Mar do Inferno

Maria de Lourdes Tirano has run this kitchen on the Boca do Inferno cliff for close to fifty years, with her two sons and a staff of around fifty. The locals just call it Lourdes. Two hundred metres away the Atlantic detonates through a collapsed sea cave, loud enough to hear from the terrace on a rough day. None of that is why you book. You book for the fish.

The address is Avenida Rei Humberto II de Itália, on the coast road out of Cascais, and the room has not been reinvented in decades. No concept, no tasting menu, no chef chasing a star. There is a market display of whole fish at the door, a salt-crust oven, a grill, and a family that has been doing this since the late 1970s. That is the whole proposition, and it works.

Order whole fish from the display. You choose it, it is weighed, and it comes either grilled or baked in a salt crust. The bruxas, the local slipper lobster, is what regulars come back for, and the seafood platter of bream, sea bass, prawns and mussels feeds a whole table. Percebes appear when the season and the sea allow, sold by weight at market price. A normal meal runs around €45 to €50 a head before wine, which on this cliff is fair. The house wine is cheap and pours better than it has any right to.

The dining room is large; the cliff terrace is the reason to come. Order, and the sound of the Atlantic in the chasm does the rest. It is busy, family-run and unpretentious. Service is brisk and Portuguese, warm enough, fast when the room fills. Dress is smart-casual and nobody is watching what you wear. This is a seafood house, not a dining room built for photographs.

This is the Cascais birthday table, and has been for generations of Lisbon families. The terrace takes a group of six to twelve without the kitchen breaking stride, the fish-picking at the door is an event in itself, and there is something on the menu for every age at the table. Book the terrace for sunset, order a whole fish to share, and keep the wine cheap. It is celebration without theatre. For a more formal Cascais night, the two-Michelin-star Fortaleza do Guincho is the other end of town.

Is Mar do Inferno worth it?
Yes, if you want classic Portuguese seafood done plainly and well, not reinvented. Maria de Lourdes Tirano and her sons have run this cliff-side room for close to fifty years, and the fish is as fresh as anything in Cascais. It is not a Michelin kitchen and does not pretend to be. Come for the catch and the terrace, not for invention.

What should I order at Mar do Inferno?
Order whole fish from the market display at the entrance: you pick it, it is weighed, and it comes grilled or baked in a salt crust. The bruxas, the local slipper lobster, is the dish regulars come back for. The seafood platter of bream, sea bass, prawns and mussels feeds a table. Keep it simple; the kitchen is at its best that way.

How do I book a terrace table at Mar do Inferno?
Book a few days ahead for the cliff terrace, which is the part that fills first; the large indoor room rarely needs more than a day. Call the restaurant directly or use mardoinferno.pt. Ask for a terrace table at sunset. Weekday lunches are quieter and the light over the Atlantic is the same. See more restaurants in Cascais.

How much does Mar do Inferno cost?
Expect around €45 to €50 a head before wine for grilled fish and a starter. Whole fish and shellfish such as percebes are sold by weight at market price, so a platter for the table runs higher. The house wine is inexpensive and pours well. It is fair value for the cliff-side location and the freshness.