Description: Carnivores of the world unite, and then head to Vancouver. Samba is a restaurant you won’t want to miss.
Located in a basement on Alberni Street in the 1100 block, this restaurant delivers lots of protein in an atmosphere reminiscent of Brazil. Billed as a Brazilian Steakhouse – Churrascaria - it offers a romantic atmosphere with live music and Samba dancers on Friday and Saturday.
Begin your meal with one of their exotic drinks: "Woman on Top" with lychee, coconut milk, and vodka, or perhaps a "Bassa Nova" with banana liquor, cachaca, and a fresh banana over crushed ice, or even the "Brazilian Carnival" made of pineapple, cachaca, and orange juice. No matter which you pick, you are going to enjoy your choice.
If you order the Rodizo, it goes like this, the set price is $26.95 on weekends and $21.95 during the week. You are given a card, red on one side, green on the other. As long as your card is green, they will continue to stop at your table. When you are full you turn your card to red, and admit, "I give up".
Your first move is to go to the tapas/salad bar - be prepared to be blown away. Here you will find a delectable selection of small bites, both hot and cold. Black bean soup with sausage, mussels, potatoes, rice, salad, olives, lamb stew, fried bananas, yes I said fried bananas, and much more. As you sit eating your tapas, the meats begin to stop by your table. Young men dressed in white shirts with black pants and a sash bring large skewers of meat to your table. They tell you what the meat is and ask if you would like some. You have a small set of tongs, and, as they slice, you grab.
Among the meats that came our way were chicken hearts, chicken legs, chicken wrapped in bacon, veal, ostrich, top sirloin, flank steak, ham, roast pork, buffalo, sausage, tri tip, strip loin, and prawns. They do a constant circle of the room. Service was flawless, as the waitress took care of our drink needs and replaced our plates while the young men visited and revisited. I said I was done, except I wanted one more sausage - sausages were in the next round.
Now you would think after eating enough meat to feed a small country, we would be too full for dessert. Well we were full, but we wanted to have a complete experience, so we did order dessert. I had Brazilian Pudding, which was very similar to crème caramel, and Al had fried bananas with ice cream, which was reminiscent of bananas foster.
If you like meat and enjoy a unique dining experience, then Samba is the place to go. You don’t have to do the Rodizo, as they have an á la carte menu as well.
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