A popular Somerset Portuguese restaurant that began as a blog and a small shop is closing after several years.
Piri Piri Kitchen opened at the former Fork and Spoon location at 970 County Street with part-owner Sandy Batista, who had previously run a restaurant in Rhode Island and built a following during COVID-19 through a Portuguese recipe blog also called Piri Piri. She later opened the spot with partner Paul Andrade.
The name, Batista has said, comes from a tiny spicy pepper. “In my family it meant bring the Tabasco or the Hots! Siracha, Tabasco, Malageta, Pimenta.”
The business first opened in 2020 as a Portuguese store with a small menu. Demand quickly pushed it toward takeout, party platters, and catering from the end cap of the old Simon building.
The kitchen became known for Portuguese staples such as shrimp or chicken Mozambique, bife a casa, pork with clams, frango, and sandwiches including chourico, bifana, prego, and alentejana. Batista also sold sauces by the pint, quart, and eventually the bucket.
In a closing statement on social media, Batista said the restaurant’s time at that location has come to an end and that this weekend it will serve its last bifanas. She asked customers to stop by one last time for takeout and asked residents to keep supporting Somerset’s small businesses. “Piri Piri ❤️’s Somerset,” she wrote. “Thank you.”
