One of the defining aspects of any artistic endeavor is its reliance on intuition. It all started in 2015, when Chef Vincent Farges was about to leave Lisbon for Barbados. At a farewell party held in the then bulthaup showroom in Chiado, Pedro Mendonça and Vincent Farges had a revelation: it could be the perfect space for a restaurant. This affinity of ideas that exemplifies the bulthaup spirit – the passion for gastronomy, the experiences that arise around a table, the pleasure of sharing, the importance of durability, aesthetic emotions – allied to values such as authenticity, led to this place of confluence, this dream finally realized.

The challenge of a comprehensive project

Leonardo da Vinci said that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” But simplicity in the arts, including cooking, involves a painstaking process that can only be achieved by eliminating all superfluous elements and reducing things to their essence. This is the goal of the latest culinary venture by Vincent Farges and Fernanda and Pedro Mendonça, owners of the bulthaup Desenhabitado. Everything in the new restaurant contributes to sensory elevation through the search for simplicity, from haute cuisine to architecture, design, and bulthaup equipment.

An impeccable setting

Passing through the imposing iron and glass door, you enter a corridor, flanked by a cubist partition through which you glimpse the impressive white and metallic bulthaup kitchen – meeting the demands of haute cuisine and occupying about 100 m2 of the total area of 240 m2 – and reach the lounge and aperitif area. At the back, facing east, the two rooms that make up the dining area, unveil before your eyes a breathtaking view: the houses and roofs of Chiado and the majestic Tagus estuary.

The light, the discreet colors, the delicate oak furniture, the leather details, the organic shapes, and the century-old tiles create a soft environment where nothing was left to chance.

Sea, river, orchard, meadow, earth. The Epur restaurant offers 9 dishes, which can vary according to what the producers have available Sea, river, orchard, meadows, earth are the concepts that form the menu of the Epur restaurant.

The restaurant’s philosophy is closely linked to its suppliers: the restaurant depends on them, and not the other way around. Therefore, Epur lacks a menu in the usual sense. Guests are presented with the indication of nine dishes, without descriptions, divided into groups of three starters (Water, Greens, Meadows), three main courses (Do Mar ou Ria, Da Terra, Tradição) and three desserts (Chocolate, Pomar , Vintage).

Clearly, there is no better way to exercise creativity than to challenge it every day. Chef Vincent Farges’ creativity makes the new restaurant the perfect place for the pleasure of the senses. The nine dishes are adapted to seasonal and daily ingredients, depending on what the producers have on hand: a true daily challenge that recaptures the changing seasons and naturally ripened produce, and about which Vincent Farges notes, “Clearly there is no better way to exercise creativity than to challenge it every day.” The opening of Epur highlights Lisbon’s growing profile in the world of haute cuisine. Chef Vincent Farges’ creativity, along with a unique ambiance, a soft and sensitive design that evokes serenity, and impeccable bulthaup cuisine, make the new restaurant the perfect place for unhurried pleasure of the senses.