Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan, so it makes sense that you often find restaurants merging the two national cuisines. Yoobi sushi – which has just opened its second site in Oxford Circus – is just one example, drawing inspiration from Japanese traditions and the flavours of Brazil to serve up a menu of dishes such as Amazon salmon temaki, delicately spiced with North Amazonian bicinho pepper. It's based around temaki, a style of sushi that's often referred to as hand rolls, and the restaurant is home London's first sakeria to boot.
Within a year of its launch in 2009, this neighbourhood restaurant had become so popular it took over a pub a few doors down, which means dinner here involves tucking into authentic Brazilian cuisine in typical British surrounds. Chef-patron Eduardo is extremely passionate about the food he dishes up, dedicating one night a week to touring London's wholesale markets to make sure everything he serves is of the very highest quality. He's also a music enthusiast, so the restaurant frequently hosts events to showcase the best Brazilian beats.
London has pubs; Paris has cafés; Rome has osterias; and Rio de Janeiro has boteco bars – small boozers which were traditionally social spots for bohemians to meet up, drink, eat and exchange ideas. It's these Brazilian institutions that Kilburn's Barraco emulates, serving up dishes like frogs' legs and yam cakes, and the inevitable churrrasco misto – a mixed grill of beef, pork and chicken.
The Japanese-Peruvian-Brazilian restaurant on the 38th and 39th floors of the Heron Tower needs little introduction, drawing in crowds thanks to its spectacular city views and its modern cuisine headed up by bespectacled executive chef Claudio Cardoso. There's a whole host of South American inspiration on offer, from the churrasco rio grande (ribeye, chorizo and aged picanha) to the Sao Paolo – scallop, masago, red onion, tuna, salmon, shrimp, white fish and avocado.
