Southsea's Brazillian bar Carioca to reopen as Chicken Mania restaurant after dramatic makeover

Carioca Bar and Kitchen, at 88 Clarendon Road, Southsea, is currently closed for renovation, and passers-by will have noticed that the venues exterior now reads ‘Chicken Mania’, backed by a bright orange colour scheme.

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Owner Monica Souza, 57, who moved to the UK from Brazil in 2014, is excited to be opening her first full-scale restaurant. Formerly a teacher in Brazil, she started work as a cleaner after moving to the UK, eventually establishing her own business. A year ago, Monica opened Carioca, with investment from a business partner, as a bar which served Brazillian food and offered live entertainment – but she always hoped to open a restaurant. The venue will welcome its first customers as Chicken Mania on Saturday, June 2017.

Monica said: ‘I came here to Portsmouth and I fell in love. I think Portsmouth is the Rio de Janeiro of England and Southsea is fantastic – I love the atmosphere.

‘I had support from the Brazilian community for the whole year and support from the English community. We will sell chicken but I will still have my bar at night because people love to stop here and have a drink – to bring life to Southsea close to the sea. We are a small place with a big heart. Never give up – if you can dream it, you can do it.

‘Before, I didn’t have all the things to start a proper restaurant. In my one year here I realised that people love chicken and chips. It’s very quick to go and easy to take to the beach. Some things on the menu are going to have a Brazilian touch.’

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Chicken from the restaurant, which will also offer takeaway, will be available charcoal grilled and fried and in flavours like peri peri, JD barbecue and house herbs. Monica compared the business to Nandos and added that it will featured recipes from around the world. On Fridays and Saturdays the venue will stay open until 2am serving alcohol alongside food like chicken wings and nachos. During the rest of the week, it will served food from 11am to 9pm.