If you can’t beat them, join them. That old saying – repeated to her countless times by her grandmother as she was growing up – is what inspired Jen Viana to open her own restaurant at Cascais’s Mercado da Vila. Tired of the demanding schedule of her husband, Jorge Cerqueira (one of the names behind Cascais’s long-standing Luzmar and Visconde da Luz restaurants) – an occupational hazard – she decided to throw herself into the same world and launch her own place, naturally with his full support and experience by her side.
That’s how Casa Viana was born on July 12, in the space once home to short-lived Mexican spot Azteca, which lasted just a year and a half. Above all, this is a restaurant that reflects Brazil’s Northeast – where Jen herself is from, having grown up in Ceará – and its “soulful comfort food.” “It’s a grandmother-style restaurant – and the one in the kitchen really is my mum, Ângela Viana”, she told Time Out Cascais.
The spark that pushed the project forward came after a holiday in Brazil in 2024 – Jen’s first visit in 11 years. “I took my daughters to discover their maternal roots, and we stayed at my grandparents’ fazenda. I came back nostalgic, and that’s when the idea came up: to create a slice of our Northeast, our history, right here in Cascais – especially because Cascais itself is full of history, and home to so many Brazilians. We also recently found out that my grandfather is of Portuguese descent – it was a whirlwind of emotions, and that’s how it all began”.
With 80 seats spread between the indoor dining room and the terrace at the Mercado, they kept what made sense from Azteca, but cut part of the counter to create a lounge area with a hammock – yes, it’s really meant to be used, especially after the hearty Brazilian feijoada that Ângela Viana cooks up every weekend. On the walls, painted to evoke the earthy tones of the Northeast, you’ll find traditional crockery and framed quotes full of inspiration.
The owners challenge every guest to add an old family plate from Brazil to their wall – in exchange for a free meal. At the entrance, there’s a framed photograph of the family fazenda in Ceará, and throughout the restaurant you’ll find more snapshots of the Viana clan. The whole space feels like home, even for those who’ve never been to Brazil’s Northeast – and that’s exactly the point. “We wanted to create almost a portal, and we’ve brought personal belongings from my family’s fazenda. There’s so much affection, love and hard work in it all”, says Jen.
For Jorge Cerqueira, the project turned out to be “a challenge”, considering he grew up in restaurants serving traditional Portuguese food, especially fish and seafood. “Even for someone with years of experience in hospitality, it’s a challenge to really understand this whole dynamic of comida afectiva”, he explains. “It’s not just Brazilian food – it’s Brazilian comfort food. Like in Portugal, that food your grandmother from the North or the countryside would make, only here it’s been transported into a Brazilian context. It’s homemade, literally grandmother’s food, cooked by my mother-in-law, who’s worked as a chef in other Cascais restaurants before”.
The menu was designed for sharing, just like meals are enjoyed around the table at a Northeastern fazenda. Kick things off with grilled queijo coalho cheese drizzled with artisanal cane molasses (€8.90), sun-dried beef with cassava cooked in butter (€17.50), mini pastéis de feira (€5.90 for half a dozen, filled with minced beef or shredded chicken), sautéed calabresa sausage with fried cassava (€9.90), or deep-fried cassava dough balls stuffed with shredded sun-dried beef and caramelised red onion (€8.90).
When it comes to heartier mains, the standouts include bobó de camarão (€11.90); escondidinho (€7.90) with either sun-dried beef or prawns – a Northeastern take on a shepherd’s pie, but made with cassava; grilled picanha steak (€18.50), served in thick slices with rice, homemade beans, farofa, fried banana and vinaigrette; peixada cearense (€24.80, serves two), a white fish stew cooked with vegetables, coriander and the house spices; and shredded sun-dried beef sautéed in butter with red onion, served with beans, rice, farofa and vinaigrette (€15.90).
In addition to a kids’ menu with simple dishes and a range of salads, there’s also a weekday lunch special (€9.90): a dish of the day – which changes daily – plus a juice.
To finish, desserts are made for sharing – the best way to try a little bit of everything. Highlights include baked cocada with cream ice cream (€5.90), goiabada cheesecake (€5.90), passion fruit mousse (€4.50), homemade banana sweet (€3.80), papaya and coconut dessert (€5.50) and condensed milk flan (€4.90).
To go with your meal, order one of the house cocktails – naturally inspired by Brazil’s Northeast and created by a bartender from the region. Flor do Sertão (€12.90) mixes vodka, Aperol Spritz, hibiscus syrup, hibiscus tea, Sicilian lemon, orange, mint and 7Up; Mandacaru Mulé, served in a cactus-shaped glass, is a Northeastern twist on the Moscow Mule, with vodka, lime juice, rapadura molasses, ginger and ginger foam (€11.50); Santo Remédio combines vodka, lime, peach liqueur, passion fruit, passion fruit syrup, lemongrass and ginger foam (€12.50); and Gingibrada keeps it simple, with a punchy mix of gin, lime juice and plenty of ginger (€11).
“All of this comes from our roots, from our culinary upbringing. I wanted to bring those memories here, of what I ate growing up. Every dish carries that personal connection, that homey affection, of family gathered around the table. These are plates that take me back to my childhood and to holidays at my grandparents’ fazenda”, says Jen, noting that this feeling is shared by many of the guests who have visited in the first weeks since opening.
Many Brazilians, Portuguese and African-descendant customers – especially since a good part of this cuisine has ancestral African roots – have been delighting in Casa Viana’s specialties. “I’ve seen customers cry after eating a banana dessert that reminded them of the grandmother who raised them”, comments Jorge Cerqueira. “I’ve seen tears more than once. And we have guests who come back every week, bringing others with them”.
Rua Padre Moisés da Silva, Cascais. Tue-Thu 12.00-15.30, 19.00-22.30; Fri 12.00-15.30, 19.00-23.00; Sat 12.00-16.00, 19.00-23.00; Sun 12.00-16.00, 19.00-22.30. 963 426 590