Peri-Peri Guys opens in Long Beach

The Long Beach food scene just got a little spicier with the opening of Peri-Peri Guys, an acclaimed fast casual joint from Hicksville. 

The shop is one of the only places in New York serving peri peri chicken, a phenomenon that originated in southern Africa and is now popular across the United Kingdom and European countries including Portugal. Co-owner Hafeez Raja hails from Scotland and opened his first peri peri shop in Hicksville in 2020. The order-at-the-counter spot, which he owns with Greg Raposo, is currently on Newsday's Top 100 best restaurants list for its chicken smothered in bird's eye chile from Mozambique. 

Raja's second location on Park Avenue is a little bit smaller but has a spiffy look with neon signs of New York City boroughs. The menu is the same, featuring flame-grilled chicken on flatbread with customizable levels of sauce, including mango lime and lemon herb. The organic halal chicken ($14 for a half chicken) isn't the juiciest you'll ever taste; much of the flavor comes from assertive char marks and the powerful chile sauces.

The housemade piri-piri sauces range from mild to "very hot." The potent dark red sauce packs a punch, but spice-lovers will find it pleasant. Most people should order the "hot," which is lighter in color and has an acidic zing. The plump, bone-in chicken wings (five for $9) with mango lime sauce is a winning combination. The yellow sauce isn't as fruity as you'd think and almost tastes like mustard. And the wings are juicier than the regular peri chicken. Pair them with some seasoned fries. 

The shop also serves chicken sandwiches, wraps, cheeseburgers and a small selection of milkshakes to calm the spice down.    

Peri-Peri Guys, 163 E. Park Ave., Long Beach, 516-517-2899, periperiguys.com. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday. 

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.