A famous neighbourhood in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil, Lapa is known as the cradle of Bohemian Rio.
Tucked away just off Axon Road in Subiaco, this clean and bright churrascaria (roughly translated from Portuguese it means BBQ house) offers an endless feast of meat! Yes it includes salads and sides including delicious little cheese balls, but save your space for the 16 courses of pure chunk.
At $49 per person, Lapa is pretty reasonable when comparing to what an average meal these days costs, especially when this is all you can eat with 16 different cuts of meat! You can have filet argentino (Argentinian scotch fillet), costela de porco (pork belly rib) or alcatra de carneiro (lamb rump) to name a few.
The wait staff will bring meat over on a spit, saw through the meat, you catch it with your thongs, then proceed to engulf the juicy specimen… flawless system! After a while you stop asking what meat it is. I won’t lie I felt a little heart string pull when a waiter came over with four sticks full of chicken hearts because it pretty much looked like an entire generation of chickens would’ve been sacrificed to fill them… but they tasted so good!!
Chef Fabio has had the churrasco (BBQ cooking style) tradition stretching back more than 60 years so he knows his stuff. Plus in this restaurant the kitchen is in full view both through glass window and on a plasma screen *awkward*.
Despite feeling ill after we all consumed about 1kg of meat each that heavy Sunday, I am definitely going back to Lapa. The staff are friendly and helpful – although some may struggle with the accents – plus on weekends I hear they have dance performances!
A word of caution: Your drink coaster plays an essential role in your dining survival. One side is green, the other red. If you keep the green side facing up… they’ll just keep on serving you!! So have that red side ready!! I’ve never heard of anyone overdosing from meat consumption but I’d imagine it would be ugly!
Lapa Brazilian BBQ
Open for dinner daily and Friday to Sunday for lunch
375 Hay Street, Subiaco
08 9381 1323
Lapa.net.au
