During the winter, Santa is a Brazilian churrasco with meat skewers (and assumably smells) filling the room. In the relatively warmer and quieter summer season, there is an a la carte menu that has Brazilian elements but certainly much less so. In any case there were enough Brazil bits to bring me here (and honestly the other options in Thredbo for dinner are quite limited...)
Immediately upon sitting the hostess asked if I'd like some Brazilian bread whilst reading the menu. My reflexes said no to bread, until I read it on the menu and reconsidered my decision. Next time just don't say no to Brazilian bread.
- Brazilian Cheese Bread (tapioca cheese bread wit brazil nut dukkah & olive oil) $6.5 - warm firm outsides and a doughy interior that is actually cheese rather than unrisen dough. The dukkah was salty and delicious although it was impossible to get any balsamic through the olive oil;
- Prawn & Snapper Moqueca (northern Brazil fish dish with coconut milk, tomato, capsicum, dende & coriander served with quinoa puff) $34 - a good number of prawns and reasonably well cooked fish in a creamy coconut milk-based curry;
- BBQ Pork Fillet & Spicy Chorizo Rotisserie Sword (with house sides of rice, polenta chips, black beans, salad) $34 - the meats were removed from the sword at the table. Chorizo was very mild but the pork was extremely tender and well flavoured;
- Baby Beetroot, Palm Heart & Fetta Salad (with crispy polenta, kiss peppers & salad leaves) $16 - a nice salad mix of juicy beetroot, heart of palm (which I have a can of at home and been waiting to work out how to use) and these small kiss peppers that look like tomatoes but have an unusual tangy sourness.
The food is quite expensive overall (as are most dining options in Thredbo) but nonetheless satisfying and filling. I'd happily eat these dishes again or hopefully try the churrasco adornment of meats.