Veesao Brazilian Kitchen (slash Onyx Dessert Bar) - Bring on the meat!

Veesao Brazilian Kitchen (also Onyx Dessert Bar)

Recently Onyx Dessert Bar on O'Connell Street have changed their main face to a Brazilian themed eatery, but like putting makeup over your previous nights party face, things tend to get a bit questionable if you don't start fresh. I (Camellia) went to dinner on a Sunday night with a group of friends and was fortunate (?) to dine on the first day of their unlimited barbeque menu.

New Signage

The decor was nice in the front section of the restaurant. It was contemporary and bold but comfortable. Toward the back were some strange tables sectioned off by draping fabric which was a nice idea for privacy but gave a sort of Game of Thrones/brothel feel.

The waitstaff who greeted us had a severe lack of professionalism and couldn't clearly explain to us what our menu options were. We ended up confirming that the popular option for the night was the "all you can eat barbeque" for $40 a head. When we asked what was included in this option, they couldn't exactly tell us and then further confirmed that nearly half of the written menu was unavailable for ordering "since it was a Sunday night". As I had wished to order some separate sides which weren't included in the barbeque special, this wasn't ideal.

Thinking back, this should ring alarm bells since I've heard bad things about restaurant specials and this barbeque plug seemed like a great way to use up the weeks leftover inventory.

Hand Cut Fries

Anyway, we were immediately given large plates of cheese bread (a Brazilian snack) and hand cut fries which were very moreish but extremely hot. The bread was chewy on the inside and crisp on the outer, I think I ate about a dozen over the course of the night.

Cheese Bread!

Next, meat. So so so much meat. I honestly can't remember everything we had but chicken, beef, pork and lamb all featured, also chorizo, sausage, chicken heart and pork ribs were brought out and served to us. Mostly well cooked, tender and seasoned but one or two items were a little over done. I personally really enjoyed the chorizo and pork ribs although we were only given one rib each.

A range of sauces including chimichurri, salsa verde and a third onion/capsicum with vinegar base featured and were topped up as needed.

Being Served Chorizo

Other dishes included a cold quinoa and green bean salad as well as feijoada, a stew made from black beans and smoked pork. This was definitely lacking in pork flavour but was pleasant to eat.

All in all, I had a good time and was sufficiently full for the $40 price tag. However the service was not to my liking and I don't really see any hint of a dessert bar in that place (clearly we didn't order any desserts). It's great for feeding a hoard of carnivores, and I do enjoy the presence of Brazilian dishes since it's not a very common cuisine in Australia.

Service: 2/5 - A very unprofessional and "occa" waitress, way too casual and had no idea (it was like fish and chip shop service), but serving staff were pleasant.
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Food: 7/10

Camellia gives Veesao Brazilian Kitchen 12.5/20 chops on the chopping board.