BARCELOS
A ‘Peri Peri’ village affair
Barcelos has been the talk of the town since its launch.
Few months back they gave us the coloured burgers. Ever since that,
Delhi has loved Barcelos and they have so far never disappointed their
fans. This time around they have opened up in Hauz Khaz Village and have
improvised their ambience, thereby enhancing the overall experience of
dining at Barcelos.
Known around the world for its variety of Sangrias (hence the title
‘House of Sangria’), coloured burgers, grilled chicken and their
peri-peri flavours and dips. Barcelos has successfully setup shop in 16
countries. Named after a beautiful place in Portugal, Barcelos is also
known for its ancient legend of the Barcelos rooster. And they have the
17th century legend inscribed on a wall at almost all of their outlets
around the world. According to the legend
‘a pilgrim seeking food and water in Barcelos, was accused of stealing
from a landowner. The pilgrim was sentenced to hang despite his protests
of innocence. In a last minute appeal to the judge, who was enjoying a
roasted rooster for dinner at the time, the pilgrim boldly stated, “If I
am innocent, then that rooster will get up and crow!” Suddenly, a
gorgeous scarlet-plumed cockerel rose from the plate, crowing loudly.
The man was acquitted of course!’
The interiors of their new Hauz Khaz Village outlet are
mesmerising. Going up the stairs, you first come across the small and
cute porch which looks like a coffee shop from some French romantic
movie. The railings also act as a coffee cum smoking spot. After one
enters in, the theme continues but the Wooden bar chairs inspired from
barrels and the portraits of celebrated Portuguese men including the
likes of Vasco Da Gama and Ronaldo gives a vintage feel to the place.
Moving forward, you have a full fledged bar, which looks contemporary.
After a small narrow passage with wall paintings you come across a huge
lobby with a couple of chairs and sofas which also gives you a sneak
into the kitchen. While the right side of the lobby has red brick walls
with wall paintings and a small area with colourful cushions and cozy
sofas and vinyl records hung on the walls, the left side is simple with
old newspaper clippings (original papers from 1947) hung on the walls
with few chairs and tables thereby giving the whole room a fusion of
aristocratic and vintage feel. To sum it up, it’s safe to say that
Barcelos have won the bragging rights in terms of interiors this time
around.
Now let’s focus on what we were there for, the food!! We
ordered the chicken platter two mocktails and mini burgers (sliders).
The mini burgers were as good as always, and the white burger was the
best of the lot. If you think the buns are the only things that are
different then have a glass of water, yes the water too tastes different
here. The bottle of water had a slice of lemon and a mint leaf that
gave a refreshing feel to every glass of water. Chicken platter included
chicken liver with garlic roll, grilled chicken and Boneless pieces
with grilled onion and pepper. During our last visit we had asked for
Very Peri, but this time around we thought of ordering Mild Peri and
safe to say the taste was overwhelming, especially the liver and grilled
chicken were succulent. Special shout out to the Peri Peri dip which
jells well with almost every food on the menu.
Next up were the mocktails, Hey Rosey was truly divine,
couldn’t think of any other word to describe because every sip of it was
perfect. Tangy mango was average, simple aam panna less tangy and a tad
bit sweeter that we have in summers. We ordered one of the usual for
desserts, the choco trufle cake, the presentation of the dish was eye
catching, with the huge piece of cake, a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and
an almond biscuit, sugar powder spread all around giving it a perfect
look. The Cake was properly baked, really soft and so yummmm!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once we were prepared to leave the world of Barcelos behind, the manager walked upto us and enquired about our experience. When we informed him about our thoughts about the place he was quick to excite us with the prospect of another Barcelos opening up in Gurgaon and that few items were going to be added to their already illustrious menu throughout.
Rating
Overall – 4.5/5
Food - 4.5 / 5.0
Service - 4.0 / 5.0
Ambience - 4.5 / 5.0
Authored By : Toshi & Adnan
Compiled and Edited By : Vickrham (vicky)
Email : vickrham.m@gmail.com