Londrino review: serving up a slice of summer

A ray of sunshine has alighted on Snowsfields, a quiet little street behind London Bridge station, in the form of Londrino a new Portuguese-inspired restaurant. Even on a bleak mid-winter evening, the spirit of the southern European summer infuses every plate.

At the bar, an impeccable martini and a delicately flavoured crab and brown butter tart sets the scene for a parade of simple dishes carefully prepared from excellent ingredients. The decor, too, is clean and precise: mid-century modern furniture on polished concrete and hand-painted Portuguese tiles.

Mixing the new and the authentic clearly appeals to head chef Leandro Carreira. “There will be a nod to Portugal on our menus, but I don’t want the creative process to end there,” he says. “Both the restaurant and wine bar menus will evolve each week and will reflect the many influences of our culinary experiences.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Indeed, by the end of week two, it has already evolved in several interesting directions. Sweet prawns with xerem, a traditional cornmeal paste from the Algarve, are a particularly welcome addition, as are earthy wild mushrooms with roasted yoghurt. Other highlights include, unexpectedly, pig tails: crispy, fatty morsels combining the best qualities of pork belly and crackling.

Plates are intended for sharing, but they arrive one at a time rather than in the unholy rush often associated with such menus. The laid-back approach creates time to linger over the food - and the wines, curated from Portugal, Spain and beyond by manager-sommelier Cameron Dewar. A supple, subtly oaked Quinta das Cerejerias, excellent value at £32, held its own against an array of seafood and porky appendages.

For pudding, a silky madeira helped wash down the bittersweet treat of grilled brioche with sour caramel and toasted hazelnuts. All the accompanying ice creams are made on the premises: vanilla and caramel was smooth and sweet, while whey and smoked honey sorbet came with a grown-up savoury note. It almost tasted virtuous.

When summer arrives, diners will spill out onto the terrace in front of the restaurant, enjoying their cocktails, oysters and grilled meats al fresco. Until then, the food offers a welcome reminder that winter won't last forever.

Londrino is at 36 Snowsfields, London SE1