Cantinho do Avillez Cascais
Contemporary Portuguese cuisine in the heart of Cascais
Cantinho do Avillez in Cascais is part of a group of restaurants by Portuguese chef and restaurateur, José Avillez, with restaurants located primarily in major Portugal destinations as well as a location in Dubai. Some of his restaurants are Michelin star awarded.
This Cascais restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Cascais, amidst several shops, restaurants, and typical tourist stores. It’s less than a 5-minute walk from the Cascais train station. The front of the restaurant is understated and unassuming with a red painted façade and simple signage. From the street it looks like a small tavern or café with a few tables on the patio. However, walk inside and there’s an expansive, long dining area with a high, atrium-style glass ceiling, giving a visitor the impression of dining in a greenhouse.
The style of food here is contemporary Portuguese cuisine with influences of Avillez’ Portuguese roots. I’ve dined here twice-once for lunch and more recently for dinner with Paul and another couple.
Dinner - The food.
The food is artfully presented with fresh ingredients. For my entrée, I had the Grilled Chicken Salad which consisted of mixed lettuce greens, lightly grilled thin slices of chicken breast, red onion, crispy thin bacon, sliced cherry tomatoes, and fresh avocado slices served with a light yogurt dressing. The salad was mildly flavored, and the dressing was not overpowering. I wished the red onion slices had been caramelized as I think it would have brought out the flavors of the dish. My entrée was tasty, but not as tasty as I’ve had in other restaurants (15.50€).
Paul had Tagliatelle with prawns, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and basil. The presentation was nice. The pasta was fresh with good texture, and they weren’t stingy with the prawns. The dish, sautéed in olive oil, mild chili peppers, and lemon juice made a flavorful (but not spicy) broth (15.50€).
One friend had the Flaked cod with breadcrumbs, LT egg and “exploding olives,” one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. The confit (poached) cod was flaky, and the breadcrumbs made from bread from the Mafra region of Portugal was light and not greasy. A mixture of green beans, savoy cabbage and an egg cooked on low temperature, sat underneath the fish. The “exploding olives” are spherified. They are green olives pureed, squeezed, and then re-formed into olives using liquid additives (19.75€).
Our other friend tried the Grilled Meagre with vegetables and small potatoes. Meagre is a fish that resembles the size and shape of Bass. It’s delicate in taste and texture and is suitable for a variety of cooking preparations including grilled, baked, or fried. Although it can be wild caught, much of Meagre is farm raised. The dish arrived with a generous piece of fish (skin on) that sat on top of a mountainous pile of roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, and wilted spinach (22.50€).
Total bill for four.
The bill came to 128.00€. That included two orders of couvert (bread, butter, olives), one large bottle of water, a bottle of wine (2019 JA White Wine – a house private label wine at 18.00€), one soft drink, four entrees, two desserts, and a gratuity.
Would we go back?
Yes. We would give it another try but probably for lunch. There are other Cascais restaurants for dinner we haven’t been to yet and would like to try.
If you go:
The restaurant can get noisy with the high glass ceilings and the sometimes too-loud music along with the chatter of diners. Ask to be seated at a comfortable booth along the wall where it’s a bit quieter.
Menus are in English (one side) and Portuguese (one side). Servers speak both English and Portuguese.
We dined on a Tuesday night during high season. After about 2 hours we were presented with our bill (in Portugal, you usually don’t get your bill until you ask for it). And although the restaurant was full, there were other empty tables, so we didn’t feel as if we were taking up a spot, (although we were seated in a nice booth), so who knows? We have heard that some restaurants in Portugal are now limiting how long you can sit at a table (sad, but true).
The service was adequate, but I’ve had better (and worse) in other restaurants in Portugal. A pet peeve I have (no matter where I’ve dined in the world) is when the server comes back with your meals and must ask whose meal belongs to whom. I just think they should already know.
A small gratuity (gratificação) was added to our bill. More and more restaurants in Portugal are doing this, especially in high-traffic tourist areas. Be sure to check your bill to see if something extra has been added to it so you don’t double-tip.
Reservations recommended. You can make them by calling the restaurant or online on the restaurant website.
Details:
R. da Palmeira 6A, 2750-133 Cascais, Portugal
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Until next time…
Obrigada!
Carol.
Appreciate your review and suggestions for timing and seating. I've had a dozen business meeting lunches there, a few friend lunches and some dinners....and struggled through mediocre service and food every time. The name draws people, especially business people who seek to impress. Flavors are underdeveloped, every time, every dish. Your salad was well overpriced. We do like the JA Branco, though!
Very informative and reasons for your criticisms. We have been struggling with our restaurant experiences after the pandemic with some that had been longtime highly rated places . It happened in our trips to Wisconsin and Colorado and around here in AZ.