I have always felt that there was room for a Brazilian café in Toronto. Most Brazilian restaurants abroad do only two things: barbecued meats and/or feijoada. I have nothing against a good Brazilian barbeque and I make amazing feijoada but they are hardly representative of all that Brazilian cuisine has to offer. There’s Cajú here in Toronto, which seems nice but is a bit higher end. Everytime I went to a French café or brasserie, I wished there was a Brazilian equivalent – a place you felt a home, with some nice music, perhaps some books, snacks, hot meals at lunch and dinner… That type of place. Somewhere where I could bring friends to introduce to some pão de queijo or a Brazilian tapioca. The Universe has answered my request and Toronto has one such place: Cafuné, on College Street near Cabbagetown.
They opened a week ago and being so close to our place we could not resist checking it out. I’m so glad we went – Vicente and Monica made us feel at home!
The hot place of the day was Brazilian polenta with black beans, ham, and fresh tomatoes served with a small green salad.
Alan had a cassava (or manioc) soup with a Bauru sandwich (roast beef and tomato)
I couldn’t resist trying the tapioca, Brazilian style. It’s basically a tortilla made with tapioca starch and then served with a filling of your choice – whether savoury or sweet. I had mine with cheese, tomato, and oregano.
For dessert Alan had an espresso rice pudding and I had a Brazilian-style corn cake. All of that with coffee and drinks came to $32. Affordable and VERY tasty. I highly recommend following their page on Facebook to keep up with the daily specials.
