14 Best Restaurants in Macau, China

Full-flavored petiscos—Portugal’s answer to tapas—take center stage at this stylish bar-restaurant in São Lázaro, alongside Portuguese craft beer, wine, and cocktails. Sip a bottle of vinho verde or a port-and-lychee cocktail while splitting plates of pica-pau (beef cubes with pickles), tender fried octopus, baby snails, and bacalhau com broa (baked cod with a cornbread crumble and black olives). The decor is a treasure trove of antiques, from hanging fish traps and copper stills to old pedal bikes and plush, red executive seats salvaged from decommissioned TAP planes—all sourced from Lisbon’s vintage markets. This beautiful tavern wouldn’t feel out of place in Bairro Alto.

Time stands still inside A Lorcha (“wooden ship”), a cozy Portuguese restaurant that has delighted local diners and travelers since 1989. The menu has barely changed since it opened; nor have the portions. Order dishes to share like dobradinha (spicy beef tripe and chickpea stew), pataniscas de bachalau (salt cod fritters with vegetables), and Macanese coconut and turmeric chicken. But save room for the serradura (“sawdust”), a Macau specialty made with layers of biscuits and pudding.

Watch in awe as chefs slice, dice, and pull noodles at staggering speed from within the show kitchen in the center of the room. Spectacle aside, the combination of Sichuan cuisine and dishes from China’s northeast are the true stars of the show at this handsome, red and black restaurant. Try the cumin-laced lamb served with bao buns, Chongqing-style deep-fried boneless chicken with dried chili, Shanxi-style braised beef noodles, and rich and spicy mapo tofu.

Occupying a converted two-story house with a small but pleasant balcony overlooking Coloane Village, this restaurant is Portuguese-owned and has a Portuguese chef—so it’s no surprise that it is a favorite of Portuguese residents. The food sticks to home-style classics, including one of the better versions of baked duck rice in town.

Everyone in Hong Kong and Macau knows about Fernando’s. The open-air dining pavilion and bar have attracted beachgoers for years, and the enterprising Fernando has built a legendary reputation for his Portuguese fare. Look for the vine-covered entrance close to Hác Sá Beach. Outside of summer, try to get a table in the outdoor garden. 

Founded in 1870 as a private military club, the stately pink-and-white structure was restored in 1995 and reopened as a restaurant. Although the club itself is members-only, the dining room is open to the public for lunch and dinner. Its languid old-world atmosphere perfectly complements the extensive list of Portuguese dishes, including an excellent arroz de marisco (seafood rice) and African chicken, a Macanese classic.

The Taiwanese chain is famous for one thing above all: soup dumplings. Paper-thin wrappers encase fillings like truffle and pork, snow crab and scallop, and chicken. Pair a steamer of soup dumplings with barbecued pork buns, thin noodles in sesame sauce, and bok choy fried in a hot wok with scallion oil. There’s another branch in Studio City, too. In a part of town where it can be hard to find quality food for affordable prices, Din Tai Fung is a sure bet.

Quirky and one-of-a-kind, long-standing Dom Galo is as famous for flamboyant decor—rooster paraphernalia, bright yellow chairs, spray-painted disco balls strung from the ceiling—as for its generously portioned Portuguese dishes. The clientele ranges from couples on dates to gambling-compliance lawyers and Cantonese families celebrating birthdays and special occasions.

This popular bar-restaurant moved from Taipa to Broadway in 2024, trading a narrow, multifloor building where food and drinks were served via dumb waiter for a more spacious ground-floor setting. Now more restaurant than bar, Goa Nights still specializes in the creative Goan and Indian flavors that long made it an expat favorite. Order pulled pork vindaloo bao and Goan curry to share, and wash it down with one of 15 cocktails inspired by Vasco da Gama’s voyages across the Portuguese world.

A packed house is always a good sign. The Artyzen Grand Lapa’s elegant Cantonese restaurant draws local diners daily with its refined setting—crisp white linens, Chinese artwork, plush carpeting—and a menu of classics like Peking duck, tea-smoked fried chicken, and crabmeat baked in the shell. Lunchtime dim sum shines with juicy shrimp dumplings, truffle-flecked spring rolls, and delicate rice flour rolls with porcini mushrooms, and there’s a great plant-based menu of Cantonese dishes.

Just up the road from A-Ma Temple, this popular family-run restaurant has served Macanese and Portuguese favorites since 1995. The menu runs the gamut from hard-to-find specialties like bafassá (pork braised with saffron or turmeric) to Macau’s unofficial national dish, minchi (wok-fried pork and potato hash topped with a fried egg). Don’t overlook Litoral’s famed African chicken, though. On weekends, expect large crowds lingering at their tables with bottles of wine, admiring the white-washed walls and timber frames, and ordering lavishly. There is another branch in Taipa, too.

This timeless dim sum restaurant near the Red Market is a living museum: hard-backed booths, slow-whirring fans, pastel green frames, and wooden bird cages by windows that are almost always open—there’s no air-conditioning—keep the look and feel of Macau’s traditional teahouses alive. Order yum cha (dim sum) classics like siu mai (dumplings), steamed meatballs, barbecued pork buns, and pork ribs; pair it with a pot of pu’er tea; and recall the fading glory of mid-20th-century Macau.

Located across the street from the Moorish Barracks, this decades-old Italian restaurant keeps it simple with pizzas, pastas, grilled dishes, and timeless desserts like tiramisu and gelato served inside a warm, rustic space. What it lacks in “wow” factor it makes up for with affordable prices, satisfying flavors, and a family-friendly atmosphere. Favorites include the beef carpaccio, homemade tortellini and ravioli, and, of course, the wood-fired pizzas.

Mediterranean beauty is in evidence inside and outside, with a gleaming white facade opening into a dining room with graceful arches, terra-cotta floors, and wrought-iron furniture. The menu is creative, with dishes ranging from African chicken to pork and clams cataplana (in a stew of onions, tomatoes, and wine).