Miami

Picanha 305 Upscaling Brazilian Steakhouse in Miami

A new Brazilian steakhouse with pay-by-weight dining is opening downtown next week.

204 NE 1st St., Miami, FL 33132 ⏐ Image from Google Earth Pro

MIAMI, FL — Picanha 305 Brazilian Steakhouse is targeting an opening by the end of next week at 204 NE 1st St., Miami, FL 33132, owner Valter Guida told Business Debut.

What to Expect

Guida and his wife, Carol Li, are behind the new upscale Brazilian steakhouse, which will open in the former Sparky’s Barbecue space downtown. The restaurant will start with about 50 seats inside, Guida told Business Debut.

Picanha 305 will center on Brazilian steakhouse service with a salad bar, grilled meats and a pay-by-weight ordering process, Guida told Business Debut.

Guests will first be greeted by a host before building a plate from the salad bar. From there, they can visit a window where chefs will cut meats to order, including picanha, ribs and skirt steak, prepared to the guest’s preferred temperature, Guida told Business Debut.

After selecting food, guests will weigh their plate at a scale before paying. “We do not dictate the price,” Guida told Business Debut. “It will be up to the customer how much of the food he wants to eat.”

The salad bar will include fresh-cut items such as tomatoes, mozzarella, lettuce, potato salad, chicken salad, beets and carrots, Guida told Business Debut. He said the restaurant will focus on fresh-made offerings without artificial ingredients.

The beverage program will include beer, wine, draft beer, bottled beer, soft drinks and sakérinhas, a sake-based version of a caipirinha made with fruit, sugar and ice, Guida told Business Debut.

Guida said he began his restaurant career as a waiter at a Brazilian steakhouse in the early 1990s, an experience that shaped how he thinks about hospitality. He said guests at that restaurant were treated with care and made to feel welcome, and that level of service stayed with him throughout his career.

Guida and Li have since owned several restaurants, including Chinese restaurants, Japanese restaurants and a coffee shop, he told Business Debut. With Picanha 305, Guida said he wants to bring back a more personal style of service.

“I think today it’s kind of losing that personal touch with the customers, and I want to bring that back,” Guida told Business Debut. “We want people to come here and feel welcome and feel they’re at home.”