Calling all meat eaters! If you fancy a proper ‘meat feast’ then there is only one place in town to head for – Botafogo, the new Brazilian grill restaurant on John William Street.

Recently opened by Robert Melman and his wife Helen, who were previously responsible for establishing the Argento Steak House, Botafogo brings a whole new dining experience to Huddersfield.

The concept involves diners being offered various cuts and varieties of meat, served by the staff from long skewers at the table, at frequent intervals, basically until you’ve had enough!

A unique system, by which you can call a halt by flipping a coaster between red and green – not unlike a traffic light system. Green (mais, mais, mais – which is Portuguese for more) to continue, and red (completo obrigado – finish, thank you) to say stop.

It’s a system which is apparently indigenous in Rio de Janeiro, where Botafogo (meaning ‘set it on fire’) is named after a beachfront neighbourhood, and which is home to one of Brazil’s biggest football teams, Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas.

As Mr Melman, who had run the Argento steak restaurant for seven years explained: “It is now possible to get a steak with a bottle of wine thrown in anywhere these days. And I really wanted to give the public the experience of Brazilian dining.

“It is something completely different, and if the concept proves to be successful in Huddersfield, then we might consider introducing the idea into other towns.”

The style of the restaurant is more ‘rustic’ than luxury with brightly painted signs and furniture and the staff decked in colourful T-shirts, all of which goes to make the experience less formal, generally more fun and more representative (I would imagine) of what dining out in Rio would be like (I’ve not yet had the pleasure).

And so to the food!

The meal is a set menu at £18.20 per head and is a selection of meats, prior to which we were served an empanada (a small pastry stuffed with meat, similar to a mini cornish pasty).

And then came the accompaniments to the meats, an individual pot of rice (arroz), an individual pot of Feijao (Brazilian black beans) which are very tasty and not dissimilar to re-fried beans, plus a small wire basket of chips, both the potato variety and sweet potato.

And like the meat, these accompaniments which are included in the set meal price were easily replenished by requesting refills from the hard-working and extremely alert staff.

For openers we were brought chicken thighs (frango), followed by sausage (linguica) and then some excellent gammon (presunto).

Next off the prolific production line of skewers came some very tasty black pudding, immediately followed by slices of rump steak (picanha) and then sirloin steak (contrafile), for which we were given a choice as to how we preferred it cooked (rare, medium, etc).

A different style of sausage was next to arrive at the table, followed by meaty pork ribs (costela de porco) coated is sweet sticky sauce, and then more sirloin, rump and chicken, until my wife and I finally decided to ‘wave the white flag’ and turn the coaster over to red.

Of course, if you simply want a rest and resume a little later, there is no restriction on how many times you flip the coaster back to green and off you go again.

If you require extra sides, then a green salad, coleslaw and sweet potato chips are available at an extra cost.

Desserts, which again are not included in the set meal price, include a selection of sorbets, flan de Caramelo (rich Brazilian-style flan caramel) and Marquise de Chocolate (chocolate cake).

Botafogo boasts a small, but well put-together and varied wine list, plus a variety of cocktails, but we chose to stick with the Brazilian theme and opted for the morish draught Brahma beer.

Robert is assisted with the restaurant by his wife Helen, and has employed five full-time and five part-time staff for the new business.

“We get our beef from South America and chicken and pork locally so we have great sourced products,” added Melman, who also part-owns a larger restaurant in Leeds.

There is a vegetarian option available (£16.50) but to be honest, meat and more meat is the principal reason behind Botafogo.

And judging by the packed restaurant on Saturday evening, the volume of diners sat in the waiting area and those who clearly had not booked a table and were turned away, the demand is obviously there, and looks all set to be a massive hit.

If you fancy a different dining experience – then try a Brazilian!

Botafogo

37 John William Street, Huddersfield, HD1 1BL

Tel: 01484 535440

Website: www.BOTAFOGO.CO.UK

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 5.30pm to 10pm (last orders). Sunday 4.00 to 9pm

Children: Yes

Disabled: Access to the restaurant is straight off the pavement on John William Street. Toilet facilities are downstairs.

The bill: The bill £47.52 with drinks and including 10% service charge

Would you go back? Most definitely, especially when I’m really hungry