Churrascaria chain Texas de Brazil opens at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove serving all-you-can-eat meat

All-you-can-eat dining of the Brazilian variety arrived in Lake Grove last week when the churrascaria chain Texas De Brazil debuted its 64th location inside the Smith Haven Mall.

For the uninitiated, the churrascaria (Brazilian-style barbecue) chain features coal-fired, skewered meats sliced tableside by gaucho-clad servers. Picanha (sirloin cap), flank steak, leg of lamb, sausage, pork loin and Parmesan-crusted chicken drummettes are among the meats they’ll deliver continuously to each table until diners turn a disc from green to red.

This style of dining, called rodizio, roots back to southern Brazil; the churrascaria-slash-rodizio concept migrated to Texas in the late 90s via both Texas de Brazil and the chain Fogo de Chao. Both companies now count dozens of locations nationwide and abroad.

In Lake Grove, $47.99 buys all you can eat, including 50-plus items from a salad bar that augments the usual greens with items such as cheeses, salami, steamed asparagus, hearts of palm, feijoada (black beans), jasmine rice and the Brazilian coconut-milk fish stew called moqueca. 

Rather than dialing it down on décor, Texas de Brazil goes for full-on drama, with crimson walls, bright blue water glases, floor-to-ceiling windows and a towering centerpiece flower display that presides over the salad bar. At a more drinks-focused bar and lounge,  bartenders pour the classic Brazilian cocktail caipirinha as well as mixed drinks made with cachaça, a sugar cane spirit. Desserts cover flan and coconut chess pie territory.

The restaurant, near the southeast corner of the mall, opens at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and at noon on Friday and Saturday for happy hour, lunch and dinner.

Texas De Brazil Churrascaria, 201 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove. 631-212-1115. texasdebrazil.com.