Mar do Inferno

Mar do Inferno has been on the same corner of the Boca do Inferno cliff since 1978, and the Alexandre family still run it. The name — 'Sea of Hell' — refers to the chasm 200 metres away where the Atlantic explodes through a collapsed sea cave, a sound you can hear from the terrace on rough days. The restaurant has outlived three Portuguese economic cycles and survived as the most serious classic-seafood kitchen in Cascais.

The menu has not been reinvented. The canonical orders are sea bass baked in salt crust for two (€65 per person), grilled percebes when the season allows (€95 per 100g, market price), arroz de marisco that takes 35 minutes and serves a table, and grilled octopus with smashed potatoes and olive oil. Whole fish come out from the market display at the entrance; you pick yours, it gets weighed, you pay by the kilo. The bacalhau com natas is the dish locals order for weddings.

The wine list leans Portuguese and sensible — Quinta dos Carvalhais, Vinha Maior, a short but good port list. The house white (Casa Ermelinda Freitas Fernão Pires) is €18 a bottle and drinks better than most €40 Portuguese whites. The dining room seats 90 inside; the cliff terrace seats another 40 and is the only reason to book more than a few days ahead.

This is not a Michelin restaurant and does not try to be. It is the Cascais birthday dinner — the table where generations of Lisbon families have celebrated engagements, anniversaries, and christenings since the year Portugal joined the EEC.

Perfect for birthdays and family milestones: the terrace accommodates groups of 6–12 without the kitchen missing a beat, the menu has something for every palate from your grandmother to your teenage cousin, and the fish-selection ritual at the entrance is an occasion in itself. Book the terrace for sunset, order the sea bass for the table, and get the 2018 Esporão Reserva with it.