Brazil!

Gaucho-sized servings for Bahrainis Discuss this article

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Walking up the floor-lit corridor into Brazil! and through the glass doors, you can’t help but expect something dramatic; the vibrant orange and black interior doesn’t disappoint. With all the pizzazz of a South American carnival, we were shown to our seats by a waitress with a smile as bright as the décor.

Once we were settled in one of the two be-fountain’d courtyard areas – with the weather being so good, we felt compelled to take advantage and move from our initially-assigned indoor table – a waitress introduced us to the churrascaria dining style; there’s no menu to be had, but the service is typically Portuguese-inspired, with flame-grilled meat served on sword-like skewers, direct to your plate.

The starters are simple enough, though the feijoada, a traditional Brazilian stew of black beans and meat, is particularly outstanding – the buffet portion is sized to suggest that you should only take a small serving, which is highly recommended as, for all it’s incredibly delicious, it’s a rather heavy dish that could be a meal all in itself. A rice accompaniment would be ideal, however it wasn’t available when we were there.

First to be served of the main courses were two types of prawn, one wrapped in bacon and one simply flame-grilled, followed by peri-peri chicken thighs – admittedly these have been my one of my favourite dishes on past visits as the skin is generally crisp and spicy, though this time there were a tad too greasy, with flakes of chilli which, rather annoyingly, stuck in my teeth – causing much amusement to my dining partner.

Following this came ribeye steak, sliced from the skewer to our liking – being of the non-carnivorous persuasion, I opted for a practically cremated slice, whereas my companion picked rare, and neither of us were disappointed. The Picanha beef, imported from Brazil, for Brazil! and served exclusively there, is the star of the show as far as bovine meats are concerned; each cut is succulent and cooked to perfection, whatever your ‘perfection’ may be.

One of my favourite meats at Brazil! has always been the lamb; as I opt for the well-done option, it’s always deliciously crisp and tantalisingly salty, so much so that it’s the one dish that I will request again once the options have run their course. The night’s lamb was up to expectations, and settled itself once more firmly upon its old pedestal.

Conspicuous in their absence were the rodizio-grilled pineapple, sweetcorn and stuffed squid, the first of which was a perfect palate-cleanser and refresher when the meat courses became too much; while they would have been welcome to round off the meal, nothing much was lost by their no-show performance.

Having finally flipped our coins from green to red to signify that we’d had our fill of the ever-flowing meat course, we found ourselves too full to approach the dessert table with its meagre offerings – however, it’s easy to see why there isn’t a focus on sweet dishes, because I’ve yet to see someone attack them with gusto after a heavyweight rodizio round.

The bill (for two)
2x charcoal rodizio grill (inclusive of unlimited selected beverages) BD31.6
Total (including service) BD36.34

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