Michelin 3 Stars · Macau
The Eight
8餐厅 — Three-starred Cantonese dining inside the Grand Lisboa, where dim sum becomes haute sculpture — the gold-leaf "eight" motif runs through a menu that…
Why we list it
Three-starred Cantonese dining inside the Grand Lisboa, where dim sum becomes haute sculpture — the gold-leaf "eight" motif runs through a menu that moves from Cantonese classics to refined Huaiyang and Teochew dishes.
Booking note: Book two to three weeks ahead; dim sum lunch is the value play, dinner the full repertoire.
What to order
- Steamed king crab shell
- Signature crispy chicken
- Dim sum tasting
Gold leaf, goldfish and three stars
The Eight sits inside the Grand Lisboa on the Macau peninsula, behind a corridor of gold-leafed doors and under a ceiling of crystal goldfish. The design is unashamed and it works: the room is theatrical in a way that Macau does exclusively, and the cooking is serious enough that the decoration never has to carry the meal.
It has held three stars for well over a decade and is one of the few Cantonese rooms in the world at that level. The kitchen cooks the full register — dim sum at lunch, banquet dishes at dinner, refined Huaiyang and Teochew plates alongside the Cantonese core — and does so for a room that is genuinely busy every service.
Dim sum as the way in
Lunch is the value and the more interesting meal: more than forty dim sum, including the goldfish-shaped shrimp dumpling that the room is known for, baked and steamed items turned out to order rather than held. Order across steamed, baked and fried, add one roast, and stop — the temptation is to keep going and the kitchen is happy to let you.
Dinner shifts to the banquet repertoire: crispy chicken, steamed king crab, wok-fried lobster, and soups that have been on the stove since morning. The wine list draws on the hotel’s unusually deep cellar, one of the largest in Asia, and the sommelier will find something sensible well below the top of the list if asked.
Booking and how to time it
Book two to three weeks ahead. Dim sum lunch is the harder reservation and the better-value meal; dinner is the fuller repertoire and the higher bill. The room is on the peninsula, ten minutes by taxi from the ferry terminal and walkable from the historic centre.
Combine it with a morning in the old city — the Senado Square, the ruins of St Paul’s and the Mandarin’s House are all within a short walk — and treat lunch as the day’s main meal. Dress is smart casual; the room is formal but Macau formal, which is forgiving.
The bill, and how to keep it sane
This room can be expensive or surprisingly reasonable, and the difference is entirely in how you order. Dim sum lunch with one roast and a vegetable lands near the price of a good Hong Kong tea house; dinner with crab and lobster runs past a hundred US dollars a head before wine. Both are legitimate ways to eat here, and the kitchen does not treat the cheaper one as a lesser service.
Wine is where the hotel’s cellar tempts you upward. The by-the-glass list is short and well chosen, and tea is the better match for Cantonese food in any case.
Dishes to know in Macau
- Cantonese Dim Sum (广式点心)
- Egg Tarts (葡式蛋挞/酥皮蛋挞)
More tables in Macau
- Jade Dragon — Michelin 3 Stars
- Robuchon au Dôme — Michelin 3 Stars
- Lord Stow’s Bakery — Local Institution