Porto Alegre Restaurant Review: DaDo Bier (Serving a Variety of Buffets)

In Brazil, this kind of dining is incredibly popular and it is offered at a fixed price with the caption: buffet livre. Price and quality / variety of buffet differs from place to place, of course. For example, downtown, some of the simpler buffets can be as low as R$8,00 and in nicer neighborhoods the price can go up to about R$15,00. CHEAP. The Brazilian Buffet happens to be one of my favorites because of the wide variety of food served. Fresh salads, countless vegetables dishes, grilled and stewed meats, breads, pasta dishes, desserts, fresh fruits, and just about everything else you can imagine is spread out like a feast for a king. I love that you can pick and choose what you want and how much you want of it so there is no want or waste.

My mother-in-law´s friend wanted to treat us to dinner so we went to the very popular chain: DaDo Bier (there is a big population of German descendants here in POA, thus the name). Nestled inside the upscale mallShopping Bourbon, this enormous establishment boasts two full bars and lots of seating. They offer various types of buffets and although the hostess explained their system twice, our dinner party was still a bit confused. I was initially surprised at the high prices, too, until I realized what they offered. For someone who does not eat much (like me), this is not the place for you. On the other hand, if you have a hearty appetite- go for it!

After copying down all the information off the menu, I have figured out which buffet is the best value for the money:Buffet Gourmet. This buffet is offered Mon-Thu for R$32,90 and Fri-Sun for R$35,90. Basically, you are allowed to eat everything: the salad buffet, the appetizer buffet (both hot and cold), and the sushi buffet. Wow.

My husband and I had the sushi, and it was impeccably fresh, well presented and delicious. In addition to a wide variety of sushi (including some made with fruit), there was plenty of sashimi, too. Afterward, we paced around the long buffet table and marveled at all the different things offered. Since we were stuffed from the sushi, we could not fit much else, but we did manage the salmon crepes and they were delicious, so was the grilled eggplant topped with slices of tomato and mozzarella. The photos I took should give you a pretty good idea.

The menu offers ala carte dishes that includes seafood, chicken, beef and pasta. Prices range from about R$25,00 to R$60,00 and the salad buffet can be added for only R$12,90 (does not include the sushi).

Thanks for reading!

C. De Melo