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A Great Lunch at Casa do Frango London Bridge

March 19, 2019 by cheriecity

Since opening last summer, Portuguese restaurant Casa do Frango has quickly gained a reputation as a real good time place and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular.

Perched next to the railways arches near Borough Market, Casa do Frango (translated as ‘chicken house’) is one of London’s prettiest restaurants with a menu inspired by the coastal cuisine of southern Portugal. Its three owners created it out of a shared love of Algarvian cuisine and have worked with a pitmaster to ensure the signature piri piri frango – slow-cooked over wood charcoal – is truly authentic.

Before even mentioning the food, Casa do Frango is a beauty of a restaurant with loft-style exposed brick, high arched windows, a large skylight that brightens up the room and lots of verdant plants. When we visited on a Saturday lunchtime, it had a joyful, lively atmosphere and an intoxicating aroma of garlic, smoke and wine – a welcome preview of what’s to come.

There are mostly communal tables with rustic wooden benches for large groups, however we were shown to a nice table for two. The restaurant was calm when we arrived but it filled up quickly and I can’t stress enough the importance of booking a table.

After our drinks arrived, the dishes followed astonishingly quickly. Usually this wouldn’t fill me with much confidence, but it seemed that the kitchen was simply running smoothly before the peak rush and everything could be plated up easily.

Piri Piri garlic prawns with white wine and parsley certainly looked the part and came in a generous portion of four. They were ever so fresh and plump, served in a gorgeous rich seafood jus, which was worthy of mopping up with bread.

Grilled chorizo with black olive mayo and guindilla peppers was meaty and intense with a slightly bitter flavour. It went well with the aromatic black olive mayo and tangy peppers and I liked the liberal garnish of fresh tarragon.

We shared the house signature of Half free-range chicken brushed with piri piri, however you can also choose milder marinades like oregano or lemon and garlic. The high quality chicken was tender, smoky and well-seasoned with punchy piri piri that had just the right amount of heat.

Our reason for sharing was to try a greater range of dishes, but the chicken is definitely the main event and a little on the small side, so I recommend one each if you’re hungry.

Green rice with peas, plantain, pickled peppers and crispy artichoke was a colourful, moreish side dish. The perfectly-cooked rice was garlicky and a little creamy, studded with lovely golden, deep-fried artichokes. It’s an ideal accompaniment if you want something more interesting than fries.

Lunch at Casa do Frango was a real delight, but my only criticism would be the hyper-attentive service. The staff were friendly, but came to take away our dishes too frequently, leaving us feel a little rushed.

Casa do Frango really impresses with its stylish surroundings, modest prices and beautifully-presented dishes with full-on flavour. It’s a tough time for restaurants in London, but this one has the winning formula that will see us all coming back again for more.

For more information and booking, visit: www.casadofrango.co.uk

All photos by Chérie City

London, Restaurants

Dinner at Notting Hill Kitchen

July 17, 2014 by cheriecity

Notting Hill Kitchen is the kind of restaurant that perfectly captures the magic of the west London neighbourhood and it would be hard not to be charmed by it.

Set across three gorgeous white Edwardian townhouses on leafy Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill Kitchen is understated and quaint with a Portuguese tile sign that gives a clue about the origin of its cuisine (the name of restaurant gives nothing away).

Opened at the end of last year, Notting Hill Kitchen is all about authentic Iberian cooking, offering tapas at the bar or more inventive dishes in the more formal restaurant.

Chef Luis Baena takes inspiration from the Iberian Peninsula and cleverly uses seasonal Spanish and Portuguese artisanal produce to create exciting, modern dishes.

We visited early on a weekday for dinner and I was quickly reminded of how much I like the energy and vibe of Notting Hill – I really must try and make the journey across town more often.

We were warmly welcomed and were seated at a lovely table close to the window (there are at least four separate dining areas). While we perused the menu, we were brought a bottle of chilled still water and two types of fantastic freshly-baked bread with high quality olive oil and sea salt flakes.

I started with a simple classic of Jamon Iberico Bellota D.O ‘Dehesa Extramadura’ Gran Reserva 2010 (£9.50 for 40g). The medium-thick sliced ham was juicy and silky and had a good balance of lean and fat, with rich, fruity flavours.

There’s no such thing as too much Iberian ham, so we shared Three Jamon Croquetas (£4) from the bar tapas menu, which is also available in the restaurant. The three bite-size balls packed a punch with gooey, flavoursome cheese and flaky ham encased in crispy, golden breadcrumbs. It’s worth ordering some to enjoy all to yourself – they really are that good.

After going to something uncomplicated, I was a little envious of Steven’s Diver Caught Scallops with ajo blanco pannacotta, sliver of pork terrine, tomato & crispy onion and ‘vilao’ dressing (£12). The plump, fresh scallops were nicely seared and the accompaniments had subtle garlic flavours and interesting smooth and crunchy textures.

They were beautifully-presented and it was nice to get a generous amount of scallops, particularly as one graciously made its way over to my plate (a perk of dining with an obliging boyfriend).

For the main course, I’m not sure why, but I uncharacteristically ordered lamb. It’s not usually high on my list of preferred meats, but I just couldn’t resist the Seared Welsh Lamb Loin – mini lamb burger, chickpeas and pumpkin seed butter (£20).

The large piece of lamb was tender and succulent while the mini lamb burger was substantial with a very meaty yet well-seasoned flavour. The meat was accompanied by stewed chick peas (possibly a few too many on the plate), a spiced cumin-infused pumpkin seed butter, natural vegetable crackers, a rich meat jus and a little chili jam to garnish.

I loved the vibrant colours and strong flavours in the dish and the portion size was very generous. It didn’t really require a side dish, but we had already ordered Patatas Bravas to share. They were thick wedges of skin-on potato drizzled with tasty aioli and finished with smoked paprika.

Steven tried the Pork Neck with potato ‘risotto’, roasted garlic pudding and lupine ‘cous cous’ (£18). The large serving of pork was tender, lean and cooked medium. The potato risotto was thick, garlicky and quite satisfying but the beans were bland and unseasoned.

The dish was tasty enough because of the quality of the pork, but lacked defining flavours and unfortunately arrived rather lukewarm.

Before dessert, we were brought a surprise round of Port served in little shot glasses. The Tawny Port was deliciously sweet with depth of flavour and is definitely worth trying. Perhaps it was to be drunk with dessert, as we were brought another two to accompany our sweets.

For dessert, I tried to evoke memories of our visit to Lisbon’s famous Pasteis de Belem and ordered the Pastel de Nata with cinnamon ice cream (£9). The delicious custard tart was different to any other that I’ve tasted, served hot and in a rectangular shape, almost like a millefeuille.

The home-made cinnamon ice cream worked well, as custard tarts are usually dusted with cinnamon and I liked that the crunchy biscuit crumble added texture.

Steven went for the Lemon Cheesecake with chocolate and raspberry (£8). The cool, creamy cheesecake had a sweet crushed biscuit base and was served with a moreish dark chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream, caramel popcorn and a small amount of raspberry purée.

Notting Hill Kitchen is a great local restaurant with masterful cooking, high quality ingredients and fine attention to detail. The staff are warm, friendly and efficient, however the pace of the service could have slowed down a little, so we could really savour our meal.

Dishes are well-priced considering the upmarket location, experienced cooking and substantial portion sizes. It’s an ideal place for a date, family dinner or a night out with friends – an all-round smart restaurant with character and interesting food.

Chérie City was invited by Notting Hill Kitchen

Photos by Chérie City (interior by Notting Hill Kitchen)

London, Restaurants

A Grelha at The Gun, Docklands

August 28, 2011 by cheriecity

The best things about the summer have to be barbecues and outdoor drinks, but what to do if you have no garden or roof terrace? The Aussies in London Fields are always well-prepared with their pimped up monster grills that could flame a burger in at twenty paces, but if you haven’t invested in serious barbecue apparatus, you might like to cheat and visit Portuguese outdoor grill restaurant A Grelha at The Gun.

A Grelha (the Portuguese word for ‘grill’) is entirely al fresco and features meat and whole fresh fish grilled on the charcoal BBQ and traditional Algarvian dishes such as seafood Cataplana. It boasts a wonderful view along the Thames where you can watch canoeists and rowing teams on their gruelling journeys while chomping down grilled meat.

With the posh wooden seats and white picket fence, it felt like we could have been in the Hamptons, however the excellent views of the o2 arena placed us firmly back in London. Even if the sun isn’t out, A Grelha still brings the summer vibes with a cool soundtrack of kitsch Portuguese songs and jazzy lounge music.

We visited A Grelha in between two days of torrential rain, so the weather was temperate but not of the calibre where an evening of sitting outside would seem like a good idea. However, after a summer of erratic elements, the staff at A Grelha were well-prepared and wheeled over an outdoor heater and offered us lovely bright fleecy blankets to keep us toasty.

We were instantly offered a carafe of tap water and a basket of crusty sliced farmhouse bread lightly toasted on the barbecue grill. We ordered cocktails that were named after cities in Portugal. Steven tried the Porto (£7.50) – a long cocktail made with cherries, ruby port and white rum served with crushed ice and fresh mint. I went for the Lisbon (£7.50) – a short cocktail made with brandy, apple, ginger beer, pineapple juice, lemon and tarragon.

I was looking forward to trying tarragon in a cocktail, but the Lisbon was just a bit weak on the alcohol and tasted mostly of ginger beer and apple – it was pretty small too, as there was a lot of ice in the glass. Steven’s Porto cocktail was much better, as it had a strong rum flavour and delicious slithers of cherry mixed in.

The starters are perfect for sharing, as many come in two pieces, so we both tried the Chorizo flaming in Medronho (£7.50) and Portuguese Salt Cod Croquettes with Aioli (£6.50). Both the chorizo and the croquettes were nice and chunky and came piping hot on silver serving plates.

The croquettes were densely packed with smooth mashed potato mixed in with flaky salt cod and the breadcrumb coating was ultra-fine and crispy. The juicy, high quality chorizo was packed with flavour and tasted even better with a bit of barbecue smokiness.

For the main course, I ordered Chicken Piri Piri served with chips (£15) and Steven tried the Lamb Espetada (£16). The half chicken arrived readily-cut into four pieces and had a golden, crispy skin coated in spices and herbs. The piri-piri spice was very tame, with no kick to it, but the flavours complimented the chicken, which was tender and cooked to perfection.

The Lamb Espetada was beautifully presented on a skewer with colourful peppers and grilled lemon. It was cooked medium and was juicy, succulent and full of flavour.

The chicken came with a huge silver bowl of slim, crispy fries (enough for at least two people) and the lamb was served with a giant tomato, onion and oregano mixed leaf salad and new potatoes dressed in delicious olive oil, garlic and oregano.

For dessert, they’d run out of my favourite Pastel de Nata (£2.50), so the clear choice was Chocolate Mousse (£4.50), as the other three options including a cheeseboard and ice cream didn’t really excite.

I’m never usually interested in chocolate mousse but this one was superb. The mousse was made of high quality chocolate and had a dense, velvety and almost set consistency. It was garnished with half a strawberry, but would have gone perfectly with some Biscotti Portoghesi for dipping.

I finished with a pot of Fresh Peppermint Tea, which was simple and delightful, although I had to drink up quick, due to the plummeting temperature.

A Grelha at The Gun is perfect place to spend a long summer evening and even though Docklands may be a trek for those anywhere but east London, the views and copious amounts of delicious food will be enough to lure you towards the Thames.

A Grelha is closing for the season on Monday 29th August, so if you’re stuck for last-minute bank holiday weekend plans, get in there quick (although call them to double check). A Grelha will be open again from early Summer 2012, but in the meantime, try one of the famous Sunday Roasts at The Gun and report back!

Chérie City was a guest of A Grelha at The Gun

All photos by Chérie City.