FOGO De BRAZIL

Does this new churrascaria at the Souk make the cut?

There’s a new Brazilian restaurant in Souk Qaryat Al Beri that specialises in meat, meat and more meat. The traditional churrascaria see guests served rodizio style – meaning waiters come with skewers of beef, lamb and more as and when they’re cooked, until you tell them to stop by flipping over a red place card on your table.

Fogo de Brazil is decorated in dark woods, pops of red and has an open kitchen along one side of the space, where you can watch the Brazilian staff grill meat for your table. Most impressive, however, is the view of the Maqta Creek and Sheikh Zayed Mosque from the outside terrace, so grab a seat outside if the weather permits.

The outlet serves 17 different cuts including beef, lamb, chicken, fish and prawns. There’s also moreish cinnamon pineapple (for digestion purposes) and grilled halloumi cheese if you need a break from all that protein.

The meal began with a trip to the salad bar, which featured mixed lettuce, olives, cheese cuts, as well as beans, rice and a couple of pasta dishes. While a visit here is fine if you’re after a bit of veg, it didn’t impress and felt a bit unnecessary. On to the meat and two different levels of cooking were requested (medium and well-done). However, the majority of meat served was well-done, even after reminding two or three different servers about our preferences. That said, the food was of a good standard. Particular highlights included the peppered tenderloin, melt-in-yourmouth ribs, salted cod and juicy tiger prawns. Don’t miss the farofa, a traditional Brazilian bread crumb-like mixture you can sprinkle for added texture on to your meat.

Save space for dessert (if you can). The date pudding was of a good standard, but for something more traditional try the quindim – a bright yellow egg pudding with a biscuit-like coconut crust.

While there were some kinks in the service, perhaps because the restaurant is still very new, Fogo de Brazil does offer a lot of unique and traditionally Brazilian foods that meat lovers should definitely check out.

Souk Qaryat Al Beri, Al Maqta, Abu Dhabi, daily noon to midnight. Tel: (02) 5500556. Taxi: Souk Qaryat Al Beri. fogodebrazil.ae