Basque Country and Italy meet in a bar in the heart of Lisbon
ANlf del Portillo and Marta Premoli have both been working in the bartending area since they were teenagers. They met in London and, in 2020, tired of the cold northern Europe, they chose the Mouraria neighborhood, in Lisbon, to give life to their dream: the Quattro Teste, a space with signature drinks, accompanied by multicultural flavours, which unsettles the Basque country and Italy.
The couple conceived and built the bar in an old typical tavern near the Castelo de São Jorge. The Basque-Italian concept applies to the author’s cocktails à la carte, which offers a varied selection of traditional pintxos (small traditional dishes from the Basque country, equivalent to tapas from Madrid), here with Italian influences.
This intercultural fusion is also observed in the name and logo given to the project -Quattro Teste -, which arises from the translation of Lauburu, symbol of the Basque people (‘Lau’ means four and ‘buro’ means heads).
In this small space in the historic center of Lisbon, Alf takes over – with Marta at his side – as a bar chef at the counter. The responsible has extensive experience in the area of mixology and has won several awards, such as, for example, first place in the World Class Cocktail Contest, in 2015. In the drinks menu, there is no lack of signature cocktails divided between the region original, ‘specialized’ classics, several versions of negroni, also including wine and beer, and two typical Basque ciders, one served directly from the barrel, in addition to non-alcoholic options.
To accompany them, Alf and Marta looked for someone with experience to give life to the space’s kitchen, open from 5 pm to 10 pm. They found the young and creative Brazilian ‘chef’ Clara Uchôa, 22, who designed the menu keeping in mind the essence of pintxos with Italian elements, and with suggestions for all tastes, including several vegetarian and vegan options, structured with the same dedication that dishes with animal protein.
There are, for example, marinated mackerel with roasted pepper and arugula, potato yarrow, courgette and tapenade pickles, pumpkin ravioli with onion and almonds, Iberian ham croquettes, padano grana, quail egg and vinaigrette pistachio, polenta and fried gnocco with gorgonzola cheese sauce (all €3.5), and more traditional apps (4€) such as tortillas, eggplant parmigiana and lasagna. Italian tagliere can also be found, such as boards with a mixed selection of charcuterie and cheese (10 €), or with a selection of pintxos (16 €).
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