Pigalle: Rua Amarela has gained a French bistro serving smash burgers

A French bistro has opened on Rua Amarela in Cascais, paying homage to the famous Pigalle district – the Parisian neighbourhood home to the Moulin Rouge, famed for its bohemian nightlife, cabarets and touch of eroticism.

The project comes from Frenchman Tom de Maistre, who grew up in Pigalle and previously ran an Italian restaurant in Paris alongside his best friend Fabrizio Sagliano. The duo moved to Portugal in the past couple of years with the aim of launching a venture here, encouraged by Tom’s uncle, Patrice de Maistre, a real estate investor who has been living in the country for some years – and who played a key role in providing the initial investment needed to get the restaurant off the ground.

“Towards the end of our Italian restaurant, we also did smash burgers”, Tom tells Time Out Cascais. “But the market was very saturated, and we thought we’d have more chances in Portugal. I had visited Lisbon and Cascais several times before, but I fell in love with the country when my uncle told me to come here. We were looking for a fresh start, so we began searching for spaces in Lisbon, but then we discovered this one in Cascais”.

The former Moroccan restaurant that occupied the space was completely transformed into Pigalle, which features a finishing kitchen upstairs and a food lab in the basement. With 40 seated places, split between the terrace and the indoor area, the idea is for it to be a relaxed restaurant for any time of the day.

“We want it to be a French bistro, something we felt was missing here, a place where you can have a cocktail and chat with the person at the bar, then order something to nibble on, and then a friend joins you and you end up staying for hours”.

The menu, created by a French chef, focuses on homemade ingredients and combines “slightly more sophisticated” options typically found in this kind of venue in France with smash burgers. “We tested dozens of breads and burgers to find the right suppliers”.

Start with a trio gagnant, which includes babaganoush, roasted pepper tapenade, and hummus (€11); a charcuterie board (€9); a cheese board in collaboration with Maître Renard (€10); eggs with truffled mayonnaise and caviar (€7); burrata (€12); fried chicken with spicy honey and pickles (€9); or fish rillettes with orange and potato bread (€10).

In the burger section, always served on potato bread, there’s the classic (€10) with cheddar cheese, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mustard; the French smash burger (€13) with creamy blue cheese, caramelised onion, and salad; the fried chicken burger (€12) with cheddar cheese, pickles, onion, mayonnaise, and salad; or the vegetarian option (€12) with fried aubergine, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pepper sauce, and salad. You can also order an egg smash (€11), with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, onion, and salad.

Pigalle also serves a Caesar salad (€15); tuna tataki with babaganoush and pepper sauce (€18); a folded omelette, described as soft and creamy (€10); and a croque madame, potato bread served with poultry ham, egg, and cheese sauce (€14).