On a recent geocaching trip to Birmingham, we headed out into the town centre on a Saturday night. Not fully realising that it was the opening weekend for the German Christmas Market there. The Town centre was PACKED! I mean that with more capital letters than it is socially acceptable to use. Every bar we walked past had people pressed against the windows, every restaurant we tried was the same. and it was only 6:30pm. So we started to head away from the German Market and see if the crowds lightened.
Eventually we found a restaurant that didn’t have crowds bulging from it’s entrance way. As we walked into the Viva Brazil it looked very civilised and relaxed. However the earliest we could get a table for 3 blokes was 9.00pm. So we booked it and looked around Birmingham.
Viva Brazil, Birmingham
It was time. We were starving as we’d been hiking around the countryside for 6 hours, then another 2 and a bit in the town centre. I mean really starving.
Viva Brazil, is an all you can eat Meat place, or at least it was for us (there is variations available). For £24.95 you can enjoy their full menu of meats and eat as much of it as you wish! The concept is you place a coaster on the table end to control your meat flow. If it’s green you want more meat, if its red , you want a breather! A server arrives at your table with a joint of meat on a skewer and slices off as much as you want. Sounds like a challenge, but I wasn’t a professional meat eater like my dining companions.
To start with you need to collect your plate from the Salad Bar. The bar offered a decent offering of salad items, not just leaves and cucumber. On the end of the bar were some cooked meals, like mussels. On the other side were, Chips, Mash and a Crispy, Crunchy item, that could have been polenta (I’ve never had it so I’m not sure) or a Crouton. So, I spoons a selection and covered my plate with a sampling of most items.
Apparently this was my mistake. Chris had returned with an empty plate “You’ve got no room for your meat on there Alan!”
It didn’t take long for our first item to arrive at the table. Brazillian Sausage, followed by Chicken and Bacon. After each item the Server signed or stamped the menu. I thought is was to stop you having more than one portion, but it was to make sure you tried every item.
Next up was Flank Steak, Cap of Rump, then Smoked Gammon.
The meat was coming out of the kitchen fast. Everything was fresh and piping hot. And I’ll be honest saying I could barely keep up with the pace it was arriving at. So I said “Should I turn the disc over to the Stop side”, Chris and Stephen looked at me like I had offended their families with something very inappropriate. It was just me that was struggling after my Chips, Salad, Croutons and 6 portions of meat.
Pork Belly, Chicken Legs, Sirloin Steak I collected my portion, but Chris and Stephen took it.
Next up was Cinnamon Pineapple! Meat, Meat, Meat then fruit! It response was similar to me suggesting I stemmed the flow of slicing. I was first to dive in to sample this. Roasted Pineapple with a cinnamon glaze. It was amazing. The juicy fresh acidity of the fruit was the perfect accompaniment to the meat. I’d be tempted to try cooking it myself it was that refreshing.
Garlic Cap of Rump, then Chicken Hearts. Chicken hearts to me was like a Bush tucker trail and I passed. Even though Chris and Steve both tried them, I wasn’t ashamed to say no. Anything of that nature, hasn’t appealed to me since I was forced liver and onions as a child. Saying that, if it was a paté I would probably eat it!
It wasn’t long before it was only the Chilli Chicken that hadn’t arrived and a second portion of Pork Belly had. It had been a long day and the meat sweats were preparing us for a long nights sleep.
The atmosphere was buzzing, but with a relaxed feel. We were sat upstairs where there were 3 large parties in. It was great value for money and the food tasted amazing, it’s just a shame I live 3 and a bit hours away or else I’d have been back this weekend too. Definitely worth trying Viva Brazil if your heading to Brimingham
Leave a Reply