After a day of swimming and sun worshipping, the SO and I wondered where to head for dinner. It just so happened Eat, Drink and be Kerry had made a post about Samba Brazilian Grill, which recently opened. It has been years since I last dined at a Brazilian churrascaria and the SO had never been before, and since we were in the area, I called that afternoon to make a reservation. While I was informed they were fully booked, they managed to squeeze us in for dinner at 6pm.
Samba Brazilian Grill is a rodizio service of fresh grilled meats carved table side. There are vego options as well, but this is definitely a meat lovers delight. Just look at their charcoal barbecue set up!
Once cooked, staff bring out the skewers to the tables to offer punters.
Dinner is pretty simple – for AUD$38 per person, each table gets to choose 5 out of 8 possible sides, some Pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) and as much of the mains you can fit in your stomach.
Below are just a few of the things we got to try…
Pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread)
Arroz (Brazilian rice with zucchini & pumpkin) and Mandioca frita (cassava chips)
Feijão preto (Brazilian black beans) and Ferofa (toasted cassaca flour with chorizo and banana)
Salada verde (green salad with pear) and coxa de frango (chicken thighs with piri piri)
Chicken hearts and whole beef fillet with mustard
Abacaxi na brasa (pineapple on the bbq)
The SO and I later debated which of the mains we enjoyed best, and while we couldn’t agree on a single item, the carneiro (lamb rump), picanha (beef rump cap with sea salt) and porco com molho de mel (pork with honey sauce) are amazing. These were cooked to perfection – well-seasoned and pink in the middle for juiciness and flavour.
Personally I also liked the file com mostarda (whole beef fillet with mustard) and the coração de galinha (chicken heart), but the beef might be too blue for some palates and chicken hearts is a bit of an acquired taste… as evidenced by the punters at the table next to ours.
And once you’ve eaten your fill, you turn this wood block from green to red to signal the staff you’re stuffed (ie. stop bringing any more food).
If you are a meat lover, can put the food away and in the area, do consider dropping in at Samba Brazilian Grill. We’re already planning our next visit.
NEW: Samba Brazilian Grill at Noosaville http://t.co/ZGe8VkEx
I’m afraid I baulked at the chicken hearts this time as I was sitting next to my vegetarian friend and it just seemed too much. They made her a lovely selection of dishes too.
You were definitely not the only one and it’s perfectly understandable not to have them while dining with a vegetarian. Maybe you might give them a go next time?
I’m actually curious about their vegetarian options. Was it charcoal grilled food as well or a larger selection of the sides?