“YOU KNOW how AirBNB says ‘Don’t go there - live there’? That’s what we set out to do with Bossa” explains director Tomas Maunier.
There's no Christ the Redeemer or Samba dancers - Bossa is the type of place you’d go with a friend who lives in Rio
As a rodizio grill, the food offering is familiar enough by now - waiting staff carry great swords of skewered meat around the restaurant floor, carving slices off at your table until you signal that you’ve had enough. In this case, the signal is tipping a toy cow onto its back (after 40 minutes of attentive and constant meat-carving onto our plates, we were quite envious that the cow got to have a lie-down).
What sets Bossa apart from other rodizio restaurants is the atmosphere, which is dictated by the name itself: a Brazilian noun used to describe the natural, effortless flair that some of us go through life exhibiting. Not us, of course. As proven when we reached for the cocktail menu and knocked a whole plate of Ovos Picante (runny baked eggs with spicy salsa and corn) onto the floor…
The concept of Bossa, Maunier explains, began as a rejection of the older generations' traditions and conventions - he does a heroic job of avoiding the dreaded H-word lazily attributed to anywhere that has an IPA on the menu or a filament lightbulb in any of the fittings. “We’ve kept the decor very simple, you won’t find a Brazilian flag or Christ the Redeemer anywhere, because it’s not a Brazilian-themed restaurant” he assures. “It’s a restaurant like you’d find in Brazil. Tourists go to themed restaurants, Bossa is the type of place you’d go with a friend who lives in Rio.”
The simplicity explains the quick turnaround - unless you regularly do laps around the perimeter of the Corn Exchange, you probably wouldn’t have noticed Bossa emerging from the lot previously occupied by Zizzi.
“The local and national restaurant business has been booming recently, and what we’re seeing now is bigger chains struggling to keep up with the more exciting newer options, and scaling back their locations.” The transformation process took two or three weeks, but Maunier insists it could have been done in one.
Whereas other 'all-you-can-eat' meat restaurants are special occasion destinations, Bossa fits right in with casual dining neighbours Las Iguanas and Red’s True BBQ.
The full rodizio menu of an evening - including picanha steak, lamb, chorizo sausages, chicken wings, chicken thighs, and a butchers speciality cut of the day - will set you back £17.95, with a condensed lunch menu coming in at just £12.95.
Lunch and dinner menus come with seasoned fries and Brazilian slaw, with the option of extra sides including the aforementioned Ovos Piquante and Feijoada bean stew for £2. A small but complete range of cocktails and beers, both draught and craft, have drinks covered - including Tailgate Peanut Butter Milk Stout, which we recommend putting a scoop of vanilla and chocolate ice cream in if you’re feeling particularly bossa.
Bossa opens Monday 19 September, 2 Cloth Hall Street, LS1 2HD
Picanha
Hot Wings 
