O Jardim Brazilian Cafe

It’s been awhile since I visited this establishment. I recall I went there for lunch w/​my cousin who is Brazilian. In addition, I’ve visited Brazil twice. Coxinha was sooo delicious. Feijao, Feijoada, salads & meats were good too! Pretty authentic to me and my Brazilian cousin. Friendly family owned establishment.

I am really bummed that this place just closed. It was on my list of must try places but I just never got around to going.
That’s too bad. It sounded like my kind of food joint.

Small but wonderful place. The food is fresh and flavorful, the people working here are great and overall just a feel good taste good kind of place.

My top 3 reasons this place is in my local top 3.
1. When I eat here I feel good about myself. The food here is fresh, made to order, and is actual food! It is so strange to say that, but I leave here feeling satisfied and good about the tasty choices I just made.
2. This place is dog friendly to the max. There is a lovely outdoor patio, that can actually have the gate closed. The location to this restaurant is like a trifecta of awesome for my pup. Not only is this just a few blocks from our local dog park, the patio borders the local garden store (plenty to sniff), it also has a small pet store next door as well. When we come here we get a small snack at Let’s Go grab the dog bowl and he is just too happy to hang out while we have our lunch.
3. I adore the owner. Ok, that isn’t helpful. How about the customer service and atmosphere are great. This will become your favorite place to get a cup of coffee, have a lunch break, grab a casual beer.
Hitting it out of the park in terms of service, quality of food, and atmosphere. The fact that I can bring my little dog here after a trip to the dog park makes this a go-​to for our house.

Come hungry and order the feijoada – a delicious, hearty stew of black beans, rice, meat, and cassava flour. The cheese rolls an coxinha (sort of like an empanada with shredded chicken and cheese) were great as well.
O Jardim also features a good selection of Brazilian (and other) beers including Skol and Xingu (with Brahma on the way).
I look forward to going again (although I don’t think I’ll be hungry for another two days or so!).

Great food and friendly staff! As a native Brazilian, I find this restaurant to be truly authentic. The rice and beans taste like my grandmother’s and the pao de quiejo makes me feel like home. I go to the place at least once a week!

A really delicious café bordering Lafayette Park and the Norfolk Zoo. Plenty of parking and has an outdoor seating area, too! I have discovered this place in Spring 2011 and its evolving very quickly. The very lovely owner, Trista, loves wine but is a true foodie with strong Brazilian/​Latin culinary sensibilities. Lucky for us! At first, I tried the pannini style Paulista with roast pork and caramelized onions served with sweet potato crisps. Soon afterwards, I enjoyed Salpicao de pollo (chicken salad) sandwich then a variety of creative refreshing salads and fresh soups infused with assorted herbs, ginger, lemon… Next, the weekend special awaited me; classic Feijoada (Brazil’s National dish– Black beans and assorted meats on rice with farofa). Pure, simple food like this leaves you feeling like you just ate a comforting Sunday meal. On another visit, I tried her XinXim (chicken breast in herbed coconut milk) served on rice with fried plantains and cashews is fragrant and satisfying. I have yet to order the chicken with the guava-​ginger glaze. The mango carrot bread is moist and lightly sweet and the guava bars are decadent. I enjoyed her Brigadeiros (chocolate truffles) are heavenly. The coffee is freshly roasted and there is a decent leaf tea selection, mate, beer and Guarana. I truly fond of her offerings of interesting wines by the glass… lately Ive enjoyed this summer season’s selections that pair well with her menu choices: Skeleton ’09 GruVe, Stellar’s ’09 Pinotage, Almira Los Dos ’08 gren+syrah, Periquita Tinto ’07…I always begin my visit with an order of soft melt in your mouth Pao de Queijo (cheese bread puffs) with a dab of hot sauce with a beer or glass of wine and then order some great food… it’s worth it.

Oh my gosh… seriously one of my favorite restaurants. It’s kind of surprising for such a small menu, but it’s the first place I want to go when I come back in town. I went a couple of months ago with my dad, who lives in the neighborhood behind and had a Groupon. He ordered the salpicao, a traditional Brazilian chicken salad, which comes with freshly made sweet potato fries. My aunt is Brazilian and I’ve had this dish before. Absolutely delicious, and totally authentic. I ordered the beet salad, which came on a bed of greens lightly mixed in a lemon vinaigrette with a generous topping of goat cheese. Very simple, but so tasty. We both had the fresh brewed passion fruit iced tea — amazing. I wanted to try the brigadero (sp?) which are little chocolaty caramel balls (very good, but a bit sweet for my taste) and my dad raved about their guava oatmeal bars. MMMMMMMMM. They are reason alone to stop in. I just flew back in town the other day and wanted to make sure to get there at least once. We returned yesterday and I ordered the exact same thing, only this time we also got feijoiada, a hearty bean stew with chorizo and beef. Loved it, but my favorite is still the beet salad. Actually wanted to go back for breakfast today, but the rest of the family did not want beets for breakfast. So, in summary, in case you didn’t catch on, try the beet salad. Also the guava bars, chicken salad, iced tea, oh, and the homemade coconut popsicles (yum!)… Oh, and go before they raise the prices (which I told them they should do). The prices are below reasonable, the owner, Trista, is a sweetheart who knows Brazilian food (even though she’s from Minnesota, I think), and if you’re lucky and come at the right time you can catch Trista’s precocious four-​year-​old daughter, Alma, chat you up and tell you all about her Daddy who’s out to sea.
A gem that I hope is around for a long, long time. These people deserve to succeed. (Unless of course you want to move to Miami where I live and open one there.)

Great food! Nice beer selection. Sweet potato chips are excellent.
Nice outdoor dining area.

I made my first trip to O Jardim today on the recomendation of a friend; I was pleasantly surprised! It is a bright and cheerful storefront eatery with an outdoor dining area that spills into the garden center next door. I had a Paulista, which is similar to a Cuban sandwich but delightfully different, served by the owner Trista who is as cheerful as she is pretty!
My food was outstanding! The combination of meat and veggies on fresh bread was perfect and the sweet-​potato crisps were an ideal side dish. I will be coming here often!

Menu items range from sandwiches and salads to home style Brazilian dish roupa velha, and sides like pão de queijo (cheese bread) and coxinha com catupiry (cream cheese and chicken battered and fried). Overall a nice place. Casual atmosphere. Good prices. Perhaps five minutes from downtown Norfolk. Also serves café beverages.