A new South American-inspired restaurant is about to open in York.
Rio Brazilian Steakhouse will open on Bridge Street tomorrow (Saturday). The restaurant serves up an authentic Brazilian Churrasco dining experience, where a selection of meat cuts are carved at your table.
It is located in what was previously Piccolino, which closed in 2021.
YorkMix spoke with co-founder and co-director, Rodrigo Grassi and head of marketing at Rio, Sarah Pike, to find out more.
“Rio is all about the experience and the journey of tastes of the steak,” said Rodrigo.
The concept of the restaurant is simple – there are 17 cuts of meat to choose from for a set price, and you can have as many and as much as you can manage. The specially trained chefs will bring the Churrasco meat to you and carve the meat at your table.
The meats include prime steaks such as rump, ribeye and skirt, and there’s also chicken wings, sausage, gammon, pork belly, and Brazilian delicacy chicken hearts.
There is also an extensive salad bar included with over 40 hot and cold items to choose from, such as cheese, meats, and special Brazilian dishes. Everything on the salad bar is made freshly in house.
“It’s a really unique concept, especially for an English palate,” said Sarah. “Here you get the option to try all of the different meats – and you might try a new type of meat that you wouldn’t have tried before.
“The quality of the food is unreal.”
Included for your table as well is Brazilian cheese bread, fries, and peppercorn sauce.
“It’s one price for the whole experience.”
For lunchtime during the week it’s £26.95 pp and £29.95 pp for the weekend. For the evening meal it’s £36.95 pp Sunday to Thursday and £39.95 pp Friday and Saturday.
There are vegetarian, vegan and fish options also which are £22.95 per person.
It is £12.50 for children age 9-12, £8.95 for age 5-8, and free for under 5s.
The restaurant also has a cocktails, wine, and dessert menu.
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The York restaurant will be the chain’s seventh location in the UK. It also has restaurants in Newcastle, Chester and Warrington and further plans for Sheffield and Sunderland.
The restaurant have been planning to open in York for almost three years.
“We started negotiating the location about two years ago,” said Rodrigo. “Finally we finalised around three months ago.
“We finally got the agreements because Tomahawk in York was a huge success.”
The other co-founder and co-director of Rio, Howard Eggleston, also founded the Tomahawk Steakhouse chain, which opened a York outlet in St Helen’s Square in 2020.
“It’s an incredible city and we are so proud to be in York.”
The location on Bridge Street has been transformed into a vibrant and eye-catching destination, with flora and foliage, colourful furniture and unique paintings.
As of now around £350,000 to £400,000 has been invested in the York restaurant.
It has created 46 new jobs, both front and back of house.
The restaurant has 134 covers.
“Before, I think it was almost 160 covers, but we wanted to give more comfortable areas and don’t crowd the people,” said Rodrigo.
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The reaction so far has been very positive.
“People have been walking in off the street to see what’s happening,” said Sarah. “People will pop in and say ‘That looks good’.”
The Rio Brazilian Steakhouse in York hope to cater to a cross section of everybody, including families, couples, students, businesses, tourists, racegoers, and corporate events.
“It’s important to us when we go to a new location to make good connections with the community that’s already existing,” said Sarah.
The restaurant chain has been extremely popular and well received around the country and has won the TripAdvisor’s Travellers Choice Award for its Jesmond and Middlesborough locations.
“We’ve gone to number one restaurant on TripAdvisor in the location that we’re in in the first four weeks,” said Sarah. “We’re hoping the same will happen in York.”
The Rio Brazilian Steakhouse will be open seven days a week. It is open for lunch from 12pm to 3pm, and for evening meals from 4:45pm to 10pm.
To find out more and to book your table, visit their website here.
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