Churrascaria Tropeiro’s Grill: An Authentic Brazilian Steakhouse Experience
480 Shrewsbury Street Worcester
tropeirosgrill.com

Jennifer Russo

If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse and had the experience of tableside Rodizio, there is a new place in town where you can indulge in this amazing way of eating. Traditional rodizio is a service where servers (or “gauchos,” as they are known in Brazil) come by tables with several types and cuts of fire-rotisserie cooked meats and slice them off the skewer individually for each diner. There is even grilled pineapple. It’s an all-you-can-eat adventure and includes a buffet area with a large variety of hot and cold side dishes, fresh fruits and vegetables, imported cheeses, cured meats, and fan-favorite pão de queijo (a Brazilian cheese bread, which is made with tapioca flour and is naturally gluten free). 

Churrascaria Tropeiro’s Grill opened its doors in October of last year, and has seen immediate success, quickly becoming the talk of the town with its outstanding customer service, beautiful interior design, and authentic and delicious food. It’s the perfect place for a date or get together with family, friends, or colleagues, because it offers an interactive and unique experience – an exclusive pass into the community traditions of southern Brazil. They recently participated in Worcester Restaurant Week and were so excited to have a lot of new customers come in to check them out.

“I’ve been working in the restaurant industry since I was 14 years old, and it’s always been something that I am very passionate about,” says owner Tiago Caliari.

“I’ve worked in every area of the restaurant, so I know what it means to run it well and ensure that customers are having an enjoyable time and a delicious meal. As the owners and managers of this location, Eder Stobbe and I have about 45 years of combined industry experience between us, and other location owners (Marinho DeTumin and Adriano Santos) have around the same between them – so in total we have about a hundred years of working at and managing this style of restaurant, including Fogo de Chão, one of the most famous Brazilian steakhouses in the world.”

The chefs in the kitchen are all Brazilian, so they know how to make the regional dishes they grew up with better than anyone. Everything is cooked with fresh seasonal ingredients in the traditional way, with a lot of love and a lot of flavor.

When asked about choosing Worcester for this new venture, the answer was a simple one. 

“I was managing the restaurant in Dartmouth, and really wanted to open another location and thought Worcester was perfect once we saw the space available. It’s near businesses and colleges, has plenty of parking, and is a great community,” shares Tiago.

When they purchased the building, they spent over a year renovating – demolishing dated booths and adding individual tables. They kept the original natural wood bar and beautiful brick columns that still worked well, but they changed the flooring, added an expansive buffet area, painted both the interior and exterior, added decorations that fit the theme, and created an attractive and upscale and yet non-pretentious atmosphere. Diners immediately feel welcomed and comfortable in the space.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and offers eighteen different kinds of perfectly cooked cuts of meat to try, which include chicken, lamb, pork, and beef, with the Picanha (top sirloin) being a strong favorite. Each table has a card on it and when it is on the green side it acts as an invitation for the server to come over with a selection. When the card is flipped to the red side, diners can simply enjoy the food that’s in front of them or go back up to the buffet for more sides. For those who don’t want to do the full rodizio at lunchtime, there is an option to purchase by the pound.

In the summer, there is a beautiful outdoor patio to dine al fresco. They are planning to have a bartender there outside in the summer to serve Caipirinha cocktails, Brazil’s national drink, made with lime, sugar cane, and cachaça. These will be served in the traditional lime flavor, with options for additions of passionfruit, pineapple, strawberry, or kiwi.

There is a private room available to rent that can seat sixty people, with dining packages for graduation parties, wedding rehearsal dinners, birthdays and anniversaries, and business events. The room has a beautiful gas fireplace, and a large screen included where patrons can load slide shows and images.

Costs vary depending on what time of the week you dine. From Monday through Thursday, you can get the entire rodizio experience at lunchtime for $29.95 per person (with an option to choose a promotional offer of $23.95 for a limited selection of ten meats) or come in at dinnertime for $39.95 per person. From Friday night through Sunday, it is $48.95 per person.

Churrascaria Tropeiro’s Grill is located at 480 Shrewsbury Street, next to the Piccadilly Plaza, and is open seven days a week beginning at 11:30 AM. Check out their website at tropeirosgrill.com or on Instagram at @TropeirosGrillWorcester