Moules & Gin — Restaurant in Cascais

Moules et Frites is a traditional Belgian dish made of mussels and french fries. It is a popular dish in Belgium. Did you know there is a quaint little restaurant in the heart of Cascais, Portugal serving this Belgium delight throughout the day and evening?

Moules and Gin is not hard to find. Situated up a small hill, it is located within a five-minute walk from Cascais Train Station. They do not close during the day so come when you like. They have both inside and outside dining. We visited around 6: 00 PM on a Saturday night and chose to eat inside. The restaurant becomes full at 8 pm. So reservations are strongly recommended.

The restaurant plays great soulful music and is bright and cheery. It's not loud, and one can enjoy an intimate conversation together. The service was top notch and is very friendly. Each of the staff knew their menu and gins very well. We had a wonderful server named Sarah who recommended all kinds of delicious mussels and gins to try.

If you enjoy Gin, you will enjoy the selection that awaits you. Since they carry so many top-shelf gins, they offer your Gin and tonic with either a half dose or full dose of Gin. Schweppes is the tonic of choice here. Some of the available gins are Hendricks, Tanqueray no 10, Sipsmith, Bulldog, and three kinds of Martin Miller, Shardish, Nordes, and more. The prices are great! The full dose of Hendricks is €13, and the half dose is €7. What I like about the half-dose shots is that it allows one to sample many different gins in a night without getting too silly.

We started the dinner with Moules gratin with cornbread and cilantro for €7. I have never had mussels before, so I was in for a treat. Out came what looked like Lasagna. After a few minutes of cooling down, I dove in. I scooped out the mussel covered in layers of different cheeses, and was overjoyed! My taste buds were delighted!

From there, I ordered Moules à Bulhão Pato for €14. This was a big bowl of mussels served in a broth of coriander, olive oil, and garlic. I loved how the garlic was not minced but sliced. After eating all the mussels, I grabbed the fresh bread and butter and soaked up the broth. It was just like heaven!

The mussels are fresh from The Algarve. They serve the mussels with many different flavors. There's Moules Pesto with basil sauce, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese, Moules Curry with Mango and Curry. For meat lovers, there are Steaks, and of course, they serve dessert as well.

I will be making this a frequent night out every month. It's the perfect evening to look forward to. The food is delicious and fun. It's an easy vibe to enjoy and converse with friends and family. The service is friendly, knowledgeable and they look after you very well. Why not enjoy a taste of Belgium when you are here in Portugal? I would highly recommend Moules and Gin. See more food reviews of Lisbon and Cascais Portugal on our Youtube Channel...

Amazing mussels and gin! Six of us swung by without a reservation for lunch. We opted for outdoor seating, of which they had plenty. Service, ambiance, and food & drink were fantastic.

We ordered 5 mussels: bulhao pato (18 Euros), mediterranean (18 Euros), chili (18.50 Euros), pesto (19 Euros), and curry (18.50 Euros). The portions are generous, and flavors are good. They managed to get heat in the chili mussels given the huge amount of chili peppers, which is great! I liked mediterranean most, others like pesto the most, and another friend liked chili the most. We also got a mix of fries and pasta as sides. You can get the pasta cooked on the side, or they can toss the pasta in the mussels for you. The fries come with mayo (mix it with sauce to spice it up).

We got the salmon tartare + tuna tartare + mussel vinaigrette for 8 Euros, as well as the deep fried mussels for 8 Euros. Both were okay. The deep fried mussels seemed too small, especially if you enjoy deep fried oysters. I would pass on both appetizers next time and just go straight for the oysters.

Our friends who got gin said the gin was great, especially the one with lemon peel in it.

They charge 1.50 Euros for cover (couvert), which includes bread and butter. Only one of us wanted the bread, so while they charged the couvert, they refunded us at the bottom of the receipt. They didn't offer tap water, so we got a few bottles of sparkling water at...

As a mussels lover this is one of the best places I have visited in all of Portugal. The last time I had mussels this good must have been over 15 years ago! The mussels are so fresh and the gin is really good! From a menu side, one would think that the price is rather high, however, it's only once you see the portion size do you realise the pricing is actually very good. I was very surprised to see that this restaurant wasn't busy when I went, although maybe that was because it was a Monday. One thing to note is the bread and butter given at the beginning does cost if you eat it, but ours was fresh and warm so I had no problem paying €1.50 for it- but would be nice to let tourists know about this as it is not typical in other countries. I cannot wait to be back again! I wish the team all the best, they...