Open Mon–Fri 6pm–midnight; Sat 12.30pm–midnight; Sun 12.30pm–11pm
‘No craving is too large for Rodizio Rico’ is the motto of this Brazilian grill restaurant and they certainly keep to their word. Nestled in a cobbled street of Fulham, its outdoor eating area with wicker seating gives it a rustic charm.
‘Churrascaria’ translates as barbecue in Portuguese, while ‘rodizio’ means rotating, referring to their style of service where passadors (meat carvers) glide from table to table slicing different cuts of meat from massive metal skewers onto your plate. There is also a salad cart in the middle of the restaurant sporting hot and cold dishes which you can help yourself to throughout the meal. The array of choice was impressive but slightly odd. The hot dishes included a rich lasagne, brown rice, bean stew and corn, with cold dishes mainly consisting of exotic salads, potato salad and dips. There were however several strange dishes such as pork scratchings and fried bananas.
Enough about salads – this place is about meat and to prepare ourselves we cracked open a bottle of Chilean chardonnay (£28). When we were seated we were given a referee card – one side green; the other red. When I was ready for meat I had the green facing up and when I was feeling bilious, red would be flashed. I gave the passador the green light and the onslaught of meat began. We kicked off with one of the most disappointing meats of the evening – the ham hock, which was very dry, salty and lacked depth of flavour. We then moved on to the chicken thighs which were tender but again didn’t quite make it in the flavour stakes. However, we were then treated to possibly one of the best meats I have ever got my chops around – a special cut called picanha which is a blend of the tender rump and the fatty rump. My favourite was the cheese rump, the cheese was pungent enough to stand up to the rich flavour of the beef. I also tried chicken hearts, which were a little chewy but packed a punch.
Rodizio took me back to Christmas and that tight belly ache (my nana serves Christmas dinner on a tray; no plate can hold the quantity of food needed for such an occasion). Nonetheless dessert was lovingly forced upon us – grilled pineapple sprinkled with cinnamon and syrup accompanied by vanilla ice cream along with strawberry caiprinhas (£7) topped off with a Limoncello shot which is good for digestion, we were told. Personally I don’t think there was any helping my gut!
Eat as much as you dare for £23.50 per person; meal for two, with wine and cocktails, about £90.
