Why Meat Lovers Are Flocking To This Beefy Brazilian Brunch In L.A.

If you can’t satisfy your grilled meat cravings in Rio or São Paolo, H&H Brazilian Steakhouse can do the trick right here in Los Angeles. At both of their locations (DTLA and Beverly Hills), the all-you-can eat churrasco menu feels like a portal to Brazil.

What I love about H&H is the game-on, let’s-do-this-thing atmosphere. The moment you walk in the door at the Beverly Center, the smiling staff knows exactly what you want and how to get things going. Within a minute or two of taking a seat, swarms of gaucho chefs bearing meat skewers are at your side to slice cut after choice cut onto your giant plate. If you’ve been to a churrascaria before, you know the drill: With your table coaster turned to the green side, the meat keeps coming. The beef parade won’t end until you flip over the indicator to red.

The Saturday and Sunday “bottomless brunch” is probably my favorite time to beef things up at H&H (Dinners there are great, but I’m not a fan of rush hour traffic since I’m coming from the far West Side). Recently, my wife and I celebrated our son’s departure for college with an 11:30 Sunday morning reservation the day before he went back to school. For an unrepentant carnivore like Sebastian, H&H is animal-protein heaven.

From the classic picanha to flavorful garlicky culotte steaks, succulent beef ribs, tri-tip and tender filet mignon, the choices are extensive. The all-you-can-eat menu is accompanied by a salad bar sourced from local farms.

To make the most of your experience, stay away from the enticing tummy-fillers that land on your table. As delightful as they look and smell, say no to the cheese bread, the mashed potatoes, the golden bananas, the pasta side dish, the polenta and anything at the salad bar that contains carbs. You want to reserve those calories for the main attraction: the meat. And even there, you need to pace yourself. Instead of consuming the Flintstones-size portions the gauchos plunk down on your plate, have a couple bites and move on to the next flavor. You’re not exactly gaming the system, but it’s a good strategy to stretch your experience beyond, say, ten tender tastings.

It’s also nice to extend your range beyond just beef. Some of the best dishes on the menu are the butter chicken and spicy chicken breast, the pork ribs, the lamb chops and the pork sausage. One of the tastiest dishes isn’t meat at all: The grilled pineapple with cinnamon and brown sugar. Save space for seconds and thirds.

For more of my tips on “winning” at churrascaria, check this piece out.

Brazilian entrepreneur and restaurateur Henrique Huyer launched the first H&H location in downtown L.A. in late 2019. Both restaurants now have happy hours every day from 5 to 7 p.m., but nothing beats the all-you-can eat indulgence. At $65 a person, it’s not exactly inexpensive, but it’s way cheaper than a flight to Brazil!