The Port of Peri Peri

A competitor to the better-known South African chain Nando’s Peri-Peri, which has multiple locations on the East Coast, the U.S.-based Port of Peri Peri similarly focuses on Portuguese flame-grilled chicken cooked with peri-peri sauce, made from a modestly spicy pepper (African bird’s eye) native to Mozambique. Guests could choose from quarter, half, and whole chickens, as well as wings, tenders, chicken sandwiches, and chicken wraps, with sauce options ranging from plain to mild, medium, hot, extra hot, cajun, and lemon & herb. Peri-coated lamb chops, served as peri costeletas, were also available.

Focusing mostly on major cities, Port of Peri Peri began opening locations across 11 states in 2016. Its Fullerton location began serving customers in 2019, then closed in 2023. Our photos include shots of the peri costeletas, extra hot peri-peri chicken, cajun peri-peri chicken, and lemon-herb grilled chicken as they were when Port was fully operational; the cajun option disappeared from their menus before this location shut down, leaving no peri-peri options in Orange County (but several in LA).