After a £250,000 refurbishment Brazilian restaurant Viva Brazil has opened its doors once again with a new layout, extended menu and more meat, fish and vegetarian options, as it aims for the title of best Brazilian restaurant in Liverpool.

The Brazilian Churrascaria craze shows no sign of abating in Liverpool. With BEM Brazil and Fazenda at Exchange Flags offering similar South American, meat-heavy dining options the Castle Street eatery has upped its game with a revamp in time for the lucrative Christmas party season.

Of course, the venue has the benefits of being based in a grand old building on Castle Street, one of the city’s finest up-and-coming foodie locations. With the excellent Olive, San Carlo, Salthouse Bacaro and What’s at 62? mere yards away and a catchment area stretching from the bustling Liverpool ONE to the city’s popular business district, Viva Brazil could not be in a better spot to catch the evening crowds.

However, just to be sure it was noticed the launch night comprised bright red lights illuminating the building’s façade, a boisterous drummer band and a celebrity-style red carpet. This was a launch the owners wanted to shout about – and the dining was certainly impressive enough to live up to the hype.

Viva Brazil offers a now familiar way of eating stretching back hundreds of years to the cowboys of Brazil. You take a seat at a table and wait for up to 15 different cuts of meat to be cooked and carried to you. Simply take what you like and when you’re full, turn over a card on your table to notify the waiters. To say this is a meat-lovers dream is an understatement, with succulent steak, garlic-infused sausages, pork, gammon, chicken and more all being lovingly cooked in the vast barbeque-style kitchen.

So what is new? Viva Brazil is trying to stay ahead of its rivals by offering some new options alongside the well-trodden favourites. This means a venture into the seafood options including crispy crab cakes for starters, beautifully-cooked king prawns and a seafood plate that can be ordered as an alternative to the meat option.

The seafood options do not feel like an afterthought and indeed the prawns were the highlight of the night, which is lofty praise considering the quality of the rump steak and the festive-feeling chicken wrapped in bacon. Equally impressive was the salad bar, which boasted a range of options from spicy pasta to well-cooked tofu for those who wanted a break from the main meat courses.

The layout has also been rearranged with a cosy bar serving a choice of wine, beer and cocktails – including the refreshing signature cocktail, the Caipirinha – a sociable lower restaurant with a view of the kitchen and a more intimate upstairs with its own salad bar and impressive views of Castle Street and the surrounding area.

At around £25 for the full works and all the meat you can eat, Viva Brazil does represent good value considering the quality of the food, friendly service and décor of the building. The meal never felt rushed and while other Castle Street venues provide an intimate, more relaxed atmosphere, Viva Brazil is a restaurant for attending in large groups and trying new things.

The refurbishment of Viva Brazil is not a reinvention of the Churrascaria craze, but it is a refinement. As BEM Brazil, with its own £1 million refurbishment, and the upmarket Fazenda create extra competition, the battle for Brazilian supremacy in the city is closer than ever. Which can only be a good thing for diners in the city.

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