About Us
Hermano Freitas, chef and owner of Copacabana, was born and raised in Minas Gerais,
Brazil, a land long known for celebration, in a long line of family members who prided
themselves in outdoing each other during these times of culinary extravagance. With these
roots and a prayer, Hermano set off for Toronto, Canada, for his first lesson in
"International Cuisine" at Johnny K's. After seven years of instruction and practice he
was ready to infuse a little South American pizzazz in to delicate French influence of the
area. If not the best of both worlds certainly a unique taste.
But where to call home and introduce his art?
A partnership offer from his brother Alberto, in both Roanoke and Charlottesville, VA,
proved to be the impetus he needed toward ownership and within a couple of years he was
already starting a second restaurant in our area. On Halloween night, 1991, The Copacabana
Brazilian International Cuisine opened its doors to a most receptive Charlottesville
clientele.
Ten years have passed by and it seems like nothing has changed. We are in the same location,
having survived 29 North construction, some snowy days, and others without A/C. But we still have
the same nice clientele coming day after day.
Helen comes often, but she can’t beat Ms. Floyd. We don’t see The Band as much as
we used to, but they’re still around. The margarita ladies do not show up as much
as they used to, but the 5 o'clock ladies are here on time. We also want to thank
the martini lady and the Indigo Hills couple for the many times they
have stopped by. We love to take care of our doctor and our lawyer, as much
as we love to take care of grandma and grandpa. Mr. Rice is not
the only one to love the bread here, and for sure, 19 is the most popular table in the whole
restaurant. Ms Floyd, Ms Martin, Mrs. Kidd, Ms Wallace...
They all love it!
What are we famous for? The kitchen is able to accommodate your special tastes, such as
Floyd Salmon, Cassandra Fish, Phil Pasta, Helen Chicken
and Angie Soup. The atmosphere is warm and personal, with quietly intelligent
service. For casual daytime meals or more sophisticated evening repasts, Copacabana will
delight you, and leave you with a whole new set of memories to savor. We’re all for the
efficient service and top-quality food, but those aren’t the only reasons to love the
restaurant. Sometimes we love a restaurant just because the waiter is funny, or we’ll even
go back because the lighting is good.
Besides everything else, we have the best salad dressing: the homemade avocado vinaigrette.
Our banana flan dessert is loosing its place for the new homemade passion fruit mousse.
The best dinner special ever? Muqueca, a traditional Brazilian seafood dish. Ask for it and
you can taste it yourself. We allways have fresh and savory coffee waiting for you. All the
soups of the day are delicious. The best selling is the butternut squash and the unique one is
strawberries and blueberries with vanilla ice cream on top.
Our staff is basically Brazilian, so if you have a question or just want to chat a little
bit about Brazil, feel free to stop by.
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