At How - Intelligent Food, the mission is simple: no-frills, healthy and delicious food. The restaurant in Estoril isn't new, but it has been completely renovated and can now seat up to 80 people. It reopened on 7 September after being closed for eleven months for renovations. What's more, the owners are now running one of the oldest kiosks in Cascais (if not the oldest), which had been closed for several years and has finally reopened at the intersection of Avenida das Acácias and Escadinhas de Santa Cruz, in its usual emblematic colours: blue and yellow.
It was misfortune that prompted the transformation of How. In October 2022, the restaurant suffered a serious flood that required extensive work. It was then that Carlota Amaral and Tomás Sotero, the couple in charge, decided to remodel the lower floor – which was not accessible to the public – in order to increase the restaurant's usable area. Today you can dine on the terrace, on the ground floor or downstairs, where there is a large table for groups overlooking the open kitchen. It was Carlota who designed the interior, and they took advantage of the reopening to update the menu. “We have created the restaurant of our dreams,” Tomás tells Time Out.
Here you can eat bowls, bagels, burgers, toasties, croissants and pancakes. There are plenty of vegetarian options, but there's no shortage of meat and fish dishes either. One of the most popular is the Pulled Pork Burger (€14), a brioche bun with shredded pork, tomato, white and red cabbage and a yoghurt sauce.
If you prefer a one-pot meal, ideal for sharing on winter days, try the Red Shakshuka (€13), eggs cooked in tomato sauce with bacon, chickpeas, feta cheese, chives and red peppers. And for something really surprising, try the Yellow pancakes (€10), which combine sweet and savoury with smoked salmon, spinach, poached egg and hollandaise sauce.
Desserts are also on offer, such as the Choco Loco (€4), a chocolate cake topped with red berries and shavings of white chocolate; and everything tastes better with the house natural juices and cocktails.
Open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (the kitchen closes at 4:30 p.m.), there are lighter and more hearty options, dishes ranging from breakfast to snacks, brunch, lunch or a simple snack. “We see health as a broad concept. At How, we're very much looking for balance, which is everything for us. I'm passionate about vegetarian cuisine, but I also love meat,” explains Tomás. "Just like I love going out for a drink with friends and then going for a run at the end of the day. It's all good in its own way.”
Tomás Sotero and Carlota Amaral met while working on another project. She, from Cascais, was running the kiosk at Ribeira das Naus in Lisbon; he, from Madeira, was in charge of the kiosk at the Time Out market in Jardim D. Luís I, which belongs to the same owners. Together, they decided to start their own business, which started with a food truck - the name How was an acronym for “Health On Wheels”.
They eventually parked the van and opened the restaurant in Estoril in September 2020. Initially, the clientele was more tied to workers from local companies, but today they are already attracting people who stay there during the day, some to work in a pleasant space while having a bite to eat. “This is an area that still has little to offer, not least because there are so many places like this in the centre of Cascais. We want to change that - and all the signs suggest that this area will develop,” continues Tomás.
The couple's latest venture, a kiosk just a few minutes' walk from the restaurant in Monte Estoril, will also contribute to this. It all started by chance. Tomás and Carlota were walking down the street when they noticed that someone was renovating the little place: eight years after it closed, the owner wanted to rent it out. Having grown up there, Carlota had an almost “sentimental” attachment to the little yellow and blue house that opened in the 1940s to sell newspapers, coffee and a few alcoholic drinks.
Since July, the How kiosk has been selling other things: hot dogs, açaí bowls, juices and coffee to go. Try the How Bagel (€8) with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, cucumber and rocket, served with nachos and spicy mayonnaise, or the Pitaya Bowl (€8) with granola, strawberries, bananas, peanut butter, honey, goji berries, coconut chips, chia seeds and chocolate chips.
Rua do Viveiro, 203, Estoril. Wed-Mon 10am-7pm