Definitely didn't think I'd be coming here for my first dinner in Portugal. Steak and Grill. Thought it was American food. Then we saw the word Rodizio. Rodizio is basically ayce meat options where servers bring around various cuts of meat on large skewers and then if you want it, they slice you a portion at your table. The most famous Torontonian equivalent is Copacabana. We got there before they opened. They told us 6pm. We loafed around til then. We tried going back. They told us 7pm even though their door said 6. We opted to wait. Worth the wait.
The standard rodizio here costs $13.90 euros and includes the basic meat package (12 meats + grilled pineapple) and both their hot and cold buffet. Drinks cost extra, but a small beer or juice will set you back about $1.80 euros, and a litre of their house wine will cost $9 euros. Be warned though. If you order in English, specify what you want, because their fresh squeezed orange juice is $3.50 euros a glass. It's tasty, but expensive. Their hot buffet only has like 8 items including rice, beans, fries, some kind of stew, and something that tastes like a mix between salt cod and mashed potatoes and some kind of cream pasta. Their salad bar is not bad, but not fantastic either. I appreciated the pickled veggie assortment though. Helps cut down on the fat from the red meat.
OH THE RED MEAT. The menu said 12 kinds and lists them out. We got more than 12 kinds. Chicken drumsticks, chicken with bacon, chicken heart, pork chunk, roast pork, pork with cheese, sausage, rump steak, steak with garlic, tenderloin, beef with bacon and cheese, some other kind of steak I can't identify, ham, rump steak roast, etc. SO MUCH MEAT. Most of it was pretty tasty, albeit a tad salty. Surprisingly, the chicken dishes stand out as being juicy and piping hot and tender. Also the beef with bacon and cheese, and the tenderloin. THEN GRILLED PINEAPPLE. With cinnamon. So good. So sweet. Amazing with the meat, especially with the beef, bacon, and cheese. I think my dad ate a whole pineapple on his own. The servers were fantastic about it though. Very lovely service.
Side note that isn't rodizio: They have a la carte seafood and meat options. Mom and aunt got seabream for $12.90 euros ish. Whole seabream. Nothing else. Delicious. Slightly salty. The rest of us got rodizio and they let mom and aunt have some of our food. As in we asked and they said yes. Pineapple goes well with fish too.
If I lived in Portugal, I could see myself coming back fairly often. Best ayce experience I've had in a very long time. read more