Dynasty 8
$$ | Cotai
Fodor's choice
Don't let this restaurant's mall location or dynastic Chinese decor turn you off. Kitschy setting aside, Dynasty 8 serves some of the best—and most photogenic—dim sum in town.
6 Best Restaurants in Macau, China
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Macau's medley of Portuguese and Cantonese cuisine—spicy and creamy Macanese interpretations of traditional Cantonese dishes such as baked prawns, braised abalone, and seafood stews—has made it one of Asia's top fine-dining destinations for decades.
Now, thanks to the spate of new casino-hotels, Macau has also become an exciting world-class culinary frontier. But local dining isn't all highbrow. Near the Largo do Senado and in the villages of Taipa and Coloane, wander the back alleys to find treats like zhu-bao-bao (a slab of fried pork on a toasted bun served with milk tea) or the signature pasteis de nata (custard tart): they’re simple, delicious, and classic Macau.
Long-renowned restaurants such as Restaurante Fernando and Litoral are staying the course. So, too, are Cantonese eateries such as Fat Siu Lau, particularly well known among Hong Kong residents who travel to Macau just for dim sum, weekend brunches, and seafood feasts at more affordable prices and made from higher-quality ingredients.
Belcanção
$$$ | Cotai
Located next to the Four Seasons' Bali-inspired poolside, Belcanção offers an impressive buffet spread featuring Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and a smaller selection of Japanese dishes. The dessert and salad bars are amply stocked, and the service is impeccable. Try the codfish with chickpeas salad, have a slice of thin-crust pizza, and wash it all down with fresh fruit juice. Follow up with an egg tart or serradura.
La Paloma
$$$$ | Inner Harbour
Specialties at this Spanish restaurant firmly ensconced in the 17th-century Pousada de São Tiago include seafood paella, "casserole" of pigeon with rice, Iberian Parma ham, beef sirloin, garoupa (grouper), and fresh sole. Don't miss the afternoon high tea, available from 3 to 5 daily; it's served on the brick terrace shaded by hundred-year-old trees, in the air-conditioned interior with a view of the South China Sea, or at the mirror-walled Cascata Bar built inside the ancient fortress.
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Leitaria i Son
$ | Downtown
Look for the small cow sign marking the out-of-the-ordinary Leitaria i Son milk bar. The decor is cafeteria-style and spartan, but the bar whips up frothy glasses of fresh milk from its dairy and blends them with all manner of juices: papaya, coconut, apricot, and more. Known for: silky steamed milk; cold milk custard with red beans; long lines at peak hours.
Margaret's Café e Nata
$ | Downtown
Not far off the main drag but somewhat hidden down an alleyway, Margaret's Café e Nata offers a cool—albeit increasingly crowded—place to sit, outside under fans and awnings, with some of the best custard tarts in town, plus fresh juices, sandwiches, homemade tea blends, and pizza slices. .
Portas do Sol
$$$ | Downtown
Despite the Portuguese name, exquisite dim sum and Chinese haute cuisine are Portas do Sol's specialties. Tiny, sweet Shanghainese pork buns, turnip cakes, and soup dumplings are some of the traditional offerings; there are also innovative new creations that look like miniature jewels on the plate. For dessert you can choose from a wide variety of Chinese sweets, including a fish-shaped chilled mango and coconut pudding, double-boiled papaya with snow fungus (a tasteless mushroom that becomes gelatinous when cooked), and deep-fried sweet milk with longan fruit. Reservations are a good idea on weekends, as this place fills up with Hong Kong and mainland visitors.
