Canela Review

Best for: A break from shopping; pre-theatre dining; not being Nando’s.

Great: Portuguese & Brazilian specialities; coffee; rustic food.

When I think of Portuguese food I, unfortunately, think of Nando’s; a chain for which I hold little affection. Having been less than polite about the chain for years I finally ate in one recently. I am now not sure whether the group of people who forced me to go there can be considered friends, it is beyond me that a so-called restaurant can fail to apologise for bringing the starters fifteen minutes after the mains. As a self-defence mechanism I sought comfort in a few bottles of red wine, which allows me to say that I was only there in body.

This experience reinforced my belief that London must offer a huge selection of restaurants fitting into the cheap and cheerful bracket where one is treated to a freshly cooked meal for the same price, if not less, than a chain restaurant. The only problem is finding them.

Just the other day I found myself being dragged round Covent Garden for a spot of Christmas shopping. Having exhausted the tediousness of the Piazza, with its saturation of tourists, we headed down Neal Street into the Seven Dials area. At first glance Seven Dials looks like many other shopping areas, but when looked at a little more deeply the proportion of independent shops and shops that deserve to be constantly busy - such as Neal’s Yard Dairy, which I adore - is comparatively high. The area isn’t too shabby when it comes to culinary pedigree either with restaurants including the ever popular Ivy and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. Whilst I like the idea of popping into The Ivy or Joel Robuchon for a quick bite, it is practically impossible to get a table at the former and the prices at the latter don’t fit my idea of cheap and cheerful.

The hour was now 7pm and the relentless shopping had me considering self-harm, if not suicide, if I didn’t get a bite to eat and an extremely stiff drink soon. It was then that we came across Canela which from the look of the tables I had always assumed was a Dim Sum restaurant. For once I looked at the menu and realised it was in fact Portuguese/Brazilian. Not being in the mood for stiff and starchy I was craving cheap and cheerful and with mains coming in at the £10 mark Canela seemed to fit the bill, the remaining test was for cheerfulness and so in we ventured.

Now seated, I jumped at the wine list and ordered a glass of each colour (after all, how else would I be able to comment on Fluid’s behalf). We started by sharing a coxhina. I don’t really know why but in my mind I imagined that the word in Portuguese meant transsexual. What came to the table was not a transsexual, though, but chicken and herbs encapsulated in dough. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the sexually confused chicken starter my dining partner found it a little dry; it may however have been my company that confused her taste buds.

I followed this up with Bacalhau à Bràs, a salt cod dish that came topped with beautifully crisp, warm and greasy flecks of potato that looked like an obese person’s version of All Bran. I spent the next 10 minutes devouring these mini treats with my fingers whilst using my ‘wax on, wax off’ technique to stop the person opposite from stealing the little beauties. Alas, Mr. Miyagi’s advice proved useless and if karate kid had been based on truth then Daniel-san would have ended up in a coma rather than sporting a trophy. What lurked beneath the crisps was not as fun, although it was hot, filling and extremely acceptable. My dining partner had a chicken and bean stew that may not have been pretty on the plate but was thick, meaty and beautifully seasoned.

Canela was busy with a mixture of people having coffee, cake and a chat, and those sharing an evening meal in a relaxed environment. There was a huge selection of great looking cakes, however not having the sweetest of teeth I chose not to partake on this occasion.

Returning to the outside world, we left Canela extremely content and fully recovered from the exertions of shopping. My only want was to be accosted by a tourist or two on my way to the tube asking for directions so that I could send them off in the wrong direction, one of my few pleasures in life.

I am glad to say that my list of cheap and cheerful places to eat in London has found a new entry. Canela isn’t somewhere to go for a long drawn out meal and I wouldn’t travel across London to go there. However, if I were in the area I would certainly pop in for lunch, for coffee (which is excellent) or for a light evening bite. Luckily, Canela has shown me that Portuguese food can be extremely enjoyable and doesn’t have to be accompanied by atrocious adverts, peri-peri sauce or inept service.
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Canela Description

Canela means cinnamon in Portuguese. In Lisbon, cinnamon sticks are used to stir the coffee, imparting their subtle influence to the flavour. Coffee at Canela is made strong; a world away from so many tasteless London Cappucinos. Canela cafe offers something different, bringing the culinary influences of Portugal and Brazil to Earlham Street, Covent Garden.

Canela has a choice of dishes that changes daily, always fresh ingredients, quality in the preparation and a variety of flavours, with dishes such as Chorizo in Wine, Black Pork Chorizo Bread, Feijoada (Black beans and Smoke Meats), Portuguese snacks, cheese breads and a selection of cod specialities.

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Brazilian
• Dress Code: Not Specified
• Group: Canela