Zico’s Brazilian Grill Bar

Meat fest!!! This was my forth time at Zico’s…no I am not an addict!!!
Everytime this little gem appears on Groupon well I am all over it. The deal is normally all you can eat Buffet £19 for 2 people for a 2hr sitting. Cannie grumble with that… well not me certainily ive been 4 times he heee.
This time service was a struggle! the world cup was on, lots of men in eating them out of business and was very crowded, so services was alot slower than normal, so i suggest that you go mid week or on a Friday. We enjoyed our meal. I still have alot of faith in this place, hence the 4 stars. Would I go here and pay full price? Nah probably not, Will I buy another voucher? Oh probably.

Armed with a voucher we decided that that was a great excuse to try some Brazilian food. Especially on a dreary day in October, we were in need of some warming food and atmosphere.
First of the location; it is right opposite the EICC on Morrison Street. We tried to find a place to have some pre drinks — which was not possible as there is nothing close to this restaurant. Not their fault, obviously, but it would have been nice.
The entrance is on first impression on the outside is .eh. Purple. on the inside you are forgiven to think you stepped into a 1990’s IKEA canteen. They have the entrance section close to the buffet and churrascaria grilling station.
The voucher meals are in 2 sittings between 6−8pm and 8−10pm — we had the former.
We were explained how it works: you go to the buffet, select salads, sauces rice, fries etc. that you can take to your table. The staff will come round with various stacks of meat. Sausages, chicken, lamb, pork, chicken hearts, Parmesan pork, beef from the rib, rump steak, honey glazed gammon and possible more.
The buffet had the usual varieties of salad, olives, peppers, beetroot and warm rice dishes, stroganoff (hey they must have loads of leftovers meat that could not be carved anymore, so not too surprising)
I was pleased with the condiments — good harissa like chili paste was my favourite!
in order to protect yourself from a meat overdose and inefficient meat offerings from the staff you are provided with a disk. One side RED the other side GREEN.
When you turn the disk to green, you indicate to the meat-​barer that you are open for that offering. Red obviously means ‘not now’ or eventually ‘finished’
it is a good system. We took the advise from former visitors that reviewed it and did not overdo the buffet, nor the first offerings of meat. it was rewarded with a few nice cuts of medium rare rump and some succulent honey gammon nearer the end of the sitting. We did notice that the skin (tougher) parts were always offered first. After a while I caught on and asked for more succulent parts to be cut — as I am the the one eating it I like my cuts to be pleasant!
Finished off with a couple of Brahmas (Brazilian Beer) we were proper full.
Would I go back, possibly when asked, but not seeking it out as a special visit. Their perceived tactics of «fill em up before the nicer meats come out» is a little too obvious. The price I paid on the voucher was just about worth it.

Meat comes in cycles…
Later cuts are juicier!
Service can be slow…

While I’ve never done charascuria in Brazil or Glasgow for that matter. I have been to one in Auckland which operates on a much much bigger scale than Zico’s.
Unlike the others, I didn’t feel TOO let down by the salad bar. there was a varied selection and let’s be honest, you don’t go to a charascuria for the salad! There was a good potato salad and an apple & celery salad which did wonders to help cut through the richness of all the meant!
The hot sides weren’t the best… There was beans, two types of rice, fries (probably NOT traditional) some noodle stuff & some rather over cooked broccoli & cauliflower.
The meat selection was quite varied. with lamb, rib, pork, pork with parmesan, gammon, steak, pork & leek sausages, chicken hearts & chicken wings… We quite enjoyed everything with the standouts being the gammon — it was glazed in honey or something sweet and kept the moisture in the meat. The chicken hearts were little morsels of yum and the wings were grilled to perfection, tasty and moist! Which could not be said about the pork… in either of its options… it was overcooked and very very dry.
My favourite was most definitely the grilled pineapple tho!
We went as a group of 4 on an offer from itison, so found it VERY good value for money as we only paid £10/​head and even got a caipirinha each as well! I think they were hoping we’d get extra drinks or dessert but as we’d had drinks beforehand and filled up on much too much protein, no one had room for anything else! I opted for another slice of grilled pineapple as dessert!
Not sure I would venture back at full price. though I wouldn’t rule it out if someone else really wanted to go.
Definitely bring your appetites!

I agree wholeheartedly with Sharon G’s assessment. I haven’t been lucky to visit the ones in Brazil, but Viva Brazil and Tropeiro in Glasgow are mighty impressive. This place seriously suffers by comparison with them. The salad bar is no good, although we had better luck on the meat front, with the chicken hearts proving quite entertaining little morsels.
What I hope is the case is that this is the first of many churrascaria places that open in Edinburgh, as it’s a style of dining that I really enjoy. Fingers crossed!
Overall, we said: «the meat on offer at Zico’s was very tasty. The „salad bar“ was rather disappointing, so those with a previous acquaintance with the churrascaria experience won’t be blown away by this place. But I’m glad that Edinburgh now has one of these, and imagine we’ll get another few appearing, in the next few months. Very well suited to group dining, this place will do just fine, and has a solid opportunity to improve from a good starting point.»

I do like the starters, they r tasty. However it has very limited choice. Only 4 starters if I’m not wrong.
The MEAT, I must say I am bit disappointed with it, they do have a large range of roasted meats, but u can’t expect too much on the taste, some of them r overcooked even burned, some of them r too salty, I only find the sweet pork and beef rib r nice. Average waiting time between each roast coming is far too long, we were like wait there and have nothing to eat, the staffs r nice though.
We don’t have a voucher so it’s like 20 quids pp, which is bit overvalued given the quality of meat, however if u r a meat lover with a discount voucher, it’s certainly wonderful place for ur nights out.