Hyderabad gets a taste of Portugal at the newly-opened Barcelos

 In the mood for some fiery Portuguese Chicken? Head to Barcelos, which also has refreshing sangrias on offer.
Hyderabad gets a taste of Portugal at the newly-opened Barcelos


Salt Cod or creamy Carlo Verdo, is what Portuguese cuisine is largely associated with, and while peri peri chicken is sidelined, the city of Barcelos celebrates roosters thanks to a legend associated with the bird. That’s how the newly-opened restaurant Barcelos at Forum Sujana Mall serves a variety of chicken dishes in thick peri peri sauces. Barcelos is a food chain founded in Pretoria, South Africa, way back in 1993 and has 150 outlets across several cities in the world, out of which five are in India alone. 

Europe in the décor
The ambience is of European street cafés. Tall dark cast iron Victorian lamp posts standing near the seating area give a vintage look as do flower baskets hanging from the wooden awnings over an array of tables and chairs kept near the walls. The soft yellow gleam from the lamp highlights the paintings adorning the wall. Though most of them appear to be watercolours, they are actually screen prints. Quite interestingly, a few artworks are of African tribals. And when you take a look at the slate-blue upholstery, you see Zulu prints. The effect of Portuguese imperialism in the Dark Continent is evident, of course. The floor has been deliberately kept rugged to maintain the street look. As you relish your peri peri chicken and look up, you find shuttered windows carved just below the ceiling cornice minus those flower boxes found in Spanish or French towns.

Peri interesting
On the table, you notice four medium sized sauce bottles containing peri peri sauces made in-house in South Africa and brought to the outlets. They come in fiery, mild, tangy and regular peri peri flavours. You can get your dish customised with the same.“It’s because the Portuguese had colonial interests in Africa and that’s where they also discovered the piri piri and introduced it as part of their cuisine before bringing it to coastlines of Goa,” says Rohit Malhotra, the Business Head of Barcelos India. The word piri piri has roots in Swahili meaning ‘pepper’. The term later evolved and is now known as peri peri which is also called pili pili.

Fiery Peri Peri Chicken
Fiery Peri Peri Chicken

Fire and ice
We tried their signature dish Flame Grilled Peri Peri Chicken with potato Wedges and French Fries. It was juicy till the very bone, nicely cooked with peri peri sauces. The juices had steeped comfortably inside the skin of the meat. The pieces were succulent, the taste delightful. Espetada, the juicy chicken chunks, hanging from a skewer came with mashed potatoes, grilled onions and bell peppers. The smoky flavour stayed even as we tried the Afro Portuguese Stir Fry Rice mixed with cabbage. The yellow grains were cooked in special sauces that lent it an exotic mildly spiced flavour. The portions served are generous for one person. Also worth trying are their Gourmet Burgers in red, pink and black colours attained through secret edible ingredients. Other than the lip-smacking dishes, they have a long list of mocktails and beverages. There is also a glorious collection of sangrias like Peach Sangria, Traditional Portuguese Sangria, Melon Sangria, Tropical Sangria, Peach and Elderflower Sangria.

From 12 pm onwards. Price for two: Rs.1,400++.
Details: 30676373

Pics: Sathya Keerthi

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