Carnaval Brazilian BBQ
270 Waterfront Dr.

When I told my friends I was going to Carnaval Brazilian BBQ, they all made this enthusiastic moaning noise and told me how lucky I was.

After eating there, I completely understand why.

The décor is brightly coloured while remaining subtle and sophisticated with giant windows that fill the space with light.

Located on beautiful Waterfront Drive, I’m excited to go back when the view’s in full bloom.

My friend and I were immediately greeted by a cheerful hostess who traded off seamlessly with an equally friendly server.

She made us feel very welcome, quickly brought us a generous amount of side dishes (such as corn bread and chickpea salad) and explained the concept of a Brazilian barbeque or “churrasco” or what I call: How every restaurant should run, always.

“ Caution: Vegetarians, this won’t be fun for you.

At every place setting there’s a coaster, red on one side, green on the other. Now comes the fun part.

Caution: Vegetarians, this won’t be fun for you, though you can tag along for a lower price, depending on how comfortable you are in a barbeque setting.

When you flip your coaster to the green side, people walk up to your table with perfectly cooked meat on a sword and cut pieces of it off for you. No really, a sword. They will continue to do this until you give them the red light.

It’s like being at a catered party where there’s no shame in hanging out by the food all night and you don’t have to talk to anyone but the company you came with.

Not only that, but for people coming at you with swords, the staff were among the most pleasant folks I’ve ever met.

I don’t know much about individual kinds or cuts of meat, but each one was described to me in detail both on the menu and by the servers. I was able to choose where I wanted my cut from and how much.

As if all the delicious sides and sumptuous meats weren’t enough, I also had a large portion of abacaxi (abba-ka-she), grilled pineapple with cinnamon and sugar.

As a pineapple enthusiast, I’m always happy to see it, but in this case, it made an especially perfect palate cleanser.

It must have been obvious how much I enjoyed the dish, because even when I waved the red flag at the end of the meal, I was tempted with another slice.

All things considered, the lunch buffet is reasonably priced at $22. For dinner the price goes up to $39 with more sides available. Personally, I was happy to have gone in the afternoon as it allowed me to afford the sizable tip my server deserved.

I can’t say anything bad about Carnaval. Just go. Do it.

Published in Volume 67, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 21, 2013)