Beware of heavy and ostentatious doors, noted one of my dining comrades when we arrived at Bossa, a new Brazilian restaurant on the edge of Marylebone. Bossa’s is big and brassy and requires a certain effort to open. However, don’t be put off. Enter into the venue and diners will immediately be struck with its sense of class. The cooking matches the décor too.
Ask most people what they think of when prompted to describe Brazilian dining and the first answer might be caipirinha. For food, most likely steak. However, with 200m+ people, Brazil in the seventh largest country in the world. Beyond a vast interior, the country has a stunning coastline too. No surprise then that both fish and plant-based products (particularly fruit and nuts) feature extensively in Brazilian cooking as well as meat. Nilson Chaves – who worked in several Michelin-starred venues locally – is on a mission to educate Londoners about Brazil’s culinary heritage.
Our server (from Sao Paulo) took time at the outset to explain to our group how a vatapá sauce is made or what we should expect from a quindim. For the uninitiated, the former comprises bread, shrimp, coconut milk, peanuts and palm oil mashed into a creamy paste. Meanwhile, the latter is a baked dessert made from sugar, egg yolks and custard. Your intrepid reviewer tried both. Beyond the novelty, choosing at lunch is relatively easy, with a remarkably well-priced set menu (£45 for three courses) offering three options at each stage. Across our group of three, we sampled seven of the nine possible dishes available. None disappointed.
Part of the success behind Bossa is the attention to detail shown by the chefs. An open kitchen allows for their showmanship to be visible. There is also counter-top dining close to the action. If one wanted to be uncharitable, then it would be fair to note that the team was not rushed when we dined. Very few covers were taken, but we were assured that it did get much busier in the evenings. Despite a relative absence of diners, Bossa did not lack for ambience. There was time to take in the plush furnishings, a beautifully muralled wall and an elegant bar at the front of the venue. When each dish came, we were able both to savour its presentation and taste. Most plaudits were probably awarded to a starter of spiced sausage with winter tomatoes in a subtle vinaigrette. The flavours paired off against each other superbly. For your reviewer, his sea bass in the aforementioned vatapá sauce (pictured) combined an immense spectrum of taste sensations and left him wanting more. Fortunately the quindim which followed filled the gap. A second could easily have been consumed too. We washed our food down with an intriguing bottle of Alvarinho from a boutique producer in Portugal. An evening meal would definitely be merited here to witness a wider range of Chaves’ cooking as well as a broader perusal of the cocktails and wines on offer. Saúde!