Restaurant in Santar, Portugal
Two tasting menus, easy to book, worth the detour.
A Michelin Plate kitchen (2024 and 2025) inside the Valverde Santar hotel, serving two tasting menus built around Dão terroir and seasonal produce. At €€ pricing with a 4.9 Google rating and easy booking, it is the strongest case for anchoring a Dão wine trip around a meal. Book one to two weeks ahead for weekday tables; three weeks for weekends.
Booking here is easy, and that makes it worth acting on quickly before word spreads further. Memórias Santar sits inside the Valverde Santar hotel in the winemaking village of Santar, Dão country, and it holds a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025 — recognition that puts it clearly above the average regional hotel restaurant. With a Google rating of 4.9 across 48 reviews, the satisfaction rate among those who have made the trip is high. If you are planning a visit to the Dão wine region and want one meal that earns its place on the itinerary, this is the booking to make.
The dining room is set within a fully refurbished historic building, and the architecture does real work here. Fully glazed walls bring the village streetscape into the room, and the interior combines classic stone-and-timber bones with a restrained, minimalist fit-out. The overall effect is calm and composed — this is a quiet room with low ambient noise, suited to conversation and unhurried meals. It is not a buzzy city bistro; the pace is deliberate, the energy is settled. For a food-focused traveller who wants atmosphere without distraction, that is a selling point, not a compromise.
The entrance is independent from the hotel lobby, which matters practically: you do not feel like you are eating in a hotel corridor. The glazed walls make the space feel connected to Santar's streetscape of traditional houses and vineyard-adjacent lanes. Given Santar's reputation as one of the Dão's most characterful villages, that connection to place is part of what you are paying for.
Chef Luís Almeida leads the kitchen. His approach is grounded in Portuguese culinary tradition, with local and seasonal ingredients as the organising principle. Two tasting menus are offered: Memórias (Memories) and Da Horta para a Mesa (From the Garden to the Table). The first draws on regional gastronomic memory; the second is built explicitly around seasonal garden produce. Both operate on the Michelin-cited principle of terroir expression, which the guide flags as the kitchen's primary strength.
The price range sits at €€, which in Portugal's tasting-menu context makes this a genuinely accessible option. You are not paying €€€€ Lisbon prices to experience a Michelin-recognised kitchen working with serious regional produce. For food and wine travellers who understand the Dão's standing , this is a region that produces some of Portugal's most compelling red wines from Touriga Nacional and Encruzado whites , the combination of wine country setting and Michelin Plate cooking at a moderate price point is a strong argument for booking.
Santar is not a place most visitors stumble across. It is a deliberate destination , a small historic village in the Viseu district, surrounded by the quintas and vineyards that define the Dão appellation. Arriving here for a tasting menu lunch or dinner means committing to the region, and Memórias Santar is the kind of restaurant that rewards that commitment. The Michelin Plate signals a kitchen that is executing at a consistent level; the 4.9 Google rating suggests the front-of-house experience matches. If you are building a Dão wine itinerary, check our full Santar wineries guide alongside this booking , pairing a winery visit with dinner here is an efficient use of a day in the region.
For context on the broader regional dining scene, our full Santar restaurants guide covers what else is available in and around the village. If you are staying overnight , which makes sense given the location , see our Santar hotels guide, noting that Memórias Santar itself is within the Valverde Santar hotel, making it the most logistically direct dinner option for guests.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, meaning you do not need to plan three months ahead. That said, Santar is a small village, and the dining room capacity is not large , the Valverde Santar is a boutique hotel property, not a large resort. Book one to two weeks out for weekday visits; for weekend tables, particularly Saturday dinner, give yourself two to three weeks to be safe. If you are combining this with a winery visit or a longer Dão itinerary, book the restaurant at the same time you confirm your accommodation and winery appointments. There is no published phone number or website in current data, so approach via the Valverde Santar hotel directly or through whichever booking platform the hotel uses.
The Da Horta para a Mesa menu is seasonally driven, which means what is on the table in spring differs from autumn. If seasonal produce matters to your decision, that is worth factoring into when you go. The Dão harvest period, broadly September to October, is a particularly strong time to be in the region , wineries are active, the landscape is at its most dynamic, and a kitchen committed to local ingredients will have its fullest larder.
At €€ pricing with back-to-back Michelin Plates in 2024 and 2025, a 4.9 rating, and two distinct tasting menus designed around Dão terroir, Memórias Santar is the clearest argument for building an overnight stay around a meal. It is not competing with Lisbon's €€€€ fine-dining circuit , it is doing something more specific: serving serious, roots-grounded Portuguese cooking in one of the country's most credible wine villages, at a price that does not require a splurge justification. For food and wine travellers making the journey to the Dão, this is the booking that anchors the trip. Compare with Antiqvvm in Porto or A Cozinha in Guimarães if you want Michelin-level northern Portuguese cooking in an urban setting. But if the point of your trip is the Dão itself, Memórias Santar is the right table.
One to two weeks is sufficient for weekday tables; aim for two to three weeks ahead for weekend visits. Booking difficulty is rated easy, but the village setting and boutique hotel context mean the dining room is small. Book restaurant and accommodation together if you are combining with a winery visit , logistically it is the same property.
Yes, with the right expectations. The calm, glazed dining room in a historic village building is a strong setting for a celebratory meal, and two tasting menu options give you a structured experience appropriate for a special occasion. At €€ pricing with Michelin Plate recognition, it delivers occasion-level cooking without the €€€€ price tag of Lisbon comparisons like Belcanto. The setting works leading for intimate dinners of two to four; it is not a large-group venue.
At €€ pricing with a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years, the value case is strong. The two menus , Memórias and Da Horta para a Mesa , are structured around regional identity and seasonal produce respectively. If you are a food traveller who wants to understand the Dão through its food as well as its wine, the tasting menu format is the right choice. For a higher technical ceiling, Ocean in Porches operates at €€€€ with two Michelin stars, but that is a different category and a very different price point.
It works well for solo diners, particularly those travelling for wine and food. The tasting menu format suits solo visits , you are eating a set progression rather than navigating a shared-plate situation. The quiet, settled atmosphere of the dining room is comfortable rather than isolating. Santar as a destination rewards solo food and wine travellers who want to move at their own pace between vineyard visits and meals.
No dress code is published in current data, but the combination of a Michelin Plate kitchen, a hotel dining room, and a tasting menu format points to smart casual as the appropriate register. Avoid beachwear or overly casual clothing. In the Dão, vineyard visits during the day pair naturally with a slightly polished evening look , clean, relaxed, and considered is the right call.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memórias Santar | Creative | €€ | If you have not yet visited the village of Santar, this is a great opportunity! This restaurant is located in the Valverde Santar hotel, a fully refurbished building in this historic town, surrounded by traditional houses and renowned for its winemaking tradition. With its own entrance and fully glazed walls, the space blends classic style with minimalism. The kitchen is run by Chef Luís Almeida, who has a solid career in Portuguese gastronomy, offering cuisine connected to his roots, guided by local ingredients and reaffirming the region’s traditional flavours. The experience is complemented by two tasting menus: Memórias (Memories) and Da Horta para a Mesa (From the Garden to the Table), based on seasonality and the best ingredients that nature has to offer.; Michelin Plate (2025); HIGHLIGHTS: • EXPRESSION OF THE TERROIR; Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Belcanto | Modern Portugese, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Casa de Chá da Boa Nova | Portugese, Seafood | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Ocean | Contemporary European, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| 50 seconds from Martin Berasategui | Progressive Spanish | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| CURA | Modern Portugese, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Booking is rated easy, so you do not need months of lead time. That said, the dining room inside the Valverde Santar hotel is not large, and Santar is a small village with limited alternatives if you miss out. A week or two ahead is a reasonable buffer, and more during Portuguese public holidays or harvest season in the Dão wine region.
Yes, and the format suits it well. Two tasting menus — Memórias and Da Horta para a Mesa — give you a structured, course-by-course experience in a glazed dining room inside a refurbished historic building. Back-to-back Michelin Plates in 2024 and 2025 at €€ pricing make it a strong choice for a celebration that does not require a Lisbon budget.
At €€ pricing with two Michelin Plates, the value case is clear. Chef Luís Almeida's menus are built around seasonal, locally sourced ingredients with a focus on Dão terroir — the same region that produces some of Portugal's most respected wines. If you want à la carte flexibility, this is not the right venue; if a structured seasonal menu tied to a specific Portuguese landscape appeals, it is worth booking.
The glazed dining room in a hotel setting is generally comfortable for solo diners, and the tasting menu format removes any pressure to fill a table with courses. There is no counter seating noted in the available information, but a solo visit works well logistically given easy booking and the self-contained hotel location on R. de Gago Coutinho in Santar.
The setting — a refurbished historic building with minimalist, glazed interiors in a small Portuguese village — points toward relaxed but considered dressing. Think neat, comfortable clothes rather than formal attire; this is not a white-tablecloth city restaurant, but the Michelin Plate recognition and tasting menu format mean visibly casual wear would feel out of place.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
