Mazal 76

Billing itself as Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mediterranean, Mazal 76 in Willesden is a cut above in terms of choice, with Brazilian dishes you might not find elsewhere. It’s a simple spot, with streams of people nipping in for a quick coffee or a takeaway box. But stay a while to savour the excellent cooking. The Portuguese and Mediterranean aspects of the menu reflect how many Brazilians eat—pasta, bacalhau, polvo a lagareiro—but come for the uniquely Brazilian dishes. Escondidinho is a bit like shepherd’s pie, here made with dried beef and a cheesy cassava mash. Chicken with pequi is stellar. A rich, complex stew where the chicken is somehow both tender and crisp and the pequi, a fruit popular in central Brazil, adds a funky, sour, almost cheesy taste. Eaten alongside pirão, a cassava paste popular in the north of the country, it’s a sign of the emerging regionalism creeping into London’s Brazilian restaurants.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch