London Restaurant Reviews - Rodízio Preto

In my quest to find London's best rodízio restaurant, I met up with fellow Brazilian food blogger Rosana McPhee of Hot & Chilli and headed to the Victoria branch of Rodízio Preto.

For those not familiar with this style of Brazilian restaurant, there is more information in my earlier post on Rodízio Rico which you can read here. As explained, rodízio derives from the word "to rotate" and the term is most commonly applied to restaurants serving barbecued meats (also known as Churrascarias). In such restaurants, waiters go around the tables holding skewers with large pieces of barbecued meat which they will slice at your table. Green and red cards are given to each diner, and these are used to let the waiters know when you have had enough, or decide to have a break. A fixed price is paid per person, which entitles you to eat as much as you like of your favourite dishes. Prices and quality of ingredients and cooking vary tremendously from place to place in Brazil, but are generally of good standard and value since competition among this style of restaurants is fierce.

With two branches in Victoria (Wilton Street) and Putney (Putney High Street), and a third opening soon in the West End (Shaftesbury Avenue), Rodízio Preto is the second largest Brazilian rodízio restaurant in London after Rodízio Rico.

Unlike many other restaurants of this kind with their hideously fake Gaucho-style decor, their smallest branch in Victoria has a modern feel,  with brightly coloured walls, plain dark wood tables and a TV screen playing Brazilian music videos (I could have done without the latter).

The hot buffet was simple and had fewer choices than Rodizio Rico's. It was beautifully displayed containing some traditional Brazilian dishes like Salada de Chu Chu, Baiao de Dois (rice and beans, cassava flour and meats), Frango com Milho e Batata Palha (chicken and sweetcorn bake with matchstick chips) among others. 

We felt that most of the buffet dishes were good but some items, like the deep-fried polenta and the Pao de Queijo, would have been better freshly prepared and served at the table rather than being batch cooked and left on the warming tray.

A big advantage with RodízioPreto is that Feijoada, Brazil's national dish of black beans and pork stew served with rice and fried spring greens, is available at weekends along with the more usual hot buffet and barbecued meats. If you have not yet tried Feijoada, I really recommend it.

Rodízio Preto serves up to 15 different cuts of meat. Rosana and I felt that the quality of meats served at Preto was good and that they had the edge over Rodizio Rico's. There were some outstanding items including picanha (top sirloin) marinated in garlic and a very succulent and tender cut of pork fillet. All the meats were simply but well seasoned and were offered either rare, medium rare or well done.

Rodízio Preto offers a good selection of Brazilian and other international beers at around £4 including Itaipava, Bohemia, and Brahma. More impressive is their well priced wine list with a respectable range of wines from Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Italy including several bottles under £20. On our visit, Rosana and I shared a bottle of excellent 08 Chianti Classico priced at a very reasonable £18.70.

I was surprised to see the Brazilian Miolo Millesime sparkling wine (a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) offered at £25.20 while the same bottle is priced at £35 at Rodízio Rico. Again I felt that Preto offered better choices of wine and at more affordable prices than its main competitor.

Cost: £19.95 per person for unlimited hot buffet, salad bar and grilled meats (£3.55 less than Rodízio Rico @ £23.50), or £14.95 (hot buffet and salad bar), £4.95 for children under 12 years old, excluding drinks and desserts. I believe this to be great value, particularly for meat lovers and families with children.

Likes: good quality and range of Brazilian grilled meats, friendly service, Feijoada available at weekends, great value, well priced wine list.

Dislikes: some items from the buffet would be better freshly prepared and served hot from the kitchen directly at the tables including Pao de Queijo and deep fried polenta. I really dislike restaurants with television screens.

Verdict: Rodizio Preto is the best restaurant of its kind in London serving good quality barbecued meats and other traditional Brazilian dishes at very reasonable prices. Friendly service and lively atmosphere. This is the closest you will get to the real Brazilian rodizio experience in the UK. Highly recommended.

London Restaurant Reviews - Rodízio Rico on Upper Street

When I was growing up in Brazil, going to a rodízio restaurant was one of those Sunday rituals that brought the entire family together. Every Brazilian family will have their favourite rodízio, the one they go to regularly and swear by to be the best one in town. By far the most popular style of eating in Brazil, rodízio is not confined to steak houses only, but also pizze, feijoada, sushi, cakes, and any other imaginable food. A fixed-price is paid per person which entitles you to eat as much as you like of your favourite dishes. Prices and quality of ingredients and cooking vary tremendously from place to place but are generally of a good standard and value as competition is fierce.

Rodízio derives from the word "to rotate" and is mostly commonly applied to restaurants serving barbecued meats also known as Churrascarias. In such restaurants, waiters circulate between tables holding skewers with large pieces of barbecued meat which they slice at your table. Green and red cards are given to each diner, and these are used to let the waiters know whether you still want more meat or you have had enough for now.

Good quality rodízio restaurants in Brazil will offer an endless range of different cuts of beef, pork and poultry, and sometimes fish. The buffet of salads and other accompaniments also helps to differentiate one restaurant from another and is seen to indicate the quality of such establishments - the better quality and hence pricier restaurants will offer a more sophisticated buffet. Dr G and I go to a churrascaria rodízio a couple of minutes walk from our apartment in São Paulo that charges around £6 per person - the quality of meat is excellent and the buffet, although not nearly as lavish as some other more upmarket alternatives, is also pretty good.

Due to Brazil’s size and multicultural influences, the cuisine varies hugely from North (more African/Caribbean) to South (more European/Japanese). Dishes like Lasagna and Polenta Frita are ubiquitous in every family home and Brazilian restaurant menus in the Southern states, while Arroz e Feijao are a staple food eaten everywhere.

To those unfamiliar with Brazilian cuisine, Rodizio Rico’s buffet might seem confused and lacking focus, but this is just a reflection of Brazil’s mixed heritage. Many Brazilians will happily eat Russian Salad, polenta, rice and beans, possibly a pasta dish and some meat at the same meal and without batting an eyelid!

I am pleased to see a number of rodízio restaurants opening recently in London, and so I decided the time had come for a closer inspection. Rodízio Rico opened in the UK about 15 years ago on Westbourne Grove. I used to go there whenever I craved Brazilian home cooking, but I have to admit that I had not returned for a few years until a couple of weeks ago when I visited their Upper Street branch. I was meeting Russell, the editor of Jungle Drums Online, a website that promotes Brazilian culture, music and food and where I contribute with a bi-weekly food & drinks column.

A few minutes' walk from Angel Tube on Upper Street at Islington Green, Rodízio Rico is in a great location at one of the busiest and most popular high streets in London. Their flagship restaurant is rather large and the décor, somewhat at odds with its trendy location, is rustic in style resembling an old fashioned churrascaria similar to the ones in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s most southerly state and the native land of the Gaúchos.

Rodizio Rico’s buffet was well laid out and contained some of Brazil’s most popular dishes - a great introduction to those less familiar with the cuisine, and a good opportunity to try many options at once.

Of the many salads on display, I particularly enjoyed the Maionese (Brazilian take on the Russian Salad), and the Salpicão (a salad of shredded chicken with celery, mayonnaise, matchstick chips and other ingredients). Other favourites were the Crème de Milho (sweetcorn cream), Baiao de Dois (North-eastern dish made of rice, beans, cassava flour, dry meat and spring greens) and Vaca Atolada (slow-cooked and meltingly tender rib of beef in a creamy cassava stew).

I was also pleased to see a respectable variety of meats on offer – picanha (Brazil’s favourite cut – top sirloin), chicken thighs wrapped in bacon, sausages, pork fillet, chicken hearts, and a few others. The meats had a delicious charcoal flavour, were very simply seasoned with sea salt only and well barbecued. At £23.50 per person, I felt that Rodizio Rico provides good value for money for the variety and quality they offer.

Rodizio Rico’s drinks menu is however slightly overpriced in my opinion – bottles of beer are priced at £3.95, soft drinks, including Brazilian Guaraná, cost £2.95 while only a handful of options are priced below £20 on their wine list. On our visit, we ordered a bottle of 2006/8 Miolo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon @ £26 – we were brought a 2009 Miolo (not a Reserva) which tasted young, completely fruit-driven and uninspiring.

Cost: The London Foodie was a guest of Rodizio Rico. £23.50 per person or £19 (vegetarians – buffet only).

Likes: good variety of barbecued meats, respectable Brazilian buffet, good value for money. Great location. Friendly staff.

Dislikes: some dishes from the buffet should be served freshly cooked like Polenta, more affordable wine choices should be available, £19 for vegetarian menu (buffet only) is expensive. Décor is a let-down.

Verdict: Rodizio Rico offers a truly Brazilian experience in the heart of Islington. Good quality meats, a respectable array of popular Brazilian dishes on its buffet served with friendly Brazilian hospitality. At £23.50, it is also good value for money. Recommended.