The Thousands

Locally, Brazilian cuisine has mostly been pigeonholed as churrasco – a brutish, gluttonous affair that ends in a meat-sweat like all get out. Not that this isn’t satisfying but it is one-dimensional. Boteco instead has gone for ‘pesticos’, which are basically haute bar snacks, if you’ll allow me to butcher two concepts and three languages at once.

The smartly conceived little room looks restaurant but feels bar, not too dissimilar from the way Melbourne’s Mamasita rolls, and it’s low-lit and cosy enough to block out Cleveland Street. The drinks selection is deliberately Brazilian, with a range of native beverages moving from a simple Piscola (pisco and coke) to full blown cocktails. The wine list doesn’t stray far off the South American continent either. It’s a menu that rewards experimentation, for those of us who haven’t spent a long time (or any time) in the country.

The aforementioned pesticos can be treated like tapas, the servings mostly not big enough to substitute as mains. Amongst our selection, the Picanha (beef fillet with salsa) and ceviche were stand outs – we’d switched to dark beers that I can’t spell by the time we got to the ceviche and it still killed it, which is pretty tight.

Boteco is a more delicate experience of a cuisine burgeoning locally, and it’s also a way nicer place to drink than the pubs in the area.