Luso

I have had Luso saved in my list for a long time, so was super excited to try for a birthday meal. It was ok, but not that great I would be in a rush to return to. The staff are efficient, quick and seem rushed off their feet, you kind of get the impression you need to eat and go, as they need the table. I mean we received our bill before they served our dessert. We did ask for the bill because they said the table needed to be handed back, but they should have checked what was to come, before actually giving us the bill, and then oh is it someone's birthday, here's the dessert. The starters were ok, the portion of clams were small and gritty, the squid was good. They took the clams off the bill, which was nice of them. Mains were ok but not worth returning for. The sides were delicious! In some ways, we should have gone for the tasting menu so we could try more dishes, since we spent more than the tasting menu pp. Anyway, nothing to shout about, staff did their best, I think Luso can rethink their menu and prices a bit, or have different options for their tasting menu to reflect the best it has to offer. Small and busy restaurant and it is quite loud and dark in there, that's why I rated atmosphere average.

I visited Luso on a Friday evening after seeing rave reviews about it and it sure did live up to the hype. First, service was AMAZING. It was probably one of the best I’ve had in London - very attentive staff who were always coming up to refill our waters, passionately explaining about everything on the menu (in a way that made me want to order everythinggg) and just overall so friendly and positive. Onto the food: we got their crab special, the Iberian Suckling pig, tomato salad, baked butter rice, lobster pastry roll, chocolate mousse. All of these dishes were nice but the standout for me was the lobster pastry roll (it’s so tiny but sooo good. flakiest pastry i’ve ever had). The baked butter rice was fragrant and paired really well with the fresh tomato salad. The crab was a pricey starter at £55 but was really nice, refreshing, and texturally interesting when paired with the croutons. I also really enjoyed the chocolate mousse. I went into it really thinking how good can a mousse be?? But it was delicious, thick, slight bitterness, and the flaky sea salt elevated it to a whole new level. Overall be prepared to spend a pretty penny here but it’s a beautiful location, immaculate vibes, amazing food, perfect for a get-together or special occasion.

Like many others, I was sad to see Lisboeta go. So when Luso opened I had to see whether they were ready to fill the hole. The food is pretty good: their bread is delicious and the sautéed squid is intentionally simple and comes with a broth that’s great for dunking the bread. For mains, I was recommended the suckling pig which is served with a rich sauce, crisps and oranges! Interesting combo but it works astonishingly well. For dessert there was a rich choc mousse. Overall, it’s very good but I do feel they lack a bit of oomph compared to their predecessor. Maybe it will come with time. Service was excellent; the staff are all lovely, funny and knowledgeable. They also gave me a nice after dinner shot on the house, which is quite rare in London.

we came here for valentines day and had a lovely time! the service was friendly and efficient and the atmosphere was so nice - food was overall great but slightly disappointed as it's quite pricey for such small portions and the taste doesn't quite make up for it for some dishes. we got the wagyu croquettes (which i think was the biggest disappointment and definitely dragged down my rating). as my partner had succinctly put it after having a first bite: this tastes like a greggs sausage roll. definitely not worth getting, i would recommend trying something else on the menu instead. the lobster pastry roll was quite good- very flaky and crunchy, substantial pieces of lobster and was overall enjoyable. the grilled wild bream & corn migas was definitely the star of the show, shoutout to our server who recommended this because it was incredible! seasoned & grilled to perfection, the flavours complemented each other so well and had a great portion size.... i would go back just to have more of this. we finished off with the chocolate olive oil mousse- lovely but nothing to write home about (and really, it's impossible to mess up a chocolate mousse) overall a great meal, would definitely go back to try some other things on their menu.