The Praia Group has a knack for creating sophisticated restaurants in iconic spaces, such as the gorgeous mid-20th-century building in the center of Lisbon that’s home to Praia no Parque. The group’s latest restaurant, Bugio, continues in that vein but outside the city, along one of Portugal’s most glamorous coastlines.
Bugio occupies a prime location at the top of the Oeiras Marina, right in front of the ocean and at the midpoint of the “linha” (train line) of posh suburbs that stretch between Lisbon and Cascais. Along with the light-filled, high-ceilinged main dining room, it also has a wide terrace to make the most of its waterfront setting.
Billing itself as a place for leisurely lunches and sunset-kissed summer dinners, Bugio takes its culinary inspiration from the Mediterranean, especially southern Italy, Greece, and Ibiza. (It’s worth noting that the playful cocktail menu includes four variations on the spritz.) But of course Portuguese ingredients and traditions play a starring role, especially those from the Algarve, where the group opened its first restaurant, Praia na Villa, a decade ago.
Executive chef Lúcio Bastos, who also looks after the group’s other restaurants, supervises the kitchen, which turns out easygoing, crowd-pleasing dishes. Many of them are meant to be shared, such as the oysters, octopus or beef carpaccio, and grilled scallops on the starters section of the menu. There are large-format mains as well, like seafood cataplana, T-bone alla Fiorentina, and salt-baked whole fish.
For the sharing-averse, there are several salads (avocado, Greek, and Niçoise), pastas, risottos, and a showstopping black rice with carabineiro prawns. There’s also a section of meat cuts and fish options, which are simply grilled and paired with classic sauces and sides.
Likewise, the desserts embrace the traditional, with simple pleasures like tiramisu and chocolate mousse with fleur de sel. But really, the fitting finale of any meal is the last golden embers of the sunset over the sea, or the late-afternoon light streaming in through the oversize windows.
For more information, visit the Bugio website.
Bugio
Oeiras Marina
Estrada Marginal
Praia da Torre
Oeiras
Phone: +351 964 122 734
Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday – 12:30 to 23:00
Friday and Saturday – 12:30 to 01:00
Sunday – 12:30 to 17:00
