Barcelos Hyderabad
Having heard so much about Barcelos, I was super excited about this South African biggie coming to Hyderabad. Barcelos Hyderabad has started with a bomb in Forum Mall and all us movie fanatics finally have a good place to hog after a movie at Forum!
The Legend of the Barcelos Rooster!
Barcelos Hyderabad is named after a quaint little town in Portugal and interestingly, the town has a Rooster legend in their folklore. The Legend goes way back to the 17th Century, when a pilgrim passing by the town was accused of stealing. He was innocent but still got a death sentence. As a last resort, he appealed to the Judge one last time. The Judge was in the middle of his meal and was digging into a roasted Rooster. So, the pilgrim pleaded saying “If I am innocent, that Rooster will get up and crow!”. And that very instant a full and healthy Rooster rose from the plate crowing loudly. Hence the Legend of Barcelos Rooster gained fame!
Barcelos Brand, Comes With Barcelos Hyderabad
Barcelos as a brand started way back in 1993 in South Africa and then grew to almost 17 Countries in the next 24 years. And now after Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata, we have a Barcelos Hyderabad too!
As the logo suggests, Chicken is the centre of attraction in this place. This has been given a Peri-Peri twist with the customizing option depending on your spice preference. They also boast of the biggest Sangria Menu with 21 Sangrias from across the World. Their drinks menu is nice and loaded too with some Boozy Shakes for the mild drinkers.
Barcelos Hyderabad Review
Coming to the place, they have maintained the global theme with Barcelos Hyderabad. The setting is rustic, laid back and very colourful. This takes you right into that quaint town of Barcelos. The Rooster is everywhere to remind you of the Legend. You have cushioned couches lining the sides and then an open seating space in the centre. The bar overlooks the whole space and looks well stocked for sure!
Once seated, we got our drinks and then waited for their peri-peri chicken twists! But before that, what caught my attention was the Chicken Livers With Port Roll this just sounded so good. And boy this was nice! The livers packed a punch and the port roll was nice and tough.
The Sauces – Tangy Lemon, Mild Peri, Veri Peri and Supa Peri. (All our orders were made in Veri Peri, but you can play around the sauces and customize as suited)
Then the Chicken Wings made its way to the table. These are not your usual tiny chunks but meaty and tender pieces. The dressing for this one was the mid-spicy and we had to add more spice to suite the palate.
The color on the Chicken Drumsticks looked really nice. But again, the same sauce was used to toss these too. Check with the server when you order and ask them to customize.
Flame Grilled Peri-Peri Chicken is their signature dish and it sure did live up the expectations. Their chicken quality is really nice and that makes for a hearty meat experience. This one with the Supa Peri sauce went really well with the drinks.
Chicken Espetada was the Portuguese special from the menu. Presented on a skewer hung upside down. Would have liked it to carry more flavours and pack a harder punch. So the next Espetada we got was with Cheese and more Peri-Peri and that was nice.
Barcelos was the first in India to get the colourful burgers so next up was their Black and Red Burger. Unlike the other places doing the Black Burger, the bun here was actually nice. The charcoal flavour doesn’t offset the taste, making it a good burger. But since it’s chicken, the usual burger-messy feeling is missing.
Given the location and the variety coupled with the brand name of Barcelos, the place makes for a good visit. Keep an eye on your preferences and choose from across the menu. Too many grilled items with similar sauce wouldn’t work! Try shuffling the options with Pastas, Rolls and the Burger. Also, the Sangrias are delightful!
Location – Barcelos Hyderabad