Char & Co
15 Knox St
Sydney
Char & Co is a Brazilian steakhouse which specialises in a variety of wood-fire roasted meats, poultry, sausages, seafood which are mostly slow-cooked in their specially designed barbeque.
There is inside and some outside seating and they can cater for 85. The ambience is airy with a decorative exposed brickwork wall and there is also a lovely bar area. You can also see where they cook the meats and lovely pineapple dessert - slowing turning and sizzling on the rotisserie.
We both had cocktails. Sir had the Double Sting and being a huge fan of rum he loved this. It was made with Mount Gay rum, Pama Liqueur, passionfruit, pomegranate and mint. Mlady had the Carmen Miranda - Gin, Amaretto, raspberries, lemon and a dash of egg white. Mlady loves Amaretto so this was a good choice. These were cute, elegantly presented and so refreshingly delicious. The Carmen Miranda cocktail was sweet but not at all sickly sweet. They were both so easy to drink.
Our meal commenced with some "Small Plates" which consisted of - salted cod fritters, lime, fish crackling and wasabi aioli - tempura jalapeno peppers, roasted corn cream cheese and chipotle aioli and - ocean trout ceviche, grapefruit, avocado, cassava crisp and sesame seeds.
They were all so dainty and delicious and so big on flavour. The salted cod fritters were lightly crisped on the outside and oh so light and fluffy inside - and how good was the wasabi aioli! The tempura jalapeno peppers again were so lightly crisped on the outside and deliciously light and fluffy on the inside. The attractiveness of the presentation enhanced the appeal and flavour of the ocean trout ceviche - this too had lovely flavours.
Throughout the night Sir and Mlady had a pinot noir, a lovely wine from Harcourt, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Tomero Malbec, wine from John Block which all went well with our big meal.
Carrying on with our mouth-watering meal we had some "sides" which were - Polenta, spiced crumbed banana and house-made cheese bread. How good were these! The Polenta was golden crisped with a nice fluffy centre and the crumbed banana just melted in your mouth. The house-made cheese bread was cute and innovative as it resembled round bread baked in the oven and it had a lovely subtle taste of cheese.
We also had the potato salad which was nice and creamy - as described in the menu. The rocket and grana padano salad combined nicely and was again vibrant.
As an "optional side" we had the herbed rice, crushed peanuts and crispy onion - all partnered well together. We also had the smoked black beans which were rich in colour and we loved the smoky taste.
There is real showmanship in the serving of the Churrasco. The food is mouth-watering and aromatic. It's an impressive degustation of meat, poultry and fish served from an impressive skewer.
We had beef Bicanha - the most popular in Brazil - and we could see why. Perfectly cooked, moist and tender. What we had was truly oh so very good. We indulged in chicken, beef flank, beef with mustard sauce, chorizo, scorched pork, pork sausage, barbeque chicken, pork belly, halloumi cheese, prawns, lamb and chicken hearts. Absolutely something for everyone. Everything was beautifully cooked to perfection with such great flavours and spices. We were told that this is like a traditional Sunday bbq - how good is that! We simply loved it! If you wanted to try something again - you could - and we did.
The pineapple dessert complemented our feast. It was light and refreshing and cooked with honey, sugar and cinnamon. Teamed with vanilla bean ice-cream it was oh so good.
For our dessert wine, which completed our meal nicely, we both had an Epitome - lovely.
The food here is seriously very good and big on meat with lots of it. However there are plenty of other options for those after something less meaty. Servings are generous and the staff are very friendly.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Char and Co. Thank you to Juliana, Amanda, Lachlan and Diego for taking care of us on the night. Big thank you to chef/owner Bruno da Motta for this invitation and for taking time out from his busy schedule to chat with us and share his vision.