Founded two years ago and operating out of a production space in Alcântara, Lisbon, Crust has been supplying dozens of restaurants and cafés with their handmade breads and pastries. On July 10, they landed in Cascais with their very first shop open to the public – and it’s not just the same old favourites on offer.
You’ll find the new bakery and pastry shop in the Navegador building, on Avenida 25 de Abril. “Lisbon already has so many options... So we thought: why not Cascais?” says head baker Lucas “Fefo” Ferreira, speaking to Time Out. “We believed there was more room to grow here – and this first week has already been a success”, the Brazilian proudly adds.
With around 30 seats and a counter lined with breads of all shapes, sizes and colours – plus croissants, focaccias, brioches, bagels and pain au chocolat – Crust is far more than just a bakery. On the menu you’ll also find açaí bowls (€10), granola bowls (€8), avocado toast (€11.50), eggs Benedict (€12.50), and a summery green salad (€10).
You can also opt for the courgette pancakes topped with yoghurt sauce, smoked salmon and a poached egg (€12); the burrata toast with caramelised peach, sliced prosciutto, onion and homemade honey (€12); the croissant stuffed with cashew paste, burrata, prosciutto, rocket, roasted pepper, Parmesan and honey (€11.50); or the ciabatta toast with prawns, rocket, spinach, mango and grapefruit (€12.50).
Creativity knows no bounds here – one of the latest additions is a brûlée cube.
Also catching the eye are the Russian and Ukrainian specialities, like syrniki – little cheese pancakes served with berries and sweet sauces (€11); or the various traditional Eastern European breads, such as Borodinsky, a dark rye loaf, Vatrushki brioches, or the rich black bread with chocolate and raisins.
“We’ve adapted the original recipes in our own way”, says Lucas, referring to the team’s diverse background. “The owners are Ukrainian, and many of our colleagues are Ukrainian, Russian and Brazilian”. The group is also behind the Lisbon restaurants Manifest and Shakar. In fact, Crust was originally launched as a production kitchen supplying bread and pastries to those spots, before branching out as its own brand. The company also owns Roastberry, whose specialty coffee – in various origins and formats – is now being served at the new Crust in Cascais.
“The idea here is to have some fun, experiment with different products, and introduce variations without compromising the rest of our work”, explains Lucas.
“All of our breads are made with a long fermentation process – nothing is immediate – and we have a deep respect for the time it takes to make good bread. Our goal now is to keep those artisanal principles while scaling up production. We want to move into a larger facility so we can reach our full potential”, says the head baker, who currently oversees the daily production of around 150 loaves, in addition to all the other baked goods. “And eventually, we want to open more shops – but this is our first test run dealing with direct-to-customer sales”.
Avenida 25 de Abril, 1011, loja 67, Cascais. Thu-Fri 09.00-18.00