The sandwich is not dead.
Remember this word: bifanas. (If you’re trying to say it, imagine putting the words ‘beef and ‘Ana’s together – then say them really quickly. Go on, try it! There you go!). We’re talking about a snack bar that made it’s name with a simple recipe: bread, pork meat (very thinly sliced) and sauce (of which there are many many varieties!). Put simply, it’s a steak sandwich. That’s a ‘bifana’.
The first thing a person who visits Portugal will tell you when they get back is almost always about the food. Oh the food! The pasteis de nata! The seafood! The steak! The bread! Even the bread! Yet, outside of Portugal, good Portuguese restaurants are few and far between.
However, located right in the heart of Norwich city, Go Bifanas opened in December 2021, and is the brainchild of restaurateur Jorge Santos and his wife Eleanor. And they serve something a lot more refined than this traditional Portuguese sandwich.
If you don’t know Jorge and Eleanor, they own Jorge’s Restaurant, just a few metres from the front door of Go Bifanas. And they serve up some fabulous Portuguese food. If you’ve not been, go. Go Bifanas, however, offers a slightly different concept from its sister restaurant. This is Portuguese food with a modern twist. It’s a sort of ‘community hub’ where everyone is made to feel at home. Where the food is just an extension of the community and the flavours and tastes are both foreign and domestic. You see, Go Bifanas shares its space with The Yard Coffee in Pivotal House, which houses a marketing agency. So when you go, expect to see people mooching around the comfy, airy space, drinking coffee, talking into space on conference calls or meeting with business colleagues. It’s got a relaxed, communal feel to the place – a space where I could easily sit and converse with my clients over a coffee, sandwich or small plate of delicious empanadas.
Go Bifanas breaks away from the expectations of traditional Portuguese food to delight customers with something a bit different. Jorge combines traditional recipes with innovative flavours, right down to the base ingredients. Sauces and aiolis made from scratch ensure the original taste of Go Bifanas exists throughout his sandwiches and all menu items.
Not all bifanas are created equal, especially not at Go Bifanas!
Obviously you’re going to find the bifana on the menu, why name a place after it otherwise?! Portugal might be famous for its Pasteis de Nata (that sweet, creamy custard tart that has achieved Beyonce-level fame around the world) but the bifana is pretty good too. I’ve been lucky enough to experience some excellent Portuguese food – in Portugal and in London (Stockwell to be precise, where there’s a large Portuguese community), and Norwich’s newest addition doesn’t let the side down.
Don’t be fooled by its simplicity, this well-made sandwich will zap you with a lightning bolt of flavours. Think traditional but with a Caribbean or Japanese influence. The reality is that the traditional bifana is delicious – but it’s the sauces that accompany the meat that makes them zing. They’re pretty daring flavour combinations, so don’t go expecting your Philly Steak & Cheese – it doesn’t exist here. Mrs HB and I had the traditional and the Japanese versions. It would be unfair to compare them as they are, literally, continents apart. But fair to say that they were tasty, if absolutely enormous!
Aside from the bifanas, there are some really interesting items on the menu. I couldn’t resist trying the grilled sardines – another Portuguese staple. They were beautifully prepared. Mrs HB doesn’t like really small bones and the fuss of dissecting them, but the flavours undeniably took us back to the Portuguese seafront where these little delights are available everywhere.
The salt cod croquettes that we saw being prepared as we arrived for brunch were a tad bland. I was expecting a punch of fish but, whilst very smooth and well prepared, simply lacked the depth of flavour I was anticipating. The empanadas stuffed full of goats cheese, olive and honey and were delightfully light and more to Mrs HB’s palate (I don’t really like salty cheese… give me Parmesan any day of the week). We really couldn’t manage much more to eat; the serving sizes are generous and definitely great for sharing.
The small print that matters.
You can dine here throughout the morning into the early afternoon. However, the menus get a little confusing, depending on what time of day you decide to turn up (you can’t book a table). There’s a brunch menu (served from 10am-2pm) which features primarily eggs or tortillas. And then the 12noon-8.30pm menu. So if you turn up at 1.30pm, be prepared to peruse two different menus that are completely different. Honestly, I would cut off the brunch menu at midday, or simply offer everything all day until you close – remove the confusion!
The other odd anomaly for me is the coffee situation. Whilst all the savoury food and some of the sweets are prepared by Go Bifanas, the coffee (and some of the sweet treats) are served up by The Yard Coffee. You can have coffee, but you need to pay for it separately. That’s a little it weird to me. Wouldn’t you want to simply pay one bill?
That said, if you’re looking for a place to munch good food in good surroundings, with a very good glass of wine (or two – they’re all Portuguese and quaffable!), then this is your place. If you’ve not had a Portuguese steak sandwich before (or Portuguese street food for that matter), this is most definitely there place to come. It may just become your go-to favourite for brunch.
The Hospitality Boss Rating
Overall rating (out of 5)
