In most restaurants, presentation is important. I really hate the expression "you eat with your…read moreeyes", but it's true that the look of the plate is important.
Not so much at Brasaylena. A bowl of salad to share is provided to start, and that's the last you will see of vegetables for the rest of the meal. That is, unless you count the fries. My wife asked for chips, thinking she was getting tortilla chips. Oops. But, they were tasty, so no loss.
After that, you get a succession of meats brought to your table, and sawed off the shank onto your plate. You will see no pictures of food on the plate here: Brasaylena is all about substance over style.
And, there is a lot of substance. There were 9 or so different meats brought to the table: beef, chicken, pork, prime rib, ham, chicken, chorizo...the variety was incredible. And, you could ask for as much off the skewer as you wanted. And, the "meat waiters" came around again to offer more as the meal progressed.
Quality varied somewhat from meat to meat. The beef on the first skewer was a bit dry, but the second round - after we had 8 other meats delivered - was better. But, by then I had eaten what felt like several pounds of meat. If I had wanted to eat more, I could have: the "meat waiters" kept going from table to table, offering more.
The ham was excellent: smoky, salty, and flavorful. The chicken was nicely roasted and succulent. The tiny chorizo were flavorful. The pork was fatty, but a good kind of fatty, where the fat adds to the flavor. Very tasty. The prime rib was a bit dry, but the char on the exterior was gloriously salty. I lost track of how many different things we had here.
Portions are as small or large as you want them to be. I advise starting small, and waiting for the next round of meat if you want more of something. And, no need to flag down the "meat waiters"...you never have to wait long for the next one to arrive.
Dessert seems absurd after eating all this meat, but you may as well try it since it is included in the price. The quindim de coco is a Brazilian coconut custard with a hint of sweetness. The grilled pineapple with coconut ice cream, though, was magical. Even though my stomach was hurting, I wanted to eat more.
And, the price is incredibly reasonable: 22€ each for meat, meat, meat, a drink, meat, a dessert, and more meat. After another round of drinks, the total bill for 3 of us was 70€.
Come here with an appetite. You will not have one when you leave.
