Cabana Brasilian Barbecue

So I lured with the promise of free cocktail. I mean, who says no to that! I went in and tried the ginger & honey caprinha. I sooo wanted to like it, but it just didn’t set my world on fire, so the server kindly offered to change it for something else… I got the dream team 1970… Which was FANTASTIC! Oh my word… Cachaca, a green liqueur some fruity juice and brut! What a drink. They light it on fire as well… Spot on!
Lunch wise I got the lunchbox as I wasn’t very hungry and the server highly recommended it over my original choice of a chicken leaf wrap starter (damnit I was trying to be healthy). Anyways the crispy squid with sweet potato fries was that guilty treat you need in your life! Mmm so yum! Totally worth another 10 hours in the gym hehe.
The service was amazing. Really attentive and great writ helping me pick! This is no mean feat as I’m the most indecisive person EVER! Big thumbs up and yes I’ll be back…

Would not recommend and would instead suggest to avoid this place. Too packed, too noisy. Overpriced for what we both got: «steak fritas» was so salty it was barely edible. The mango chicken meal my friend ordered never came. He was served the chips with no meat. And then the waiter forgot about the mango chicken my friend had ordered and 20min later we had to get someone to sort it out. When his chicken arrived, I had almost finished my main course and it was cold. My friend’s chips were cold too. And the cherry on the cake, his chicken was very dry. We both didn’t enjoy the food at all. Overall, really poor atmosphere, poor food quality and appalling service. They take too many customers and everything else suffers deeply. Profit prevails over delivering a great experience for customers. Will not be going back ever.

Delicious steak and cocktails! A bit pricey but the atmosphere, food and staff are all wonderful. Great to have a taste of Brazil in London.

I went there a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. It was three of us on a Tuesday night, we had not booked but it was not a problem.
First I must say the staff was super friendly: they were smiling, chatting, and when they figured out it was my birthday they got me a cocktail and a cake on the house (with candles, please) and sang (which I could have foregone, but it was funny).
The place is nice (the decoration is fresh and light).
Regarding the food: We ordered three steaks with fries, and the meat was really great: soft, tender and grilled just as it should be. The fries were fine too. (this was something like £14)
For desert we went with a Banana cheese cake and a sort of chocolate cake with dolce de leche — really tasty and sweet.
For drinks we ordered a Pichet of a Cocktail (something the same color as a tequila Surise) it was not too loaded on alcool, but tasty so don’t think you will be getting a buzz off-​it, on the other hand the Mojito was much stronger.

We had an agonizing choice over where to go, and walked all the way down the street to assess the options available to us. Cabana stood out for it’s bright and fun-​looking menus and décor, and the 2−4−1 cocktail offer. And it was most definitely the RIGHT choice! From entry the wait staff were awesome — funny and friendly, without feeling forced. They also slightly shifted the 2−4−1 deal timings for us so we could get an extra half hour in ;)
My dining companion was super-​excited about the cheesecake, and only got slightly judged for ordering this along with his starter (squid rings!). These were great, as was my starter of cheesy baked doughballs with garlic butter (they did not scrimp on the garlic!). Pretty impressive portions as well!
Then it was time for the mains. The waitress recommended the lamb dish and the chicken super salad (with three different types of corn, palm hearts, mango and fresh leaves — delicious!), which we really enjoyed. The pièce de résistance for me were the Feijoada fries (sweet potato fries topped with melted cheese and beef, pork & bean feijoada) — unfortunately I was too full to eat them all, but I was so sad at the thought of the remainder going in the bin that I had to ask for a ‘doggy bag’ (cute little box that they put my leftovers in — with no judgement! OK maybe a little smirk), and my hungry friends at the dance event I went to afterwards were very appreciative — they still tasted good cold!
At the appointed time our waiter came over and informed us that it was time for our 2−4−1 deal to begin, so we ordered the Amaretto Delight (Amaretto, rum, hint of strawberry & condensed milk) and the Bahian Barbie (Strawberry, pineapple, coconut, rum) — this was our favourite.
I need to go back to this place — there are still so many things that I want to try, so many desserts to explore, and so many drinks to be drunk during 2−4−1 times! I recommend this for a casual evening with friends — go in a big group and everyone order a different dish so you can share round, I wanted all the things and unfortunately couldn’t get through it all. Next time!

I went here with my friend because she’d heard good things about this place and we fancied trying out some Brazilian foods.
The drinks were superb. They have an alright selection of freshly made cocktails that have a lovely kick to them. Definitely go with the waiting staff’s suggestions, as they also have specials that are delicious.
Food was great too. We had the spicy prawn skewer and the chicken croquettas, both lived up to expectations. Fresh, decent food. Especially the prawns were amazing. For mains we both got the ribs. These come with a coleslaw side that is delicious although slightly too sweet (dressing). We ordered some rice and fries to go with the ribs, as none of it is included.
Overall experience, very positive. Perhaps slightly too pricy (we spent about £55 for the abovementioned), but it is worth a visit. Friendly staff, good food, amazing drinks.
They also do a happy hour, which is worth checking out!

First ever visit to the Cabana chain in Islington.
Had heard so much about the food and atmosphere but it didn’t really live up to expectations. I was attending a friends birthday and we were placed near the back of the restaurant which was probably for the best as we could has been perceived as loud.
As I’m doing dry January I was happy to see that there was a pretty comprehensive mocktail menu. I tried the home made lemonade and pin coloda, both of which were the highlights of the meal.
I decided to go for the ‘famous’ Malagueta chicken for my main, this is meant to be their signature dish but didn’t really impress me and I had food envy looking at those who chose the steak.
Overall it was a pleasing evening but I would say that Desperados is a much better restaurant and experience.

We went on a Saturday afternoon and it was reasonably busy.
We had the malagueta spicy chicken skewers and the malagueta spicy chicken burger in a brioche bun with sweet potato fries. We asked if two portions of sweet potato fries, this was definitely enough between the three of us — the waiter had advised that it should be but if we wanted more at any point just to ask. It was definitely a suitable amount as you get a lot of meat on the chicken skewers.
Both were delicious and I would definitely recommend it to friends.
There was additional spicy sauces on the table which were also yummy.
We finished off with fresh mint tea, which was a lovely big glass mug full of fresh mint leaves.
Overall we had excellent service with good quality and tasty food. The waiters/​waitresses checked on us at suitable moments to make sure everything was ok and if we needed anything else.
They also had loads of gluten free options on the menu

Skip to punch line: I loved it. Overall, my dinner at Cabana was fantastic. The starters were simply amazing: delicious guacamole with sweet corn chips, cheesy baked dough balls, and «Passarinho» fried chicken. Make sure you get all three of these things and if you’re feeling adventurous get the others too because they were so hard to resist! Now the mains were what I like to call ‘perfection’. I ordered the spicy malagueta chicken skewer (the whole ‘this is our best seller’ crap won me over). The chicken was so succulent I can still feel it melting in my mouth. The flavours almost told a story in my mouth. The chicken breast texture mixing with the spicy malagueta sauce topped off by the malagueta chilli oil was magical — I kid you not. We also ordered three dipping sauces which were remarkable: spicy mayo, chimichurri, and tamarind ketchup. For sides we got the cassava chips and biro biro rice. These were delicious and added an even more authentic touch to the meal. The one downside — and probably a pretty big downside — the friend I went with got quite sick later that night… But I didn’t so I’m still rating this with 4 stars because the food really hit the spot!

I know I will have to edit my review when I go next time, as I went after Friday night karaōke with a friend who now lives in Berlin and I don’t see very often– and, well, you know how it goes.
I DO know they have a vegetarian Feijoada, easily made vegan, called Vegoada. I’ve only seen a veggie version of it once, and that place has closed down. So I was pretty excited to see it again! It was really good too! A couple of different hot sauces on the table is always a plus. I also recall happy hour went on pretty late, and the cocktails too, were pretty good.
I look forward to getting my vegoada on again, very soon!

This is pretty new to the area and the first I’ve seen in London. It’s a very bright, colourful and stylish venue and has a strong South American vibe.
Once seated we were left to look at our menus for a good 10 – 15 minutes until I finally got up and asked one if the staff members if we could order drinks. It was lunch time and it wasn’t very busy so I will put it down as a one off… as long as it don’t happen again.
The food was good I had ribs and chips with wings to start.
I ordered garlic chips but they had sold out along with one of the starters I think it was the calamari or stuffed mushrooms.
All in all it was a nice meal nothing fantastic. The prices are slightly higher than other restaurants in the n1 area.
To see if cabana is average or above I will need to give it another visit!!!

Literally the worst service of anywhere in Islington. From the minute we tried to get a seat till we had to flag down the server for a menu, it was just so lazy and inefficient. I eventually went inside to order, they acted all surprised and sent me back to the table. After more waiting they eventually wandered out to take our order.
The good points: you get garlic butter with your pao de queijo. I really like butter.
Then we waited to get the bill for a while. And then we waited to pay.
I don’t know if you can sense a theme here… maybe you can. Wait a while and see.

Possibly the most begrudging £80 (for 2 people) I spent in a long time. Service was inattentive to the point where they practically made me feel a nuisance for ordering more drinks (that were expensive for what they were — £6−7 for a small glass of caprinha that had more ice than liquid).
The chicken sharer starter — avoid it. I can summarise what you get for £13: 3 Pizza Hut style wings, 6 chicken nuggets and 3, for what I observed, looked like mince chicken balls fried to a dark brown color. Gross.
The only saving grace was the meat. It was good quality and cooked well. But it was literally just meat. £17 for 4 cubes of steak thrown onto your plate from a skewer. Sides are extra at around £4 a portion.
Will I come back? Probably not, for £80 money you might as well go to the Brazilian BBQ place round the corner that is more buffet style with waiting staff who actually give a sh*t.

We were in London over the weekend on business and ate here since it was next to the conference center. It was amazing. The food was excellent, the service was awesome and the guy who I assume is the manager was extra cool and helpful. We ended up eating here twice. We are coming back to London again in June for another conference and will certainly be back for more.
Try the hanger steak, the chicken wings, and the prawn roll… off the hook!

I went to Cabana after work for dinner and I don’t think I am going back ever again.
At first everything seemed OK. The waitress was helpful enough, taking our drinks order and bringing them to the table in a good time. But then, everything changed. It took them ages to take our food order, and enough time to bring the food to the table.
The food was OK but nothing especial. But I suppose the price was OK as well, maybe a bit overpriced…
We ordered a cheesy starter that was tasteless, rosemary fries that didn’t have any rosemary (maybe one leaf?) and some chicken dishes, that is supposed to be their speciality.
The chicken skewer was tasty but too raw. The Beirut sandwich was better, but you can’t be wrong with a chicken sandwich, can you?
The only thing that was good enough were the drinks. We ordered some non alcoholic cocktails and they were delicious, very well done.
And, as Alba V. has already said, the time they took to print the bill and then take the money was ridiculous! We had to ask ¾ times for the bill and then wait more than 40 minutes to pay! We had to wake up and walk to the bar so they could take our money! I was about to walk out of the place without paying, because seriously? And then, the waiter didn’t know how to split a bill or use the POS! UNBELIEVABLE!

Friday night we found this place in Angel. I though: yeah, why not? The place looked cool and almost packed so we decided to give it a try.
We got a nice table (next to the bathrooms, not so cool). The waiter was helpful enough. We ordered some drinks (not alcoholic versions of mojitos) and I have to say those drinks were the best so far.
The food? Blah. Totally blah. We ordered some kind of cheese empanadas; too oily and the cheese was no tasty enough (and we were supposed to get four kind of cheese). The mains were ok. Not a big deal too. Chicken with herbs and garlic and chicken sandwich with rosemary fries (I couldn’t taste any rosemary on them)
The worst part was when we wanted to pay. They gave us the bill and we waited for 30 minutes. No one came to our table. All the staff was chilling in the bar. So, we went there to pay (pretty angry of course) and they didn’t apologise or anything. I almost had to make the payment myself. I still can’t believe it! I was so upset!
As I said, drinks were good, food pretty standard and the service HORRIBLE. Not even 3 shinny starts!

I started with a cocktail which was delicious so my expectations were high, especially given the great atmosphere. The lighting is cool and the denim benches unusual, I had a good feeling. Unfortunately the food just didn’t live up to it… The cheese pastries to start were pointless, the cheese had no taste and the fried parcels were pretty boring too. The salsa was OK. My main course was the burger with rosemary fries and pulled pork. My first impression was the dry bun (dried from defrosting in an oven too fast maybe ?). The meal was all over pretty tasteless, the fries very basic (couldn’t taste the rosemary) and the whole experience not really worth the money. The two other people I came with had pointless starters too followed by steaks that were OK but nothing special at all. Shame, I was looking forward to a new place to love in Angel. I wouldn’t go back and would not really recommend for anything more than a drink.