6 Best Restaurants in Downtown Macau, Macau

Designed by Hong Kong’s Alan Chan, The Eight dazzles with its food as well as its decor, both of which have kept it in the Michelin guide for more than a decade. The red and gold interiors feature swimming goldfish motifs and the number eight—considered lucky in Chinese culture. The chefs here prepare fine Cantonese cuisine and dim sum, including signatures like tea-smoked pigeon and Cantonese-style sautéed lobster. The wine cellar contains a staggering 17,800-plus labels, and the tea selection is just as exceptional.

Lunchtime diners can choose from 40 different types of dim sum.

A Macau institution since 1903, Fat Siu Lau keeps locals and visitors coming back for its legendary roasted pigeon, shek ki—a family recipe perfected over generations. Still run by its founding family, the restaurant blends classic Macanese flavors with modern creations, making it a popular stop for those craving a taste of history.

Look for the cow logo marking Leitaria I Son, the original shop of Yee Shun Milk Company on Avenida Almeida Ribeiro. This nostalgic milk bar is known for its silky steamed milk and ginger pudding desserts, served hot or cold, plain or with toppings like red beans. Other specialties include frothy fruit milk shakes in flavors like papaya and banana, all enjoyed in its signature green-and-white cafeteria-style setting.

This timeless dim sum restaurant near the Red Market is a living museum: hard-backed booths, slow-whirring fans, pastel green frames, and wooden bird cages by windows that are almost always open—there’s no air-conditioning—keep the look and feel of Macau’s traditional teahouses alive. Order yum cha (dim sum) classics like siu mai (dumplings), steamed meatballs, barbecued pork buns, and pork ribs; pair it with a pot of pu’er tea; and recall the fading glory of mid-20th-century Macau.

As you walk into Wing Lei, you’re greeted by a dragon sculpted from a single piece of glass and 90,000 Swarovski crystals, dangling delicately above a yellow-and-coral room inspired by Van Gogh. The Michelin-starred restaurant lives up to this lavish look with signature dishes like steamed grouper with aged tangerine peel and succulent barbecued Ibérico pork. While the dinner degustation is not cheap, the lunch specials and dim sum sets, often priced at less than MOP$300, offer great value.