Rodizio Rico – London

This is where we go if the weather in London gets too gloomy or we are in need of a Guarana.

The restaurant is like a Brasilian churrascaria where the staff keeps serving meat to you until say no or just drop dead. There is also a salad buffet to go with the various meats or to be enjoyed by vegetarians. The salad buffet includes the traditional rice, black beans, farofa and pao de queijo.
You have to be a meat lover to really enjoy the experience here because it keeps coming fast and a plentiful. You will be served all kinds of meat and various cuts so feel free to ask the churrasqueiro about the piece that is in front of you.
There will be pork and chicken sausages, chicken wings legs and hearts, pork filet and rump steak and the best of all, the picanha (skirt steak). The special Brasilian cut that I understand is a mix of beef back and rump.
Various typical Brasilian delicacies and beverages are available so you can come here if you miss them too much or just want to try them for the first time. Caipirinha is a very simple yet potent Brasilian cocktail, made from sugar, lime, ice and pinga. Guarana is the wonderfully different soft drink that could become as big as Coca-cola if it was more heavily marketed. Then there is the pao de queijo (cheese bread) that is made from tapioca flour and has a wonderfully gooey texture.
Rodizio Rico is the best churrascaria experience in London but if you have been to a good churrascaria in Brasil (especially Sao Paulo) you will be disappointed by the quality of the meat and the rather small choice at the salad bar. If you want better quality meat and will not miss Brasilian atmosphere then check out one of the Gaucho restaurants instead, eg the one in South Kensington.
A meat buffet (all you can eat) is around £18 and with drinks on top of that expect a bill of £25-30 per person.
Update 09/03/2004
We went to Rodizio Rico the other day just to notice how much worse things had gotten. It was Sunday lunch time which may be a little excuse but not really.
During our two hours we were not served a single piece of meat, just chicken and sausages. This is unheard of. Only after heavy complaining and threatening with only paying the vegetarian price were we served our deserved picanha.
The black beans were mainly brown water with a few beans swimming around, disgrace.
The Caipirinha tasted just like sugary lemonade. Even the Brahma Guarana had been replaced by an unknown, Portuguese (!) version called Guarana Brasil.