Cafe Brazil

Café Brazil is a great restaurant with delicious food, attentive staff, a cozy atmosphere and great music!

Came in for lunch. Spoke with Walter the owner great guy. Food was quick and delicious. Check this place out.

What you’ll find here is your typical Brazilian fare: rice, beans, and LOTS OF MEAT. The dishes are priced exactly right for the amount of food you get. I got to take home so much as leftovers that lasted me a few days.
Definitely try the fried yucca and fried bananas. Yucca is practically a potato but BETTER! And if you love bananas, then don’t question it – just get it. I’m drooling for more just talking about their food. Everything my friends and I have ordered have been delicious.
Just come and enjoy. You won’t be sorry.

I am a huge oxtail fan. I love asian style oxtail soup or spanish oxtail stew. One day last week I was particularly in a mood for oxtail without wanting to go grocery shopping and cooking. I decided to do a search in Allston for oxtail in Unilocal.The first restaurant was Café Brazil. After reading reviews, I got super excited so on the way home, I stopped by and got a take out.
I ordered the Beef oxtail with vegetable and polenta. The portion was decent for the price ($ 18), but taste was terrible. Everything was super salty and dry. I threw out more than half of it.
I hate to give the place poor rating based on one dish, but if oxtail was halfway decent, I would’ve been more than happy. Perhaps their other dishes are good based on good reviews, but I don’t plan on gonig here again.

With such amazing reviews of this place, color me disappointed!
The good:
+ The menu is large but not overwhelming with dishes and items that sound absolutely fantastic.
+ The price is reasonable: big portions for very little money.
The bad:
— Few vegetarian options.
— Slow delivery. I ordered delivery (via
) and was given an ETA of about an hour. I felt that was long, but I figured the food would be as awesome as I’d read. An hour came and went, so I contacted GrubHub, who called Café Brazil and told me they were running about 20 minutes late. My food eventually arrived… cold…
— Cold food aside, my food was dry and flavorless. My sausage was absolutely bone dry and chewy. My fried yucca weren’t crispy at all (probably from being contained in styrofoam for an hour and a half during my slow delivery) and so dry I needed to add tons of hot sauce to salvage it. By the end of my meal, I felt like I had a lump of dry clay in my stomach.
Maybe dining in will be the solution to some of these problems, but the lack of flavor in Café Brazil’s food in general makes me doubt that.

As a brazilian from Rio de Janeiro I really liked the place, it has authentic food, really fast and cheap (they have a $ 9,99 menu, and of course it’s not the best they can make there, it’s the most basic one, but really good). The moqueca de peixe, a fish dish from the Northeast of Brazil is amazing, the steak on the grills too!
I was reading about the bad reviews here and I read things like «they don’t have yellow rice, wtf!?».
First of all, brazilians don’t eat yellow rice, the rice we eat is always the white jasmine one. So before reviewing the restaurant I think it would be better to know what you are getting from the place. Brazilians and Mexicans are not the same btw.
I don’t have anything bad to talk about the place, of course it’s not exactly the same food you would get in Brazil, since the ingredients are not as fresh as you would get there and are from US, but it’s the best it could get if you are having brazilian food in Boston.
I always order food from there and never had a problem.

Good food in a pleasant atmosphere with plenty of varied drinks (alcoholic & not) to compliment any meal. This was the only nice nearby place open on Sunday between the normal lunch & dinner times. They seated our big group immediately and we all shared a handful of appetizers and 9 main courses. The servers were very attentive and helpful — no one had an empty glass of fruit juice or wine for long. As an added bonus, Unilocal gave me a 15% discount for checking in. Definitely coming back to try more things.
I recommend the sausages and plantains!

Please come here. We had a coupon that we bought from
but I and my 2 fellow diners agreed we would definitely come back here and pay full price for this AMAZING food.
Your waistline won’t thank you but your mouth, stomach, and wallet definitely will.
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Appetizers:
We ordered 3 tira gosto da casas to share — the Pastelzinho, Quibe, and the Risole. The pastelzinho and quibe both have ground beef, the latter with chicken. These are all must-​tries. The empanada crust is super rich and flaky, and the filling so moist and flavorful. Best part? Each empanada is less than $ 1.50.
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Entrée:
If you are a meat-​lover like I am, order the Sabor do Brazil. The lineup: grilled chicken, pork, linguica (smoked sausage), beef, with fried bananas and feijiao tropeiro (a kind of a rice ‘side dish’…which in itself has some more sausage). Aside from the chicken and beef being a little dry, the plate was DELICIOUS! The flavors of each meat was perfectly spiced, and the bananas and rice provided a nice break from the meat. The dish is under $ 10 and it lasted me THREE whole meals after. I’ve never had leftovers last that long.
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Service:
Our waitress was helpful and patient while we struggled with the extensive menu. The owner came over halfway through the meal and made sure we were happy and taken care of!
We ended with the rice pudding (delicious, of course). I don’t think I’ve ever gotten as much bang for my buck than at this place.

Delicious Stick to Your Ribs Brazilian Cooking!
I had the biggest scare a couple of weeks ago when 2 of my friends that live fairly close to Café Brazil told me they thought it had closed! When I moved out of Brighton back in September, one of the places I knew I would miss the most was Café Brazil. I was on the verge of tears at the mere thought that this establishment had slipped through the cracks, and that their mouth watering food was lost to me forever.
I vowed right then and there to either see the horrible truth with my own eyes, or to once again stuff my face with every culinary offering served up by the chefs!
We set out to find the cold hard facts on a Saturday night. A glimmer of hope appeared as we neared the spot. The warm glow coming from inside the restaurant was the best comfort imaginable. I breathed a long sigh of relief. Café Brazil lived on!
Now let’s get into all the reasons why I love this place, and believe me, there are MANY!
The food, while hardly fancy, nails it every single time. I’ve been coming here for about 10 years, and I have yet to be disappointed. I have to mention that I come from a Latin American heritage, so while the food is slightly similar to mom’s, it still has its own unique flavors that keep me coming back for more!
I’m a guy that likes to branch out a bit when it comes to food, so I’m ashamed to admit that I get the same exact dish about 90% of the time when I come here. In fact it’s usually the same exact order all around.
Always start off with the pastelzinhos! These are like little beef and potato empanadas. They come out so hot that you have to cut them in half just to let out the steaming vapors in order to not burn yourself. I like to drizzle some of the chili/​garlic oil on them, and add a bit of lemon juice. What a delight! There are some other types of «empanadas» available. I’ve tried them all, and they’re pretty good, but I like the crunch and beef filling of the pastelzinho.
For the entrée, I almost always order the Sabor Do Brazil. This is a HEAPING plate filled food. There’s chicken, pork, beef, onions, linguica sausage, rice, beans, fried plantains, simmered cabbage (so good), and feijao tropeiro, which is beans mixed with fried egg, cornmeal, and bacon (AMAZIIIING!). I’m a sucker for variety, so while there are many delicious options, this one is my go to.
I’ve had the Bife Rolet, which is beef wrapped around cheese and bacon. Fantastic, but not the most health conscious choice. Still, I highly recommend it.
My girlfriend likes the Churrasco Brazuca, which is a piece of grilled steak with fried onions and rice.
If you have room for dessert, you’re either a competitive eater, or a straight up masochist. I don’t think I’ve ever come close to finishing the Sabor Do Brazil. The portions here are enormous!
Also, on Saturdays (and maybe Fridays) they have live music. It’s very chill. Just a guy strumming a guitar and singing in Portuguese. It always reminds me of Seu George in The Life Aquatic.
So, go here, at once!
Oh and I was pleasantly surprised to find a coupon for 15% off my meal with a check in on Unilocal!
A+++ for Café Brazil!

I might be in love with Café Brazil.
I’m in love with their heavy protein-​rich entrees and the variety they offer. I always get the Sabor do Brasil, which comes with chicken, pork, beef, rice, beans, and fried plantains. I dunno what I like the best on the dish because everything is flavored so well. I’ve also tried the oxtail dish and I’d recommend that too.
I don’t trust myself enough to say it’s authentic food, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Since Brazil is kind of massive, variation in traditional cuisine from one region to another is probably inevitable.
I love that the owner is always present, whether he greets you upon arrival, or checks up on you during dinner, or both. And I’m usually impressed by the attentive waitresses. I love the festive Brazilian vibe that runs consistently from the outdoor décor to the bright mural inside. And I absolutely adore the live serenading on guitar on the weekends.
I stumbled upon this place four years ago wandering around hungrily with my meat-​obsessed former boyfriend, and we thought we hit gold. This place was our little secret and we kept it from all our friends (why, I don’t know?), we even called it Restaurant X (we were young?), so Café Brazil may, in fact, have a sentimental place somewhere in my heart.
Anyways, it wasn’t a secret for very long. I’ve brought my best friends here for dinners, I’ve come here with a large party for my birthday, and I’ll probably bring my family here soon.
So booyah to my ex!

I went here with my friend who is from Brazil and he was not a fan. He said that it wasn’t like «home» at all.
I however thought it was really tasty. I loved what I ordered and I would go back, that is when I have the extra cash… on that note, this place is pretty expensive.
Really nice atmosphere and the staff is very friendly and helpful.

I really had high hopes for this place because its a cute lil place with a nice Brazilian vibe and a live musician on Saturday night. It kills me to do this to a place I really had a nice time at, but the bottom line is that the quality of food is pretty bad. I ordered a sizzling steak and it came out this off colored cheap piece of beef that was tough and chewy. The chicken was grity but everything else was ok (rice and platanos).
Such a shame that a Brazilian place doesnt live up to its name. Atleast they serve fresh fruit juices and brazilian beer (cept brahma) and no caiperinhas.
I wouldnt go back

The food tasted okay. I got the chicken with marinara sauce. Service was slooow. And I would give this two stars but my friend got sick, as did my mom more than a year ago after eating here.
Stay clear especially if you have a sensitive stomach.

I decided to head over to this place when I found out that they were offering a 15 percent discount off the final bill if you mention to the owner that you heard of this place on
. The promotion will last until May of 2011. This is the one of the places that serves Brazilian food nearest to my place so my brother and I decided to take advantage of this discount.
For appetizers, we decided to get some Empanadas, which are these stuffed fried pastries. We got a Pastelzinho and a Coxinha. The first one has ground beef inside. The second one has chicken, olives, onions and spices. Each piece is under $ 2. The Pastelzinho was decently good, the ground beef was freshly cooked, not bland. As for the Coxinha, I thought it was the best Empanada out of the two. It was really tasty and flavorful. Two Empanadas can make a really good and tasty snack in the afternoon.
As for entrees, we got the Vale Tudo and the Bife à Cavalo. These entrees come with rice and beans. The Vale Tudo consists of an assortment of various meats, which includes beef, pork, chicken and sausage. It also comes with some fried bananas. The Bife à Cavalo is a fairly good sized slice of beef with onions, topped off with a fried egg. The beef on both dishes was tasty, but I thought the chicken and pork were a little dry. The sausages were juicy, flavorful and tasty. As for the fried egg, it was freshly cooked, the leftover egg yolk just made the onions and rice tastier. The cooked bananas were also tasty, and I liked the sweet flavor. Portions were really generous, and I got my stomach really full and felt a little sleepy after finishing my dish.
One major disadvantage is that they do not serve Caipirinha, which is a really popular Brazilian cocktail made from Cachaça (ka-​cha-​sa). Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane. During my discussion with the owner, the reason why they do not serve it is because they do not have a liquor license, but they are able to serve beer and wine. The owner seems to be a really friendly person.
Overall, I think this is a really good choice to get your stomach really full with some decently tasty food without spending more than $ 15. I also think this place is fairly authentic, the owner actually is from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and I heard a decent amount of Portuguese spoken. If they start serving Caipirinha and continue to be consistent with the tastiness of their meats, I think this place will be one step closer to a really authentic Brazilian restaurant.

Café Brazil is Weight Watcher’s arch enemy: I ordered the Sabor do Brazil, which is a plate consisting of foods high in fat, carbohydrates, and oil. But it was so so SO worth it. Every. Single. Bite.
Sabor Do Brazil, which ran me $ 13.95, came with tender pieces of chicken, pork, lingüíça and beef, accompanied by garnished fried bananas and feijão tropeiro (Beans mixed with yucca flour, bacon, eggs and onions).
Everything was jam packed with flavor. The chicken was fried and would have given Colonel Sanders a run for his money. The pork was flat and juicy, and came boneless, which I greatly appreciate. The beef was juicy and tender, and thankfully not over cooked. Each meat had it’s own distinct flavor which harmonized amazingly together with the rice. The linguica reminded me of the Italian Kilbasi/​Kilbasa, which was just ok, and I’ve had better sweet fried plantains than the ones served at Café Brazil. I’m also not too big of a fan of beans, but the feijao tropeiro was prettty delicious. What’s even better? You are given so much food! I had to doggy bag more than half of it to go!
I also ordered a drink from their menu describing the benefits of each tropical fruit available. I stuck with the Passion Fruit pulp mixed with Milk, which came out in the consistancy of a smoothie. It was just OK. My friend ordered the wild cherry pulp mixed with orange juice, which I definitely liked much better.
Café Brazil offers a wide variety of choices, all at decent prices, and parking can often be found along the streets of Allston/​Brighton. I have always walked past Café Brazil and never thought to give it a chance because of it’s strange location and exterior decoration. Once you walk inside, however, the atmosphere is warming and the environment has a homey-​like feel.
The waitstaff were all very polite and made sure that my water glass was never empty. Even more of a positive is that they have live music playing on weekends [Friday, Saturday and Sundays] starting at around 6:30pm.
Definitely give Café Brazil a shot. And, if you are on a diet, or on Weight Watchers, wait a long while before you decide to weigh yourself. You’ll look at that scale and wont regret one bit of it, because Café Brazil’s food is that. darn. good.

Went here last night to try something different… had only had large amounts of meat at Brazilian joints like. Fogo De Chao. and thought it would be nice to try something not chain-​like and had a mom and pop touch.
The owner greeted us when we came in and yes, there was a guitar player. It wasn’t too loud or too soft. just right so we could talk.
We were all excited from looking at the menu online. We ordered and tried a few things. The hearts of palm salad was a big thumbs down. Dissapointed that there wasn’t really any salad dressing except for oil and vinegar.
The soup was okay… thought it would be better. The bread adds nothing so don’t bother ordering with bread.
The empanadas were prepackaged I am pretty sure. they are also better at Argentinian places like Tango in Arlington. Reasonably priced though. although not too tasty.
Tried the steak and salmon special. Portions are huge so at this point, totally full. The steak is served on a sizzling plate with onions on top and a side of black beans and rice. The first bite was very juicy. subsequent were dry. Recommendation. get something a little more rare than you normally go because it will continue to cook on the hot plate. We got medium well and it turned out well.
We also got the salmon special which didn’t agree with my stomach. Delicious but I am sure is very oily.
The juices with the fresh pulp was good but they added a little too much water. Next time ask for just less water. it’s slightly better but not really the same as if you go to South America. Brazilian beer was good too.
Overall it was okay… my expectations were higher.

Got some delivery from this here place, and damn did it hit the spot! Our wayward driver may not have been the sharpest crayon in the box, but pobrecito… this IS Allston.
I forget what my dish was called, all I remember was that it involved tender beef and veggies in a tomato sauce, piping hot on top of rice and COVERED in mashed potatoes. And by mashed potatoes I mean the mother of all mashed potatoes. I’m talking butter, cream, heart attack… the whole nine yards. It also came with black beans. All this for about ten bucks and I couldn’t even finish half.
Definitely would order from here again!

Clearly it’s authentic…
I got the Peixe Especial which is a egg battered fillet of white fish, shrimp, rice and broccoli. The portion was large and very tasty.
After you order your drinks they bring you bread and invite you to try the spicy oil sitting on the tables. It had bay leaf, hot peppers and garlic gloves in olive oil. This restaurant also has a exotic fruit smoothie drink menu accentuating health benefits such as guanabana and acai. You choose if you want them mixed with milk or water.
They had a guy singing Portuguese and an acoustic guitar for the entire two hours that we were there. I enjoy the fact that they have live music but it was a tad loud.
The service was excellent, I feel like 3 different people were taking care of our table. They refilled our water every 15 minutes. The manager came and checked that we all liked our food when it was served.
Everyone in the party liked their food. For dessert I got the tiramisu (yeah I realize it seems out of place at a Brazilian restaurant) it was delish!

Live Brazilian music with my meal? YES, PLEASE!
Having that live Brazilian guitarist was definitely a nice added touch to my trip out to Allston. Although, I would suggest not sitting at a table right next to the player, because then you kind of feel awkward all the time with his tip jar staring you in the face heh
Their menu here is huge though! There is no way a person could come here and not find something to order. Plus, for you bacon lovers out there, (yes I am definitely one of them!!!) they have quite a few dishes with bacon in them!!! Mmmmm I want some bacon just sitting here at my computer now writing this!
So why three stars you say? Well. I ordered Minas Especial, recommended by our waitress, which is supposed to be «the chef’s secret lemon-​garlic marinated prepare this tender boneless chicken tenderloin for a perfect grilling, it is then presented and garnished with fried sweet bananas.» Sounds good, right? Well it was just okay. And for a dish that was all hyped up to me, saying it had all of this special preparation, it was a house dish… blah blah blah I was ready for some amazing chicken, and amazing chicken this was not. It was just chicken. Which is fine and all, and there was a TON of food on my plate and everyone else’s at our table, BUT none of it was anything that would instantly make me want to come back here.
If I’m in the area and I want a lot of food for my dollar, this is a great option. Plus the service is awesome here. I never ran out of water which is a huge selling point for me :-)

=) Everything here was prefect. The food, the atmosphere, the service, and the price!
I came with a group of friends (with reservations!), and the majority of the group never tried Brazilian food before. The waitress was very helpful in recommending dishes that we would enjoy. She was very patient with us and let us take our time in eating. The guy singing in the corner had the smoothest voice ever, it made me feel very tranquil.
I ordered the rose wine and it was reasonably priced because its suppose to make everything taste better (says a friend).
Food that we ordered:
**Banana Frita– Sweet and plump. Usually I gag when I eat bananas but this was the best I’ve ever tried. It wasn’t dry and I like how moist and soft it tasted.
**Salmao a Sonia Braga– I was skeptical in ordering Salmon ANYWHERE because when I did order it, it turns up very dry. BUT NOPE! This SALMON WAS AMAZINGGGGGG. It was tasty all over, inside and out! The most tenderest salmon I have ever tried. I RECOMMEND this HIGHLY if you love salmon.
**Vegetarian Pasta– It was pasta but somehow they cooked it to make it very light, sweet/​salty, and yummy. I love the fresh vegetables in this plate.
**Churrasco na Tabua-(size to serve 2 people) I can’t really comment on this plate because I don’t eat meat but my friends said it was too well done so maybe next time order Medium Well, just in case. But they love how the plate was a mix of every meat that they eat (steak and chicken!). The fries were crispy enough to be prefect!
Will def come here again and recommend this! I love that I live in the area!