Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2011

At the pre-opening reception, the centerpiece of the restaurant was taken up by an abundance of Brazilian food on top of a crushed ice-covered buffet table. From their semi-open kitchen, their golden churrasco was roasting slowly inside a large oven, and its scent started our juices flowing. Sitting down at a quiet corner table of four, we ordered cocktails. Along with the classic caipirinha (¥1,000), we also tried the batida de maracuja (¥1,000), and acai (¥1,100) and cupuacu (¥1,100) cocktails. Then we made a beeline for the salad bar. Plates were promptly filled with 30 different appetizers, including palm hearts, beets, seafood mariné, clam chowder, black beans, and fruit.

Our eyes were only averted from plates when two voluptuous samba dancers appeared, enveloped in dazzling accessories and vivid feathers. They jiggled around the restaurant and summoned everyone into a conga line, where even the waiters started to shake a leg.

When it ended, we realized that this carnival moment was just an introduction to the main event—churrasco. One by one, Brazilian waiters with long skewers of steaming hunks of meat cut slices straight onto our plates. Out of their 15 offerings including chicken wings and heart, sausage, cheese, pineapple, and various cuts of pork and beef, everyone’s favorite had to be the classic picanha (beef rump). It was the least gamey and tenderest piece on their bountiful menu. Since the barbecued viands were simply salted, we added some of Bacana’s peppery steak sauce for a punch and their mohlo sauce—vinegar dressing with diced onions—for palate refreshment.

A chocolate fountain and a dose more samba put the sparkle on a bounteous Brazil-fest.