Cabana Brasilian Barbecue

I’ve had Brazilian barbecue and it’s amazing. Stonking great skewers of meat served at the table when you beckon the server over. You can really stuff your ungrateful faces with as much meat as it can fit until you and the server are both crying.

Maybe going at Sunday Lunchtime in the Westfield branch of Cabana Brasilian Barbecue (http://www.cabana-brasil.com/) wasn’t the smartest as it wasn’t so much a restaurant as a crèche. The place was packed with prams, but they didn’t really look out of place in such a disneyfied environment. The place has the hallmarks of snooty wife involvement: impractical accoutrements, fitful decor, and cladding that fails to bring any sense of authenticity. I hereby coin the term Authentism: the practice of trying to create authenticity. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected more from Westfield.

The food was OK. But check out the skewer:

Really? That seems a little excessive for a boneless cut of pork.

The chicken doused in Malagueta (portugese for Dolmio I think) was juicy at least, but not great or spicy as advertised. I felt like I was cheating on Nando’s. The pork tenderloin with parmesan crust was not crusty. And not quite sure what makes that Brazilian.

The Stir-fried Greens with garlic appeared to contain no garlic. Also, for £2.25, that was a small portion. (Why do my encounters in public lavatories continue to haunt this blog?) I don’t know who they’re afraid of offending by dodging flavour so comprehensively, aside from the hordes of toddlers they played host to.