Budapest turns Brazilian

Opening the door to this seemingly small space presents a pleasant surprise. Decadent lighting features hang from the high ceilings and a screen flashes (tasteful) images of scantily clad Brazilian carnival dancers, fun music fills the spacious setting and the waiters are immaculately turned out in matching, brightly colored outfits.

 

My hungry dining companion seemed equally impressed, yet his eyes really lit up when we were escorted to our trendy monochrome chairs and, in doing so, passed a huge joint of succulent beef spinning on a skewer.

 

Watching the grill maestro attend to the sizzling meat, we knew that Braseiro was a good bet for us carnivores. Indeed, this is a churrascaria, a Brazilian barbecue restaurant, a tradition that comes from the gauchos grilling their meat out on the Pampas.

 

Eyeing the vast drinks menu, we were tempted to have a caipirinha, a famous Brazilian drink prepared with sugar cane, Cachaca (the local rum) and lime juice. Nevertheless, we decided to test the waiter’s knowledge and asked for a good champagne. He didn’t disappoint. The bubbly was fantastic and we sipped enthusiastically as we flicked through the Amazon-themed menu which listed endless combinations of rodizio: the Brazilian way of serving grilled meats, each brought to the table on a skewer.

 

Intrigued, we opted for one of these and were invited to delve first into the salad buffet. This was not your average salad bar. Think fresh bread, feta cheese wrapped in eggplant, seafood salad, baked potatoes, marinated beef and much more.

 

Only halfway through this course, we spotted a churrasqueiro (a waiter wearing spotless white gloves) approaching our table wielding a huge skewer showcasing some succulent sausages. He expertly flipped two generous portions onto our plates using a large knife. Before we had finished our second sausage, another meat-laden skewer was advancing, the carnival beats virtually in sync with the churasquero’s footfalls. This time it was lamb chops, cooked and seasoned to perfection, and of course transferred to the plate with panache.

 

Possibly sensing that we were a little overwhelmed, our churasquero gesticulated to the green coasters lying next to our full plates. He turned them over to reveal a red side: „When you need a break, make sure the red side is on show and when you’re ready for more, show the green.” This ingenious idea not only enabled us to pace ourselves but also ensured that we were looked after by possibly the most attentive waitstaff in Budapest.

 

Our coasters were green-side-up for most of the night which meant we were able to try a huge array of meats including, chicken legs, steak, chicken hearts and pork ribs. „Full” is not the word; we were fit for the skewer. This was a shame, seeing as the dessert menu looked pretty tempting. However, little did we know that our churasquero had something sweet in store for us…you guessed it, on his skewer. This time he came with a whole warm pineapple, and sliced off several juicy pieces onto our plate. „I guess we could try and squeeze it in?” we pondered. Prepared to perfection, it rounded off our unusual restaurant experience. Yet just as we were about to get our coats, the restaurant manager came over. „But you haven’t seen the dancers yet,” he said. Dancers? Yes, live on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.… Clearly our evening at Braseiro had only just begun…..

 

From the Menu

Salmon Carpaccio with capers

Oysters with cheese

Carnival trout with Chardonnay sauce, red caviar and grilled vegetables

Samba Queens (shrimp and snails in a garlic cream sauce)

Rodizio (choose from up to 13 different kinds of meat!)

Passion fruit cream Malapá style

Doce Banana (caramelized banana)