Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse

Although this place is a little over my budget, I always find my way there around Restaurant Week Dallas.
Customer service is amazing, the food is excellent and valet is complimentary!
Salad bar is beautiful, fresh and endless
The service is great, fresh Brazilian meat brought to your table and excellent desserts
I have to save up for these outings but it is worth it.

Nothing special. Most of the beef cuts lack flavor. I have never had bad brisket in Dallas before Fogo de Chao. How on earth can they messed up brisket? Lamb chops were ok. Pork cuts are bad. Won’t come back even with the $ 25 off dinner price.

Sometimes restaurants with great cuisine and service lose their edge. Either the food isn’t the high quality or the servers aren’t attentive. That’s not a problem here.
Fogo de Chao remains on the top of their game. In fact, the Sunday lunch lamb, for example, was extraordinarily tender and tasty. Why so good? A manager told me they buy premium lamb from New Zealand. As good as I enjoyed when I was in Aukland.
All the other dishes were excellent. Plus their «market table» includes new and exciting fruits and vegetables. In addition to the fresh pineapple and papaya. The bacon is remarkably tasty, although a bit spicy. And their desserts are better than ever — especially if you like chocolate.
Their wait staff is among the most attentive and gracious. And, of course, the carving of unlimited meat at the table remains a unique experience.

Saw that there was a Facebook deal of $ 25 off, so decided to come here with my boyfriend. Kind of confused about the ambience here. Looking to the left of me, I saw a man in a tuxedo. Looking to the right of me, I saw a man in a t-​shirt, basketball shorts, and a hat. Food was good at first, but then it just felt all one note after a while. Cheese breads were sooooooo good though. Bananas were delicious as well. Was eating the bananas as a palate cleanser, but eventually just started eating bananas on it’s own because it was so good. For drinks, I ordered the lemonade. Would definitely recommend!

Pretty unfortunate that the staff are gravely mistaken about the Facebook offer floating around. I called in before we came to make sure of the rules of the offer. The offer guaranteed $ 25 gift card per person, but had a two person limit per table. So I called in and asked if our table of 4 could use the offer if we just simply split the check. The lady informed me that as long as the checks were split all four of us could use the offer. So I made an 8pm reservation, got there at 8 and was sat at 8:25. What was the point of the reservation?
After our meal we showed them our offer, and the server said that we can only use two. I told them I was informed otherwise, and so he brought out the manager. The manager «Luis» didn’t take any responsibility for his staff’s mistake and simply said we can only use two per table, even if we separated our checks.
Sucks that we had to pay extra for their own mistake.
Overall a bitter experience here.

What a wonderful dining experience at FOGO! We came here on Mother’s Day for our first time. In fact, we had never been to a Brazilian Churasca place before.
We warmed up our bellies with a quick visit to the salad bar and a few pieces of fresh pineapple and papaya to clean our palettes and then once we flipped our drink coasters from red to green, we were off to the races!
The meats came at as Fast and Furious, beginning with the Top Sirloin which was fantastic. From there, it went bottom sirloin, Parmesan crusted pork, chicken legs, ribeye, bacon-​wrapped something, pork chops, filet mignon, and finally picanya. Everyone from my picky son to my picky daughter to my picky wife was thrilled at the selection and flavors.
They brought polenta, fried bananas and garlic mashed potatoes to the table, which was great and the cheesy bread balls served upon seating are also excellent.
We ordered a coke (no refills) and a Brazilian lemonade (free refills) but mostly needed an endless supply of water to wash down all that food.
Service was great — our waiter helped locate a few of the rare meat items we wanted to sample — and the mashed potatoes and bananas were quickly replenished.
Dessert was originally an afterthought, but we caved in and ordered the Key Lime Cheesecake, Molten Lava Cake and Caramelized Pineapple with ice cream. All were outstanding, albeit a tad overpriced ($ 8 – 10).
Kids 6 and under eat free and 12 and under are half price so the bill for this family of four (one free and one half-​price) was $ 165, including dessert (no alcoholic beverages).
All in all, a fantastically memorable way to spend our first Mother’s Day in Dallas!

Once upon a time it was a Wonderful place to celebrate with your family.
The web site states «Though we do not have a set dress code, the dress attire at all of our locations is generally business casual». I see a need to enforce some sort of dress code. Wearing attire that is suited for working on your plumbing is not business casual. Nor is your «mowing the lawn attire» appropriate. Patrons with dirty hands handling the utensils on the assembly line salad bar is not right. Wish I had had some Clorox wipes with me to handle the utensils. Felt like I was at a Porte-​Potty convention at a Golden Corral/​roadside pit stop. Not so special to eat here today or the last few times we have come here.
Folks, take just a little pride in how you look when going out to dine at an expensive restaurant. Most important wash your hands! «Gross»!! Regardless of your ability to pay have some respect for yourself.
Everything is prepared fresh and set up nicely on ice at the salad bar. The chalk board spikes names all the food according to its placement. The cheeses are wonderful and there are several to choose from. The presentation is nice.
They brought bread, garlic mashed potatoes, and plantains to our table. The bread is really good. The garlic mashed potatoes they can keep. This time around we opted to just stick with the salad bar and that was plenty for us since several types of dried meats, delicious bacon, and salmon were offered. A cream soup was also offered as the soup of the day. It was not good, rather bland. We had a really nice merlot to drink with our meal. Followed by New York Cheesecake.
The wait staff is really good about keeping the table cleared. The food is pretty good. However, I’m having a difficult time getting past the lack of enforcement of a dress code at a 4 – 5 star restaurant. This is Mothers Day! Patrons just don’t care because management does not enforces the dress code. Time to look for a new to go to place. Makes me sad.

Fogo de Chao, in case you don’t speak the language, is Portuguese for Heaven on Earth, and what a delicious heaven it is!
The good folks at Fogo start by offering you a trip to the salad bar, which kind of sounds like a trap, but then you see the salad bar has full bacon slices, and you’ll be like «okay, sign me up for some trap.»
And then, as you realize that this is really freakin good bacon, the real show begins: a true spectacle unfolds before your very eyes as you are offered cut after cut of delicious meat until you lose track of what is in your plate, it is truly beautiful. Also, the bread is really good.
Perhaps the concept of a churrascaria doesn’t sound as magical to you, even one as well regarded and renown as Fogo de Chao, but I come from a land void of such glory, so consider yourself lucky to be in the vicinity one.

When we went for lunch, all of the meats were overly salty. Like way too salty! A lot of the meat was charred too. The lamb chops were black. I hadn’t been in almost 5yrs, and it was great back then. Not sure if it was an off day or what, but def a sub par experience

This is by far my favorite Brazilian steakhouse. Their service is amazing and very attentive. There is always someone in charge of your area making sure you have clean plates, refills on sides and drinks. The best meat is their house specialty Picaña and their fried banana is the best in town. The only thing I disliked recently was that they changed the potato option from mashed to roasted potatoes which are still very good but I prefer if they would give the option of the traditional mashed potatoes at least. I think they also changed their fried banana because it tasted different and they also changed their polenta. I liked it better before but still, the meat selection and service is quality. Fogo is still my tops. Give them 5 starts more because of their excellent service.

Upon entering Fogo de Chao, stomach grumbling, I stepped into an experience that I will never forget.
All my senses peaked as I entered, eyeing the lavish cold and hot buffet items they offered: decadent cheeses, a rustic assortment of bread, unique salads, select Brazilian entrees, and more. And yet, that was only the beginning.
When I was seated, I felt like a queen. The servers kindly greeted me and promptly offered me the typical sides of Brazilian cheese bread, polenta, and savory mashed potatoes along with our drinks. Then, the real fun began.
When I wasn’t busy tantalizing my tongue with all the food I harbored onto my plate from the buffet table, I was stuffing my face with meat. My favorites? The lamb, filet mignon, and the house special. My tongue, stomach, and soul were all celebrating and partying at once. My wallet, not so much, but hey– it was 110% worth the splurge.
Fogo de Chao is the equivalent of getting pampered from a top-​notch esthetician or masseuse. But it’s even better. Your taste buds will thank you for days. I’m looking forward to the next occasion that will justify such reckless spending. I can’t wait.

Boyfriend made us Valentine’s Day reservations here. We arrived 5 minutes early to our reservation and still needed to wait another 10 minutes. We made plans to visit Fogo for awhile, but never had the opportunity to do so. We have been to Texas de Brazil numerous times as well as Chamas in Arlington.
I had very high expectations, but the selection just wasn’t as great here. The salad bar did not have lobster bisque, nor were there many seafood/​fish options. There also was not a large variety of cheeses or vinigrettes to choose from either. However, they did have two different types of prosciutto that I really enjoyed.
Very large meat selection here. I loved how they had both top and bottom serloin on different skews. The picanha was out of this world. However, I felt that the waiters were not as attentive as Texas de Brazil, as they would usually forget that I always wanted rare meat. They would usually cycle around and then ask what I wanted again and again. At Texas de Brazil (both Dallas and Fort Worth locations), I’ve never needed to remind them how I wanted my meat cooked. Also, when my card was green but I kept denying their items, the waiters would ask me what I wanted so they could bring it out for me. This type of «above and beyond» service never happened during my night as Fogo.
As for the environment, the cleanliness of the restaurant was spectacular. A constant cycle of tables being set and new plates brought out. My silverware was stainless and the plates didn’t have extra water stains. I liked how the waiter pushed in my chair when I sat down, but he was super awkward about it. ⁹⁄₁₀ would never let him push in a chair for me again.
Out of the 3 major named Brazilian steakhouses that we’ve tried, Chamas has the most impressive and freshest salad bars. I still dream of that salad bar from time to time. However, Texas de Brazil will have service that will blow you away. Fogo still has great meats and decent service, but I felt that it didn’t meet the hype that was set up. I would definitely look into other Brazilian steakhouses before stopping at this one.

Visiting from New Mexico we decided to come here after the suggestion from our bellhop. Wow. The food was amazing, huge portions (like 4−5oz filet mignon at one time), high end salad bar, and so many servers we never had our drink less than ¾ full. Amber was our server and took great care of us and explained every step of the way and even gave us a complimentary dessert for our special occasion. The prices are steep but definitely worth it. We will def be back the next time we are in Dallas!

The absolute BEST Brazilian steakhouse there is! Their Market Table (salad bar) has alot of variety. Love the kale, mandarin salad and their cheeses. My favorite cuts of meat are the filet and the bottom sirloin. If you prefer meat that is well-​done, this is probably not the place for you. Their service is outstanding, so polite and attentive. Sign up for their newsletter for coupons. Feel like such a fancy pants every time I dine here :)

My husband and I go here every year for our anniversary and always have a great experience. The salad bar is amazing, the waiters that bring the meat swarm your table when you want more, and they always give us a dessert for the occasion. We love this place and it is pretty quick to get in and out!

Awesome service and food! Very classy but not stuffy. The meat selections are plentiful and the salad bar is diverse. Hard to go wrong here. I will be returning.

We had been a few times in previous years. The food had been good, but service was mediocre. Last year, we came to know Tony. Tony is now the GM at the store. He is positive, thoughtful and service driven. I can’t believe how pleasant it is to go there now. The receptionists are polite and helpful. Amber, Raul and the entire team make us feel like we are family. The Gauchos see us coming and always have our favorite foods ready for us. The salad bar is ridiculous. One must be careful to avoid filling up on all of the delicacies they have laid out. Every time I go, I have to fast for the next week. Oh well, gluttony is only ONE of the seven, right? Go try for it for yourself. You can thank me later!

My wife took me here for my birthday and we enjoyed it very much. The inside is very bright compared to others we have been to. Others are a little darker and more intimate compared to this one.
The service was very good. Everyone was there to take care of our needs and very quick to follow up on refills, cleaning off the table, fresh plates, etc.
The buffet area has plenty of great side items, salads, fruit, etc. all fresh. Side note there have an ENTIRE BOWL OF BACON! I love bacon so this was worth some points alone lol.
The different meats circled around and made the rounds like most brazillian steakhouses. I was a little disappointed that not all the options made to the corner where we were. We asked for some of them and they never made it. I also was disappointed there was no menu available with all the meat selections so we even knew what to expect. Other locations we have visited provide this so you can make sure you get to try the items you wanted.
The majority of the meat selection was good there was only a couple options that were way overcooked and dry.
I also made the mistake of assuming dessert was included with the meal like other places I have been too. I learned it is a separate item to purchase if you want it here so make sure to plan for that in your visit.
Overall still a good visit and we got our monies worth. I gave it 4 stars as it is above average but not the best I have had. Solid place, solid option if your looking for this style of dinner.

This is the only fogo I’ve been to outside of Phoenix Arizona and this restaurants is a little bit smaller and much busier than the Phoenix location! In Phoenix, I can walk in with no reservation and be seated promptly whereas I ended up waiting about 30 – 45 min for a table of 4 when I came to this location.
The quality of the food is very high and I’d expect nothing less for 50/​person before tax and tip. They have an amazing assortment of foods in the salad bar with an assortment of grilled veggies, cheeses, smoked salmon, chicken salad and a number of side dishes such as rice and beans on the side as well. The real star of the show is all the Brazilian bbq itself and I always make sure I get my share of the beef ribs (super tender, moist, and fatty) and the lamb chops. The picanha, rib eye, and filet mignon are also cuts of meat that you just can’t go wrong with! The sides they bring to the table are also very good and I’d say the cheesy bread is probably the best followed up by the fried polenta, caramelized bananas, and then the mashed potatoes! I love getting my fill of Fogo!

This place has been a special place for us for years, since it was first built. Of course for $ 45pp a sitting on dinner, it’s saved for special occasions. We returned this year for the company Holiday party and got exactly what we expected.
Great food, wonderful food, great staff. Love their cheese breads, but be careful, these things are what will fill you up faster than anything else.
True to my prediction, even after starving myself all day so I would have a huge appetite, I was hurting within 20 minutes of eating. Not because the food was bad, but because you eat so much so fast, it starts to hurt.
Be prepared, wear stretch pants because you feel like you ate a lot but you really just ate it fast. Or to many of the cheese breads. LOL
Salad bar is great and if you want more meat then don’t load up at the salad bar. Just all these options and you can explode from food-​gasim.

We attended a company Christmas party/​dinner here a few weeks ago and it was good. The salad bar alone was amazing! Very fresh and so many healthy options. I would come back for the salad bar.
They sat about 30 of us in a section and the service was great! Everyone so nice and it seemed effortless.
There are many options for your protein. So you need to know the order of what is being served so you know what to select. The meat was very salty and a few of the options all tasted the same.

Ate here today on New Years Day. First off — come HUNGRY. You will eat a ton of food.
Not only is the food incredible but the service is second to none. The manager must have checked on us on 3 separate occasions just to make sure we were ok and that we didn’t need anything. All of the servers are great and knowledgeable about what meats they are bringing you.
Things that I thought were the best:
My girlfriend loved the rack of lamb. That was her fave. She says to make sure you ask for the mint jelly (I’m not much of a lamb fan but I told her i’d put that in the review). The top sirloin, bacon wrapped chicken, and sausage were excellent.
On the salad bar — it was almost as good as the rotating volley of meat gauchos coming to your table. My favorite was the «candied peppered bacon». This was the best bacon I’ve ever eaten. Ever. And it was served at room temperature.
I will definitely be back to this place. They have a huge selection of wine as well. I didn’t drink any but it looks like they had a giant selection.

I have visited this location four times now and every time the food and service is impeccable. This place never disappoints.
The «salad» bar is delicious and has a large variety of snacks (especially for vegetarians or not big meat eaters). Sliced cheeses, fresh veggies, gourmet potato salad, hearts of palm, marinated mushrooms, and tabouleh to name a few highlights. It’s tempting to go crazy here, but pace yourself and get a few small bites.
Once the real meal begins the salad bar becomes a distant memory. One thing I really love about this place that not too many people hit on is how well a gluten free person can eat here. My mom who has an allergy to celiac was with us and the waiter informed us almost everything is gluten free. The only things that weren’t were the bread at the salad bar and the chicken and sausage (they are marinated in beer). This means those delicious cheesy «bread» bites are even gluten free! This is an absolute treat for my mom. And any GF patron.
All that said, service is great you can always ask a server or manager for a cut of meat you’re looking for. They found the filet mignon guy for me and he kept checking to see if I wanted more. I have to suggest that and the lamb! Try the mint jelly.
For drinks and dessert, my boyfriend loves their limeade and I can’t leave without having some of their flan.
I’ll keep coming back!

The true gem here isn’t the meat; to be quite frank upfront with you, the meats aren’t great. Most everything was so overcooked that I left it alone. I took a pic of the lamb I was served so you could see. That’s not how lamb should be cooked. Very few meats were served medium let alone medium rare, which is my preference. In the future, I’ll steer clear of the meat and just focus on the delicious salad bar.
We dined here today on Christmas. Anyone willing to work on Christmas deserves three stars automatically:) This was our first time dining here, so they explained how it worked and we immediately dove into that salad bar. I was bummed that there was only one soup option; I had been told lobster bisque here is excellent, but today only butternut squash was served. That’s not really my jam. But the beautiful gourmet salads like apple raisin and quinoa basil and even potato salad were all outstanding. The brown sugar bacon was addictive and there’s so much beautiful cheese! Fresh mozzarella two ways, baby Swiss, Parmesan wedges; truly beautiful.
Service was great; they work as a team here so no one person waited on us; instead there was a team of no less than three waiting on us, refilling glasses and taking dirty plates.
So what keeps this from being five star? Well, this is a STEAKHOUSE, and the weakest link for us carnivores today was meat. Most of it was overcooked, and I get its served that way for a reason, but at 50 a head, I’d like more options and meat cooked the way I like it. Today I actually wished for A1 or something because the meat was that dry. That’s not cool. Some more soups and some pescaterian options would be cool for those who aren’t into beef, chicken, lamb and pork.
Service will keep you coming back here though. It was well worth the price to be treated so well.

Ah, brazilian steakhouses, where you pay a pretty penny to feast like a king and be gluttonous little carnivores. I love it! The restaurant is crowded, and has a casual-​classy feel to it. The wine room and center salad bar is a nice touch. The dining room itself is quite loud and crowded. There is no waiter designated to any table, but the service was still attentive. A staff member got our drink orders, explained how the dining process worked, pointed us to the salad bar, and that was it! We were checked on frequently, wine and water glasses were refilled quickly, and dirty plates discarded in a timely manner. We watched several servers whisk around various cuts of meat on skewers throughout the dining room. They look quickly for the little red or green coasters and offer gentle slices of meat for you to sample.
At $ 50 a person, you can eat at the salad bar, stuff yourself with salty skewered meat, and a dig into the amazing sides that are added to the table (and refilled promptly): crispy polenta sticks dashed with powdered sugar, caramelized bananas with sweet sugar crystals that melt in your mouth, and creamy garlic mashed potatoes to supplement with the continual meat fest.
The meats are offered medium or medium rare. The rib eye was tender, the lamb had that distinct flavor that makes your taste buds smile, and the sirloin cuts just melt on contact. For the sake of precious stomach space, pass on the chicken, pork, & beef ribs. They were dry and flavorless. I was very conservative at the salad bar, because I didn’t want to eat unnecessary garbage. They serve day old fruit, a soup of the day, salads, cold cut meats, and cheeses.
Fogo de Chao seems to be especially attentive to special occasions. Anniversaries, birthdays, thank you dinners, etc. Dessert seems lovely, but we were obviously too gorked to entertain that idea. Take a date or just do what we did: celebrate your teammate’s fantasy football loss ;) Whatever the occasion, everyone will enjoy themselves thoroughly.
(Pro Tip: We ordered a bottle of Simi Cabernet Sauvignon, and it paired magically with the meats.)

This place is absolutely heaven on a skewer or buffet. Whatever. You get the idea.
The buffet is overwhelming, but it is so very delicious. They have just about everything under the sun. Their Apple-​bourbon bacon is heaven in a crispy little package. Everything is fresh and very well-​made.
But look, you don’t come to Fogo for the buffet. You come for the meat. And boy, do they deliver. No, really, they do. Right to your plate! The Parmesan pork was tender and juicy, the beef bloody and soft. I left there with a full belly and a happy face!
P. S. If you’re a first timer, don’t make the embarrassing mistake of thinking the meat cards are coasters. They’re not.

If you have never dined Churrasco style before, Fago de Chao is the spot INHO. Many other establishments have attempted to recreate the quality, variety, and service of Fago; however, have failed in comparison.
Meat meat meat!!! Come hungry, eat slowly, avoid the salad bar (aka The Market Table), skip the rolls and sides (garlic mash pots & caramelized bananas) delivered to your table… and eat like a man dang it!
Warning: You might very well suffer the three day post-​food-​coma like I did after my most recent visit, but it’s worth doing… at least once. Having been to this original (first ever Fago in the U.S.) a few times before, I had never allowed myself such indulgence. But sometimes, you just have to say «screw it!» Like when you have a great hand in Texas Hold’em, I was «all in.»
As soon as you’re seated and order your drinks (again, go with something light, skip the brew), you are invited to the self-​service salad bar. Look, but don’t touch! Soup station, several cheese selections, some veg, sliced sausage and cured meats, olives, etc… ironically very little «salad.» If you’re feeling the lighter side you can forgo roasted meats and purchase Market only dinner, but then why not just go to Jason’s Deli or the like? Sincerely.
The Art of Churrasco is truly a thing of beauty for carnivores — assorted meats on long skewers slow-​roasted on a rotating wood fire flame. The Gaucho Chefs swarm the dining room offering slices of all of their goods (place coaster green side up for «more please» or red side up for «no thanks,» but it doesn’t really seem to matter… they just keep coming). The trick is to be certain to sample ALL meats (even if just a small bite of each); not just the least expensive Sirloin cut that seems to appear more than other selections.
Remember, it’s all about the meat — and the experience:
Sirloin
Tenderloin
Rib eye
Beef ribs — do NOT miss on these heavenly hunks
Pork sausage
Parm cheese crusted pork loin — a goody for sure
Luscious lamb chops
White wine infused pork ribs &
Beer marinated chicken legs — yeah, go ahead.
I think that about covers all the rules and regulations. An added note: the staff at the Dallas/​Addison are all completely spot on! 5 star dining for sure.
SaÚde!
[177 in 2015]

its a hit and miss, but we went on a sat night and the meat were amazing and fresh. Drinks were amazing and the service was fantastic. other nights we came was slow and the meat weren’t as fresh. i love the Lamb and my hubby love the garlic house special steak. we dont eat much salad since we come here to eat meat and only meat.

Whether a day, celebration, family outing or a business dinner. This place has the right atmosphere to meet all occasions.
Classy, with a great comfortable atmosphere. Their service is A+.
Food is excellent quality.
Salad bar cannot be matched.
You can have all you can eat, salad bar only, salad bar plus a side of meat. More options but these are the basics.

Four years ago, I would have rated Fogo with a solid five stars but either my memories of Fogo have been glorified whilst living abroad and dreaming of the days I could pop into Fogo whenever I wanted or the quality of the food at Fogo has gone slightly downhill. I think it’s probably a combination of both.
Service was excellent as always with servers coming ’round every couple of minutes with skewers of meat, mostly steak which made me happy. In fact, the only three non-​steak skewers peddled were pork sausages, chicken legs and pork ribs. I skipped the latter two as one of my fellow diners mentioned that the ribs were dry and I just wasn’t in the mood to stuff a chicken leg in my mouth. The pork sausage was excellent along with every bit of steak I was served.
That said, there were a couple of issues. First, the menu listing all the meats has disappeared, so there was no way for me to know what options were available. Second, they have replaced mashed potatoes with roasted potatoes which, quite frankly reminded me of the overcooked, hard and flavorless roasted potatoes that the English love. They were hard and disappointing.
Other standard sides were as I remembered, plantains and cheesy biscuits. I still dislike both.
I guess my closing thoughts are that I’m grateful that I could return to Fogo but given I only ate steak and really wished for mashed potatoes, I’d rather been at a proper steakhouse, say Pappa’s or the Capital Grille.

Good food and service. The ambience is darker and more intimate.
Out of the sides from salad bar, the butternut squash bisque was amazing. The candied bacon was also another one of our favorites. My cousin liked the chicken salad and I liked the apple fruit salad.
From the meats: my favorite was the short ribs and the sirloin. They were soo good. The lamb shank was nice and juicy too. Too bad I missed the sausage, my brother said it was good, but the guy never came back.
We ordered the tres leches cake and molten lava cakes for dessert. Both were soo delicious. I liked the tres leches the best.
This place was pretty good, will come back.
Solid 4 stars. Some things they can work on: we hardly saw our server and had a bunch of dirty plates piling up. They were pretty busy. And the tables were kind of cramped together. Kept bumping into other people’s chairs getting up. Also we never got the mash potatoes when we saw it at other tables.

Fogo de Chão is a Brazilian Steakhouse in Addison that defined the churrasco experience in DFW. If a constant train of grilled meats, a salad bar as impeccable as the service, and a great atmosphere are your cup of tea, this is the best place to go.
My Overall Rating — 5 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — There’s a huge fire pit in the front of the restaurant surrounded by beef ribs. The waiting room is as comfortable as most high end lodges, and while waiting for a seat they hand our cheese bread. Then you realize you haven’t even entered the main dining area yet! Inside, the restaurant is anchored by an incredible salad bar that could stand on its own, white table cloth, dark woods, and authentic South American gauchos walking around with seared meats looking for a plate. THIS is what fine Churrasco dining is all about. 1 Star.
Service — It literally is a group effort. As soon as you sit, the first round of sides will make it to your table as you place a drink order. A simple flip of your card from red to green will summon the gauchos. Plates are refreshed as soon as you are finished with them. They are well organized, exceptional, and will ensure your service experience is top notch. 1 Star.
Food — There are about 10 cuts (or more) you can choose from, but the best is the picanha. This bottom roast cut is salted, skewered, and contains a small layer of fat that adds the extra element of flavor that melts in your mouth. It’s sliced thin to keep you wanting more. The seared meats are in a pure state — with salt as its only seasoning, allowing the pure beef flavor to stand out. Enjoy the rib eye, lamb, top/​bottom sirloin as the best cuts. Chicken, pork, & beef ribs are there to slow you down. Now, the salad bar is no side item here. There’s a reason why it’s in the middle, it’s because it contains the freshest side items to go with your meal. I’m a huge fan of the apple & potato salads, the mounds of salami, prosciutto, and parmesan (make your own meat & cheese plate). I know it sounds crazy, but I would be 100% satisfied if I only ate from the salad bar. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes. I know that DFW has many options when it comes to Brazilian steakhouses. Some offer more value (e.g. dessert is included at Rafain), a more casual atmosphere (shorts are ok at Via Brazil in Irving), but at the end of the day the original is still the best in my book. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.