Zabumba

SAMBA
Samba club!!! I go with a bunch of really awesome Brazilians and just have a great time here. The staff is really nice as well. There are usually some really good samba dancers on the floor amidst the amateurs, and it’s great to learn from them.
COVER CHARGE
$ 5 usually. Wish there wasn’t any. I’d rather spend the money on alcohol and food, but whatever.
PATIO
The front patio is nice. Faces Venice Blvd but the décor is easy-​going, like someone’s backyard. Couches and patio tables are nice and comfy for your smoking pleasure.

Zabumba (now Kikafulo) gets five stars because it is hands down the best (and only venue) with authentic Cuban salsa in LA. Dj Saoco spins on Thursday’s. Kati Hernandez teaches a salsa class. And everyone dances with everyone regardless of their skill level. Great diversity in race, ethnicity, age, people’s jobs even! Everybody who comes LOVES to dance, unlike foo foo LA style salsa with show offs who can do a million turns but can’t keep a beat, throw you into other couples and step on your toes; oh NOT at Zabumba! This place is packed with real lovers of music who come to enjoy the dance floor. This is REAL salsa people! Learn to keep a beat before you start turning your partner dizzy! Everyone is friendly. I have been coming since 2001 and I have found a home here. I’ll never turn anyone down for a dance (unless they are here to get drunk and pick up on girls, which is not usually the case but you do get the odd ill-​intentioned a**hole from time to time).
Don’t come for the food. Come for the music, the dance class (8pm) and the community! Support the venue by buying a drink or a water. If you come for the salsa class pay $ 10 and stay for the post class social dancing. If you just want to come for social dancing it’s $ 5 at the door after 9pm.

Latin dance dive bar. I came on a Thursday night and there was a group of serious salsa dancers there (although casually dressed). Come here if you already know how to salsa, etc.

I love this place — mainly for the chef. The food, vegetariano, etc I’ve had here are REALLY good. More like NE Bahian cooking than typical churrascia or Sao Paulo/​Rio fusion dishes. Rare and cool.
It’s also an insane party place during soccer orr reggae, but beware that parking is ugly nearby.
Worth a trip to try the food.

My boyfriend was supposed to get off of work around 11, then it was 12, and by 1, he was finally on his way home… and so were all the employees of the restaurants near his house, except one. I called to make sure that Zabumba was still serving food, and the lady said they were, so we walked on over.
When we got there (about 1:30 in the morning) there weren’t very many people left in the restaurant, and the ones that were there all looked like either they worked there or were friends of those who did. It was a tad intimidating to walk in and bother people who were obviously ready to head home soon, but we were hungry, and brave. The lady who was doing the cooking listed off what they had available and we went with the fried chicken and steak.
While we waited for them to make our food, the bartenders and everyone else was so nice. They were taking turns choosing music and dancing around and joking, and were really friendly to us while we waited. The atmosphere just seemed like everyone enjoyed being there, and were happy to invite anyone who wanted to join in.
The food was taken to go. The fried chicken was chopped up in bite size pieces but still had the bones in so it required effort to eat it, but the steak was really delicious, a perfect medium, and a great not too chewy texture, it just tasted like a steak should, meaty!
I would love to come back here when they weren’t closing up, because it sounds like it is really fun, and I was impressed with the food we got even though they were basically closed for the night. Thanks Zabumba for letting us order food so late, and being so nice to us!

I was really excited to come since I love Brazilian food, and maybe I have been spoiled from traveling in Brazil. The food was good but not great I wasn’t surprised. The part that killed me was the Caipirinha, it was so blah. I thought it would be made with real crushed limes, super authentic. It tasted like artificially lime juice and only two slices of lime were floating in the drink. Did I drink it? Of course but still looking for an amazing Caipirinha.

A Big Chill went up our spine as we entered Zabumba; the restaurant located West of Overland, on Venice Boulevard. We are not oblivious about the sudden and tragic loss of Ms. Monica Burgos, one of the owners of this place, so with a mixed feeling of grief and sorrow, we ventured into the restaurant the day before the Soccer Game to see what awaited us on Sunday. We looked for a place to sit and there it was a BIG picture of Monica, full of life, looking at us.
Slowly we underwent a metamorphosis of feelings, the whole spectrum of grief, sadness and acceptance and as we kept staring at her face, a ray of light, from her contagious smile, became ours.
Familiar faces were around us; perhaps because we have seen pictures in the news. In their eyes, you can see hope and melancholy all in a welcoming smile. So we sat down had a drink to plan the next day and left feeling sad and uncomfortable for their BIG, Big Loss. Somehow, we wanted to make it right (I suppose is human nature, but in our case, being ANGELENOS, you cannot think of Brazilian soccer games without Zabumba and without Monica), so we planned on returning the next day.
We arrived there around 8:00 AM, we found parking on the street (there a couple of small streets parallel to Overland), then we walked in and ordered breakfast; They had two breakfast specials, one more continental, the other one more Brazilian, we opted for the more conventional, the price was 10.00.
The eggs were browned, and served with Watermelon and Papaya on the side, as well as a cookie, plus bacon, sausage and toast. The food was fresh, the papaya not so fresh, the ham was rolled into a little taco, served with a sliced of cheese, again rolled like another taco. The plate reminded me of something served to me as a child, nothing exceptional except for the warmth it was served with.
The TV monitors were located far from the audience, then, suddenly we realized that, we were not watching the soccer channel but the baseball channel, we stayed quiet hoping that the right hand, will held the right remote control, and finally about 5 minutes before the game, as if magical, the correct channel was localized and the people clapped, screamed and HOORAYED!!!
As the patrons continued to enter the BAR, a badge of willingness to belong was portrayed by everyone entering, as if an unstoppable army, people walked smiling, hoping to belong, and to become one with the drums, and for one Hot Summer Day, that feeling materialized.
On Sunday at Zabumba,. All nationalities became a melting pot of love, joy and happiness. The game with all its rainbow of sounds and feelings was a variety of emotions, and there for a moment I thought of Monica and hoped she was there, perhaps she really was.

This was my first experience at Brazilian food and I hope there are better options out there. Went last night for dinner and was somewhat disappointed. It advertises good food, good service and good entertainment and it fails to deliver on all 3. We arrived at 8pm last night to an empty restaurant, there was perhaps one other table there other than us. The enterainment was Brazilian stereo music with little kids jumping around on stage. We didn’t get our orders taken for at least half an hour and didn’t get our food for another 45 minutes after that. This would not have been a problem if the restaurant was busy with people. Again, there was one other table other than us and the rest of the restaurant was empty. There were two servers, a male and a female one that also acted as bar tenders and bus boys/​girl. They didn’t refill our water without us asking and we didn’t get our water filled the first hour we were there.
When the food finally did arrive, it was ok. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t amazing either. It was decent but I get the feeling that I can get better Brazilian food else where and for better service was well. I don’t really recommend this place.

OK spot. Went on a Saturday night expecting to get the Brazilian vibe, music, dancers, etc. — the pictures on the website show a different scene…
Turns out it was some rock band night with a lot of high school/​college age kids running around in dark clothes there to see 5 or so rock bands perform live — not my scene.
We had to sit outside and close the door in order to hear ourselves talk at the table. The food was decent, the drinks were OK.
I think I was just disappointed because I was expecting Brazilian and got amateur rock band night.
Not sure what other days are like… might wait a while to go back and check.

Four years ago is the last time I set foot in this place. Need somewhere to watch the Brasil games during World Cup? This is it. just make sure you get there early. There’s a jack in the Box next door and it’s great to pick up breakfast before the big Brasil games. I highly recommend parking across the street where the grocery store is located. They have plenty of big screen tv’s for the games. The atmosphere is electric during big Brasil soccer matches.
I’m looking forward to heading back here this summer. Go Brasil!

Excellent grilled steak. Delicioso. This is a Brazilian joint with lots of ambience and more of a Carnival feel. I gave it a 4 star based on the steak being spot on. I like a medium rare and this place delivered ! It had a perfect seasoning and just melted in my mouth.
No 5 stars because of the crappy bar. Well, not crappy but not full stock.
Just heard the tragedy of the owner. Seems that this is the place of the Survivor producer’s wife who was allegedly killed in Cancun by her husband ! Scary. I feel terrible for the children who are beautiful and will have to live with out their mother. My heart and prayers go out to Monica’s family.

The food is good here. pretty authentic. yummy tri-​tip steak. The entertainment is the best part. Lots of good music and dancing!
and r.i.p. to the owner, i hope they catch the bad guy. :(

Hit or Miss… either way have a good time!
Zabumba is located on Venice Bl, just down the street from the Jack in the Box on Overland. It has a very authentic feel to it… the colors, the look, the people. I’ve come here during the World Cup… this place was crazy, people yelling, cheering, and just celebrating. I’ve also come here during Carnival, and wow… this is where the party was, if you couldn’t get to Rio de Janero, lol.
The food ranges from grilled beef, chicken, and a couple of seafood entrees. The Mojitos’ are out of control… the bartender makes them with fresh mint leaves, and brown sugar, (I think).
Most weekends you can come and dance, dance, dance to Salsa, Merengue, and Samba. They also have lessons before things REALLY get going. Everyone is friendly, the live music is…“off the chain”= (Excellent), and it’s a nice change of pace from your Hollywood bar/​club scene… and I hope it stays that way, your only issue may be parking… other than that…4 stars
BTW… if you are dating, and looking for somewhere to go… perfect spot, I just wouldn’t recommend it for your first date… too many distractions… lol…have fun!

This place is kinda cool. There’s great and really loud music, so don’t bring someone here on a first date, because you won’t be able to hear each other.
Nice to see people dancing, drink some Brasilian beer and have a good time.
Food is okay at best and I would recommend eating at the other Brasilian spot just a few blocks away on Venice blvd.

Deal: no cover. Salsa classes $ 10
This place was good times! A friend took me here for the first time last Sunday and what a vibe! You know how people can talk up places and you kinda think that it is all in their fantasy world in thier head. Well, I kinda thought… well I was wrong. This place lived up to its hype!
I am that «salsa dancer» that has taken classes at nauseum, but can’t get up the courage to step on people’s toes on the dance floor in order to get better. The people here were so warm and welcoming that I didn’t even have to ask (ok well, some of the time ;).
Additionally, it had that local, down-​to-​earth flavor that I savor so much. For the first time in a long time, I was really motivated to get out there and try just cuz it looked so damn fun!
PS: no cover, no bouncer, no line

i dunno salsa. but i love it! i am not brazilian but i love them! the place has decent food, great mojitos, but the service is slow, only one server/​bartender.
when i was there i saw brazilian jiu jitsu champ rey diogo there. and some of the best dancing ive seen next to PBS. its a different culture than american clubs i’m use to. the girls here will dance with everyone as long as you are a good dancer. and basically everyone was.
the mission is clear, keep going back til i learn salsa and samba… yeah right.
but its a good place to watch people and couples dancing and having fun and be anonymous while you do it. maybe you will see me there in the corner dancing with my eyes.
it was all part of my night drive fiasco aka tomfoolery and the last place i went to with buddy.

Warning — do not come here for food.
But if salsa is your fancy, this divey Brazilian spot is just the place. It filled out with spicy salsa dancers of all different ages and races at around 10pm on a Sunday night. That’s when the DJ rolled in as well…
Drinks aren’t that cheap and most menu items are not available. There was also something that felt like a 45min wait b/​t our apps and entrees. So only come for dancing and that’s it.

Oye!!! Me encanta el ritmo!
My God! An acquaintance of mine told me about Zabumba. I had no idea what I was in for. Zabumba is the sabor de Cuba! Afro-​latin rhythms mixed with a salsa vibe makes for a hot night of bodies movin and booties shakin.
Its a small spot, holding about 150 – 200 people MAX, but that is more than enough to get even the most gringo-​est gringo groovin. A restaurant by day, they move the tables out of the way to make room por la gente. A DJ spins swingin’ salsa rhythms to get the people dancin’. Then every 10 or so songs, live Cuban conga players break out the timbales and treat the crowd to el ritmo authentico de Cuba. SABOR!
This place is FIRE. Check it out on a Sunday night, and if you have any groove in your soul, you will not be disappointed.
Me ENCANTA!

There are MUCH better places to get Brazilian food in this neighborhood.
The dinner I had here was totally dried out, and tasteless. I think it’s really a bar and dancing place, and the food is a really secondary afterthought. Go here for drinks, music and dancing, NOT for the food!

A very sparse bar, but the people… wow!
This is a bar for the beautiful people of Brazil: Dancers, Jiu-​Jitsu fighters and Varig Flight attendants all come to Zabumba to recharge.
The bar itself is almost non-​descript — concrete floors and metal chairs, a covered patio out front for the smokers and smack on Venice boulevard.
But the people make it one of the most fun in Los Angeles, especially during a soccer game. Wall-​to-​wall, cheering, groaning — and drinking.
A blast.