And then there were four. The Brazilian barbeque buffet chain continues its slow but steady colonisation of the capital with a branch just off Fulham Broadway. For ravenous carnivores, it’s hard to imagine a better deal.

The Venue
Jerdan Place is mainly a quaint little Victorian run of restaurants and shops off busy Fulham Broadway. Rodizio Rico, though, is at the base of a block of modern, upmarket apartments - and it fits right in, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, polished wooden floors, tables and chairs, cool bar and open kitchen with theatrically flaming barbeque. It’s a big place with 130 seats inside, plus 30 alfresco covers out front under a generous awning. There’s a salad bar, and diners are asked if they’ve been to Ridizio Rico before, but there the similarity to a Harvester, thankfully, ends.

The Atmosphere
Vegetarians might feel a little queasy as waiters weave between the too-tightly-packed tables with long, vertical skewers of hefty chunks of flesh which they carve at your table. Diners are casual locals including young couples, families with young children and big birthday groups. Even on a weeknight four months after opening, the joint (ahem...) is jumping.

The Food
The meat’s the thing. It’s good quality and there’s plenty of it. Expect those vertical skewers to contain various juicy, sometimes slightly pink cuts of well-seasoned beef (the peppered steak is particularly good), crisp-skinned chicken wings or drumsticks, cubes of pork steak (tender but slightly dry) and even chicken hearts (for those who aren't chicken). Best of all though, is the flavoursome, succulent, melting leg of lamb.

Each diner receives a disc, red on one side, green on the other. Display the red side when you’re all protein-ed out (for the moment). Show the green if you want the flesh to keep on coming. It might seem gimmicky but it’s how they do it in Brazil, and is fun and efficient. Indeed, rodizio restaurants are common in Brazil (the name derives from the Portuguese for ‘rotate’), and diners expect a lavish, serve-yourself buffet of salads, sauces and hot dishes in addition to all that meat.

Rico's sides comprise things like mixed leaf salads, tomatoes, grilled peppers, beetroot with capers, pickled vegetables, a Brazilian take on a Russian salad, and hardboiled eggs and asparagus in mayo, all fresh and perfectly nice. Hot dishes include different rices, fried bananas, beef and vegetable stew, satayed vegetables and creamed corn. There are also croutons, chicken croquets and even a lasagne. It might seem a confused and unfocused selection but it is what you would find in a Brazilian rodizio and reflects the country’s complex culinary heritage.

The cost of this gargantuan feast is a very reasonable £23.50, or £17 at lunchtime. It’s £12.50 for five to 12-year-olds and under-fives eat free. Vegetarians get a poor deal, though, paying £18 for barbequed vegetables. Though it’s hard to see why they would be here in the first place.

In the highly unlikely event that you’ve room for dessert, seven options include the Brazilian pudim leite condensado (condensed milk crème caramel, £4.80) and acai berries (a hefty £7.40). The latter is an odd but not unpleasant, slightly smoky, blackcurrant-y, iced sludge garnished with bits of banana, strawberries, nuts and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The less adventurous can choose three scoops of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, hazelnut or caramel ice cream or mango sorbet. The chocolate is intensely flavoured with crisp little flakes of chocolate running through it, whilst the caramel is very rich and creamy. The hazelnut, meanwhile, has morphed into an ice cream version of the condensed milk crème caramel.

The Drink
From a reasonably priced (£6-£7.50) cocktail list, a Caipirinha (Brazil’s national cocktail of cachaça sugar cane rum, sugar and lime) is a potent, astringent, delicious hit. The wine list is global but leans towards the new world (as befits a Brazilian establishment), and reds far outnumber whites and roses (as befits a temple to red meat). Entry level is £18 for a Mendoza Heights shiraz bonarda (red fruits, touch of spice, fine for the price) or a chenin sauvignon (crisp, fruity, a good quaffer). Nothing breaks the £70 barrier except for a couple of champagnes, and a commendable number of wines are available by the glass.

The Last Word
£35-£40 for a barbeque and buffet with half a bottle of modest wine might not sound cheap, but this is a cut above restaurants of its type. There’s loads of choice, service is efficient and attentive, the setting’s contemporary, and the whole experience is fun. And the most crucial element, the meat, passes with flying colours.

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