When Evgeniy Zhukov first visited Cascais eight years ago on a short holiday, it was love at first sight. Little did the 35-year-old Russian know that he would open a restaurant there in July 2025. It’s called ULU and is dedicated to brunch, served from morning until late afternoon.
ULU pays homage to Uluwatu – a village in Bali, Indonesia – where Evgeniy moved with his family after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. He had been living in Saint Petersburg, first working in real estate and then managing a number of café chain franchises. “When I started working with coffee, I decided to leave the suit-and-tie job behind. Specialty coffee became my passion,” he tells Time Out Cascais.
“I’d already dreamed of opening something special in Saint Petersburg, maybe with music, good wine, but definitely with specialty coffee. But the concept and the name come with the space, with each place, with the context,” he explains. When the war began, he left the country and spent almost a year surfing in Bali. “There, you don’t make plans, you just live for today – but you can’t live for today forever. My daughter needed to go to school, we needed to do something, so we left and decided to follow the dream of moving to Cascais. It had been on my mind since my very first visit here.”
It was in September 2023 that he settled in with his family. Since then, he had been searching for a space where he could open the business he had envisioned – one that would always adapt to its location. “When I discovered this empty spot, I fell in love and realised there was an opportunity here,” he says of Quinta da Bicuda. “But it had to be something good enough to attract people; it’s not on a main street or in the centre.”
With the help of Cascais-based architecture firm Marqa, Evgeniy Zhukov completely renovated the space opposite a football pitch and next to a dance school, built a kitchen on the upper floor, and began assembling a cosmopolitan team of Portuguese, Brazilian, Russian, Ukrainian and Nepalese staff. “It was very important for me to have employees who spoke Portuguese. This is primarily a place for locals [even though many are foreigners], we don’t get that many tourists, and we wanted visitors to be able to speak their own language.”
With a spacious terrace and an indoor dining room seating between 55 and 70 people (depending on the layout), ULU positions itself as an international restaurant that draws on a wide range of influences – both in its décor and its menu – while maintaining a sense of cohesion and identity.
“Our menu is a blend of different brunch cultures from around the world,” they explain. “We always add our own twists – we don’t want to be a place for traditional dishes or recipes, this is an international spot. But we work as much as possible with local producers: we have craft beer from the region, kombucha from Estoril, and we only serve Portuguese wine.”
When it comes to coffee, Zhukov sources beans from countries ranging from El Salvador to Kenya and roasts them in Parede. They serve filtered coffee (€3.50), cold brew (€3.50), pour-over (€5), lattes (€4), and more inventive drinks like the espresso sour (€5.50), the bumble – a double espresso with orange juice (€5), latte with cheese foam and caramel (€5), espresso tonic (€5), or a salted caramel or vanilla RAF (€5), a recipe popular in Russia. There’s also a barista set (€7), which includes an espresso, a filtered coffee, and a cappuccino. Naturally, they also offer teas, matcha drinks, hot chocolate (€4.50), and an oat protein shake (€6).
Food-wise, highlights include the hash brown with cream cheese, boiled egg and salmon (€11.50); eggs Benedict with salmon and avocado (€13.50); the house shakshuka (€12, or €15 with chorizo); mushroom and caramelised onion omelette (€11.50); scrambled eggs with truffle (€11); an oatmeal bowl with banana cream and pecans (€8.50); French toast (€10); a plate of pancakes (€10); and ricotta balls with jam (€11.50), their own take on the traditional Eastern European syrniki.
From midday onwards, a range of heartier dishes is available, including chicken with mashed potatoes and mushrooms (€14.50), risotto with nori seaweed and salmon (€14.50), gilthead bream with vegetables (€14), pita sandwiches with chicken (€12) or salmon (€12.50), prawn salad (€14), and various bowls.
Guests can also order a variety of toasts, sandwiches, and small bites, with the option to create a customised dish using the ingredients on hand. As Zhukov explains, the idea is to rotate the menu, introducing new dishes each season.
ULU also sells its coffee for home brewing, alongside a selection of accessories and even branded T-shirts. Evgeniy explains that the goal is to “truly build a community” – which is also why they host free Sunday morning yoga sessions on the football pitch right across the road.
“We’re not one of those places where you have to keep moving. People can spend hours here, we take reservations, we’re pet-friendly, and many have celebrated birthdays and private events with us… We came here to stay.”
Quinta da Bicuda, Rua da Bicuda, Cascais. Mon-Sun 08.30-18.00. 926 013 842