Meat, especially steak or anything barbequed, continues to sweep the capital. Latest to fight this congested, carnivorous corner is Brazilian barbeque, Cabana, with a branch in Covent Garden and this one here, at Westfield Stratford. Arriving mob-handed on a Saturday night when the joint could be jumping and the steak sizzling might be fun but it’s quiet and cavernous during the week, and not everything on the menu sets the palate aflame.

The Venue
Cabana is situated amid other middle-to-upper-end small chains at the capital’s newest and biggest shopping centre’s 'restaurant mile', Chestnut Way. A cabana is a small hut with a thatched roof, so you won’t be surprised to hear that this cabana tests the definition somewhat. Old Brazil is evoked through vintage posters papering the walls, and rough-hewn wooden tables and floors but this is 21st-century London, so expect exposed industrial pipework, groovy spherical pendant lighting, waiters wielding smartphones instead of paper notepads, and somewhat over-zealous air-con. Banquets made from old jeans, complete with the pockets, lend a quirky touch.

The Atmosphere
There isn’t much on a weeknight, with diners in single figures at a venue designed for 160. Jolly Brazilian music plays and the staff are friendly, but this kind of restaurant suffers more than most during quiet periods; you want to see chefs in the focal-point barbeque area toiling away over countless meaty skewers, as well as myriad waiters weaving through partying tables conveying the charred flesh. Alas, it's not the case.

The Food
There are street food starters, before meat, prawns (but no fish) and vegetables on skewers are paraded and offered. Display a red disc on your table when you’re protein-ed out, flip it over to the green side if you’re ready for more. Salad-y and carb-y sides complete your main course.

Chopped salmon ceviche (£4.75) is an okay starter. The finely diced cured fish is limey with just the right degree of chilli heat, but there’s little or no promised coconut flavour and too much salt. Sweetcorn pamonhas (£3.35) are reminiscent of the filling of a coconut tart. There’s plenty of flavour from the grated sweetcorn but, again, the promised ‘hint’ of cinnamon is so subtle as to go unnoticed. Both portions are on the small side.

Onto the main business of the barbequed skewers. Two modest pork and papaya sausages are no bargain at £3.35 but hit the spot with quality meat, crisp skin and a slight sweetness from the fruit. Honey and date chicken (£4.50) is juicy and sticky but, once again, it doesn’t wholly deliver – where are the dates? Portobello mushroom and halloumi cheese (£4.50) doesn’t excite; the mushroom has flavour but halloumi needs to be browned to come alive.

Three small-to-medium prawns seem pricey at £5.95. Their spicy, sticky glaze is delicious but much of it is wasted with the removal of the shells (speaking of which, finger bowls should be offered, but are not). Surprisingly, Cabana’s much heralded chimichurri black gold rump (£5.95) proves dry and chewy with little flavour, and is the least liked barbeque item.

As for sides, cassava chips (£3.45) are enjoyable - a bit like wedges of roast parsnip. Biro biro rice (£2.85) is winningly flecked with crispy bits of shallot and herbs. A bowl of black beans (£2.95) provides necessary, blandly comforting moisture.

It’s fair to say Cabana’s heart doesn’t lie in desserts. There are just three flavours of frozen yoghurt (£3.95) with a selection of toppings (45p each), plus ice cream, sorbet (£3.65) or cheesecake (£4.95). The yoghurt comes in a disposable bowl with a plastic spoon. The ‘natural’ flavour is weirdly cheesey, the caramel variety, better. Toppings of chocolate and chilli fridge cake, or white choc and cardamon [sic] fridge cake are dry little crumbly bits with no flavour apart from a slight whiff of cardamom.

The Drink
There’s a reasonably sized cocktail list on which cachaca, Brazil’s national drink, understandably features heavily. Attractive options for non-drinkers include refreshing, apple-y iced tea with a good balance of sweet and sour, and cool colada (both £2.95) which manages not to be sickly despite its coconut and pineapple.

The five whites, five reds and two rosé wines are all Latin American and all, commendably, available by the 175 and 250ml glass and bottle. The cheapest white, Rio Sol Chenin Viogner (£14.95) is an acceptable light and floral quaffer, though both fragrance - and finish - free. Top-of-the-shop red (Miolo Lot 43 Cabernet Merlot from Brazil - £29.95) has great oak and red fruit, but there's not a particularly long finish. It’s classy but certainly no bargain.

The Last Word
You might consider collapsing into Cabana with your mates once you’ve shopped till you dropped at Westfield but beware; it’s not brilliant value. Say ‘yes’ too many times to the roving waiters’ skewers and you could easily blow £50 a head on three courses plus half a bottle of modest wine. For those prices, the food should at least be consistent but, time and again, promised flavours fail to materialise.

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