REVIEW: Beleza Rodizio Stratford Upon Avon

Stratford Upon Avon has historically been associated with scones and sandwiches, that very English tradition of Afternoon Tea which seems fitting in a setting as historic as this. However, the town’s budding foodie scene has recently been extended with the opening of Beleza Rodizio. Meaning ‘beauty’ in Portuguese, every part of the experience from the food to the interiors and service has been designed to reflect the beauty of Brazil.

If you don’t know what Rodizio is, it is “an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants where waiters bring a variety of grilled meats repeatedly throughout the meal, until the customer(s) signal that they have had enough.”

A must for hungry diners and protein fiends, Beleza offers all of the above and more. Walking into the spacious glass fronted corner unit, the warm welcome we received from Qila made us feel welcome and appreciated.

Walking past the bar to our seats, we caught a glimpse of the salad bar area before taking a seat near the kitchen (strategic choice!).

We took a look at the drinks menu and settled on some non-alcoholic cocktails to start with; the Brazilian Julep and Guarana Sour.  They also serve cocktails, spirits, hot and cold drinks as well as wine and beer. Our waitress then explained how service works and invited us to the salad bar area. There are two meat options, one is wagyu, one is standard; we opted for standard. Both include unlimited food from the buffet area, but one offers a higher quality of meat at a slightly higher price. There are also menu options for children, offers for lunch and vegetarian and vegan options.

We headed to the salad bar, which comprises much more than just salad! Here we had beans, rice, and potatoes for carbs, as well as fresh salad vegetables, pasta, pickles, cold meats, stews and sauces.

How it works: The passadores will keep serving you as long as your wooden block is green side up. If your wooden block is red side up they will pass you by. If you lie it down on the table on its side this signals you have finished eating. The food comes quickly so don’t be scared to flip your block to red and ask your server to bring you anything you wanted to try and may have missed later on. The meat is served medium to medium rare as standard, but you can ask for your meat to be cooked differently.

Onto the main attraction; the meat. We counted 13 meats (excluding the chicken hearts which are on request) and one dessert option on the menu. To our credit, we tried every option from picanha (cap of rump), bife de queijo (steak with cheese) and porco com miel (honeyed pork), to Cordeiro (lamb with mint), bife com pimento (beef with chilli) and bife de alho (beef with garlic marinade). My favourites were the filet mignon, cap of rump, rump steak and garlic steak. There are also chips, onion rings and garlic bread brought round in the same way as the meat to ensure freshness.

It was fascinating to be able to taste the difference between cuts of meat which you would assume taste the same, when in fact a cap and a filet mignon have completely different tastes and textures when compared under close scrutiny.

The meat was cooked exactly how I would like it to be, soft and pink inside and caramelised on the outside. The salad bar extras provided the variety of colours textures and flavours that the meat needed, whilst the sauces on offer from peppercorn to chimichurri introduced new flavours to the palette.

I had been looking forward to the cinnamon pineapple, and this freshness rounded off the meal perfectly in contrast to the heaviness of the beef, lamb and sausages we had eaten. However, there are additional desserts also available, and my companion couldn’t resist the churros, which came crispy and hot and served with chocolate and caramel sauces.  

Our passadore Mauro was incredibly attentive, ensuring we were served as little or as much as we wanted and that we had the opportunity to try as many cuts and types of meat as we wanted. The service from Qila was also immaculate; warm and authentic. Our meal represented great value for money at £32.95 on a Sunday evening, although it decreases on weekday evenings, at lunchtime or for vegetarians, vegans and children. The drinks selection was wide and the food was beyond plentiful, with unlimited meat from the kitchen as well as cold meats and salads from the buffet area.

Beleza Rodizio is well worth a visit for anyone in the area, and easy to get to if you’re visiting the theatre, walking along the river or shopping. Rodizio lovers rejoice; there’s a new spot in town.

By Alev Dervish