Churrascaria Porcao (Brazilian steakhouse) – Rio, Brazil (9/10)
Oct 25th, 2006 by admin
This chain of churrascarias (Brazilian steakhouses) is pure carnivorous heaven. Open since 1975, there are now even branches of Porcão in New York and Miami. A relatively expensive (by Brazilian standards) ‘all you can eat’ restaurant for a fixed price, there is a vast selection of buffet food, including many amazing salads (try ‘millionaire’s salad with tender palm hearts which is delicious), fish, sushi, desserts and of course feijoada (Brazil’s national dish of meat, black beans, rice and greens).
The main reason to visit Porcão, however, is to feast on the succulent cuts of barbecued meat. On my two visits, I hardly touched anything else as I was warned that I should leave room just for the meat. Various hunks of meat are brought to you, and if you say you’d like some, meat is expertly carved off the skewers with the sharpest of knives. You assist the waiter by picking up the slices of meat with tongs and placing them on your plate. This is a bit scary at first, as it looks like they could slice your face or fingers off in the process, but you soon get used to it.
The best meat in my opinion is the beef (any cut, including picanha – top sirloin, and fillet mignon) and the lamb, so I declined the sausage, chicken, chicken hearts and pork. The trick is to pace yourself and wait for the good beef and lamb cuts to come around. The waiters, each carrying a different cut of meat, will return to your table repeatedly as they do their rounds.
Even as I write this, I can remember the mouth-watering sensations, but also feeling terribly stuffed for hours. The food will keep on coming as long as you have the token next to your plate showing the green side. When you can’t possibly eat another bite, flip it over to show the red side, which means STOP. This is one of the best meals I have ever had and I would highly recommend going to Porcão when you visit Brazil. It’s closer to attaining the perfect 10 than most restaurants I’ve been to…
Try my other favourites in Rio…
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the Brazil restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact Details:
Churrascaria Porcao (Rio branch)
Av Infante Dom Henrique
Aterro do Flamengo
CEP:20021-140
Rio de Janeiro-RJ
Tel: 55 21 3461-9020
www.porcao.com.br
Interesting, but sad that you subscribe to the “only a prime cut is a good cut” point of view here (something I’ve noticed is common to all your churrascaria reviews) – it would have been more rewarding to learn how good the chicken, sausage and organ meat offerings were, than to be advised to wait until “the good stuff” comes round.
As for the meat selection, so also for the buffet – your review began with an inviting rundown of the delights on offer at the buffet station; clearly, however, this advice was provided to you second-hand, as it was followed with the admission that you’d never actually sampled the “amazing salads” on offer.
Disappointing review.
admin Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
So sorry to disappoint. This was written months after my visits, but that’s no excuse. Next time I go back to Rio, I’ll write a better review, with photos. However, I was told to save myself for the prime cuts. I’m sure everything else is just as good, but as there’s a limit as to how much I (or anyone) can eat, I chose to save myself for the items my friends recommended. Even if I went to a normal restaurant, I wouldn’t have been able to try every dish and write about them. And the buffet is amazing. There’s nothing wrong with reporting that my friends and husband liked what they had amongst the buffet dishes, surely? Anyway, I’m clearly disappointing you, so I’m sure you can go to Rio and find out for yourself what Porcao is like.
I am a Brazilian-Japanese living in London, and am delighted to find your review of Porcao here. I love this type of restaurants in Brazil, and try to go to them as many times as humanely possible while on holiday there. I think you were quite graceful in your reply to Jim, some of his comments (or possibly all) were designed to hurt and were uncalled for. I totally agree with your views, however I would save a little bit of tummy space for two of my favourites – the chicken hearts and the enormous ribs of beef, the meat is so tender it falls off the bone.
I note from your blog you are a big Japanese food fan. If you ever happen to go to Sao Paulo, my hometown, the Japanese-Brazilian cuisine is amazing and terribly creative. As you may know, Sao Paulo has the largest Japanese community outside Japan, and the Japanese restaurants are excellent there.
Luiz Hara
admin Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:47 am
Luiz – thanks for your comments! I’ve been to Sao Paulo before, though it was back in 2004, and I did go to a few excellent Japanese restaurants, but no Japanese-Brazilian ones. Went to Liberdade too!
Helen Yuet Ling