3 Sardines: A Cozy Taste Of Portugal In The Heart of Macau

3 Sardines is a charming tapas bar-restaurant celebrating the rich culinary connection between Portugal and Macau.

In the heart of Macau, 3 Sardines draws inspiration from the long history of Portuguese influence offering a menu rooted in tapas recipes with a modern twist. Since opening its doors during COVID, this laid-back crowd-favorite has become a trendy dining option for travelers exploring the nearby UNESCO-listed historic district, especially those visiting landmarks like St. Lazarus’ Church.

Under the same leadership as Albergue 1601, Senior Executive Chef Pedro Almeida and Executive Chef Mauro Almeida are brothers that have reimagined an entire menu focused on petiscos – Portugal’s answer to tapas – small, flavorful dishes meant to be shared and enjoyed casually over tasty drinks and good conversation.

 

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Stepping inside the restaurant is a literal voyage to Portugal, with a motley of vintage artifacts, quirky knick-knacks collected directly from the country by the Almeida brothers and the restaurant owner Asai – a proficient Portuguese cultural enthusiast. Upstairs, time instantly ticks back to 1950s Portugal when travelers rode on TAP Air Portugal and relaxed upon antique velvet plane seats and flyers that boasted nostalgic black and white photographs.

While the olive tree is elevated as the ultimate focal point, rustic wooden furniture, and colorful accents are reminiscent of classic Portuguese taverns. The cozy dining space creates an intimate setting where guests can sit back and indulge in a leisurely meal after sightseeing in Macau’s historic streets. We sat down with Pedro, who proudly presents his home away from home that tastefully resembles a frequent traveler’s treasure trove.

About you and your brother Mauro, what were your journeys to becoming chefs?

PA: Mauro and I have been working in this business for many years, it started when we were 12-year-olds, my parents opened a restaurant and they didn’t employ anyone. So Mauro and I were always working, since it was a farm-to-table, reservation-based restaurant, anytime there was a booking, we helped our mother with desserts and so on. At some point, we realized that it was a good career path for us. So Mauro went to study cooking, I started internships afterwards since I’m five years younger.

My internship was quite important since it was after culinary school, I worked with Portuguese Peri Peri Chicken then opened a restaurant quite young at 18 or 19 years old. And then, I had experiences in five-star hotels, in fine-dining, in molecular and caught a bit of each concept. When I arrived in Macau, I knew my direction very well. I didn’t want to change concepts every year, and the only approach was to remain traditional.

I’m very lucky because when I met my boss, Asai (co-founder of Portuguese Restaurants & Retail Concepts/PRRC,) he also had the same direction so that’s how we decided to expand our group.

How were all the eclectic decorations and vintage items collected ?

PA: Everything was gathered by myself or my boss from Portugal, except for the big fan that was from the U.S. As you can see, we have so many vintage stuff here that decorates the whole house. And now I ask you to sit down and fasten your seatbelt, because we’re flying back to Portugal.

Over here, we have TAP (Air Portugal) seats. We can put the exact year of those but possibly around 1950s to the end of 1960s. We have Economy seats, and Business Class or Executive Club seats at that time. As you can see on the wall, we have all the tickets, discounts, the flyers of all the trips that TAP was offering. By the way, TAP stands for Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, but we use have a joke: Take Another Plane.

Can you explain the authentic experience at 3 Sardines?

PA: Definitely we want people to feel like they’re in Portugal, and we got that feedback during COVID, because we opened during a critical time and many people couldn’t fly back. So just by the fact that they were here for one or two hours, in the middle of St. Lazarus neighborhood with all of these Portuguese decorations, and our Portuguese food which is very important with Portuguese wine and Portuguese music. All together, people tell us that it’s an amazing experience as if they just flew back to Portugal.

How deeply is the Portuguese culture embedded in the restaurant?

PA: We work 100% with Portuguese, we don’t even have French or Italian wines on the menu. There’s only Portuguese wines and dishes, every time that’s possible, we bring up a story about the dish and its geographic area of where the dish comes from, so everything we do here, we’re always thinking about Portugal.

Tell us a little bit about petiscos?

PA: 3 Sardines has two phases, the first phase was created as a petiscos place. Petiscos stands for what people normally call: tapas. Although petiscos can be eaten throughout the whole day: before lunch, after lunch, before dinner, or after dinner. Anytime you want to have a snack.

But in the middle of 3 Sardines, we decided that it would also be a good idea to have some bigger dishes on the menu, or main courses to complement the experience, which is also a very typical petiscos concept. So guests can have several petiscos and one full meal, or a soup that settles down your stomach. And you’ll be happy with your whole meal.

How is this restaurant different from Albergue 1601?

PA: Albergue 1601 is a very romantic place, we focus as much as we can on couples or small family groups. We don’t accept big groups because we don’t want to ruin the experience. Both the service and the food are in the high-end level, but always respect traditions, and deliver our grandmother’s dishes with new techniques. The presentation is Portuguese style. We try to input new techniques to control the quality of the food, of course, while respecting traditional plating and recipes.