Lisbon's Best and Most Famous Chocolate Cakes

“O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo” and “Landeau” are the best chocolate cakes in Lisbon, both in taste and in sales

One of them has already stood the test of time. It’s more than 20 years old. The other one is still a child, half the age of the former. However, they have both already been awarded several prizes and are both contenders for the title of best chocolate cake in Lisbon.

Carlos Braz Lopes took over Lisbon with his chocolate cake while he was still in his old restaurant, at Mercado de Santa Clara. The idea came from a chocolate cake that he tried and loved in Paris. Then he perfected the recipe and transformed it into one that many love and that he wisely named “O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo” (the world’s best chocolate cake).

"O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo", by Carlos Brás Lopes

Sofia Landeau, on the other hand, was pursuing a very different path when she started to recreate a friend’s mom’s chocolate cake recipe. She was studying interior design in London and then graduated twice in Industrial Design and Design of Research with a focus on disabled people when some friends started fighting over her chocolate cake. She then decides to open the first Landeau in 2010, dedicated exclusively to her chocolate cake. Now, there is a Landeau in Lx Factory, in Rua das Flores, and in El Corte Inglés.  

"Landeau", de Sofia Landeau

Carlos Braz Lopes’ cake comes from a shop in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon. However, it’s already traveled the world. In September 2018, it got as far as Macaw, where Carlos opened his first Asian shop. “O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo” can be tried in many restaurants and shops all over the country. It’s a very sweet cake, that makes people fall in love with it because of its combination of meringue and chocolate mousse. There are two versions, one made with traditional milk chocolate and the other with dark one. Always French Valrhona chocolate!

Sofia Landeau’s cake is less sweet. There are 3 layers to it: cake, mousse and powdered chocolate. It has the particularity of being a tiny bit savory, in contrast to what is expected of a chocolate cake. The chocolate powdered upper layer is soft and embracing. 

Although they are like chalk and cheese, these two chocolate cakes fight over notoriety in Lisbon as well as throughout the world. They’re already iconic in social media, blogs and in any conversations that revolve around the world’s best chocolate cakes.