Raizes

I was in town visiting (for work) and was staying at the Town Hall Hotel around the corner and, even though I really enjoy the Bethnal Green area, the eating options are pretty limited. When I discovered a Brazilian steak house in the area I had to give it a shot. I saw that they did the eat as much as you like or churrascaria style of eating, where you have a hot and cold buffet of various side salads and starches and then the meats are brought to the tables on skewers. I don’t eat red meat too often, but when I get the urge, a churrascaria is a great way of curing that urge. I tried to go there on the Sunday evening first. It clearly says that they serve the churrascaria until 10:30. But when I had arrived (at 9pm), there was no churrascaria. The owner/​manager (?) told me that it wasn’t busy so they closed down early. He persisted in trying to sell me to stay and have alla carte but I told him, several times, that wasn’t what I wanted and came here for. So, I returned this evening. Again, I arrived at approx 8:55pm. No chrrascaria or buffet. But the manager told me that they still serve it but it’s not out. They would bring a selection of side dishes to the table and then bring out the meats. So I decided to stay. I NEEDED meat really badly. There were about 10 people in the restaurant and you’d think there were 100. Although, in all fairness there were only two members of staff. The manager, who took orders and served drinks, and a server who brought out the food. Some side dishes arrived after about 20 mins. The problems start here. Because I’m not picking my food, random stuff is appearing that I don’t want. Like a plate of «fries» and other stuff that just gets wasted. I didn’t order this stuff and I don’t want it. So, for the next 15 minutes I ate plain rice waiting for the meat. First skewers came out… pork sausages. I don’t eat pork. Next came out BBQ chicken wings. These were frozen/​defrosted chicken wings that tasted like they had been sitting around for a couple of hours and then reheated and slathered in cold BBQ sauce. They were rubbery and cold. I didn’t eat them. Then the «meat» came out. Over the course of the next half hour a tried the rump steak, beef ribs and something else. All of them had been over cooked. They tasted like they had been previously cooked and then reheated. They were dry, salty, very fatty, and chewy. I spent a lot of time trying to eat this meat and instead being jealous of Charlie Chaplin eating his shoe in «The Kid.» I would kill for a shoe! I have never left a restaurant hungry before, but I left this one after trying three meats, feeling ill and depressed… and paid GBP17.90 for the pleasure. Also, on top of everything else, they only take cash and have to hand write reciepts. I went back to the hotel and had a protein shake!
In conclusion:
I could make an excuse for them and say that it wasn’t busy so they closed the buffet and then reheated food from earlier instead of cooking up all new fresh food. But that’s not good enough. I paid the same as the people getting the fresh stuff at 6pm. I’ve eaten Brazilian Charrascaria literally all over the world and this was by far the worst. Even the restaurant in Pasadena, CA that left me and my lady suffering from food poisoning was better quality than this place. Again, I’ll say that, possibly, if you come at 6pm the quality would/​might be better. Maybe if you order all carte instead of the churrascaria you might get better luck. Who knows. I can only judge on my personal experience.
1. Slow service.
2. Bad food.
3. Overpriced.
Go here only if:
1. You are not a discerning meat eater and consider a Big Mac to be gourmet.
2. You have plenty of time on your hands.
3. You don’t wear dentures.
A positive experience to take away from this, is that, when I went there the first night and couldn’t get the food advertised, I left and found the Al-​Amin curry house around the corner. That place is awesome. Review to come very soon.
Blessings.

Came here for lunch on a Saturday and the place wasn’t too packed. There are two ways you get your food. The BBQ (chicken, lamb, beef, pork) are all served to you while all the other food (salad, beef stew, rice, chips, and potatoes) are self serve.
My favorite were the roast beef, chicken hearts, and lamb. The beef stew in the self serve section was also really good. The staff was very attentive and the owner was especially nice and came at the end to ask about our entire experience. Recommended if you’re in the Hackney area!

Conclusion: Brazilian food is awesome
This small Hackney based restaurant has clearly gone too long without the recognition it deserves. It is intimately lit but it comes across like exotic. The food is authentic and there is a full bar. You can opt for either the buffet (around £13) or choose a meat + side dish. You can order a salad separately as well. The Special Brazilian Rice we had was gorgeous and had delicious chewy fried pork in it. The medium beef stew was a spicy delight on a cold evening. The grilled chicken was a flavorful treat as well. The mixed salad had this very unusual sour green cabbage which is probably the best vegetable I’ve had. We had the cheeseballs as appetizers and they were good, but a little heavier than ones I have had before. Everything on the menu looks great, from the cocunut yuca palm heart stew to the grilled ribs they bring out on a skewer and serve you off the kebab. I wish I could have tried more! But we were stuffed with the couple of sharing plates we ordered!
This cozy hole-​in-​the-​wall is definitely one to try if you want a taste of this South American country. I definitely foresee many take-​aways in the near future from this place as it is dangerously close to my new location!

I was surprised with my experience at Raizes.
There was live music, great service and the food was surprisingly affordable and delicious.
If you want a good steak, give it a whirl.
For the price you pay, it’s worth it.

Was here on a busy Saturday evening and ordered the typical brazilian dish fejoida, a type of black bean stew cooked with sausage and pork. It was delicious. A great place, good value and honest home made food. Highly recommended.

Während unseres London-​Trips entdeckten mein Freund und ich dieses tolle brasilianische Restaurant.
Die Bedienung war jetzt nicht überfreundlich, aber das Essen echt lecker!!!
Die Pao de Queijos und die RIESEN Brigadeiros waren ein Traum!
Zu empfehlen ist aber auch die Feijoada. Das Restaurant ist eher klein, aber trotzdem gemütlich. Schön war auch die Live Band am Abend, die beim Essen für Unterhaltung gesorgt hat.
Fazit: Bis auf die Preise und die Bedienung war alles top!

Ok we visited last night as we are local and wanted to support these guys. We were thoroughly disappointed… the miini cheese breads were great but things slid downhill with our mains… the meat kebab was the saltiest thing ever and the cuts of meat were poor, really chewy… also the potato salad was old and had definately sat in the fridge for some time… we politely complained to them but they didn’t really seem to care… won’t be going back…

Found this place just down the street from the days hotel in shoreditch. live music, authentic feijoada with the right fixins (orange, greens, rice, farofa) and great desserts too. 17 pounds for the lot including drinks.
since i was the only non-​brazilian in the whole joint, i know it’s a good find, too.

Que delicia said the Brazilian, as we ordered a substantial chunk of feijoada, otherwise known as pork, sausage, black beans, rice, a sprig of lettuce and farofa. Waiter Luis was very attentive to our female needs, and was condemned by my friend as being more than a little safado — literal translation ‘shameless’ in Portuguese. The juices were thick and rich also, opting for a colourful cocktail of orange, pineapple and guava. Slightly thin on atmosphere as Brazilian soap operas (novelas) pumped through a 40 inch flatscreen, but nonetheless a cute and friendly eaterie mostly native dominated, but still with a resounding sense of espirito Latino.

Better than chips he said. You can’t do better than chips! I replied thinking about the age old advert where the child is offered Chips or Daddy? and rightfully chooses Chips. One beer later and I was on way way to Raizes, a Brazilian restaurant, with a big Brazil flag above the front door on Hackney road in Bethnal Green, East London.
Saying yes to the invite was my best decision of that day. A group of eight of us were easily accommodated on a Friday night without booking. The bi-​lingual waiting staff were fantastic and warmed to the idea that instead of ordering bargain mazzive meals for £6 each that we would be partaking in the tapas. Great decision in hindsight.
I felt guilty eating the chicken hearts. Although the rest of the tapas was purely delightful. It included beef steak strips in vegtables, feijoada (a sort of black bean stew that was very yummy), a corn based soup of the name I forget, which I put over some brilliant smoked sausages before the fried cassava turned up and
was better than chips. I could not believe it!
With a mix of locals, brazilian speakers and us. Superstar musician Marcos Valle playing a gig on the TV screens and the drinks. cachaça cocktails with caipirinhas all the way! I would go out of my way to come back here. It is great!