Speaking at yesterday's (16 March) Restaurant R200 conference, the pair announced that Casa do Frango will open on Heddon Street.
It will be the lauded Algarvian piri piri chicken restaurant's third site in the capital. The first Casa do Frango opened in London Bridge in August 2018, and the group expanded to Shoreditch the following year.
Kasumov said: “We’re still planning to grow Casa. We are opening our third one, which is going to be our first central London site on Heddon Street.
“It’s a real test of the brand to see how it works in central London, and we’re very excited about that.”
The MJMK founders, who operate a diverse portfolio that also includes Santiago Lasta's Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Kol and the Cuban-inspired Bar La Rampa in Oxford Circus, have previously ruled out attempting a Nando's-style rollout of the Casa do Frango brand, and Kasumov confirmed that that remains the case. But he hinted that there are plans to grow the group further in the future.
“When we saw the success of Casa’s first site in London Bridge, loads of people came to us and wanted to take it to the next level and open 20, 50 or even 100 sites. But that just sends shivers down our spines.
“I don’t think we would care about the brand if we expanded it to that level, and it’s not who we are as restaurateurs. We look at it from a much more organic point of view.
“We want to carry on growing Casa, but we want to do it organically, not over expand, and preserve that brand equity that we've built.”
During their R200 talk, Mendes and Kasumov also confirmed that the much-anticipated launch of AngloThai's John and Desiree Chantarasak's first permanent restaurant had been delayed, owing to the group having yet to find a suitable site.
Later this month, MJMK will launch its latest restaurant venture, Lisboeta, on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, in partnership with famed Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes.
