Provoleta

Experience: Bar Menu at Fazenda, Birmingham

This isn’t a sponsored post. BrumHour was invited to try the bar menu and by Fazenda’s PR.
I did not pay for any food or drink.

By Dave Massey twitter.com/BrumHour

Trying the Bar Menu at
Fazenda, Birmingham

Fazenda has been offering a “rodízio” all-you-can-eat style South American menu in central Birmingham since November 2018. Less than ten minutes walk from Birmingham New Street and five minutes from Birmingham Snow Hill. It’s both self-serve upscale buffet and a sit-down where table staff bring 16 different skewered cuts of meat to the table for customers to pick and choose what they like at dinner. (10 of these different meats are on the lunch menu too.)

Today, I’m not here to do this. I’m here to try the bar menu, which normally we would try IN THE BAR! But there are fifteen other people assembled here for dinner and as usual, Fazenda wants to effortlessly demonstrate what it is capable of. I repeatedly say that customer service is key and Fazenda knows this in bucket loads. There is probably a virtual queue of 200 people who would work here tomorrow.

After a welcome drink in the rich darkly coloured bar, we are shown three of the “private dining” areas, one of which is a large room that can accommodate 80 people! Our group of sixteen is shown to another private dining area. I imagine this room will be booked solidly for their smartly titled December Menu (No C-words here chaps and chapettes!).

The bar menu is split down the middle into four Argentinian dishes and four Brazil dishes ranging from £4.50 to £6 each plus a pudding from each which I’ll rate for you… NOW.

Argentina Bar Menu

  • Choripán
  • Provoleta
  1. “Choripán – Pork sausage sandwich” – creamy with Chorizo and soft bread this was my favourite and states what Fazenda is all about, quality meat!
  2. “Provoleta – Grilled Argentinian cheese, chimichurri & tomatoes” Watch your fingers kids as this stays very hot in the pan for AGES! The cheese is rich and quite stringy, baby tomatoes and warm bread to complete.
  3. “Papas Criollas” Potatoes, peppers, fried egg & chimichurri (A finely chopped herb sauce) – This is proper hangover type food and I can fully imagine going here after stopping at a hotel in central Birmingham just to have this.
  4. “Empanadas De Wagyu – Wagyu beef-filled pastries” – things always sound posher in other languages don’t they? These are three beef filled pasties (only one pictured).
  • Papas Criollas
  • Empanadas De Wagyu

I’ve shared about half of each dish, (my dad will be proud!) I suddenly notice I’ve got the Event PR sat on one side of me and the Fazenda duty manager sat on the other. They haven’t realised that after my welcoming drink and a small glass of red wine that I’m not drinking the rest of the evening. They are quite right to watch me. I got lots of people very drunk at the Fazenda launch night. Whoops! BLACK SAMBUCA FOR EVERYONE!

Brazil Bar Menu

  • Pão de queijo
  • Coxinha de Morcela
  1. “Pão de queijo – Cheese bread & Biquinho pepper with Alioli sauce” Ooh. This is at least seven or eight dough balls filled with melting cheeeese!! Normally served as a starter/side.
  2. “Coxinha de Morcela – Black pudding & potato croquette” – Deep fried and breaded! I kept eating these when no-one was looking.
  3. “Bauru Sandwich – Picanha beef sandwich” – A Beef Sandwich is the least international thing I can think of. My dad would be making these on a Monday with leftover cuts from Sunday lunch. Nicely presented though.
  4. “Bolinho Preto – Cod fritter with squid ink tempura & garlic Alioli sauce” I don’t know what it is about the idea of squid ink.. *shudder* However the cod was decent. (No fish or seafood for me please.)
  • Bauru Sandwich
  • Bolinho Preto

Desserts

I know, I called them puddings earlier but this IS the business district. Both are presented in little treasure chests and are £4.50 each.

  1. “Churros – Brazilian dulce de leche-filled churros” – Caramel milk filled churros with a chocolate dipping sauce! Hands off people. I’m having these!
  2. “Alfajores – dulce de leche and chocolate cookie sandwiches”. One white chocolate and one milk chocolate covered double biscuit each filled with caramel milk. “Like a handmade caramel Wagon Wheel” said the others in a way that when I’m in a handcrafted chocolate shop and someone says their product is like Galaxy..
  • Churros
  • Alfajores

I’d return here for lunch anytime!

Fazenda offers at the Bar Menu daily. Find out more about the Fazenda menus here: fazenda.co.uk