Epping, Portuguese Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Great atmosphere and something quite different!” – this “warm and welcoming” Buckhurst Hill operation mixes Goan and Portuguese influences. It’s a partnership between Cyris & Pervin Todiwala and the Redman-Schaffer family from Woodford, delivering “great little dishes” (‘petiscos’) and “fantastic Portuguese wines from independent estates”.

“I call it posh Nando’s… but I feel like that does it an injustice as it’s so much better than Nando’s!” – MJMK’s “jolly” piri piri chain can make “a very pleasant surprise”. The “atmosphere is very bright and fun” and they serve “great flavour-packed food at very reasonable prices” (“mostly tasty grilled meats” and “decent sharing plates” with some good veggie options too). The SE1 original is “big and buzzy” with an excellent plant-filled upstairs. The Victoria branch “suffers for being in the soulless glass and steel of Cardinal Place”, and is “best at lunchtime in the glass-roofed room upstairs”.