| Huge restaurant serving authentic Brazilian food and decorations |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 7/5/2006
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery
|
Thanks to Jen for submitting Senzala. It's been awhile since I've had Brazilian food and quite honestly haven't had anything memorable since my visit to Exotico Brasil Cafe in Vancouver 3 years ago. I normally stick to the common dishes like Bife Acebolado and Feijoada Completa.
We drove to Sunnyvale where Senzala is situated in a business park. I assume most people that visit are the people from adjacent tech buildings. The last couple of weeks have been a hectic lunch schedule with all the World Cup fans visiting any restaurant that has a TV tuned to futbol. Before we even walked through the door we could hear people cheering for their team.
Wow...this restaurant is huge and what do you know, there are tons of adult males glued to the many tvs around the restaurant. I'm sure this day ranks high with long lunches and missed meetings. There's no host or waitresses to sit you down. It's kinda like cafeteria setting where you walk up to the counter, order your meal, slide your tray along the long route of food items to the register. Don't worry, it's nothing like cafeteria food, it's the real deal.
If it's your 1st time eating Brazilian food, I would highly recommend ordering the lunch special Feijoada. It's $10.99 but you get boatload of food. From what I recall, my Brazilian friend had told me this is Brazil's national dish. It was a popular dish among slaves and poor poeple as most of the ingredients where cheap and meat byproducts (pig ears, snouts, feet, etc).
Back to the food, I watched the food server grab a large plate, take a huge spoon and unloaded many cups of white rice, black bean and meat stew, farofa, collard greens, oranges, and tomatoes. She smiled, I smiled back and cringed at the size of the mammoth plate. We took up seats near the bar area as all the other tables were taken, this place was PACKED!
black beans - a stewed mixed of black beans with various types of meat. Has a smokey flavor and purple-blackish color. I've normally had it served in a clay pot but todays order had it poured all over my rice. The beef was extremely tender with some chucks of fat (flavor) attached. Smokey sausage and I think bacon also in the mix. A little on the salty side but full of flavor. If I could describe the flavor in a couple of words.... smokey-black-bean-beef-pork-salted-stew? I've had this dish 5 or 6 times in my life and this is probably my 2nd favorite. It's the real deal and authentic tasting. Just to be picky, I would wish to have the black bean stew in a separate container. This isn't your light lunch type of deal as it will have you limping back to work. Bring an extra stomach, great stuff! (picture #10)
white rice - plenty of it and covered in the black bean stew.
farofa - almost has the texture of fine corn meal. has some grit, some salt? You sprinkle this stuff over your beans, meats, rice, whatever. I'm still questioning the flavor of the sprinkle but all I know is, I accidently inhaled the stuff before a bite and nearly coughed up a lung.
collard greens - wonderful, bright green, had texture, excellent compliment to this soulful meal.
oranges - 2 pieces of oranges off to the site, I ate 1 and it was sweet.
If you haven't had Brazilian food before I think this would be a great opportunity to try authentic dishes. I would recommend going with the Feijoada to experience a belly busting experience. The people behind the counter are super friendly. The hours on the website state breakfast and lunch hours and not sure if they are open for dinner. Although the restaurant has beautiful Brazilian decorations, it's not your typical host-waitress-intimate-date dining experience. The dining space is quite large and noise level might be higher than the norm.
I loved my meal and glad I visited Senzala.
|
| |
|
|
Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 5/7/2007
Rating: 8
My photo gallery |
Don't go to Senzala if you are in a hurry. But do go here if you want a relaxing, authentic, Brazilian meal in a pleasant atmosphere and are willing to spend a few extra bucks on lunch.
On my first visit I made the mistake of being in a hurry. The setup is a little misleading. You walk in, then get in a pretty short line to pick out your food behind the glass, they dish it up, and you slide over and pay. Quick, right? Wrong. There were five people in line in front of me and it literally took me ten minutes to get my food and pay! The servers are friendly but very deliberate and meticulous, and will stop to tell you all about the food. They obviously have a lot of pride in the food and presentation, but at the time I was in no mood for this.
I ordered the chicken with polenta. What I received was an immense pile of food. The chicken was moist, tender and served in a nice tomato-based sauce over rice. It came with some runny but delicious polenta. But since I was running late by then, I had to scarf it down a bit too fast. Eating fast and paying $12 for lunch kind of ruined the experience for me, and I wasn’t sure I would be back.
On my recent visit I was in the right mode for Senzala. I had some time on my hands and I knew what to expect. There was a short line when I entered and I ordered the feijoada, a mixed-meat and bean stew. I couldn't believe how much food the server piled on the plate!! The server sprinkled yucca flour on the side of the plate and explained that I should mix it in to my meal. This added no flavor IMHO, and I could've skipped it. She also handed me a small cup of what looked like salsa and turned out to be finely diced onions and peppers with spices and maybe some citrus? Awesome stuff and it was excellent mixed in to my stew. The stew was delicious and served over moist and flavorful rice. Collard greens were included on the side. These were a served in a different style than the usual southern style greens; These were good but I like the southern style a bit better. The meal also came with a fried plantain (or was it banana?), which was sweet, a bit greasy, but nothing special. There was also a small orange and tomato salad. Very nice. Price with just a glass of water was $12, same as before. All in all, my meal was excellent and this time I ate slowly and savored the food. I also took some time to relax and drink in the atmosphere, which is very pleasant. Someone took a lot of time and care to design the interior and there are a lot of nice touches. It almost feels like a well-done advertisement for Brazil. Also, a few TVs are scattered around the place and play Brazilian folk music videos at a respectful volume.
Just to compare with my earlier long wait experience, I watched a guy get in the serving line with 5 people in front of him. It took him a full 7 minutes to get his food and slide over to the cash register. So things have speeded up a bit, but it is still slower than most places with a similar setup. (I'm not sure why they just didn't decide to have wait staff instead of a service line. That way the customers could sit down and wait rather than stand up.) But again, Senzala is not about being in a hurry, it's about taking some time to relax and savor a good meal, sort of like a micro vacation to Brazil.
Grab a complementary brazilian coffee after your meal with a little sugar mixed in. Delicious and Strong! This was a great way to top off a fine meal and made my day. A really nice touch!
Pros: Excellent food, huge portions, friendly staff, nice atmosphere
Cons: Getting food can be ploddingly slow, prices are a bit steep for lunch |
| |
Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 75
Reviewed: 7/31/2006
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery |
Senzala Restaurant 7-31-06
I suggested Senzala to the wish list a while ago and had yet to dine here! Today was the day. Place was pretty empty at 1:00 pm, but I like to avoid the rush.
Place is colorfully decorated, with plenty of Brazilian flags, murals, various collections of art and music instruments and even some nice couches for the café experience seekers. (Full espresso bar available) Outside patio is also open and one part of the restaurant is dedicated to a small stage, obviously set-up for live music.
I decided on the Bife Acebolado, a fried thin steak served with rice, beans, lots of grilled white onions and it came with both fried yucca and a fried banana. At $10.99 this is more than I usually spend on lunch, but I figured this was a treat. I dont often get out to enjoy a relaxing sit-down lunch. The staff was charming and very friendly. I felt like family here. They even offer complementary Brazilian Coffee to all patrons. More on this later, but think Turkish style rich coffee, without the bitterness…
Right before I paid, I nearly fainted. OH MY GOD! Is that Sumo de Maracuja (say “Mare-ah-coo-jaw”). Lord, it is! I thought it was just a Portuguese thing not Brazilian! I love this stuff!! Passion Fruit juice – the authentic stuff. Not some chemically created lab flavor, but the actual juice. They served it cold and unsweetened from a steel ice tea dispenser. I did add some sweetener and sat back enjoying this refreshing drink, remembering the last time I had it. My mom is Portuguese and while in the Azores and mainland I tend to drink so much Maracuja it hurts… There is even a sparkling water version. My sister and I would drink a full case of the stuff every few days, much to the jokes of our cousins. Hawaiian Lilioki comes close, but not quite the same. This is like drinking straight from the fruit, picked right of the vine. Heavenly! Im not exaggerating, its a unique taste, and I highly recommend trying it.
I paid $13 something including tax with drink. Again, price aside, I figure this was an experience, like all meals in Europe and Brazil, not just a bite to eat. Once my plate was delivered 10 minutes later I realized, whoa this was a pile of food! No way could I finish it all.
Beef- perfectly grilled, seasoned and tender. A nice sirloin pounded thin with little fat. Theres Carne Asada from
Onions – were still warm and not overcooked, as they had a crisp bite to them. Very thinly cut.
Rice – Fluffy and light. Different from American rice or even Asian rice.
Beans – REALLY good – maybe these pinto beans were cooked with the beef drippings? I dont really want to know. I just loved the flavor and wished I had a few more.
Steamed Veggies – perfect, not too soft. Broccoli, Carrots and Zucchini.
Fried Yucca – Good, but too many on my plate. The starchy taste of yucca can be a bit much without a dip or sauce.
Fried Banana – a really NICE surprise – a standard banana with a crisp coating deep fried. A nice sweet ending and complement to the meal.
Overall I left stuffed and quite happy. This isnt your usual lunch cuisine, so go with an open mind and enjoy a little piece of what South America offers… Overall service was top notch, price decent for the portion and quality and food delicious. Of course Id go back just for the Maracuja (Passion Fruit) Juice and coffee, but Im slightly crazy.
They also offer a hot grilled sandwich menu and more Brazilian authentic dishes and homemade dessert. I also recommend trying the famous Brazilian Feijoada or even chicken or perhaps the roast pork. Ill be returning to try all three...
Dont forget to leave with a demitasse cup of their coffee…A tip– Its similar to espresso, but its brewed. The color is very dark with a lovely amber crema. If youve ever enjoyed Turkish coffee, you have to try it. In Portugal its a standard café item and its wonderful…. Full of richness without the usual bitterness and oiliness Italian espresso can have. I suggest sprinkling a little cinnamon and maybe sweetener in your cup – and sip away. Last time I had this was at a sidewalk café overlooking the Lisbon harbor with my cousin Miguel. I thought Id never enjoy it again. Its great knowing the owners of Senzala want to make all aspects of their menu authentic. They even sell Brazilian candies at the register. Ill need to return for a taste.
Gosh, it might just be the memories today, but I really enjoyed my lunch! Obrigada Senzala!
8.5/10
|
| |
|
|
| Disclaimer |
|
|
