Carlos Domingues left a small Portuguese fishing village to come to the UK when he was 17.

“I wanted to do more and see more,” he says about turning his back on the coastal hamlet of Sesimbra at such a young age.

The restaurateur’s experience contrasts with many recent Iberian immigrants to the UK, who have often moved for economic reasons.

“I came when things were still good in Portugal, which is different. I was the brave one. I came when I still had options.”

Domingues’s tenacity led him to the restaurant at swanky London hotel Claridge’s.

Within six months of starting, he had risen to the role of head waiter.

The guests were royalty, celebrities, top-ranking civil servants. He served Michael Jackson – through the singer’s entourage/ Rowan Atkinson was “a very funny man”, as was Ronnie Corbett.

“Ronnie was extremely friendly. He made everyone feel welcome. There was an inexperienced table waiter working that night and Ronnie joked that he had to learn so he better learn with us.”

Margaret Thatcher – and her husband, Denis – matched their public image.

“Her husband did like his tipple and when we went round to top their drinks up he would always say yes and she would elbow him and say, ‘Knock it off, dear.’”

Domingues arrived in Brighton five years ago. After 12 years in London, he wanted to live by the sea again. Late last year he made good on another dream: to create a place where he could “showcase what good food we have in Portugal”.

Other than Nando’s, which is a South African-owned chain fusing Portuguese piri piri style with African cooking, there are no Portuguese restaurants in Brighton and Hove.

“Nando’s doesn’t have the warmth of a Portuguese restaurant,” believes Domingues, who compares his restaurant to his living room. “The problem is when things get too big they get out of the hands of the person who started it. It loses that appeal and connection and that’s why you end up going to the counter to get served.”

Domingues runs Little Portugal in Waterloo Street, Hove. He has brightened the place up since taking the corner site over from Red Snapper, building a bar, putting tables outside and removing the curtains from its downstairs windows to let the sun in and people see inside.

There is a glass cabinet with Portuguese desserts (such as apricot flans and custard tarts) and cakes and bread (available on Saturdays and Sundays) next to the bar.

Upstairs is room for 20 covers in a quiet, secluded and elegant space.

Seafood is a staple in Domingues’s hometown. It’s the case at Little Portugal, too.

He’s proud of the lulas estufadas (squid in tomato sauce, £10.60), and bacalhau à Brás (shredded cod with onions, matchstick-size fried potatoes and scrambled egg, £10.60).

“The secret to Portuguese food is in its simplicity. We don’t add things to disguise flavours; we add a splash of wine, garlic marinade, something to enhance flavours.”

The menu reveals the cuisine is diverse for a small country.

“Portuguese food has more influence in European cuisine than people give it credit for. If it wasn’t for Portugal making spices and new vegetables available, a lot of European cuisine would be lacking.”

Dishes such as açorda de marisco (seafood bread stew, £10.20) and carne de porco à Alentejana, (pork meat and clams with paprika and wine sauce, £10.60) mix peasant influences with fruits of the empire.

Petiscos are Portuguese tapas to be nibbled during social occasions with drinks. They are solids for the stomach, like Spanish tapas, though Domingues has a selected tapas choice.

Little Portugal’s piri piri sauce, for example, goes with gambas grelhadas (grilled prawn tapas, £6.75) as well as its asas de frango grelhadas (grilled chicken wings, £5.75).

“I try to expand and bring new flavours every so often but my menu will always be limited by the availability of ingredients and that I don’t want to end up throwing food away.”

After nine months, he’s got regulars, arranges live music every second Saturday and is soon to launch a takeaway service.

“We have a really good community feel around here. The neighbours are friendly and we’re close to the beach. I’m a believer that if we have good service and a nice place, people will come.”

  • Little Portugal, Waterloo Street, Hove, 01273 733733
  • Open Monday to Thursday 5pm until late, Friday to Sunday 11am until late