Visiting the King in London: Rei Dos Leitoes (King of Pigs) at London, ON

Rei Dos Leitoes @ London, ON

We have realized that there is no better way to enjoy Portuguese food than to eat in a Portuguese restaurant with Portuguese men watching a Portuguese league soccer championship game. The experience is incomparable! After all, with a statue of a pig in a soccer uniform to greet you outside, what did you expect when you walk in?

We went for lunch at Rei Dos Leitoes (King of Pigs) before heading home from our trip to London, ON. We managed to squeeze into a long table along with a group of bikers which made for some very lively ambience!

House Hot Sauce at Rei Dos Leitoes @ London, ON

We got some chicken and baby back ribs with fries. Service was pretty fast and quite friendly—that was if you manage to hear the servers amid all the excitement from the game. The chicken was delicious—juicy and the skin was rubbed with flavourful spices. With the house hot sauce, it was even better. It was not too extraordinary, though. It could have very well come from a local grocery rotisserie, IMHO.

BBQ chicken at Rei Dos Leitoes @ London, ON

The baby back ribs were on the dry side. Definitely not fall-off-the-bone. It was tasty, though, and again, the house hot sauce made it better. I would prefer the ribs to be more tender and juicier.

Baby Back Ribs at Rei Dos Leitoes @ London, ON

So if not for eating while being in a fun (albeit loud) party, I would not be able to recommend going out of your way for this joint. I will most likely give it another try, if I am ever in the area again, for a second chance. Am hoping that my ribs got overcooked ‘cause the chef was watching the game! 

Prices were as expected for any ribs/chicken place. Full rack at $20+ and half a chicken about $12+. They also offer Sunday buffet at $23pp.

We were not able to experience an explosion for a goal (as the game was 0-0 as we left), but I can swear I felt some tremors when we were at the 401. Found out later on that the popular (and Portuguese-restaurant-goers-supported) Benfica/SLB won their 34^th title and first back to back since the 80s.