Pau Brasil Restaurant Manchester - reviews and information

Bem Brasil Steak Restaurant Manchester - reader comments

"Buffet restaurants are really popular these days. As much as you can eat for a set and, usually, very reasonable price. Bem Brasil is a place which works along these same lines. They charge just over the £20 mark for dinner though, so it's a fair bit more expensive than the usual buffet, and in the same ballpark as a regular a la carte place, which is what has put us off until now to be honest. Anyway, we landed on a Tuesday for lunch, armed with our cheapskate 30% off vouchers, making the £12.50 lunch serving, a very reasonable £8 odd.

The decor is very well suited to the theme, in a casual, yet tidy and rustic manner. The staff are friendly, vibrant and lively. With it being lunch, there were only a few people in there, but soon after sitting down, you could well imagine that the place would be rocking when full on a Saturday night. Since it was only lunch, we just had a bottle of water between us, despite being tempted by the caipirinhas and array of other cocktails on the menu.

Soon after being seated, we were given a quick run through of how the place works. Basically, you help yourself at the buffet of salad, stew and breads in the middle of the restaurant, then, when you want meat, you turn the disc on your table over to green, which indicates that you're ready to go. A gent patrols the restaurant with freshly skewered meat of various types, and carves some onto your plate. Easy!

I'm not usually a salad man, but the beans, greens, rice, coleslaw and potatoes etc were excellent, and just what you'd want at a BBQ in the middle of summer. First up, a skewer of duck landed on the table, and we took pleasure in watching thick, juicy pieces being carved into our plates. Sure, its a buffet, but I've never eaten at a buffet as novel as this. After the duck, soon after came the lamb, sausages, and beef, chicken etc etc. After enjoying all the well cooked, tasty options, the sirloin steak skewer came along, and it was at this point that the twenty-odd quid dinner menu actually sounded pretty reasonable. I expected a few slivers of beef to be carved off, but the circa 8oz piece of perfectly medium rare steak, which the generous waiter gave me, quickly made it seem like great value. On the whole, the meats were all very good quality, perhaps a little overseasoned, but we had no real complaints at all.

To cut a long story short, if you're a meat eater, you simply have to visit Bem Brasil. £22 is a lot for a set price buffet, but compare that with what you'd pay for a decent steak anywhere in town, and suddenly, it makes plenty of sense. I suspect that we will soon return in the evening with a group of mates, to enjoy the drinks and inevitable party atmosphere.

Food 3/5 ~ Value 3/5 ~ Service 3/5 ~ Smartness 3.5/5 ~ Overall 3/5" - chris handley, salford - TRUSTED REVIEWER (8/11/09 visited on a tuesday lunch)

"The food at Bem Brasil was good, the service was quick but the drinks are very expensive. I would go again though." - cathy ginty, leigh - NEW MEMBER - 18/9/09 (visited on a friday lunch)

"The food and presentation at Bem Brasil is tremendous and the idea, of meat served in this manner, is clever and entertaining. The young woman that served us clearly didn't think she should be working in such a place and did not make us feel welcome at all. She clearly had a superiority complex and was almost rude to us from arriving. However, the other staff were fantastic and welcoming, especially the meat servers. The food is a little over-salted but, I guess, that's a matter of taste. The music was far too loud to allow for conversations and all the diners were shouting to each other to be heard. A restaurant is not a disco! But overall a good restaurant and I will return, but avoid the young 'sniffy' waitress." - chris smith, dukinfield - NEW MEMBER - 6/9/09 (visited on a saturday evening)

"The food at Bem Brasil would have been lovely but very, very salty which spoilt it. The choice of salad and, rice and other bits, which you can go up and get more if you like, is great, but to be honest I thought the price overall was quite expensive considering that is all I ate in the end, as the meat was too salty for me. So not cheap for salad! Also, my other half booked Bem Brasil for my birthday, we got there and they didn't even have our name down but luckily there was a table available - not good service if you ask me." - lisa wagg, manchester - NEW MEMBER (13/6/09 visited on a friday evening)

"Pau Brasil was great value for money, eat as much as you like. The meat was plenty-full, varied and very tasty. I can't wait to go back." - sonia ogunkoya, manchester - 8/3/09 (visited on a saturday evening)

"We weren't sure what to expect as we had never been to Pau Brasil before, but it was really lovely! So much food... the meats were cooked beautifully and the self service counter was full of lots of tempting goodies... the salmon was fantastic! Will definitely be going again." - jilli, manchester - 4/1/09 (visited on a sunday afternoon)

"The salad at Pau Brasil was really nice and fresh but when the meat came, although there was a lot of it, it all tasted very much the same and was very dry. As for the hot buffet in the middle, next to the salad, there was no information as to what it was, so if you had allergies you would have to wait to get the attention of a waiter to find out what was in each dish. I'm sorry to say that we won't be having a return visit but I would like to say that the concept of the restaurant is very good. If they could make sure that the meat and chicken was cooked so it was not so dry and that information was available, it would be much better." - susan wardley, manchester - 16/11/08 (visited on a sunday lunch)

"We were intrigued by the description of Pau Brasil on this site and decided to give it a try. It was a good shout as we had a very enjoyable night out and an unusual meal. The concept is excellent and the restaurant does a great job of bringing something different to the Manchester scene, but there are ways the owner's could make it even better. For example, it isn't clear what the prices are or what diners have to do. There's no menu as it's a set format, buffet bar for salad/veg with waiters constantly bringing meat from the grill - but they could introduce a place card explaining that and the price (£19 a head for all you can eat). If you're a vegetarian or someone with a small appetitite it's not clear if there's an alternative for you, other than the salad bar (still at £19). The meat generally is excellent but we found that it was invariably well done, which isn't how I prefer my beef - maybe they could set aside some rarer meats for the awkward people like me! But these comments apart, this is a great venue for a group party night out (meat eaters) - particularly with the cracking Caipirinhas to oil the wheels!." - ian, stockton heath - 26/11/07 (visited on a sunday evening)

"After reading Restaurants Of Manchester review, I was excited about visiting Pau Brasil. The place was packed and there looked to be 3 different birthday parties going on so it was rather loud. The meat was superb, although some cuts were a little overcooked for my liking - overall though it was cheaper and better than the likes of Gaucho Grill. Superb salad and quite good value at £20 when you consider the quality of the meat and the fact you'd normally have to eat a starter to go away feeling this full. The Caipirinha's are worthy of mention - great value at £6 but the cost soon adds up when they're this good. The chef's were extremely friendly and helpful! Waitresses could have been better, prices could have been clearer and tables could do with being further apart but all in all an excellent steak restaurant and one I'll be returning to." - matthew, manchester - 26/11/07 (visited on a saturday evening)

"Like many Brazilians, Pau Brasil don't believe in limits and the concept of continuous service, with as much quality meat as your belly will allow and all carved at the table, take's some getting used to. In essence, this is an all-you-can-eat buffet where the main ingredients come to your table and are served straight from the fire pit by excellent friendly chef's.

You help yourself to some quality salad, rice and fruit and sit back and wait for the chefs to bring you cuts of some of the best meat available in Manchester. With Roast Chicken, Lamb, Pork, Fish, and the best Salted Beef we've had in town, it's very easy to stuff yourself silly to the point where your eyes are certainly bigger than your belly. You're provided with a 2 sided disc which you leave on the edge of the table. One side is green indicating to the chef that you're interested in whatever meat he happens to be bringing next, and the other is red to inform him you're full - with meat as good as this though, we found ourselves displaying green when our waistline was crying out for us to show red!

With a good wine list and the best Caipirinha's in town - as you'd expect from the only Brazilian offering - you could spend a full night in the lush surroundings of Pau Brasil (on Friday and Saturday nights, you're limited to 1.5 hour food sittings and would have to retire to the comfortable bar area). We've read reviews from some professionals complaining about the price, but to be fair at £19.50 per person (£12.50 at lunch time) for as much as you can eat and with cuts of this quality, it seems a little unfair. Especially when you consider a Sampler of 4 different cuts at the critically-acclaimed Gaucho Grill costs £31 without starters, sides and desserts. With the outstanding Cocktails, including over 20 different Caipirinha's, on offer at only £6, it's also one of the cheapest bars in town. Our only gripe is that it wasn't made clear at the start how much the all-you-can-eat menu was going to cost us, although we did have plenty of opportunity to ask.

This is certainly more than a welcome addition to Manchester's restaurant scene and is sure to be a popular Northern Quarter destination for many meat lovers (including ourselves). It's certainly a place for those of you with a big appetite although you can also opt for the £7.85 Salad Bar menu, allowing you to choose only one cut of meat. The only problem you'd have is choosing which cut - they're all so good!" - restaurants of manchester - 5/11/07 (visited on a wednesday evening)

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