When outside the skies are grey and (as it is this morning) the wind is howling, you want a little sunshine in your life.
I’m craving warm sunshine, bright colours, and refreshing drinks.
Which is what Cabana Brasilian Barbecue want to bring you. With their theme firmly in South America and a country that immediately makes you think of cocktails and carnivals.
Inside, it’s vibrant. Despite the darkening skies outside and the less than pleasant weather, the colours leapt from the walls at you calling you to the sunshine of South America.
Whilst on the ground floor there’s plenty of dining space and a bar, upstairs is the Caipirinha Bar, with lots of neon and more relaxed seating.
Of course, when there’s a Caipirinha Bar, you order a Caipirinha. Or two (as they have a great two for one offers on regularly and it’s definitely worth a sample). Lightly sour, refreshing, these got us off to a fabulous start.
Onto starters, and we ordered a little selection of nibbles. Guaca-molho – creamy guacamole and an unlimited supply of corn chips. The dip lacked a little of the spice I prefer, but was still tasty and wasn’t diluted by sour cream or yoghurt.
The cheese filled dough balls, or Pão de queijo also intrigued us and offered something reminiscent of my mum’s cheese scones, the cheese being bedded into the bread, rather than a gooey stringy filling that we’d perhaps expected.
The crispy squid was good too, tender, no rubberiness, the Malagueta mayonnaise promising lots of spice was a bit disappointing, no heat, barely any pepper flavour, but after adding a little extra from the sauce bottle on our table, our taste buds got the bite needed.
Onto mains and for some reason, my eye was drawn to the Guava-cue chicken. A sweet sticky guava barbecued chicken, not something I’d have normally picked but the sweet fruitiness was satisfying, as were the sweet potato fries, although the Homeslaw and it’s buttermilk sourness didn’t sit quite so comfortably. Perhaps too much of a contrast.
Mr GFB had gone for the Cabana steak – 8oz steak marinaded in chilli and cumin sauce, served with Homeslaw and fries.
This was OK, but Mr GFB too wasn’t overwhelmed. The steak was tender and flavourful, if nowhere near the medium rare he had asked for and at £15.95 he felt there were other places he could go for something better value.
Mains cleared, we edged into dessert. The menu is heavy on the ice creams and sundaes with the odd alternative, such as the Nega Maluca a dense rich chocolate cake. As we’d both obvious indulged in our savoury dishes, desserts had to be ice cream. After all, we all know that ice cream fits in the gaps in your tummy, right?
Both the Oreo and peanut butter sundae and the Caramel flake were filled with dulche de leche, vanilla icecream and chunks of chocolate. Though if it weren’t for the cookies, I’d defy you to tell the difference.
Overall Cabana Brasilian Barbecue is….. Well it’s OK. The food is OK, the Caipirinhas are great. But in a city that has just seen over 60 restaurants open in the last 12 months, you can find better, you can find better value.
Which is probably where you’ll find me.
I certainly appreciate your honest review on this restaurant. I love Cairprinhas but the steak has got to be cooked right!
Thanks! I think it’s OK, but there are so many other places you can go in the city that can offer better value. Bit of a shame as the caipirinhas are great!