If you haven’t already been to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant, you’re missing out on the two greatest things in life. The first being a style of cooking known as churrasco, a way of slow barbecuing meats cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection. The second being rodízio—an all-you-can-eat style of service found in a heap of restaurants in Brazil.
Yep, the idea with many Brazilian BBQ restaurants in Sydney is that you sit back and relax and have a chaotic and delicious array of meats brought to you until you physically cannot fit another skewered picanha into your glorious food-coma stuffed body.
Check out the best spots to get Brazilian BBQ in Sydney.
Braza Churrascaria
CBD
Some things in life are better done in excess and Brazilian BBQ is one of those things. Braza Churrascaria sports a bit of clout across Sydney all down to its traditional rodízio, where passadores (meat carvers) rotate from table to table serving more than 20 different types of skewers and more than 10 vegetarian sides to choose from. And if that doesn’t spell out your biggest foodie dreams, we don’t know what will.
For traditional churrasco (which will only set you back $59 per person) you’ll basically get to sit down at a table and have an endless chain of succulent cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, seafood, halloumi cheese, and sweet cinnamon pineapple, which have all been slow-roasted over Braza’s charcoal wood fire grill.
BahBQ Brazilian Grill
Crows Nest
Now for the kind of meat that melts in your mouth and a hefty line-up of wine, beer, and tasty cocktails (name a greater combo, we’ll wait), draw your attention to BahBQ Brazilian Grill in Crows Nest. The meats here include everything from homemade sausages, to marinated halloumi cheese, and all churrasco feeds are spit-roasted over natural charcoal and ironbark to really get that intense smokiness going. In true churrasco style (at $64 per person), you’ll have an unlimited seating to all the meats which get deliciously pummelled in dry rub seasonings, fine herbs, brines, marinades, and glazes to enhance all the flavour.
If you’d rather throw yourself at one particular meal, you can also opt for singular dishes like a picanha steak, a moqueca (Northern Brazilian curry with saltwater barramundi, tiger prawns, mussel, coconut, and coriander) or the hearty black stew known as feijoada with smoked meats and sausages.
Espetus Churrascaria
Woolloomooloo
Mixing fine dining with the best of rodizio style serving (and for just $45 per person), Espetus Churrascaria is the kind of place you’ll want to treat your better half or best mate to for their birthday (and you’ll get a slew of brownie points for it too). Here, you’re in for a menu inspired by the southern parts of Brazil, all of which have been made of Espetus’ custom Yoder smoker. The process at Espetus is all about cooking low and slow and slicing up all meats into thin pieces of absolute heaven. You can’t go past the 12-hour smoked beef chuck with mushroom sauce—you just can’t. And to wash it all down, Espetus makes one of the best Caipirinhas (Brazil’s national cocktail) in Sydney, a sweet concoction of cachaça, sugar, and lime.
Churrasco Coogee
Coogee
Listen, not much beats Brazilian BBQ right by the ocean. Along with a famed happy hour that takes place weekdays from 5pm - 6pm and Saturdays from 3pm - 5pm, Churrasco Coogee is a buzzing mecca for some of the best Brazilian BBQ in Sydney. The all-you-can-eat style antics here sit at the $50 per person mark and include a tender selection of BBQ and smoked meats, vegetables, salads, and antipasto snacks too. Keep your eyes peeled for the BBQ lamb rump marinated in lemon and oregano, the six-hour smoked lamb shoulder, the hot chilli chicken wings (if you dare), and the 12-hour smoked beef brisket with Churrasco Texas rub.
Char & Co
Double Bay
Char & Co is a churrasco Brazilian steakhouse bringing in all the Gaucho culture straight from Porto Alegre. Here, you’ll also find live music every Thursday night from 6pm to fuel your endless feasting. Churrasco at Char & Co includes a variety of meats and Brazilian speciality snacks for a cruisey $59 per person, which all get spit-roasted over natural season ironbark wood. You’ll also want to cast your eye over the dessert menu, which offers up fried sweet bananas with warm caramel sauce. Along with this, Tuesdays at Char & Co calls for two-for-one drinks and with that said, it’s no wonder this place clocks in as one of the best Brazilian BBQ places in Sydney.
Chama Brazilian Style BBQ
Cronulla
The all-you-can-eat deal at Chama Brazilian Style BBQ sits as low as $39 per person, but in no way do these guys skimp out on big feasting and flavours. You’ll have everything including salt rubbed BBQ picanha, parmesan beef, chama churry beef, honey soy fillet, chicken hearts (be brave), smoked pork belly, pork chorizo sausages, and a whole heap more. These guys also plate up a solid sides menu so make sure to tick off the traditional Brazilian cheese bread and the baked creamy potatoes.
Brazilian Flame
Zetland
Keeping in mind that traditional Brazilian BBQ culture is all about having a great time and feasting with family and friends, the vibe at Zetland's Brazilian Flame is that everyone is a regular (even if it’s the first time you’ve stepped foot through its doors). Word on the street is if you hail from Brazil, this is the place you hit up in Sydney to get those smokey flavours that taste exactly like home. The first thing you need to know about Brazilian Flame is that the portion sizes here are mega so we encourage you to come with an empty belly so you can make the most of the menu.
As with all Brazilian BBQ feeds, the picanha is the crowning glory, so you’ll want to come into Brazilian Flame with a gameplan of knocking back the “Flame PF”, a combo of picanha, rice, black beans, garden salad and crunchy fries. Another stellar choice is to head straight for the staple “Flame BBQ Roll”, which includes your choice of perfectly cooked meat, crispy cut fries and flame smoked mayo all in one. And good news kids, the team here is planning to open a Dee Why store very, very soon.
Now, check out the best burgers in Sydney.
Image credit: Brazilian Flame, Braza, Espetus Churrascaria, Char & Co, Brazilian Flame