Well, out of all the times Bob and I have gone out for our monthly dinner, in search of something good and well worth the price, we decided for May to hit up a place called The Copacabana Brazilian Steak House in Niagara Falls. He had heard about it, and we figured that we should try it out, because it was known as a "meat eaters paradise". We headed down to the Falls, and pulled in about 3 pm, and went to the old casino, to pick up free tickets to Yuk Yuks, with Mark Forward headlining. We hit a few slots, and had a couple of drinks, then made our way to the Copa around 5:20. Parking was a bit steep, around the back of the restaurant, so if you plan on going down, park for free at the Fallsview Casino, and walk over. It's about a 5 minute walk, but it beats paying $6 (I know, we are cheap, but that is 2 drafts later in the evening...). When we got in, we noticed that the outside patio was nice, but on Friday night, the weather was "iffy", so we decided to grab a table inside. We were taken up to the back lounge area, with comfy booths (not that Bob and I wanted one...don't even think we are "that way"...not that there is anything wrong with that). We were introduced to the salad bar/buffet, which had lots of typical salad bar type things...smoked salmon, mussels, shrimp, and various salads, which were light and tasty. I had a potato salad with peas, and it was light, and didn't weigh me down later.When we got back to the booth, our waiter took our drink order, and tonight we figured we would have a nice red wine to go with all the meat we were expecting to have...since Brazil wasn't represented, we opted for another South American wine, Trumpeter Merlot. As soon as we sat down, the wait staff started to bring the skewers of meat - tonight, we were informed, they had 14+ meats available for us, and we started with garlic marinated sirloin, and pepper steak. These were fabulous, but, as always, we kept eating as they brought out more and more different meats. BBQ pork sausage came out, followed by honey garlic chicken, leg of lamb, bacon wrapped turkey breast (unbelievable taste!!), beef ribs, and the prime cuts; top sirloin, prime rib, and filet mignon. Well, the best meat we could have was the top sirloin, and every slice they served us (there are 4 roasts on a skewer, and you get a slice off each roast if you want) was BBQ cripsy on the outside, and nice and pink on the inside. Every bite was fantastic, and went well with the marinated mushroom salad from the bar. We learned pretty quick that the top sirloin was the best they had available, so we tended to taste that more often. We were a bit discouraged when the waiter said there was a 2 hour limit, but, being big eaters, we were stuffed way beyond comfortable after an hour and a half. As we came to the close of dinner, the place started to get busy, and the band started with some brazilian music, and out came a couple of dancing girls, to rev up the crowd. When the entertainment started, they brought us some BBQ'd pineapple, sprinkled with cinnamon, which was exactly what we needed after gorging ourselves on the top sirloin. Bob topped it off with a Spanish coffee, and I settled for a regular coffee. All in all, a fabulous meal, if you were ever wondering what it was like.
The total tab for the dinner for 2 was $127, with tip, took it to $145. We threw one of the meat guys $5 for taking care of our top sirloin needs, and we are sure we got our money's worth. It's $35.95 per person, and well worth the taste of BBQ'd meats, in a way you have never tasted...they were all marinated and cooked to perfection. I would suggest that you hold out for the top sirloin, and make that your first choice, and then sample the others as you see fit. Out of all the restaurants we have frequented, this is one that we will definitely go back to, and we are looking at trying it in the summer time, on the patio, a little later in the evening. They don't take reservations, and you will have an hour wait at least once 7 pm comes around, but, it will be well worth the wait.
Visiting the Copa for dinner has given me a new lease on the Falls...it was going downhill pretty fast with the touristy crap, but if the Copa sticks around, then things will improve dramatically. Excellent meal, excellent service, and one of the best meals Bob and I have had!
Check it out, and remember, hold out for the top sirloin!!
