You don’t come across a Brazilian restaurant every day in Jeddah. Unless perhaps you live or work near the InterContinental Hotel in which case you’re more than likely familiar with “Spears,” one of the hotel’s flagship restaurants that shares its location with another popular one, “The Fish Market.”
The restaurant is a traditional Churrascaria, which is a Brazilian Steakhouse. “Churrasco” is the cooking style which means “barbeque” in Portuguese. If you’re not familiar with the way meat is served in a Churrascaria, you will surely be impressed at Spears.
The meat is barbecued on swords or spears in an open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant, and served straight to your table at regular intervals throughout your meal. In fact it’s so frequent you either need to have plenty of stomach space before you arrive, or be prepared to send the meat-pushing waiters away, as eventually something has to give.
It’s basically an all-you-can-eat affair, and just when you think you have had enough, another type of meat arrives which tends to spike your curiosity just enough to have some more.
The restaurant is elaborately decorated with an almost tribal or jungle theme, with painted dark woods, artificial plants, and what appeared to be sticks (perhaps spears!) attached to the ceiling, all slightly more African than Brazilian in my opinion, “Zulu” springs to mind, but an interesting selection of décor nonetheless. The classical “elevator” music playing in the background was also an interesting choice for the restaurant, but that didn't detract from the great food that was to come.
On arrival my dining partners and I were greeted by a handful of waiters who quickly took us to our table, and introduced the concept of the restaurant to us. If you have a choice, try and sit by the window, as you get a great view of the sea and Jeddah’s fountain. The self-standing ring binder menu provided on the table was a little awkward to use but fortunately we had the waiter on hand to make suggestions.
We opted for the set menu (SR130 per adult) which included a soup of the day, salad, side dishes, and over 10 different kinds of Churrasco. Drinks were not included, but we chose some lemon and mint, which came served in goblet-sized glasses and was pretty good, if a little sweet.
The soup was lentil, (not a typical Brazilian offering to my knowledge), and was good. The salad that followed was fresh and crisp. Appetizers were also served including deep fried onion rings, potato wedges, and some vegetable mixed rice (which proved popular enough to need replacing after only a few minutes).
Not long after our waiter and his entourage of meat-carrying colleagues arrived, the first of an endless barrage of meats appeared. First came huge chunks of grilled turkey breast, which was soft and tender, like most of what followed. Next came the grilled lamb, followed by quail, barbecued chicken wings, chicken tandoori (soft and buttery), large lamb koftas, beef kebabs, veal sausages, lamb chops, and finally... the ostrich (which is apparently low in fat and cholesterol for those that worry about such things!).
All the meat was delicious, and cooked to perfection (apart from the ostrich which was a little chewy for my liking). It was also a nice touch to find the waiters suggesting an appropriate sauce with each new meat that came to our table. These included a chili tomato sauce, garlic dip, and the usual barbecue sauce, all of which were excellent condiments when added to the meat.
The meal left me FFTB (Full and Fit to Burst), to the point that I was grateful that the desserts were not included in the set menu! I was far too full to even consider the idea of eating more.
A quick glimpse of the desserts area and I could see that the usual offerings such as Om Ali, cheese cake, and mouhalabiah were available at around SR35 per head.
All in all, a great meal especially if you’re on a low carbs diet; vegetarians might not be too pleased though, as there is not much else on the menu! But an excellent meal for a meat lover, as there really is a never ending supply of the stuff — just make sure you skip breakfast on the day and maybe lunch too!
InterContinental Hotel Tel 966-2-6611800
(Rashed Islam is a food critic who hosts the website Jeddahfood.com.)
