O Tino

Tucked behind the Camden Belushi’s, O Tino is a popular pre-Koko or Jazz Cafe spot and often rammed. This diminutive restaurant is simply decorated—huge screens showing Porto or Benfica are the main adornments—and has arguably the friendliest staff in London who are particularly generous with the port. The menu spans Portuguese classics, and gambas à Tino is a must: fat, juicy prawns in a silky tomatoey sauce with huge amounts of garlic. Pork à alentejana also stands out—a hulking pile of pork and clams on fried potatoes that soak up the surf-and-turf juices—as does the piri piri chicken which is tender and well charred. The owner hails from Angola and her homemade chilli sauce, made with chillies from her garden back in Southern Africa, is extremely fiery. On weekends, Angolan dishes like muamba de galinha, a spicy chicken stew, might appear if you’re lucky.

photo credit: Koray Firat

photo credit: Koray Firat

photo credit: Koray Firat