Casa do Frango

Regional Portuguese cuisine in London Bridge

Half chicken with lemon and garlic

Apart from a few vegan friends, I have yet to find someone who is not a fan of Nando's. The chicken chain is decent value for money and has done a great job in making piri piri chicken such an iconic dish in the UK. You might wonder, what would be the upgrade of Nando's infamous piri piri chicken, and I have found the answer in Casa do Frango, an Algarvian casual restaurant in London Bridge, serving regional Portuguese food. The menu is simple, you have the house special chicken cooked on an open fire, as well as a range of sharing dishes, tapas style. Portuguese cuisine is such a beautiful but underrated cuisine in the UK and I was excited to see what Casa do Frango is capable of.

Chargrilled cauliflower with piri piri and maple syrup

Pork belly with bean stew

African rice with chicken skin and chorizo

We opted for a few sharing dishes and a half chicken, each dish arrived with no particular order. The pork belly dish was crispy, well seasoned and full of warming taste thanks to the slowed cooked beans. The African rice was the star dish of the meal, it came with chorizo and plantain, the rice absorbed all of the wonderful spices aroma and taste from the chorizo, and the garnish of chicken skin on top created a whirlpool of umami explosion, it was dirty and filthy plate of food, but in a good way. The main event of grilled chicken was tender and moist, I enjoyed the smoky, lemon and garlic flavours on the chicken skin. However, the taste failed to penetrate beyond the chicken, and the meat was really bland.

Octopus rice with garlic and red pepper

pastel de nata with coffee ice cream

pastel de nata with vanilla ice cream

Overall, the food at Casa do Frango was enjoyable without a doubt, it was nothing sensational or groundbreaking, but it was offering something new and exciting to the London dining sector, which can be only good for the UK consumers. The chicken was not as good as I was hoping for, but it was still far superior to Nandos and the sharing dishes were fantastic. On my visit, it was very busy and lively, with a good mixture of tourists, as well as local workers and young professionals. Casa do Frango is a great venue for a friend catch up if you are seeking to try something new and exciting.



Food 2.5/5

What I paid: 
£37 pp with beer

Average cost without drinks and services:
£28


1st floor, 32 Southwark St, London SE1 1TU

https://www.casadofrango.co.uk/