I was so excited to try out Canberra’s first Brazilian churrasco restaurant – the Copa. I’d read that the massive churrasco (bbq/oven pit) that you see as you walk in was imported straight from Brazil. I organised a group booking for a Thursday night – the second night of it opening. It was also a farewell to half of the group who were flying to the USA that weekend for a 1 month holiday.
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| Inside |
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| The bar |
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| The different cuts of meat explained |
The Copa offers a $45 all you can eat meat, seafood, salad and bread deal.
The staff are very friendly and explain how everything works – each person gets a disc that’s placed in front of them. Green disc for ‘Yes more please’ and red disc for ‘no more food’ so the waitstaff know who wants more food.
First, bread and 5 dips/sauces come out. A few moments later, several waiters come out with a massive skewer containing 1 of 15 types of meat/cuts of meat on it. And yes, you get to try out all 15 meats! This includes beef, lamb, chicken, pork and kangaroo. Then there’s prawns, squid and as many sides as you want. I thought the meat was really tasty, succulent and a carnivore’s dream.
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| Sauces – chimichurri, balsamic chilli, verde, roasted garlic and rojo |
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| Chorizo |
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| Ricau – chicken thigh fillet wrapped in bacon |
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| Chicken wings – slightly blurred |
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| Lula – spicy baby squid |
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| Brazil bachalau – salted cod |
The pineapple skewer (dusted with cinnamon) was my favourite non-meat dish – Slightly warm from being in the churrasco but mouth-wateringly delicious and juicy. I’d never tried cinnamon and pineapple together – it is oh so good.
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| Pineapple |
There are additional items on the menu you can order that aren’t included in the $45 deal, such as extra skewers of crocodile tail, oysters and scallops. There’s also dessert! But everyone at the table were completely full and satisfied.
My only complaint is that it gets quite smokey inside from the huge churrasco and the windows can’t be opened. Even with the front doors open, there is not enough ventilation in the restaurant – everyone’s eyes were stinging for a bit and you smell of bbq at the end. They could have designed the restaurant better by having windows that can be opened up.
I thought it was really good value for money particularly if you like meat.
That weekend, my friends and I flew off to the USA to start our holiday. And then heard the biggest outbreak of food poisoning, due to raw eggs in the mayonnaise, had occurred at the Copa – 140 people ill and 15 admitted to hospital. I was so surprised. Fortunately, my friends and I were all fine. It would not have been pleasant if all of us had food poisoning on the long flight. We must have just missed the bad mayonnaise night. An article in the Canberra Times states the Copa have removed all raw eggs from the menu to ensure this never happens again.
I feel terrible for the restaurant especially since we had such a great experience there. I’m sure by now business has picked up again.
Edit: This restaurant is now closed.