Brazilian Steakhouses

[Barbossa]

We go to this one too! My husband usually takes all of his clients there and he's never had one complaint (except for being too full) . This thread is going to make me want to take a trip soon. We tried another Brazilian BBQ place in Temecula and it really failed in comparison.

Cool. I've gone there on business, and my DW and I might go with some friends in the near future. Better start fasting!

 

[familyS]

I absolutely love churrascarias, they are amazing! I wish we had one around here

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

Fogo de Chao is so worth it. I went to the one in Baltimore for the first time this weekend. Amazing, every bit of it.

I highly reccommend it.

I believe it was $43 and change/pp, plus drinks, deserts, etc.

Let me offer a dissenting opinion. I HATE Fogo de Chao. It is overpriced and the decor/atomosphere do not jive with the price (wheels on the chairs, am I at Denny's?). Personally, I cannot eat $50 worth of meat and I think the salad bar is overrated. So, no, Brazillian steakhouses are not my cup of tea---but plenty of people love them.

 

[L&Lfan]

My boyfriend and I have been to the Plataforma Churrascaria on West 49th in NYC many times and we LOVE it!

Jon

 

[denisem]

I am planning on taking my gf here for our anniversary. I've never been to one of these places but it sounds amazing.

Anyone here ever eaten at one and how was your experience?

DH & I finally went to Ipanema about 6 weeks ago. His review? "Let's come here every week!". LOL (I wish!).

As others mentioned, don't fill up on sides even though they have a glorious salad bar that could be a meal in itself. We're not talking your average salad bar here, but piles of chilled shrimp, genoa salami & imported meats & cheeses, fresh asparagus vineagrette, etc., etc.)

Originally thought the "hot" sides were kinda meager (mashed potatoes & mushroom gravy, rice, black beans and a sun-dried tomato pasta.) Then I slapped myself for even wasting time on them because MEAT is the *star*. Even by alternating choices between the two of us (& sharing a taste) we couldn't try everything.

I will caution you that it appeared most of the beef seemed on the rare side -but as that is our preference, the "gauchos" may have catered to that. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken...all were melt in your mouth!
Can't comment on dessert...I had plans, but the spirit was unwilling!

All in all, it was a FUN, yet relaxing meal. Good choice on your part & I hope ya'll enjoy yourselves as much as we did.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Here's the one we go to when we are in Palm Springs and by sheer luck, they also have one where we work in Burbank.




http://www.picanharestaurant.com/

 

[Aimeedyan]

Love them! We go for special occasions BUT Texas de Brazil sends out great coupons, like BOGO free, on a regular basis so we need to get there more often even when it's not a birthday or anniv since it's not as pricey.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Love them! We go for special occasions BUT Texas de Brazil sends out great coupons, like BOGO free, on a regular basis so we need to get there more often even when it's not a birthday or anniv since it's not as pricey.

I was just going to post this! This is how we ended up trying Texas de Brazil. We loved it!!

 

[crazyme5kids]

I have to say they aren't my cup of tea, way too much meat at one meal for me. My husband likes them, but generally won't go unless he is in Brazil.

 

[Instinct27]

DH & I finally went to Ipanema about 6 weeks ago. His review? "Let's come here every week!". LOL (I wish!).

As others mentioned, don't fill up on sides even though they have a glorious salad bar that could be a meal in itself. We're not talking your average salad bar here, but piles of chilled shrimp, genoa salami & imported meats & cheeses, fresh asparagus vineagrette, etc., etc.)

Originally thought the "hot" sides were kinda meager (mashed potatoes & mushroom gravy, rice, black beans and a sun-dried tomato pasta.) Then I slapped myself for even wasting time on them because MEAT is the *star*. Even by alternating choices between the two of us (& sharing a taste) we couldn't try everything.

I will caution you that it appeared most of the beef seemed on the rare side -but as that is our preference, the "gauchos" may have catered to that. Beef, lamb, pork, chicken...all were melt in your mouth!
Can't comment on dessert...I had plans, but the spirit was unwilling!

All in all, it was a FUN, yet relaxing meal. Good choice on your part & I hope ya'll enjoy yourselves as much as we did.

Great to hear from someone that actually went to the exact location. I'm getting severely excited, I can't wait

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[ImMarcik]

Wow, I've never been to one but the guy I'm talking to was just telling me last night that he wants to take me to the one in Houston.

 

[Golf4food]

There are a few that have opened up here in our city and all the reviews I've seen have been great. Looking forward to trying on - I love me some meat. Turf and turf, baby! Haha.

 

[JimmyPicker]

Let me offer a dissenting opinion. I HATE Fogo de Chao. It is overpriced and the decor/atomosphere do not jive with the price (wheels on the chairs, am I at Denny's?). Personally, I cannot eat $50 worth of meat and I think the salad bar is overrated. So, no, Brazillian steakhouses are not my cup of tea---but plenty of people love them.

Wheels on chairs?!? Not at the Fogo I visited. My chair was pulled out for me each and every time I returned to my table, but there certainly were no wheels. Linen table cloths and folded napkins. Impeccable service, there was never a dirty dish on the table, and all crumbs were removed with one of those table comb things. The decor was very relaxing. The atmosphere was a bit busy, but that's a given considering they have 10 or 12 people rushing around trying to serve everyone constantly.

Ok, so here's another Brazillian steakhouse question. How much do you tip?

 

[Quiksilvr]

Let me offer a dissenting opinion. I HATE Fogo de Chao. It is overpriced and the decor/atomosphere do not jive with the price (wheels on the chairs, am I at Denny's?). Personally, I cannot eat $50 worth of meat and I think the salad bar is overrated. So, no, Brazillian steakhouses are not my cup of tea---but plenty of people love them.

That doesn't sound like Fogo in DC. We don't have wheels on chairs. The decor is decidely upscale, in keeping with the general decor of restaurants in that part of the District.

I disagree that it's overpriced. If Fogo is overpriced, then so is Ruth's Chris, Morton's, Shula's, etc. While I don't think that Fogo's meat is exactly on par with those other chain chop shops, I think it's close.

 

[Quiksilvr]

Wheels on chairs?!? Not at the Fogo I visited. My chair was pulled out for me each and every time I returned to my table, but there certainly were no wheels. Linen table cloths and folded napkins. Impeccable service, there was never a dirty dish on the table, and all crumbs were removed with one of those table comb things. The decor was very relaxing. The atmosphere was a bit busy, but that's a given considering they have 10 or 12 people rushing around trying to serve everyone constantly.

Ok, so here's another Brazillian steakhouse question. How much do you tip?

I tip heavy at Fogo, generally (even when not on an expense account). There are a lot of people providing service, from the person who actually serves as the table waiter, to the person filling up your beverages, to the floor manager filling in the gaps, to the guy pulling out my chair, to the gauchos bringing around the meat, etc. The least I've ever tipped there is 20%... usually closer to 30%. I took my dad once and the experience was perfect, and it had everything to do with the waitstaff. Our bill was like $80 and I think I tipped like $40. It was totally worth it.

 

[JimmyPicker]

I tip heavy at Fogo, generally (even when not on an expense account). There are a lot of people providing service, from the person who actually serves as the table waiter, to the person filling up your beverages, to the floor manager filling in the gaps, to the guy pulling out my chair, to the gauchos bringing around the meat, etc. The least I've ever tipped there is 20%... usually closer to 30%. I took my dad once and the experience was perfect, and it had everything to do with the waitstaff. Our bill was like $80 and I think I tipped like $40. It was totally worth it.

That's exactly what I told my husband. Our bill was $153 (we had drinks, desserts, and coffee) and my husband was wondering how much to tip. I whispered that I thought it should be a fairly hefty amount, because undoubtedly they would be splitting those tips with a large amount of people. The service was impeccable, so I didn't want to scrimp (is that even a word?) at all.

We left $220, so that was a tip of 44%. Yes, very steep, but as you said, totally worth it.