Dining Out: Casa Mayfair - Portugal, Reimagined in the Heart of London

Name something more seductive than the slow smoke of charcoal, the flicker of flame, and the promise of a feast designed to be shared. At Casa Mayfair, the latest chapter in MJMK’s celebrated Portuguese restaurant group, that promise is realised in a way that feels at once grounded in tradition and strikingly modern.

Since launching Casa do Frango in 2018, co-founders Marco Mendes and Jake Kasumov have built a cult following by introducing Londoners to the warmth, conviviality and fire-kissed flavours of Portugal. With restaurants now in London Bridge, Victoria and Mayfair, Casa has become synonymous with Algarvian-style piri piri chicken—its signature dish grilled over wood charcoal, smoky, juicy, and brushed with fiery oil. But for 2025, the group is widening its lens.

This summer marks a new beginning for Casa. The menu has been reimagined, the interiors refreshed, and the brand given a subtle design overhaul. The focus? To showcase the breadth and diversity of Portuguese cuisine beyond its beloved Algarve roots, while retaining the soul of what made Casa so appealing in the first place: honest flavours, high-quality ingredients, and the romance of sharing a meal together.

As Mendes himself puts it: “Portugal’s cuisine is wonderfully diverse, and our new menu is designed to reflect the full breadth of that culinary heritage. We’re proud to share more of these stories, flavours and traditions and look forward to sharing the evolution of the Casa do Frango experience with our guests.”

Central to Casa’s identity has always been its bespoke wood charcoal grills. At Mayfair, you smell the smoke before you see the flames. The grill dominates the kitchen, infusing every dish with depth and character.

Of course, the much-loved Frango Piri Piri remains—the chicken sourced exclusively from a higher-welfare farm in Yorkshire, grilled over flame until charred and crisp, then finished with Casa’s addictive piri piri oil. But now, the menu extends far beyond chicken.

Among the newcomers is Pica Pau, a classic Portuguese petisco (the equivalent of tapas) featuring seared beef in garlic with house pickles—designed to be speared, shared, and devoured with a glass of vinho verde. There’s Cornish lamb chops, marinated in garlic and rosemary, served tender and blistered from the coals; a simple but elegant sea bass, grilled whole with nothing more than olive oil and lemon; and beef espetadas, skewers of Angus beef fillet brushed with rosemary-infused beef fat. It’s Portuguese cooking that respects provenance while indulging in the primal joy of fire.

Smaller plates continue the story. Bacalhau à Brás—scrambled eggs tossed with salt cod and crisp matchstick potatoes—nods to Portugal’s obsession with bacalhau, while crowd-pleasers such as grilled chorizo, Iberico pork croquettes, and chilli garlic prawns remain reassuringly in place.

It’s food made for the table, designed to be passed around between friends, paired with bold wines, and eaten without ceremony.

Speaking of wines, Casa’s list has expanded with ambition. Portugal takes centre stage, of course—most notably with three Vinho Verde wines made exclusively for Casa by Quinta de Santiago, a family-run vineyard founded in the 19th century. The labels, inspired by vintage Portuguese poster art, bring a playful flourish to the bottle.

But for the first time, Casa has looked outward too. Expect to find Austrian grüner veltliner from Loimer, Rhône reds from Famille Perrin, and Langhe nebbiolo from Piedmont’s Massolino estate. It’s a cosmopolitan selection, yet one that remains rooted in the convivial Portuguese style of drinking: bright, food-friendly, and perfect for long lunches that stretch into evening.

The refreshed design is subtle but effective. The new brand identity borrows cues from traditional Portuguese signage, with typography echoing the curves of Art Nouveau, reinterpreted in a clean, modern way. Menus, napkins, and tableware all reflect this understated aesthetic.

At Mayfair specifically, the entrance has been given a glamorous new lease of life. Step inside and you’ll find interiors that feel rustic without being quaint—sunlight glancing across terracotta tones, green tiling that recalls Lisbon façades, and warm wood that glows in the soft light. It’s Mayfair, yes, but one that trades stiff formality for something looser, sunnier, and more Mediterranean.

The other sites have been reimagined too: London Bridge with two new mercearia-style bars and a reworked Green Room, Victoria with a spruced-up terrace. Each space nods to Portugal in its own way, but together they form a cohesive brand identity—one that feels more assured than ever.

For diners, it’s also a reminder that Portuguese cuisine is richer than most of us imagine. Beyond pastel de nata and piri piri chicken lies a culinary heritage that stretches from the seafood of the Atlantic coast to the hearty meat dishes of the Alentejo, from petiscos shared in Lisbon’s taverns to the vibrant wines of the Douro Valley. Casa taps into all of this, not as a museum piece but as something alive, dynamic, and evolving.

In a city saturated with dining options, Casa Mayfair offers something deceptively rare: warmth. Not the forced conviviality of themed restaurants, nor the hushed reverence of fine dining, but genuine hospitality—a place that makes you want to stay for another round, another plate, another story.

And if that isn’t the definition of dining out well, rakishly, and with style, what is?

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