If Bougain, in the historic center of Cascais, makes you think of bougainvillea, that’s no accident. Owner Miguel Garcia (who also owns Lisbon’s iconic Café de São Bento steak house) wanted to honor and emphasize the green nature in front of his building. Although the interior dining room, on the ground floor of the historic Casa da Pérgola (now a boutique hotel) is full of plants and has its walls painted green, the main event is outdoors, underneath the tasseled umbrellas and tucked in between the hedges.
It feels like a garden party for ladies who lunch—meant in the nicest possible way, of course—with a relaxed natural environment, dressed-up and polished service, and a regular clientele from the neighborhood. Less than two months after opening, the place had already welcomed some of its clientele 20 times or more.
It’s easy to see why. The menu emphasizes timeless dishes, both Portuguese favorites like enormous Setúbal oysters (they ask their purveyor for the very biggest ones), garlic prawns, and carabineiro (scarlet shrimp) rice, and French dishes like Niçoise salad, sole meunière, and chateaubriand served with bernaise.
The bar, overseen by Manuel Frazão in the middle of the garden, turns out classic cocktails and others with a twist, like a deceptively easy-drinking gin-basil-ginger number, and the pastry kitchen holds up its end as well. Desserts also skew classic, like roasted peaches pavlova and tiramisu.
For more information, visit the Bougain website.
Bougain
Avenida Valbom 13
Cascais
Phone: +351 914 768 826
Email: reservas@bougain.pt
Hours: Monday to Sunday – 12:30 to 15:00 and 19:00 to 23:00
Photos courtesy of Bougain
