Paulo'z Way

A riotous splash of colour at the grey Streatham end of Brixton Hill, this Portuguese café is already packed most lunchtimes with locals overlooking its dodgy spelling in favour of superb coffees, stellar pastries and a bustling family atmosphere.

The latter is thanks to Paulo himself, the larger-than-life owner whose prints are on everything from the Freecycled fishtank ('bloody frog costs me £10 a week in fish food'), to the replica Vasco De Gama bridge ('took me almost as long to make as the real one').

It's Paulo'z wife's cooking we sampled in the diminutive downstairs restaurant, its living room atmosphere so complete that requests for extra plates were met with a rummage around the cabinets lining one wall, and music came from a DVD of fado singer Mariza playing on a flatscreen television.

We started with own-made soft cheese dashed with oregano and olive oil, marinated olives from Paulo's family estate in Alentejo (also the source of our plucky red wine), and a platter of king prawns baked in a bombastic chilli and garlic broth.

Mains were equally upbeat, from salt cod bacalhau in a peppery tomato sauce with (slightly undercooked) chipped potatoes, to a tender picanha rump steak served with chips, black beans and fried plantain.

All of which left little room for dessert, although Paulo wouldn't let us leave without sampling a bowl of his wife's rich chocolate mousse drizzled with brandy.

We left sated, a touch unsteady and feeling like one of the family.