A Taste of Brazil with Cabana Manchester, Restaurant Review

Fancy a taste of Brazil? I did! So on Friday, after work, I met up with my gal pal Alice and we visited Cabana Restaurant Manchester in the Corn Exchange for some cocktails and dinner. The Corn Exchange is now one of the go-to places in Manchester for a wide choice of restaurants under one roof and located in Exchange Square inbetween Selfridges, the Arndale and  the Printworks, so it was super easy to head there after work.

We were welcomed by Emily at Cabana who was super friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. After a peruse through the wide range of Brazilian cocktails, Alice and I both chose a Strawberry Daquiri (£9) which consisted of Rebellion white rum, sugar syrup, lime and strawberry purée. It’s one of my favourite cocktails and definitely didn’t disappoint!!

To start, I chose the Chargrilled Halloumi With Guava Dip (£5.95). A classic combo known as “Romeo & Juliet” in Brazil, the dip was almost sweet and perfectly complimented the halloumi which was lightly grilled to a great texture. Alice chose the Crispy ‘Lula’ Squid (£5.95). This was a lot like calamari as was lightly fried salt and pepper squid rings, with Malagueta Mayo. Alice is a self-confessed ‘Mayo Enthusiast’ so really enjoyed trying a different variety of it!

For our mains, Alice and I couldn’t decide between the steak and salmon, so we decided to be proper partners in crime and go half and half! Together we shared the Chimichurri Rib-Eye Steak (£21.50) 8oz, 28 day aged British beef marinated in an almost garlicy sauce. We had it cooked Medium and with a side of Baby Ipanema Salad (£4), which reminded me a lot of a mini Cesar salad and was refreshing alongside the meat. Of course, steak always has to be served with chips (it’s a rule, right?) so we also shared the Feijoada Fries Sweet Potato Fries (£6) covered with melted cheese and our beef, pork and bean feijoada.

Splitting this in half, we also chose the Spicy Malagueta Salmon (£15.95). Marinated in our sticky, spicy sauce and glazed with honey this was our favourite main. It was delicious! It was cooked to perfection and the coating was fresh and tangy. We really loved it. For the sides on this, we chose the Spicy Malagueta Chargrilled Red Peppers and Coconut Slaw (both £3).

After our mains, it was time for a thirst quencher and whilst Alice went for a sweet rose wine, I chose another cocktail. With such a wide range of hero cocktails it would be rude not to, right? I went for the Pornstar Caipirinha (£9.00). This was like a long version of a classic Pornstar Martini, which contained p assion fruit and vanilla Caipirinha with a Prosecco shooter. I absolutely loved it!

To finish, Alice and I both opted for an ice cream Sundae each and went for the Brazillian Overload (£5.95). This contained Chocolate Chip and Vanilla ice creams with chocolate fudge balls topped with caramel sauce. It was a lovely way to end the meal on a refreshing note!