MERCANTEL – AVEIRO – JUNE 2026

Mercantel, the restaurant itself is beautiful: modern, curated, quite intimate, with a decent amount of seats and a very nice open kitchen. The restaurant is present on the Michelin Guide. That was probably one of the things I enjoyed the most about the room, because it gives the sense of transparency and lets you see part of the work behind the dishes. Service was not overly formal, but efficient and appropriate for the type of restaurant.

What we ordered for two people:

– Brioche with shrimp tartare

– Nori basket with tuna tartare and savory elements

– Empanada-style snack with shrimp sauce and pieces of shrimp

– Fried cod cheek

– Main course: fish with zucchini “spaghetti” and chicken jus

– Dessert: mercantel version of a Portuguese bolacha americana

The appetizers were definitely the best part of the meal for me. The ingredients were good and the dishes had a clear connection to Portuguese flavors, but with a more modern execution and some influences mainly from asia. The brioche with shrimp tartare was excellent, rich and delicate at the same time, ratio between brioche and protein was perfect. I also really liked the nori basket with tuna tartare, where the savory elements gave the bite a lot of character and freshness. The empanada-style snack with shrimp was well made too, even if personally it was not my favorite in terms of taste — more a matter of personal preference than a real criticism. The fried cod cheek was probably one of the most successful bites: crispy, salty in the right way, clearly rooted in a traditional Portuguese idea, and technically very well executed. The main course, however, was where I felt a bit disappointed. The fish itself was cooked very well, so the issue was not the technique. The problem for me was more about the flavor direction of the dish. The combination of fish, zucchini spaghetti and chicken jus felt a little confusing, and I found myself slightly disoriented while eating it, no character at all in the dish. Eventually, the dessert brought the experience back to a more positive place. It was not extremely complex, but it was well thought out: the shell and nuts gave crunch, the ice cream was not too sweet, and the miso reduction added a savory note that helped balance everything.

Overall, Mercantel is a restaurant with personality, a beautiful space and a kitchen that clearly has skill and ambition, but still need to find some clear direction, the basis is solid. I would still be curious to return and try more of the menu, but based on this experience, on my personal scale, I would rate it 6.75/10.