We love bread. And these are the best bakeries in Cascais

Pedro Pereira always had a passion for baking bread, but it was something he did sporadically on a farm alongside his main career in music. When the pandemic shut down all stages, he had to turn to his second love and build his own business. That’s how Peter Pão was born, located near the Estoril-Praia stadium. Compared to other bakeries, it's a relatively small operation, producing between 100 and 200 loaves a day.

They offer nine different varieties, with more wholegrain options than most competitors, and use primarily organic flours, some of which are artisanal, sourced from a windmill in the Serra de Montejunto. They supply cafés, restaurants, and grocers, with several outlets beyond their shop in Alcabideche. Their Pão do Moinho (€2.80) is the bestseller, but the paleo bread (€3.80) and spelt and rye bread (€3.80) are also popular choices. In addition to bread, they are known for their croissants and biscuits.

In 2022, Gleba made its debut in Cascais—and did so in style. For the first time, the famous artisanal bakery opened a space where you can eat and drink, complete with a terrace. In partnership with Milkees Café, Gleba in Cascais offers both the option to grab a loaf of bread or panettone, or to stay for brunch. There’s no set menu; everything is ordered à la carte. You can go for a croissant (€1.80) or a pain au chocolat (€3), or indulge in one of their delicious sandwiches: fried egg on a chorizo roll (€4.50), tuna salad (€7.50), pulled pork (€7.60), or turkey terrine (€7.60). They also serve toasties, empanadas, and salads. And of course, thanks to the Milkees partnership, their famous cookies (€2.70) are available too.

Using high-quality flours and slow fermentation, Padaria do Miguel opened in 2021 in the heart of Parede. It didn’t take long to become a go-to spot in Cascais, serving locals as well as supplying hotels and restaurants. Nutritious and light, the bread here is made using organic flours from Paulino Horta, with an average of 150 to 200 loaves baked daily from three sourdough starters.

They sell traditional wheat bread (€2.40), seed bread (€3.25), barbela bread (€4.95), and spelt bread (€5.10). You’ll also find brioches (€1.25), bread with São Jorge Island cheese (€6.60), black pork chorizo bread (€6.60), cinnamon rolls (€2.10), and croissants-plain (€1.85) or chocolate (€2). Always experimenting, they offer new creations like olive bread, fig and walnut bread, and meat-stuffed rolls.

In Adroana, just minutes from CascaiShopping, you'll find one of the most renowned bakeries in the Lisbon area. Forno da Tapada has been operating in an old warehouse since 1999. Today, it's a bustling operation with dozens of employees and thousands of customers. Every day, they bake close to 30,000 loaves using slow fermentation and a sourdough starter that's reused, with the bread baked in wood-fired ovens following traditional recipes. From the famous Sandocas at Casa da Guia to Estoril-Praia, Rui dos Pregos restaurants, and even the iconic custard-filled doughnuts sold on Linha beaches, it’s all made here, under the supervision of Paulo Almeida and his trusted team.

Initially, they only supplied corporate clients, but their "dream" of selling directly to the public came true six years ago when they opened a café at the bakery. They now produce cakes, pastries, and savouries, and have become one of the most popular patisseries in the region. At Christmas and Easter, legend has it that queues stretch for hundreds of metres as people come to collect seasonal specialities.

On a quiet street in the heart of Cascais, Pão na Hora has been supplying the town with quality bread since 2007. The business had existed for five years before, but in a different location. They produce around 2,000 items daily, supplying restaurants and hotels in the area. Using sourdough starter and opting for slow fermentation, their truly wholegrain bread and nearly pure rye bread are two specialities, although they offer much more than just bread. From croissants to scones, cinnamon and ginger biscuits to pastéis de nata, palmiers to chicken pies, cornbread to cheese bread and Argentinian alfajores, everything they serve is of noticeable quality. They also create custom special editions for their partners, such as chocolate or beetroot bread. A traditional bakery and pastry shop with no modern design or fancy terminology, but with expertise in all the right places.

It all began in Petrópolis, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, where Fernanda Novais and Júlio Vaz ran a small grocery store selling artisanal products. It was there that they also sold the slow-fermented bread they made, using flours imported from Italy. When they settled in Cascais in 2017, they had the idea of opening a bakery to recreate those flavours. Using Paulino Horta flours, they started supplying cafés and grocery stores in Cascais and even in Lisbon. They have since begun selling their sourdough bread directly to the public, featuring basket fermentations lasting up to 24 hours and miller’s flours.

Unlike others, Lêveda doesn’t have a physical space. It’s an artisan bakery located in the scenic Sintra region, but its breads and croissants are sold by order and in person every Saturday at the Mercado da Vila. With natural, slow fermentation, the breads are crafted using organic flours that are stone-ground. Additionally, they produce a range of vegan pastry specialties, including pesto rolls, focaccias, chocolate-covered madeleines, and oatmeal cookies with sultanas and ginger.