Brasileiro U Zelené žáby: 10 things you wouldn't have guessed
A Brazilian lunch at Brasileiro U Zelené žáby
1. The first employees from Rio
Chef Martin Matys recalls how the first Brazilians arrived in Prague. In the end, we welcomed twelve. Life here was not exactly easy for them. They arrived in the Czech Republic on 17 December, in the bitter cold and without warm clothes. We went to the airport to pick them up with down jackets and deer tallow, and some of them even froze their faces off on the way to their accommodation. None of the original group stayed in the restaurant, but we still have Brazilians on the team today. The oldest in service is our passador Wellington, a jolly fellow who even got married here. It took a while to get used to their way of thinking, but today we can't imagine Brasileiro without them."
2. The team goes on inspirational trips
They've been to Brazil a total of five times, most recently in São Paulo in 2018. That was just before the restaurant's makeover, when they started grilling on the fire. Since then, flame grill has been a part of Brasileiro.
3. The lower part of the restaurant was much smaller
After two years, however, they broke into the basement next door. We thought someone had left the lights on, but it was from the basement of the Three Drums Hotel next door," says Martin Matys. The cellar even had the same floor as the restaurant. The owner of the house eventually rented the cellar to Brasileiro - under the supervision of the conservationists, the wall was broken through and the business expanded by another 25 seats.
4. In the beginning, only sirloin and sirloin steaks were grilled
Twenty years ago, you could only get two types of meat at Brasileiro - sirloin and tenderloin. Back then, the chefs didn't know how to use the other parts for steak.
5. A building that has a long history
The house where Brasileiro resides has seen a lot of stories. This address used to be the famous post-war wine bar The Green Frog, renowned for the best roast beef in Prague and the best wines of Žernosec. These are still being poured in Brasileiro today.
6. The kitchen sometimes sounds Portuguese
Chef Martin Matys has learnt Portuguese over the years and, as there are a steady number of colleagues from South America on the team, he routinely takes on the role of interpreter. By the way, the presence of foreigners is still evident in the staff - Brazilians are not very fond of Czech classics and they are not fond of dumplings, so they commonly enjoy, for example, pork cabbage with rice.
7. 1047 guests per day, 629 kg of picanha per month
And now some numbers! The most guests visited Brasileiro on Aug. 21, 2022 - the passadors got busy and served 1047 people. In a month, guests sip 4,850 oysters and eat over 2 tons of grilled pineapple. It is said that only the Prague Zoo has more pineapple. And what do they drink all this with? Caipirinha, of course - 147 bottles of cachaça a month.
8. Capirinha exclusively with ice
Capirinha only just started to be made into ice cubes as in Brazil - bartenders in the Czech Republic were surprised because they were used to mixing caipirinha with ice chips.
9. The ingredients come from both the Czech Republic and Brazil
Many of the ingredients are now sourced from Czech farmers, but some of them are ordered from Brazil, for example cassava flour, selected beef or white rums and guarana lemonades.
10. Brasileiro also used to serve steaks and pasta
The concept has remained the same for over twenty years, But initially, churrasco was only served in the lower part of the restaurant. For a while, the upstairs area served an à la carte menu of both steak and pasta.
