 "As often is the case, I have to agree with Restaurants Of Manchester review (below). I visited Bem Brasil Deansgate on a Sunday lunchtime in much need of a meat feast following a rather heavy session on the Saturday evening. At £22.50 it seemed quite steep, although we were told that desserts and our first drink were included in the price. Had we known about the amount and quality of the meat we were to receive, we wouldn't have quibbled once about the price.
The food was fantastic, especially the salted rump steak and, as Melanie mentions (below), the Cinammon Pineapple. We got to taste everything from lamb and 3 cuts of beef to duck and even chicken's hearts. It was all great stuff, although some of it was a bit dry, depending on how much was left on the skewer. This was soon replaced though and the next cut was rarer and more juicy, as I like it. I had completely overfaced myself though on both the fantastic salad and the many generous helpings of meat. So much so, I did not eat for the rest of the day. If you want your money's worth of meat, go easy on the salad and pace yourself. It's OK to say 'no' once to the waiter with the knowledge that he's sure to circle the room again with the same cut.
Service was friendly and, at times, excellent whilst, at others, non-existent. The place maybe too big for them to run a tight ship although they're half way there that a few tweaks shouldn't be hard to make.
My main quibble, as previously mentioned, was that the tables were certainly not clean - given just a once over with a wet cloth, bits of food discarded on to the floor below and, at worse, the seats around each table. As a result they were sticky and we had to lay our napkins down so that our elbows didn't keep sticking to the wood. There's no excuse for such uncleanliness in a venue which obviously cost over £1million to kit out. The live Brazilian music, which could have been an excellent backdrop, was far too loud for this time of the day and it was almost like eating at a concert, with most diners obviously showing displeasure at the noise level. More so for those, like me, suffering with a sore head from the night before.
Overall, Bem Brasil Deansgate is a far better choice than Gaucho Grill although it's no better or worse than Bem Brasil in the Northern Quarter or Tropeiro in the Gay Village, which seems a shame as they've spent so much on the place and it should be taking the concept to the next level. I'd certainly return but largely just for the fantastic meats rather than the overall experience.." - matthew, manchester - TRUSTED REVIEWER (12/11/09 - visited on a sunday lunch) |
"We visited Bem Brasil Deansgate on Saturday lunchtime with my 23 year old niece and her boyfriend, who were visiting from out of town. We were tempted by the lunchtime special of £12.50 each for 'all you can eat', a challenge we were sure our young companions would be well able to test!
We were greeted warmly and offered a choice of tables. The system was enthusiastically explained to us and we were given a drinks menu. Unfortunately it took a lot of effort to find somebody to take a drinks order. We then waited a long time for drinks to arrive. My caipirinha (when it finally arrived) was just how I like it.
There was an excellent range of salads and side dishes available, together with some hot dishes. These were regularly refreshed. The difficulty came in making choices of the side dishes that left enough room for the meats that were to come!
The meats came round steadily. Not all the advertised cuts of meat appeared but there were also meats, (e.g. duck), not on the list that were offered. It must be difficult to please everyone in terms of how well done the meat is. Diners who are approached first have most choice in this respect from the well done exterior to rare middle. Diners towards the end tend to find their meat offered very rare. The choice was good and we certainly enjoyed everything. Mr B, being a lamb fan, would have liked to see that do the rounds more often - it made it round twice during our visit.
Towards the end of our visit the cinammon pineapple appeared. Heaven on a plate. We were seriously tempted to hold captive the server to keep it all to ourselves!
The one thing that let our visit down was the drinks and bill service. Attempting to find someone to order both rounds of drinks was incredibly difficult. Our second round never appeared and it took 2 additional people, and about 30 minutes, before it finally arrived. Our requested jug of water arrived, after countless reminders, just before we left. We spent 15 minutes trying to get our bill and a further 10 minutes trying to pay it. As it happened we were not pushed for time but it was irritating.
In terms of value for money this was excellent. We liked the concept and ambience. We enjoyed the food. If they can get the drinks and bill service right this would be a real winner. We'll certainly be going back to see if they have achieved that." - melanie bryan, wigan - TRUSTED REVIEWER (3/10/09 - visited on a saturday lunch) |
