The Newest Trend in Museum Dining Is Elevated, Artistic Cuisine

"As the sun sets in Lisbon, most visitors are ushered out of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins (MACAM), where the galleries fill a sprawling 18th-century palace. But a few in-the-know art lovers are just arriving, for dinner and drinks at Contemporâneo Food & Wine Restaurant. Here, chef Tiago Valente offers menus that might include Maronesa beef served alongside truffled potatoes, scarlet prawns with rice and seaweed, or an elevated caldeirada, or fish stew, all with a view of the museum's sculpture garden."

"By inviting guests in after the main galleries have closed, MACAM, which opened last March, is on the vanguard of museums that are adding fresh fine-dining experiences to enliven institutions beyond what's on the walls. "Examples abound," says Kareem George, the founder and CEO of Culture Traveler and a member of the T+L Travel Advisory Board. "And many of these restaurants have become destinations in themselves.""

MACAM in Lisbon offers after-hours dining at Contemporâneo Food & Wine, where chef Tiago Valente serves dishes such as Maronesa beef with truffled potatoes, scarlet prawns with rice and seaweed, and an elevated caldeirada with views of the sculpture garden. Museums are adding fine-dining experiences that extend visitor engagement beyond exhibitions. In Spain, chef Emi Schobert relocated Blossom to the Museum of Málaga, presenting nine- and 15-course tasting menus including alfajor de molleja made with sweetbreads instead of dulce de leche. The Fenix museum in Rotterdam elevates Turkish street food at O Anatolian Café. The Napa Valley Museum operates Under-Study with chef Philip Tessier, offering Wagyu-beef tartare and a caviar-topped lobster corn dog.

Read at Travel + Leisure