Freshness all year round: the best places to eat salads in Cascais

It was one of Cascais’ biggest openings of 2024. Honest Greens and its fresh, delicious, and healthy food landed in the heart of town with the brand’s largest restaurant yet. Among the many dishes that fit perfectly in this guide, the garden bowls are the stars. There’s a Mediterranean salad, another where avocado takes centre stage, and one that celebrates the virtues of goat’s cheese – but the undisputed bestseller is the Latin Lover (€8.95): a brown rice salad with beans, kale, red cabbage, coriander, corn, onion, avocado, cucumber, chilli flakes, tajín, homemade pickled jalapeños, pico de gallo, roasted jalapeño, and plant-based sour cream.

You can add your choice of protein – from homemade falafel with tahini sauce to piri-piri chicken, chimichurri beef, or tuna tataki with ají amarillo – or top it off with your favourite sides.

Colourful, well-balanced dishes with fresh, healthy options for every occasion – that’s what Local – Your Healthy Kitchen does best. The restaurant updates its menu every season to reflect what’s in bloom, but one thing never changes: its commitment to salads. However much they evolve, they always stay true to the concept. This year’s standouts include the Hot Honey Halloumi (€14.50) and the Shrimp, Avocado & Orange Salad (€13.10) – just two highlights from a menu packed with light, wholesome dishes.

In the summer of 2025, Hífen gained a little brother – Vírgula – in Carcavelos, just a short stroll from the beach. Maintaining the same elegant aesthetic, this new spot focuses on lighter, healthier meals, often designed for sharing. Among the menu highlights are the so-called “non-salads” – essentially deconstructed salads where lettuce and greens take a back seat, allowing other ingredients to shine. The result is richer, more layered dishes, like the chicken non-salad (€11) with kale, Viso cheese, cashews, avocado, streaky pork bacon, chives, cashew vinaigrette and a sprinkle of Japanese furikake; or the burrata heart non-salad (€11) with nectarine, courgette, basil, flaxseed and parsley.

On the Paredão in Cascais, right by Praia da Duquesa, Jângal has taken root – a healthy café from the Capricciosa group that began life as an exclusive concept for Lisbon’s sleek ALLO offices, but has since evolved into a standalone spot open to everyone. The focus is on wholesome yet flavourful food made with quality ingredients – think of it as a sister brand to the group’s Sellva restaurants.

Among a menu that ranges from burritos to pinsas and pastries, you’ll find a rotating line-up of salads (€11). There are no fixed recipes: four options are available each week, changing with the season and the chef’s inspiration. In August, for instance, diners could choose between a wild rice and shrimp salad, a smoked salmon salad with boiled egg and avocado, a tropical version with shrimp and mango, or a panzanella-style salad with requeijão and prosciutto.

The Amazonian jungle vibes of Palaphita, beautifully tucked away inside Casa da Guia, make it one of the best spots in Cascais for a salad or any light, refreshing meal. The standout dishes? The Salada do Mar e da Terra (€18), a perfect land-and-sea mix with prawns, octopus, squid and lentils in a zesty citrus vinaigrette with an Amazonian spicy twist; and the Salada de Verão (€15), featuring slices of chèvre cheese, tomatoes, Alentejo grapes, garden greens, orange vinaigrette and the house-made caponata.