Michelin-starred Al Sud reopens with new menu

LAGOS || Al Sud restaurant at Palmares, which won a Michelin star six months after it opened, re-opened on Wednesday with a new menu.

Under the direction of chef Louis Anjos, the Al Sud team are again celebrating the wealth of flavours that are native to the Algarve.

Chef Louis Anjos says: “The sea, given its all-encompassing nature as we sit here on the restaurant terrace, is a predominant part of the menu. In the nine-moment menu, for example, five of the seven non-dessert moments feature fish or shellfish and two contain meat, from the ‘serra’ or mountains. There are oysters from the local estuary, mackerel plucked from local waters, estuary bivalves and John Dory, including its roe, to name a few. Partridge and Iberian pork, on the other hand, represent the hills of the Algarve’s inland areas.”

Al Sud offers diners a choice between its six-moment menu and its ninemoment menu, with each dish showcasing local produce and traditional flavours. The team has spent two months perfecting the new dishes, all of which share a lineage with the restaurant’s original menu. This evolution will continue throughout the year, with the flavours naturally changing along with the seasons. Paired wine recommendations are available with each menu.

In addition to the six- and ninemoment menus, diners can expect a series of surprise appetizers. Chef Anjos cites the Algarve’s famous garlic-infused marinated carrots. A staple appetizer on the menu of many Algarve restaurants, the carrots are given new life at Al Sud, after the team dedicated weeks playing with the concept and delivering their own unique variation.

Having gained its first Michelin star so quickly, Al Sud now has a stellar reputation to uphold, but chef Anjos and his team aren’t phased by the pressure.

“To get a Michelin star so soon after we opened, literally months after we first opened our doors to guests, was just incredible. It truly has been a year of great beginnings and one on which we are excited to build, to continue to grow, to remain consistent to our concept, to invest and to surprise,” he said.

Al Sud is based at the Palmares Ocean Living & Golf, near Lagos. The venue welcomes diners on a reservation-only basis for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday each week.