Leandro Carreira's inside guide to his new restaurant Londrino

With a glittering CV that's seen him man the stoves at the acclaimed Mugaritz in northern Spain as well as Lyle's, Koya and Bethnal Green institution Viajante, the launch of Leandro Carreira's debut restaurant was always going to be one of London's hottest tickets this winter.

Bringing his take on Portuguese cuisine to a purpose built spot in Southwark, Londrino – Londoner in Portuguese – opens in December, adding further to the area's vibrant dining scene.

What makes London Bridge a great place to open a restaurant?

We’re opening in a big space that's a five-minute walk from both London Bridge station and the river. London Bridge has a great balance of locals, workers and tourists, which I really love. ‘Londrino’ means ‘Londoner’ in Portuguese and we want it to become a real neighbourhood restaurant. Somewhere you can pop in for a glass of wine and a snack, or sit down and celebrate with friends over dinner. We’re looking forward to New Year’s Eve with people spilling out on to the streets to watch the fireworks. It's a fun time to be opening a restaurant.

How have your past experiences equipped you for launching your first permanent restaurant?

I left Portugal in 2004 and have been working in kitchens around the world ever since. I've been lucky enough to cook for some of the most talented and creative chefs and restaurants out there, from Mugaritz in the Basque Country to Koya in Soho, and they've all been equally influential experiences. One of the most important things I’ve learnt is to know exactly what you want your restaurant to be and where you want it to be. Even if things take time, believe in yourself and the talents of those around you to know you will get there... even if it takes longer than you expected.

Which elements of Portuguese cuisine translate particularly well to London?

Things are changing now in Portugal. A good Italian friend of mine called Portugal ‘a sleeping gastronomic giant’. I think he’s right, but it looks like it is about to wake up. Portugal has some of the most incredible talent and produce in the world – the finest seafood, cured meats, wines and young chefs – but it's food culture is widely underestimated and is only just being discovered in this country. Lisbon and Porto are now among the most popular places for Londoners to visit, and people are even venturing out to lesser known areas such as Beira Baixa, Extremadura and the Douro regions. It's an exciting time for Portuguese tourism and an exciting time for Portuguese food. London likes to be ahead of the curve, which is why I think Portuguese food is having such a moment now.

We won’t be serving ‘typical' Portuguese dishes like pastel de nata, as people are doing that very well over here already. There’ll be nods to Portugal on the menu, with Portuguese-inspired ingredients and flavours, but this isn’t going to be a traditional Portuguese restaurant as such. There’ll be culinary influences and techniques we’ve picked up on our journeys and we’ll be using produce from all across Britain.

Which dishes are you particularly excited to serve your first customers and why?

In the restaurant, the mackerel with smoked seaweed butter and cabbage, or wild mushrooms with fermented barley and caramelised yogurt, followed by requeijao with lemon, malt and vanilla and soaked brioche with sour caramel for dessert. The latter was so popular during our year-long stint at Climpson’s Arch that we had to have it on our menu at Londrino. In the wine bar, I’m excited about our crab tarts with burnt butter and sorrel, which have been going down well with the team.

How did you approach the design of the space?

We wanted Londrino to feel inviting and warm, a place for everyone. To reflect this, we went for an open-plan design with a big open kitchen in the heart of the space, with a restaurant area on the left for a la carte dining and a smaller, more relaxed all-day wine bar to the right where people can come and have a bit to eat and drink without having to reserve. Much like the menu, the look and feel is simple yet refined- concrete walls sit next to hand-crafted Portuguese tiles and floor to ceiling windows which will flood the space with light, and open up fully in the summer so people can dine al fresco.

Given Portugal’s wealth of quality wines, what can we expect from Cameron Dewar’s wine list?

Cameron has been travelling around Portugal for some time now, nurturing close relationships with small, craft producers from the country’s lesser-known regions to bring diners a pretty diverse and unique wine list. There’ll also be natural and classic offerings from across Europe. He’s a very knowledgeable and friendly guy so chat with him when you arrive and he will guide you to a wine of your liking.

Visit londrino.co.uk.