Michelin stars hold fast at Il Gallo D’Oro and William restaurants.
The 2018 edition of the Michelin Guide for Spain and Portugal will continue to include two Madeiran restaurants, awarded Michelin stars. The Il Gallo D’Oro maintains its two stars and the William its one star, conquered last year.
Michelin had already announced that they would not be taking away any stars in Portugal and Spain. For the Madeiran restaurants, this was a year of consolidation so the results are faced as being only natural by the teams led by Benôit Sinthon (Il Gallo D’Oro) and Luís Pestana (William).
Consolidation seems indeed to be the word that applies to the rest of the country, given that all restaurants maintained their awards. Not all is the same though, as two new stars shine in Portugal: the Vista, in Portimão, led by chef João Oliveira, and the Gusto, in Almancil, led by German chef Heinz Beck, both in the Algarve.
All things considered, Portugal now has five stars awarded with two restaurants (Belcanto, Vila Joya, Ocean, The Yeatman and Il Gallo d’Oro) and 18 restaurants awarded one Michelin star (Alma, Antiqvvm, Loco, Lab by Sergi Arola, Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Henrique Leis, William, L’And Vineyards, Willie’s, Largo do Paço, Pedro Lemos, Fortaleza do Guincho, Eleven, São Gabriel, Bon Bon, Feitoria and newcomers Vista and Gusto). The three stars top tier has yet to be achieved.
The 2018 Spain and Portugal Michelin Guide was presented at Tenerife, in a ceremony with 500 guests. Public presentation ceremonies started to be held in 2009 for the commemorations of the one hundredth birthday of the Spain and Portugal Guide, the first issue of which dates back to 1910 and had fewer than a thousand copies.
Ever since, the guide for the following year is presented every year on the third week of November. So far these ceremonies have all taken place in Spain but there is interest on the part of the Portuguese government in holding one in Portugal in the future.
Though it is true that Spain has most of the starred countries in the Iberian Peninsula. This year alone, two new restaurants were given three stars, for a grand total of 11 establishments rated in this category. Spain also has 5 new two stars restaurants as well as two hundred restaurants awarded one star.
