Beija Flor
“I recommend Picanha a Palito Con Mandioca–sizzling sirloin steak, impeccably cooked with a side of fried yucca.”
“I have become a caipirinha snob and these will go toe to toe with anyone's!”
“Only regret is that we came for dinner way too early–live samba music on that Saturday night started around 9 pm, as we were getting ready to leave.”
Beija Flor
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Good For Dancing: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Fairly authentic Brazilian food in LIC. My boyfriend works not too far from here so he and his colleagues come here for lunch. He raves about the stroganoff each time. So we decided to have dinner here one time so I can try it. Turns out the stroganoff is only offered in their lunch menu. But we asked and they were able to prepare the dish for us at dinner. We shared the stroganoff and a stewed chicken dish with peanut sauce and dried shrimp. It's a dish with obvious Chinese influences but it was quite tasty. Over all the food is delicious and one of the nicer restaurants in the area.
Came here for Saturday night dinner and they had a large party reserved but we were able to get seated at a table promptly anyways. Tried all the favorites recommended by other Yelpers: brazilian sausage and fried chicken for appetizers, skirt steak with mushroom broth and seafood stew for entrees and a side salad.
I actually wasn't a fan of the Brazilian sausage because it tasted kinda boring compared to all the other flavors and it's just sausage. My favorite was the seafood stew and fried chicken – so flavorful and filling. The seafood stew came with a bunch of toppings for you to adjust your flavor, although I wish it was served with more rice. The portions are regular sized contrary to other reviews and it's a bit pricey, but it's so good.
This is a cool spot with a nice vibe, live music and a screen to watch games.
The coconut pudding with shredded bits of coconut is nice, but I would have liked something crunchy for textural contrast (sorry, I'm told I've been getting all "Top Chef"-like in my restaurant reviews).
The salgadinhos (fried dough with fillings) were kind of one-note, even though I tried the fish, chicken and beef fillings.
The caipirinha drink was strong and awesome.
I had one person serve me and then the waitress walked past and started serving me, but she seemed to lose interest. I was a bit confused by the service.
Beija was ok, almost four stars, but somehow not quite. It was quiet on the Sunday evening we went as a large group, I think we'd missed live music earlier on, and by the time we left (9:30pm) we were almost the last to leave.
The food was fine, but nothing fabulous, and the dish I had (moqueca, a kind of fish stew) was $24. I can think of far better dishes in NYC at that price!
The servers were friendly and we had a good time, so I feel mean giving them an average rating. But tho' I'd happily give it another chance if my friends were going again, I don't feel the love for the place and it wouldn't be my choice.
Live music, strong drinks and delicious food definitely as good as it gets!
Skip the fried chicken chunks, was kind of dry and nothing special. The seafood stew was delicious, fresh seafood in a delicious broth. It came with a creamy cereal like thing, weird but tasty! The steak was perfectly cooked and came with little spices to make it extra yummy.
Beija Florrrrrr! After attending my first elite event here I know I had to return. The samplers were so great! So we cane here on a Sunday evening while I was on my way back to the city. The servers are Brazilian, so is the music… Just like the food! I had the skirt steak with fried Yucca on side and he has the pinanha. It came with a few sides and the pepper sauce was the perfect touch. The Passion fruit caipirinha was delicious.I'll be returning very soon!
Came here on a weekend for dinner and had no issues getting a seat. This restaurant is fairly tucked away so unless you were told about this place via word of mouth, you probably would have never visited this restaurant. Late at night they have live music and dance. I think that's when the "locals" come out. From what I've heard, a lot of Brazilians visit this place. I chose to come here during the more "quiet" hours to really pay attention to detail of decor, food, and service.
For appetizer we got the Isca de peixe (battered and fried stripped swai fish fillet).
The appetizer was a generous portion. Could definitely be split amongst 4 people. The fish was lightly fried and each bite didn't taste like a ball of oil. The actual fish meat itself wasn't a lot. I think they could have combined a little more fish meat to balance out the ratio between batter and meat. Dish takes great with the complimentary lime.
For main course we got the Moqueca de peixe com camarao (traditional brazilian seafood stew swai fish filet and shrimp in coconut milk and palm oil with onions, peppers and cilantro served with rice and brazilian fish gravy) & costela no bafo (oven roasted prime beef rib served with mashed yucca and sauteed collard greens)
The seafood stew was amazing. I thought it tasted great! It had lots of ingredients in it and the soup base was delicious. At the end of the dish I was using the bread and dipping it into the broth. My only issue with the broth was that it was coconut milk heavy. They could dial it back to let the other spices and ingredients shine. The little spice/kick to it is needed. The choice of shrimp was fine. I just wish it wasn't overcooked. It's hard to gauge because most soup based dishes will tend to have their ingredients overcooked if left for too long. Despite some short comings, I would still highly recommend this dish.
The prime beef rib looked monstrous when it first came out. Definitely a generous portion. The meat was very tender and it just came right off the bone without much effort. It was properly seasoned and if you have a dog at home, you can bring that gigantic bone home =D My issue with the dish is the mashed yucca. I think just slicing the yucca into wedges or something similar would better suit the dish. Yucca is extremely starchy and when you make it into a mash, it just becomes difficult to eat because it's not like mashed potatoes where it easily comes off as "chunks". The mashed yucca sticks together so it's not easy to take a "chunk" off. I liked how they made their collard greens. It tasted like it has some Asian influence.
For drinks I got the cashew fruit juice. I had tried this juice at another place and it was sweet (not overly sweet). However, when I tried it here, it wasn't sweet at all and to me, it tasted sour, somewhat alcoholic (because of the fermentation), tasted spoiled. I told the waiter that it tasted like there was alcohol in it and he was more than willing to replace the juice for me. In my mind, I thought it came in a can but I later found out that it came in a bottle. The 2nd glass that he poured from me was probably from the same bottle and of course it tasted exactly the same. I'm not from Brazil so perhaps I do not know what true cashew fruit juice should taste like so I told him to try it for himself because maybe the other place I tried it at prepared it differently and it was supposed to taste somewhat alcoholic. I don't think he did, otherwise he would have known what I was talking about. I was definitely disappointed. I ended up not drinking it at all and he was kind enough to take it off the bill.
The overall experience for this place was enjoyable except for the drink issue but I am glad that their service was top notch despite not being a premier restaurant that charges an arm and leg for a meal. Their decor is amazing. It was decorated by the owner's mother.
I would highly recommend this place.
Beija Flor is the best introduction to Brazilian food and live music. Visiting Brazil is on my to do list & one visit to Beija Flor will make you want to apply for your visa right there!
I visited the quaint LIC restaurant this past Saturday to see a live samba band performance. Staff immediately greeted us and were able to accomadate our big group. Our waitress kindly explained our menu options and even warned of large portion sizes especially the meat platters! (This is carnivore heaven – Carne del Sol appetizer all the way =D)
We reviewed the wine list and realized wait we are in Brazil & ordered a round of caipirinhas. They were tasty and full of sugar but I think they went easy on us.
As the band started, a couple people casually samba dance around their tables and with others. Don't worry this is a judge free zone and anyone who knows anything about Brazilian samba you know it can be as lively or lazy as you want. Just have fun. The musicians then began to give the audience instruments to play and we all made nice additions to band.
Needless to say we had a fantastic time at Beija Flor, Great people (patrons & staff), lively music, delicious food and drinks and warm, cozy atmosphere. Beija Flor is more than a restuarant; it's a great tourism advertisement for Brazil. If you can't get to Brazil this year, check out Beija Flor. This is as good as it gets! Keep it up 🙂