannot confirm this for Downunder without current venue data. Contact the restaurant directly.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downunder by Justin Jennings | €€ | Easy | — |
| Belcanto | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| 50 seconds from Martin Berasategui | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Loco | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Feitoria | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Grenache | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Downunder by Justin Jennings measures up.
The menu is built around Australian contemporary cooking with exotic meats like crocodile and kangaroo — so know what you're signing up for before you arrive. The room is unpretentious and the price range sits at €€, which makes the Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) feel like good value. Go à la carte if you want to pick your way through the menu, or take one of the two set options if you want the kitchen to pace the meal. It's a genuinely specific concept in Lisbon, not a novelty act.
Book at least one to two weeks out, especially for weekends — a Michelin Plate at the €€ price point draws steady demand. The venue address is R. dos Industriais 21, 1200-685 Lisboa. No phone number or booking website is listed publicly, so check Google or a local reservations platform to confirm current availability. Same-week bookings may be possible midweek.
At €€, yes — Downunder holds consecutive Michelin Plates for 2024 and 2025, which puts it among Lisbon's more credible mid-price options. You're paying for a kitchen that takes Australian contemporary cooking seriously, including exotic proteins most Lisbon restaurants don't stock. Compared to Michelin-starred neighbours like Belcanto or Feitoria, Downunder costs considerably less and offers a format you won't find elsewhere in the city.
Yes, if the occasion suits an informal setting — the room is unpretentious by design, so don't expect a formal fine-dining atmosphere. The two set menus give the meal a structured feel that works for celebrating with two to four people. For a more ceremonial special occasion, Belcanto or Feitoria will deliver greater formality; Downunder is better for guests who want a memorable concept over white-tablecloth ceremony.
The set menu format is the stronger way to experience this kitchen — it gives chef Fabio Abbattista room to build a meal across multiple courses and lets the Australian contemporary concept land properly rather than in isolated dishes. At the €€ price point, the set menu represents a good return relative to comparable tasting experiences in Lisbon. If you're returning for a second visit, the set menu is the reason to come back.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available venue data, so check the venue's official channels before arriving and planning on it. The room is described as small and unpretentious, which suggests limited seating overall. If flexibility matters to you, book a table rather than relying on counter or bar availability.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
