My love for chicken inspired me to review the recently launched Barcelos. The famous South African chain known for its peri peri sauces and flame grilled chicken made its debut in India with an outlet at Khan Market last month. India is the 18th country where Barcelos has opened its outlet. It is the second restaurant to enter the Delhi market offering peri peri chicken-based dishes. With simple interiors I found the place a bit low on energy. The menu had variants of chicken served with desired peri peri sauces with additions made according to the local setting. I tried their wings, drumsticks and even the whole grilled chicken and found similar flavours in every dish. It was
disappointing to find everything taste just the same. I loved their flame-grilled chicken as it was juicy to its core. The chicken pieces were robust and cooked to perfection. I even enjoyed their salads which were refreshing and ideal for the approaching summers. The portion size of the salad was sufficient even for a person with a huge frame like me. The sprout salad needs a special mention as it boasts a nice mix of flavours and is one of the best options for health freaks visiting Barcelos. But their star dish is espetada — which are basically large chunks of chicken served on a hanging skewer. The presentation was good and so was the delicacy.
The chef served me a fish variant as well which was made out of a basa and was slightly overcooked making it a tad dry. Some of us might liken Espetada to chicken tikka but it is not. Espetada is a traditional Portuguese preparation. Surprisingly I liked their burger which had a lovely tender chicken fillet with loads of cheese on top. I would suggest to you to have at least very peri if not supa peri, as the sauce for the burger filling.
Meal for two – Rs. 1200
