After a decade shining in Chiado, a very prestigious restaurant of national cuisine is preparing to close. The soul restaurant, by chef Henrique Sá Pessoa, distinguished with two Michelin stars, will keep doors open by the end of 2025, but has been confirmed that he will have a new life in Lisbon from 2026.
Ten years in the heart of Chiado
Alma opened in 2015, in the space of an old Warehouse of the Bertrand Bookstore, designed by architect Tiago Silva Dias. Two years later he won the first Michelin star and, in 2019, reached the second, always with Sá Pessoa to the helm.
The restaurant thus became an unavoidable reference of the high cuisine in Lisbon, putting the name of the chef among the most recognized of national cuisine.
In a statement quoted by, Henrique Sá Pessoa explains that ending Alma on Chiado and risking opening in another area of the city “is a decision with a lot of emotional but deeply thoughtful.” The chef adds that, after ten years of delivery, he feels the need to “create challenges and make room for something new.”
A future with more autonomy
According to the same statement, the project will maintain the name Alma, but will gain a new approach from 2026.
The chef also highlighted the role of Rui Sanches’s Plateform group, partner in these ten years of course. “Without this team the soul would hardly have arrived where the stars Michelin arrived and won,” he said, recognizing that it was the solid growth of the project that gave him the freedom to head to a new phase today.
Plateform maintains partnership in other concepts
Despite the soul’s closure in Chiado, the Plateform group will continue to be linked to Sá Pessoa in other concepts, such as Tapisco and the counter at El Corte Inglés, both in Lisbon.
Rui Sanches, CEO of Plateform, stressed in a statement that “it was a pride to contribute to the Growing Project, winning wings and winning Michelin stars.” The official ensures already “reserve made in the next space, to be one of the first as soon as he opens.”
Until the end of 2025
The soul will maintain its normal functioning by the end of 2025. Only then will the transition to the new address, whose place has not yet been revealed.
Details about the new space should be known over the coming months, but the promise is clear: Alma returns to Lisbon in early 2026, renewed and with a bolder vision.
For faithful customers, Sá Pessoa’s message is continuity, but also expectation: “The future will surprise.”
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