Rodizio Rico (Westbourne Grove)

My youngest son and I were taken there by my Brazilian girlfriend and her son in early December '09 on a Saturday afternoon - the restaurant was very quiet and only had around 3 other tables occupied. The atmosphere was a little jaded and the grill chef looked positively exhausted and uninterested and repeatedly yawned. The salads and cold bar were well stocked and plentiful and importantly fresh. The waiter was friendly and spoke positively about the restaurant. The meat and sausage were plentiful but only the sausage, lamb and the pichana were tender enough to enjoy - the chicken hearts were a first for me too. Overall it is a great way to eat with friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience ...although some of the meats were a little chewy it could still have been an amazing dining experience if the staff were on top of there game...Brazilian style.

Overall we had a good time and my son enjoyed the non stop offering of meat - We will go back and hopefully the staff will be a little more awake.
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Happy
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Thursday, December 10, 2009

I went to Rodizio Rco last night with some relatives. The place was fairly busy for a Tuesday evening and atmosphere with a mix of young couples and groups.

Service was friendly and overall OK. We were explained how the menu is set up and the various meat and vegetarian choice available.

The salads look good and plentiful and taste OK. We found a good choice of cold salads as well as warm food such a chips, fried banana, chicken and sweetcon pie, lasagna and fried beans.

I think the real disappointment was the meat. Even if plentiful, the quality and cuts of the meats are definitely not top class. I tasted most of the cuts we were offered and I found them all tough and chewy. Probably the lamb was the best, but the beef, the veal and the steak was hard and tasted very average. I personally did not like the sauge at all.

All in all, I think £22.50 per person is somewhat fair value for money if you consider the unlimited quantities of food or are looking for a fun night out with friends and you are farticulalrly fussy about the quality of the food. I would not recommend this place if you are looking for an "experience" or simply want to eat quality meat.
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Maurizio Picchioini
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

I went to Rodizio Rico Islington last sunday (04/10) with boyfriend and sister. The place was a bit busy, but not over crowded. I guess saturdays and fridays are very very busy. Sunday night wasn't too bad. The food was very good, the meat well done, the salads very fresh... The stuff very friendly and meat would not stop coming... amazing. My boyfriend actually said it was the first place he's ever been that it is all you can eat and you could eat as much as you can.

The only thing the drinks I were very expensive. No need to charge that much for a caipirinha, eh!

Very good service and food, I would recommend - but I know how a churrascaria can get on the weekends, like any other restaurant. My tip is if you want to have a good restaurant experience, please avoid fridays and saturdays nights.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 05, 2009

We booked a table for four to celebrate a birthday. When we arrived, no table had been reserved for us. Instead we were offered seats at a long, communal table in the middle of the restaurant. There were two tables for six which were unoccupied and had not been reserved but the staff would not allow us to sit at them. We said we were unhappy - very politely - but the manager wasn't remotely interested. We therefore ate somewhere else (a very good Lebanese down the road). A pity because -celebrating another birthday two years ago - we'd enjoyed ourselves. We're all very fond of Brazil having lived or travelled there for a number of years but we won't be going to Rodizio Rico again.
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3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Friday, August 07, 2009

The food here is of a VERY average standard, sometimes below average. The numerous different types of meat are, on the whole, fatty, bland and appear to be quite cheap cuts of meat. They look great and to be fair the 'Baby Beef' was fantastic but everything else was bitterly disappointing (Chicken Hearts has novelty value and tasted OK). The buffet was very average, bland salads, cold soft chips, and numerous other things. DEFINITELY NOT WORTH 22.50.

Service was fine and the restaurant has an ok atmosphere but if you're going to an all you can eat meat place you expect great meat, unfortunately you wont find it here.

If you ignore this and go anyway prepare to be very disappointed....
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Luis Aldaya
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Thursday, April 30, 2009

My girlfriend is brasilian. this was my first experience of brasilian food. The food was good. The service was apalling. We asked to move tables, the staff gruffly refused. It spoilt the evening for me as i wanted it to be special, we had travelled over 100 miles to visit this restaurant. I have since been to Brasil 5 times , so it didnt ruin the relationship !

Please remember this is a taste of Brasil , not the real deal !
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3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Friday, April 10, 2009