Vegan
European
Gluten-free
Portuguese

Portuguese cafe which became fully vegan in 2020. Serves casseroles, savoury tarts and sweet potato brownies. Focuses on healthy, local and sustainability. Gluten- and refined sugar-free options. Open Tue-Sat 10:00-16:00. Closed Sun.


Venue map for Mela Canela
© OpenStreetMap contributors

69 Reviews

First Review by Damodon

karla_q

Points +26

Vegan
11 Jun 2025

Was good for only vegan option in Town

The staff is very lovely and accommodating. I had the special of the day which was a “Vietnamese inspired noodle dish with tofu meatballs”- I found the meatballs to be too salty and could not finish it- it was that salty. The noodles were nice though. I also ordered the mela canela. The apples were good but the pastry dough it came with tasted so weird like a wet towel almost. Overall, pretty okay for a place that is the only vegan option in town. If I’m ever in Sintra again, I would go here, I just probably had the weird options.

WholeFoodLovers

Points +1544

Vegetarian
28 Mar 2025

Lovely food and people

Popped in for late lunch and we enjoyed every bite. Nice to have so many vegan options in a tourist location. Enjoyed so much we came back the next day for lunch and later some take away empanadas/croquettes. Liked it so much we ate there 4 days in a row!

Updated from previous review on 2025-03-26

Pros: Great flavors, Great people, Great vibe

Dhvani9

Points +179

Vegan
26 Oct 2024

Nice

Was quite busy when I went so service was a bit slow but staff were nice. I ordered a house salad which had quinoa, grilled veg (no mushrooms), carrots, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and some fresh fruit like persimmons, kiwi and apples. Was nicely dressed as well and very filling. Caffe mocha was very nice too!

MirellaMarani

Points +114

Vegan
24 Oct 2024

Amazing food

Everything there tastes so good, every time I go to Sintra it’s a must to stop by

Fiona.nana

Points +13

Vegetarian
11 Sep 2024

Lunch

Endroit très accueillant, personnels à l’écoute et sympa, plats vraiment bon

Pros: Les personnes , La nourriture , Le lieux

HP131

Points +383

Vegan
23 Aug 2024

Buena comida

Buena opción vegana si visitas Sintra. Tenían plato del día sopa de legumbres y shawarma con arroz, las dos opciones muy buenas de sabor. Probamos también el falafel, súper bueno. Tiene opciones geniales para desayuno y también zumos variados.

Pros: Buenísimos sabores , Rapidez del servicio

SimonT.

Points +81

Vegan
30 Jul 2024

Lovely choice !

The place to go If you wanna eat plant based !

Pros: Delicious , Fair priced , Charming staff

BearClaw97

Points +644

Vegan
27 Jul 2024

A lovely find!

Menu is environmentally conscious as it changes according to the seasons and sources ingredients from local producers as much as possible. What a great find for a day trip to Sintra! It felt great being able to relax in this cozy corner.

Pros: Delicious food, Friendly staff, Cozy corner

JigglyJackfruit

Points +111

Vegan
17 Jul 2024

Unexpected find, yet delicious

After finishing a tour of the Peña National Palace, I stumbled upon this cute little place.

The Apple-turmeric-ginger juice was fresh and amazing refreshing.

The green bean soup was nice, light, a perfect introduction to the main course.

The Moussaka was unexpectedly great. It was nutritionally dense, filled with lentil and eggplant with a nice cashew topping. The salad accompanying it was refreshing.

Pros: Fresh ingredients, Friendly staff

Cons: None

LisCotts

Points +50

Vegan
08 Jul 2024

Lis

Great friendly service, we came at the end of the day so unfortunately the special and quiche had sold which we’d love to have taken away, but this is a good thing as it shows how fresh everything is and it’s not just cooked out packets and freezers. We had the burgers and took a selection of cakes and loved it. Wish we’d had more time to visit again.

happydillard

Points +767

Vegan
13 Jun 2024

Amazing

Ahhh the service is so nice here! The food is delicious, but the people just made our experience 10 times better. Would definitely recommend!

YanivTeitel

Points +16

Vegan
13 Jun 2024

Fun energy and good food

We really enjoyed the place. The host was wonderful. The food was good and great location

ChelaLandau

Points +2875

Vegan
23 Apr 2024

What can I say but yippee

Whenever a place has this many reviews I wonder if there's anything I can add, as other diners have said, this place is delicious.
Friendly service, fresh fresh food: I am very picky about my veggie burgers and it was just delicious, Chandler got the specials of the day which was chickpea soup and Katsu curry.
Oh my gosh that chickpea puree made me wonder how the heck did they make this , I love making soup at home but I have not made anything that tasted this good. Curry with rice, sublime.
FRESH is the name of the game here.
We ended our meal with a spinach cake. Yes spinach cake that was chocolate with chocolate frosting and was amazing . 🤩

Updated from previous review on 2024-04-23

JanneNyström

Points +30

Vegan
12 Apr 2024

Great for a snack

I ate the tofu toast with a local IPA. Great combination, good taste and very friendly service.

CharlieMills

Points +5699

Vegan
11 Apr 2024

Amazing tofu!

The scrambled tofu here was absolutely delicious - it didn't look super special but was lovely and Herby. The special Portuguese stew wasn't that great but I enjoyed the beans and chorizo. Really nice place and friendly staff.

Updated from previous review on 2024-04-11

SoyKal-El

Points +6329

Vegan
15 Mar 2024

Loved it

Mela Canela was incredible after a morning of 8 miles of stair climbing. Everything was delicious and the woman running it was very kind.

rebecia

Points +37

Vegan
30 Jan 2024

Amazing

The service was extraordinary. We had a brunch there with fresh juice. Definitely recommend!!!

ArnoDeBrabant

Points +96

Vegan
11 Nov 2023

Cozy stop, good food

Cozy little place with good food. Very welcoming & friendly lady. We had the dish of the day which was a breaded seitan filet with mashed potatoes and greens. It was quite delicious! The cakes were huge so couldn't resist ofc. Good texture and not overly sweet. Would give 4,5/5 but the app doesn't allow.

Pros: Dish of the day , Cozy, Friendly

VeganSurgeonEats

Points +49

Vegan
27 Oct 2023

Cosy, welcoming and nutritious.

Friendly reception for our group of 5 adults and 4 children. Gluten free options were good. The kids loved the pancakes.

ÍdeMhicGabhann

Points +106

Mostly Veg
18 Oct 2023

Perfect stop

Great place to eat before or after visiting the palace or both!

Pros: Reasonable price, Lots of variety, Delicious

TasviShah

Points +139

Vegan
15 Oct 2023

Delicious food and lovely restaurant

Delicious, healthy restaurant with nourishing food. Great service and lovely restaurant

We had the burger, soup and tacos! It was amazing

cconti

Points +15

Vegetarian
11 Oct 2023

Good food and nice people

We ate here twice and really loved everything. They also served us brunch the second time (Saturday) which was great especially in terms of the value for money since they serve 3 dishes 2 drinks. Will definitely recommend this place!

SharonFrazer

Points +529

Vegetarian
05 Oct 2023

Small vegan cafe

Fabulous all vegan menu with dish of the day, freshly cooked on the premises. Beautiful carrot and chocolate cake.

Pros: Good choice of food, Friendly chatty staff, Freshly cooked on the premises

Vege-Niki

Points +1669

Vegan
13 Sep 2023

Cosy place

Very friendly staff. Cosy place at a crossroads on the way to Sintra. Love that all is vegan!

Updated from previous review on 2023-09-13

Kushbr

Points +24

Vegan
05 Sep 2023

Friendly staff and amazing food

The place is small and cozy and the food was very good.

I had:
The hummus toast
The Pancakes
Regular Coffee

Pros: Friendly staff, Pancakes were grear, Toast was great

Gewooness

Points +25

Vegetarian
04 Sep 2023

Great place for lunch and breakfast

Would really recommend the dish of the day. Food is fresh and tasteful. Service is amazing, really nice people and atmosphere.

MargaridaMadeira

Points +1219

Vegan
29 Jul 2023

Good Food, honest price

The staff is nice and everything is homemade. We had the dish of the day (which was not wonderful but we believe it was this specific dish) and the burger (that was really tasty). The carrot cake is something 😍.




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