Rodizio Preto

Don’t let those images of toned Brazilians deceive you – the boys and girls from Ipanema are partial to a bit of all-you-can-eat too. It’s done with more style here than your usual pile-it-high joint, although the decor – grey colour scheme, cheap-looking fixtures and fittings, plastic plants, double-glazed patio doors to the outdoor terrace – isn’t that appealing.

Following the rodizio formula, servers (known as passadors) bring out skewers of various meats that they slice on to your plate until you’ve had enough, indicated by flipping a card over on its side from green to red. Everything was fairly mediocre, from a toothless caipirinha onwards. Meats were flavoursome mostly in a salt-heavy way, while chicken hearts were old-boots tough. The most interesting cut was the cupim (traditionally the hump of zebu cattle), which tasted like a very English piece of boiled silverside.

Quality was patchy at the generous buffet and salad displays, although there were certainly moreish items, including pao de queijo, farofa for sprinkling, and some claggy croquette-like morsels such as bolinhos and coxinhas. You’ll pay £14.95 for the buffet alone, and an extra fiver for all that meat, but the interest lies primarily in quantity and novelty.