“The most enriching experiences? They arise when I travel with the team, as a real team. Exploring different cultures side by side allows us to share discoveries in real time and build on each other's insights. This ensures that what we create is not only rooted in different traditions, but also uniquely ours.” The two stars of Hans Neuner and a perfectly harmonious group that continues to innovate Portuguese cuisine.
The hotel and restaurant
It is at Faro airport, with its incredible number of golf bags at baggage claim, that you realize you have arrived in one of the most famous paradises for lovers of this sport. But it is certainly not just the green courses overlooking the Atlantic that make the Algarve a true natural Eden, with sheer cliffs and breathtaking views. Among the facilities offering enchanting views, as well as superb hospitality and a range of services that can make your stay particularly interesting, is the Vila Vita Parc Resort. This five-star complex, a member of Leading Hotels of the World, is surrounded by approximately 22 hectares of subtropical gardens and, with just a few steps down a scenic walkway, provides access to a secluded beach on the ocean.
There are over two hundred rooms, suites, and villas spread across several buildings. There are over a dozen restaurants, numerous bars, eight swimming pools, and a large spa. In short, it is a place where it is really difficult to get bored, with sports activities and relaxation on offer, but it also has a couple of other important features, especially for those of us who love the world of haute cuisine and its offshoots. In fact, here at Vila Vita there is both an underground wine cellar with over 11,000 bottles—in fact, the largest private collection in Portugal—and Ocean, a two-Michelin-star restaurant run by Tyrolean chef Hans Neuner, who fell in love with this place many years ago and has remained here, in a setting of rare charm with its huge windows overlooking the Atlantic, to delight enthusiasts.
The chef and his cuisine
When we ask him about the key stages in his culinary career, Hans tells us: “I started cooking at the age of 14: coming from a family of chefs, it was a natural progression. I grew up in a small village in Tyrol, Austria, and started culinary school at 15. It was quite strict: it involved getting up early, cleaning, and then whole days of study and practice. After graduating at 17 and completing my military service, I moved to St. Moritz, Switzerland. It was during the Gourmet Festival that I met the chef at the Dorchester in London: I asked him for a job and soon found myself living one of my dreams, working in a big city. The hours were tough, starting at 6 a.m. and finishing at 11 p.m. Most of the team didn't last long. I stayed there for a year and a half before deciding to try something completely different.
I sent applications to ten hotels around the world, and the first to respond was in Bermuda. I got on a plane and started a new chapter there. Shortly after, I joined my brother, also a chef, on a cruise ship that sailed from Los Angeles, through Hawaii, Asia, Arabia, and back to Europe. It was an incredible experience. I eventually returned to Austria, but immediately accepted a friend's offer to help reopen the legendary Adlon Hotel in Berlin. I was only 24 when I became sous chef there. That was my first time in a Michelin-starred kitchen. From there, Neuner moved to Mallorca to another Michelin-starred restaurant, before joining his former boss in Hamburg at a new opening, also awarded by the Michelin guide, inside the Hotel Süllberg. "After Hamburg, I considered opportunities in England, Italy, and Dubai, but then I got a call from Kurt Gillig, the F&B director at Vila Vita Parc in the Algarve. We talked for over two hours about the project: I hadn't seen the place, only an old photo of a bar, but I accepted the job based on that conversation: our visions were very similar, and the incredible ocean view in the photo also contributed. Even 18 years later, it takes my breath away every day. That's how I ended up in Portugal..."
Hans continues: “That was the beginning of Ocean. Looking back, the only things that remain from the first version of the restaurant are me and its name. When we opened, the culinary scene in Portugal was very different, and I had never been here before. The first menus were refined versions of dishes I had created elsewhere, with a strong French and Mediterranean influence. We even had to import most of the ingredients from France or Spain, as I didn't know any local producers yet. The food reflected my background and experiences, but I slowly began to absorb the gastronomic culture. I started visiting markets, talking to the Portuguese members of our team, and eating out as much as possible. We talked constantly about food, ingredients, traditions, and through these conversations, the restaurant began to evolve. Our connection with Portugal deepened over time and led to our first Michelin star in 2009 and our second in 2011. We were the second restaurant in the country to earn two Michelin stars. I still remember the first Portuguese dish I added to the menu: it was a version of chicken Piri Piri. Today, I feel truly at home here and am proud to have earned the respect and friendship of so many colleagues and suppliers.
Hans Neuner is creative, irrepressible, but also quite thoughtful: “One thing that is not widely known about me, both as a person and as a chef, is that I am a true craftsman at heart. I love being in the kitchen every day, fully involved in the process of preparing and perfecting the food we serve. What excites me most is the journey from start to finish, from mise en place to final plating, just before service. There is also a deep sense of camaraderie in the kitchen. The dedication and enthusiasm shared by the team continually fuels my passion. Being surrounded by people who are equally dedicated to their craft is what keeps the energy fresh and the creativity alive.“ Travel is also essential for Neuner: ”Traveling gives me endless inspiration for the way I create my dishes. In every country I visit, I take the time to connect with the locals, learn about their food culture, and listen to the stories behind each recipe. Watching restaurant chefs cook is especially valuable for learning techniques and traditions, understanding the rhythm of the kitchen, and asking questions about the ingredients they use."
Again: “Another important source of inspiration comes from our team. Whether it's meetings or mise en place before service, there are always new ideas being shared. These moments often lead to deeper conversations about how we can develop or incorporate these ideas into new or existing dishes. However, the most enriching experiences come when we travel together as a team. Exploring different cultures side by side allows us to share discoveries in real time and build on each other's insights. This ensures that what we create is not only rooted in different traditions, but also uniquely ours." At the root of Hans Neuner's cuisine is a world to discover, articulated and built on a profound experience that is undoubtedly based on extensive research that evolves from one menu to the next: "After the pandemic, when we all had time to reflect, I decided to go further. I wanted to immerse myself deeply in the cultural and culinary roots of Portugal. So, we started a new tradition. Every year, for five consecutive years, out of season, my team and I have embarked on a journey to discover a different region or historical chapter of Portugal.
These ‘expeditions’ inspire the new menu for the following year. It has become a central element of who we are at Ocean: translating the different influences and rich tradition of Portugal into refined contemporary cuisine." There is a lot of fun to be had at Ocean, a place of powerful beauty, color, and enjoyable informal elegance, with a dining room that runs like clockwork, led by restaurant manager Nelson Marreiros; a key figure and protagonist in the choice of one of the most original and successful wine pairings of our fine dining season, which ended with an unforgettable Madeira Malvasia 1885 Afonso, is head sommelier João Wiborg de Carvalho.
The dishes
Tastes of Discovery, following in the footsteps of the Portuguese conquerors, is a menu in which Neuner brings home his adventures around the world, from the volcanic lands of the Azores to Asia, from the Canadian coast to Hawaii, where thousands of Portuguese migrated in the 19th century to work on sugar cane plantations, bringing the ukulele with them. And then on to Brazil, via Mozambique. It is an entertaining journey, presented with wise irony, but above all rich in flavor. Retracing some emblematic dishes in a fifteen-course journey to the petit fours, you can start with the introduction, a delicate cod confit and smoked tartlet, garnished with orange purée, crispy onion, and brandade foam: a tribute to Portugal's seafaring past and the products preserved during the discoveries, inspired by traditional flavors and the Age of Exploration. A sort of evocation of long voyages, in which cod was a vital food.
The naturally leavened bread is also delicious, served as a separate course with exquisite anchovy butter (in the perfect shape of an anchovy, inside a tin), extra virgin olive oil, and tomato. Then there is the huli-huli chicken, served with a miniature ukulele and accompanied by a recipe containing a QR code that links to a video about a trip to Hawaii. Una notte a Bangkok (A Night in Bangkok) takes its name from the 1980s pop song and is a delicious dish in which red prawns, immersed in a beef broth spiced with Kampot pepper and covered with a light foam, are served with a veal tongue ragu, sea grapes, and cuttlefish. Here, Neuner recreates the memory of a “street” broth tasted in Thailand, combining playfulness and intense layering. Another great bite is the blue lobster with XO sauce, eggplant, and paprika.
The slowly roasted duck leg, rolled and marinated, is wonderfully succulent, accompanied by a beetroot and raspberry purée, port cherries, and purple curry duck sauce, evoking the spice routes that once connected Portugal and India, combining the richness of Indian aromas with restaurant ingredients. Both desserts are fresh and refined: watermelon with almond blossoms, bitter orange, and basil, and goat cheese with rhubarb essence and red sumac. Picnic is what Neuner calls a “nostalgic childhood finale”: served on a Game Boy console that the chef used to play with as a child when traveling with his parents: raspberry and mascarpone, peanut butter and jam, cucumber and melon, and finally caramelized banana mousse.
CONTACTS
Ocean
Rua Anneliese Pohl - Alporchinhos, Porches, 8400-450, Portogallo
Phone:+351 282 310 100
