Kaipiras by Barraco

Tucked away on a quiet street off the Kilburn High Road, Kaipiras is the closest you’ll come to a Rio de Janeiro boteco, a small bar serving stupidly cold beer, in London. Here Portuguese ones are on tap, Brazilian classics like Antarctica are by the bottle. Several different cachaças line the bar and bottles of wine cost less than £20, making it a top drinking spot. But the food more than matches the drinks. The menu is more expansive than most and practically everything is worth ordering. The beef rib stew, with glistening fat still attached to the meat, is a hit. It’s also worth seeking out dishes from Bahia, the northeastern state most heavily influenced by Africa. The moqueca, a seafood stew laden with palm oil, is regal, while this is a rare spot in London to find acarajé, a street food of black eyed pea fritters served with vatapá, a coconutty shrimp paste, salty dried prawns, and a tomato and raw onion salad.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch