Review of 'Caco & Co. (NOW CLOSED)'

Walking on Askew Road just before Christmas we noticed a new restaurant has just “sprung up” (for us, “sprung up” means it has been here for several months but we only just noticed it) - Caco & Co. It occupies two store fronts on the road and has a very clean, modern, interior. This is probably the most modern restaurant on Askew and is certainly more than welcome.

Interior

The bare wood floors, exposed brickwork, industrial ceiling and open kitchen reflects the simplicity and utility of the sandwich-heavy menu. Caco specialises in “bolo do caco” which is a “…flat, circular bread, shaped like a cake and thus called bolo (Portuguese for 'cake'). It is traditionally cooked on a caco, a flat basalt stone slab” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolo_do_caco). This is combined with other typical Portuguese dishes and more familiar English, simple, food to offer a selection that will appeal to all.

Kitchen

The menu is split equally between breakfast-type dishes (served all hours), small dishes, main dishes, sandwiches and sweets/drinks. It is nice to see that their produce is largely sourced from the “Ginger Pig” deli which is, quite literally, located on the opposite side of the road. The prices are about average for a somewhat up-market sandwich shop.

We visited on a Friday lunch time during the holidays and it was about 1/3 full with groups scattered throughout, reading a paper, talking amongst themselves - Quite peaceful. We were seated in the back corner where I warmed myself in the cushions scattered along a padded bench against the wall (I was cold throughout the visit - the restaurant was cool anyway but there was also the unwelcome occasional breeze from an open door as well on this rather chilly day. It took a while to read through the menu so we had to fend off our over-eager server several times before finally making up our mind.

My companion ordered “Sweet Potato Fries” with thyme and rosemary (£3.50) which were disappointingly soggy despite their crisp appearance. Still tasty though, served with ketchup. We also shared an order of “Pulled Piglet” croquetes with yoghurt sauce (£5.50) which came piping hot and were absolutely delicious with a perfectly crispy batter and tasty filling. The yoghurt sauce was wonderfully cooling and complemented the pork very well.

Pork Croquetes

For our main dishes my companion ordered the “Salt Beef Prego” (£9.90) “Melting salt beef soaked for 7 days served sliced gerkins & mustard” sandwich which was quite enormous but disappointing as she found the meat quite tough, despite the description. She enjoyed the hot mustard spread across the sandwich and the delicious, mild, gerkins (thankfully, unlike most gerkins in this country, not at all salty).

Salt Beef

I decided to push the boat out, spotting what was the obvious speciality of the house, “Francesinha - The world's best sandwich” (£14) “Sirloin steak, chorizo, ham, cheese on Caco, spicy sauce & chips”. This was a rather large circular sandwich covered with melted cheese in a pan surrounded by chips (french fries) with a side cup of tomato sauce (that was not at all spicy). I was told the way to eat this was to pour the sauce over the sandwich (and chips) which I dutifully did. The sandwich itself was jammed with steak (I was not asked how it was to be cooked so was happy to see it was a healthy medium rare) which was very tender with the bread, ham, and cheese accompanying it very well. Eating was a bit of a chore as I had to eat with knife and fork which meant that the different components tended to squish out while I tried to cut in. The chorizo (not as spicy as I would have liked) was a particular victim here so I ended up eating that separately. Thankfully the sauce did not saturate the sandwich in any way but simply served as a subtle flavour note in the background - The fries soaked up all of the excess.

Francesinha Sandwich

My companion accompanied her meal with two cappucino's (at £2.50 each) which were very good but quite small. I had a wonderful glass of fresh orange juice (£3.50) - Perfect but, as with the coffee, quite a small size.

To round of the meal I could not resist the “nata” or “custard tarts” (£1.50 each) that I could see laid out with other bakery goods on the table in the middle of the room. These were good but not the best I have ever had - Not exactly brimming with flavour.

At close to £50 for the two of us for lunch including a 10% service charge this is not exactly a meal we could afford every day but the service was pleasant (if a bit difficult to understand at times) and the food though slightly disappointing was quite tasty. I suspect we will be back though perhaps not order so much…A wonderful way to spend several hours over lunch or, perhaps, a light dinner.

Exterior

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2016-12-30


Cuisine: Portuguese

Address: 116-118 Askew Rd, White City, London W12 9BL ENGLAND

Public Transport: TUBE Stamford Brook

Location: London (England) - Shepherd's Bush

Map:

 

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Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8749 6834

URL: http://www.caco-co.com/