The restaurant, which opened about three and a half years ago at the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira hotel, the first international restaurant by Portuguese José Avillez, is one of nine distinguished with one star in the first edition of the Michelin Guide.

“It was great news this morning,” said Avillez, who acknowledged that, despite the fact that the restaurant managers were invited to the guide’s presentation gala, held this morning in Dubai, he did not expect to win the star.

“I am very confident in the work we do and I am very proud of it. You never really know what Michelin's criteria are, especially when you enter a new country with a new guide. But we were very happy, mainly because there turned out to be so few starred restaurants. We feel special,” he commented.

For José Avillez, whose Belcanto restaurant, in Lisbon, has two Michelin stars ('excellent cuisine, worth the detour'), ​​this recognition in the United Arab Emirates is “very good for Portuguese cuisine, and for the name of Portugal”.

The chef highlighted that the star also means “more responsibility”, a message he conveyed to the Tasca team.