I went out of my comfort zone and tried a cuisine I’ve never had before: Brazilian food. I most certainly don’t regret it.
Five Birds Bakery and Coffee is a new Brazilian-American eatery in Ambridge. I visited on opening day (March 9, 2026), when they held their soft opening. In my opinion, there was nothing soft about this first day, except for their delicious Brazilian Donuts.
The interior of the bakery is simple but cute. There is a consistent neutral color scheme with tiny tables and chairs scattered around the floor. They even have a whole section where filled with Brazilian candy that you can buy. This cafe is perfect for doing homework or reading a book.
I brought my close friend and his mom with me–they’re Colombian and are familiar with Brazilian dishes. My mom also came with me. If you read my column entitled, “The Life of a Food Reviewer,” you’d know that it’s best to go to restaurants with a large group of people so you can order more food. We took that idea to the extreme.
My group ordered Sonho (a custard-filled pastry), Coxinha (a chicken croquette), and pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread).
Sonho is similar to a Brazilian Donut. Our’s had a vanilla custard filling with fluffy bread on the top and bottom, all covered in powdered sugar. I absolutely adored this pastry. It was sweet, light, and irresistible. However, the powdered sugar on top made a mess anytime I even breathed near it.
Coxinha reminded me of a chicken cordon bleu roll. There wasn’t ham, but there was pulled chicken with cream cheese deep fried in a teardrop shape. The chicken was seasoned to perfection; the fried coating added a nice, crunchy texture.
This was my favorite thing we ordered by far–I seriously couldn’t put it down.
Finally, the Pão de queijo…my least favorite. Not because it was bad, but because it simply didn’t live up to the other two dishes. I liked how there was bread on the outside but cheese that made up the center. However, the cheese was very light and only gained flavor as you I kept eating it. Once the flavor started kicking in, I realized that I simply wasn’t a huge fan of the cheese that was used. I’m picky, but that doesn’t mean this pastry was bad.
As a whole, the food was fabulous, and I’ll definitely be visiting again. There was a drink menu, as well, but we went in the evening and didn’t try their coffee.
This establishment gets an 8/10 from me.
