About Us
At Pampa, you will experience authentic Brazilian BBQ, or as Brazilians call it “churrasco”, with minimalistic yet traditional tastes of Southern Brazil.
The history of churrasco dates to the 17th century from Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil’s southernmost state located in the Pampa region or the “Prairies” of South America.
On the Pampa, in southern Brazil, the cattle herders are known as Gaúchos and their history is integrated into South American culture and folklore as legendary horse riders. Often out on the range, their diet consists primarily of beef. Historically, Gaúchos often used open-pit fires to cook their fresh meats on large wooden or metal skewers or stakes near open flames.
Our Story
Oscar Lopez and Joao Dachery created Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse to bring authentic, traditional Brazilian food to the heart of the Alberta prairies. Churrasco, or Brazilian BBQ, dates to the 17th century native to Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, located in the Brazilian prairies of South America, or the Pampa. When Oscar lived in Brazil, he fell in love with the weekly barbecues his friends and colleagues put together, welcoming and captivating him completely. Between the succulent grilled meats, the feijoada, and the community atmosphere at these weekly barbecues, Oscar wanted to bring this spirit back home with him to Alberta.
To do this, he enlisted help from Joao, a Brazilian local, passionate about food. Together, they immersed themselves in Brazilian barbecues to become experts: Oscar became a Grill Master and Joao became a Chef. What you see in their restaurants today is the result of their love, dedication, and commitment to authenticity.
The history of churrasco and the Gaúchos have inspired them to recreate an authentic, Brazilian steakhouse dining experience and they appropriately named their restaurant Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse. The first location opened in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta in early 2011. Four years later, Downtown Calgary opened in January of 2015. A second Edmonton location opened in the summer of 2017 on the southside of the city on Ellerslie Road. In December of 2018, Pampa West Edmonton opened making this the fourth location, and in the early fall of 2019, the city of Red Deer had its first taste of Brazilian BBQ, marking the fifth location Oscar and Joao have opened in Alberta, also giving Pampa the title of largest Brazilian steakhouse chain in Canada.
It is their pleasure to serve you!
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