Copacabana Opened; and its Great!

[Teffub]

So, was driving by Copacabana on Eglinton, and it was finally sporting a "Now Open" Sign. Located their telephone number by calling the Niagara Falls location. Made a reservation. Their phone number by the way (as it is difficult to find) is 416-916-2099. We were a party of four.

Its a fairly casual and pleasant space with high ceilings and nice decor. For those who have tried a Brazillian Rodizio buffet in the States, such as Texas D'Brazil, its not as formal an environment as that.

But, lets cut to the chase....

The buffest was terrific. Some of excellent pastas (better than most Italian restaurants I have been to lately!), very good caesar salad, very nice selection of olives, nice fresh boccocini and tomato salad, nice selection of cheeses and breads, beautiful grilled vegetables, and the list goes on...I couldnt possibly try everything - and that it the test of a good buffet. Everything i did try was great. It was a very good omen of what was to come; one could tell from the quality of the buffet that it would be impossible for the people who put the buffet together to let you down on the meats to come. It could use a little improvement, but it was much better than one would ever expect and honestly, I would go there just for the buffet.

A word of caution though! The plates for the buffet are large, as is the selection, so fight off the urge to eat a full dinner bufffet before you even try the meat! its so hard to do!!!

The meats...well....they were EXCELLENT! As good as I have had at Texas D'Brazil. Great selection too., And the meats kep coming and coming. Tender, juicy, steaks and meats of all kind. Couldnt possibly try everything. They were missing some dishes from what they say is their usual assortment due to having just opened up last thursday, but the selection that they had was amazing, and almost all were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Everything from the spicy Morroccon chicken, to the delicious flank stank, to the Sirloin, to the garlic steak, to the...you get the idea. All wonderful, just the lamb chop was a touch too overcooked, but this oversight is not representative of their cooking at all. We even met the meat chef who is apparently some famous brazillian meat chef who has opened many Rodizio style restaurants and the manager said they were so luck to have him. The meat chef was personally coming around and offering selections of meats.

the service was antentive with water glasses always filled. Managemetn and hostesses were all nice. On this night it appeared that the wiater was spread a bit thin, but for a new restaurant, the service adn everything was surprisingly and remarkably efficeint and good.

My only complaint, and it is a small one, was that my diet coke wasn't very good and each pop was $4! If the rest of the meal wasnt excellent, this would have been a problem as our pop bill came to $20! They should at least make refills free or lower the price of soft drinks.

We only paid $30 a person, whcih seemed like it was a promotional rate, because weekends are normally $40 per person aaccording to the menu.

Look guys, I have not been to a restaurant in toronto that I felt this good about in recent memory. For toronto, this was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise!

For meat lovers, it is a must go to.

I am sure people will have some suggestions for improvements, such as they should have Brazillian steak sauce available, and maybe go a little more sophisticated on the buffet, but even at $40 it would be well worth the price, but you better go there hungry. I can barely move now!!! One person in our party made a good point; the buffet is almost too good and maybe should be more lighter dishes rather than hearty appetizers and pastas, because its too filling!

So, ENJOY!!!!

[kimbot]

Thinking of checking Copacabana out tomorrow evening. What items will we be missing out on (as opposed to the weekend dinner)?

[Sadistick]

Don't waste your time - I would take Lime over it if I had to choose something in that strip anyday of the week.

Their hot and sour soup is pretty good actually!

[FoodieBCN]

Make sure you see the reviews for "Copacabana on Eglinton & Mt Pleasant" before you go.

[doubledown]

we hit this place last sunday, still got the $30 deal. not too busy, the meats were good though. only thing, no coffee yet, but i got a cap so all was good.

[pakmode]

Wow....cannot wait to try this place out!
Hopefully it does well.

Can anybody else confirm it's still only $30?

[Teffub]

My brother in law went the other day and he told me it was only $30 although weekdays are usually $35. But he got ripped on the soft drinks like I did - $4 a pop (no pun intended)...Anyhow, he couldnt move for two days he ate so much great meat, and he loved the pastas too.

[Madcar]

DH and I were there last night...it was still $30 pp. According to our hostess, the "grand opening" is taking place in a couple of weeks. That may be why the price we paid was still below the "menu" price of $40 on w/e ($35 weekdays).

Meats were fantastic, service excellent (pleasant hostess, water glass always filled, waiters discreetly whisking away used plates and replacing with clean ones). I agree with Teffub that the meats are just as good as Texas De Brazil...if anything, what we had last night was even more creative (pineapple chicken, parmesan pork...yum).

[OTFOODIE]

Is there a lunch price? (I couldn't find it on their website, but that could be me!) I have a business lunch happening in that area with a meat lover in a couple of weeks and I'm sure he'd like this.

[Teffub]

I recall that for lunch they have something different going on, like you pick a meat and they brazillian bbq it for you custom or something like that...you should cal them and ask...

[Sadistick]

I give it 8 months before it sinks - just like the previous Italian establishment.

Just not a good location for the size of the place / rent.

[Teffub]

I sure hope youre wrong.

[Snarf]

Not exactly a high rent district. Certainly not in this economy.

[Sadistick]

Have you seen the size of this place? I doubt their rent is 'cheap'

And by the way - would any self respecting 'authentic' brazillian mean joint ever be caught dead serving pasta, let alone boconcini salad?!

[Teffub]

Wow Sadistick - sounds like you are really hoping that they will close down. Guess you've never been there...or at Texas D'Brazil in the US. At TDB in the US, they have everything from lobster bisque to prosciutto in the buffet, and nobody would ever accude it of not being an "authentic" place. Besides, people are not necessarily looking for "authenticity", but quality and value. "Authentic" brazillian is in Brazil.

[operagirl]

Those are common buffet staples at churasscurias in Brazil.

[FoodieBCN]

The owner isn't Brazilian, and it doesn't seem like their target market is Brazilians either, so I guess it makes sense that they're serving boconccini salad... It does however also have some common Brazilian foods too...

[Pigurd]

Do you have the full address of the resturant? I wanna go into meat coma

[Teffub]

I dont have the exact address, but it is on the north side of Eglinton, between Yonge and Mt. Pleasant, across from the old Eglinton theater which is now the Yorkville Club. Parking is in a lot more or less across the street (a block or so west on the south side).

[Pigurd]

thanks! been curious about the brazilian buffets for a while now...

[Davwud]

Meat coma good!!

DT

[tochowchick]

It's across from the old York theatre...the Eglinton was west of Avenue Rd.

[Teffub]

Right - sorry bout that...

[Degustation]

It's located right beside an office building numbered 150 Eglinton east. You can't miss it - it has a huge sign with the website address: copacabana.ca

[Bigtigger]

Teffub, do they have those excellent cheese rolls typical of such a place ? Pan de quejo or some such name ?

[Teffub]

When we sat down a waiter brought little round warm cheese breads which is what I think you were talking about. They were fine, but wasnt the highlight for me...the meat was :)

[mm67br]

Thx, Teffub! :)

[hippotatomus]

omg! thanks for the review. super excited now :)

[IMHOonly]

Tried it tonight and agree fully with Teffub. That being said I would have liked some excellent mashed potatoes or baby potatoes to go with all the juicy meats. Their style of pineapple is better when more grilled so I hope they pay more attention to serving a more carmelized slice in the future. I highly recommend this restaurant to all serious carnivores! It is great value. Grab the sun dried olives to compliment your meats!

[Tatai]

Teffub, if you haven't figured this out for yourself, restaurateurs serving all-you-can-eat meat are hoping their patrons will fill up on the heavy pastas and other buffet items and thus have less room for the pricier meats.

[Teffub]

Well, its working! :)