Chef Santos

I have returned to this place many times and Chef Santos has never let me down. It’s a very unique place and the specials are always amazing. It’s always nice when the chef remembers you — even though you live miles — States away!
The restroom is also unique, might not be the cleanest — but for this place I give it an exception — I always laugh!
If you really want a nice place to go with friends — check this place out!
This was my second review I ever wrote and today I’m giving it my Elite approval!

This is my second time here and I already adore this place. First I had the Scallops Au Gratin. It was sinful, I’m sure of it. Sheer unadulterated perfection! Today I tried the spaghetti. Wonderfully made. If you’re ever in Salisbury you should definitely stop by.

We did not know what to expect. We ordered the special on a Friday evening visit. It was steak and new potatoes with grilled fruit. Admittedly this is not the style of food we tend to order but we wanted to eat something new. The food was excellent! The service was very nice. We plan on going back sometime!

Odd place. Service slow. Looks a bit upscale and there were diners who were on a nice date. But the wait staff were in mismatched personal Tshirts, not any actual dress code for them. Linen napkins and glasses were turned down, yet dead flowers on every table. Yes dead, wilted and falling all over the table. Cloth table cover with a paper placemat on top? ODD. Not bad food. Pretty good really. Bread was very good. Priced for linen and glasses turned, but way over priced for the Tshirts and dead flowers. 4 meals with 2 apps and 2 glasses of wine came to $ 109. Overall. Odd. That’s all I can say. We won’t be going there again, can’t get over the ambiance.

Excellent food. Limited wine list. Service very poor. Not a server issue — seems like she had too many tables. Not all menu items available.

Very small, quaint dining experience. Fresh seafood prepared nightly. It’s a Salisbury gem!

The Café Brazil in downtown Salisbury, NC is a waste of a dining experience: This review is based on today’s experience with lunch at Chef Santos’ «Café Brazil» restaurant in historic downtown Salisbury, NC. I went there based on the positive reputation of Chef Santos and his other restaurant endeavors in the area. Perhaps they are great. This was an absolutely bland and underwhelming lunch. I, a foodie who will dive into a great dish and consistently brag about restaurants that excel, was so disappointed that most of it went back as waste. The meal began with a simple starter to the table of tortilla chips and (obviously) jar salsa. Authentic Brazilian? How hard is it to provide a fresh salsa? I should have followed my instincts and left at that moment. The meal later arrived with over-​cooked rice, under-​seasoned vegetables, and a thin flat piece of seared chicken breast with very little flavor (maybe a touch of salt). The plantains and fried yucca were both decent. The only notable aspect was the salad bar which was very simple yet fresh. I came for Brazilian and brag to you readers about a simple salad. What’s wrong with this picture? Authentic Brazilian food has so much variety and flavor than this place represents. It could’ve been a gem in downtown Salisbury. Instead, this place completely misses the mark and was well below mediocrity. If a fly-​by apology, Santos told me something along the lines of it was not great because he was not there in the kitchen and that they would make it up to me next time. Next time? When the customer is there physically in front of you, it is your best opportunity to make it a great experience, not next time. Next time? He never asked me specifics about my poor experience. I paid my bill and even tipped my waitress, but it’ll be the only time. Can I have my wasted time back? @adambrooks

This review is for Café Brazil. We ate there on ⁶⁄₁₉ and had not only a great pizza but the staff was friendly and quite attentive. Great job!

I ordered the special, which was originally scallops with avocado sauce served over linguini. Unfortunately they were our of scallops and I asked if Chef Santos could make the dish with shrimp — great idea. The shrimp was lightly battered and pan seared. It was served on top of the avocado sauce, linguini on the side and steamed vegetables included spinach and broccoli and sliced raw tomatoes. The trick is to mix the steamed vegetables and the tomatoes with the linguini and avocado sauce as soon as it arrives. The sauce is very fragrant and the dish overall is very light however it entices your taste buds. I posted a picture for reference. Delicious!

Why oh why have I not been eating here and why are there only two reviews from this year? Just had a wonderful meal here. Nice atmosphere, food was great and service was very good. A nice crusty bread was served before the meal. I had the filet special — it was cooked to perfection with a peppercorn cream sauce. It came with a salad, roasted potatoes and mixed vegetables. The only reason I am not giving five stars is because the salad was just «ok» in my opinion. Everything else was delishious — I will be back soon and often!

The food was really tasty. We had the chicken parmasean. The bread was delicious and so were the salads. Quiet atmosphere and a lovely experience overall. I would definitely come back here.

My absolute favorite restaurant. The food is beyond delicious, cooked to perfection full of flavor and uniqueness. Chef Santos you are the best chef in town! Salisbury is truely blessed to have this little hidden treasure. The kitchen and the staff are very well trained and organized. They work extremely well together and can easily handle a full house. The atmosphere is relaxing and unrushed. While the the restaurant is decorated beautifully. Highly recommended.

It has been a couple weeks since my visit but we are still talking about this place.
An out of state relative was in the Charlotte area on business and wanted to meet for dinner. From where we live, Salisbury is about the half way point to Charlotte.
This relative travels extensively and appreciates a quality restaurant. We certainly didn’t want to take her to one of the chain restaurants, so we searched Unilocal for a good local place.
We were not disappointed! Chef Santos had an excellent wine list, great appetizers, and a long list of chef’s specials. The only negative was trying to make a choice. Everyone’s meal was wonderful and the service very friendly and fast.
Our out of town relative is already looking forward to her next visit… and so are we!

Great service. Exceptionally clean and friendly. This is some of the best Italian food ever! Definitely going back!

Disclaimer
Chef Santos is the same restaurant as Good Fellas Restaurant listed here on Unilocal.The actual name is Chef Santos by Goodfellas. The address and phone number listed in Good Fellas is wrong. Use the address and phone number listed here under Chef Santos. I have asked Unilocal repeatedly to combine the listings (keeping the correct address and phone number here) but have been ignored.
Review
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Salisbury. Located right off Fisher Street in the historic downtown. This is an Italian restaurant with a South American twist. Great pasta dishes, veal, chicken, and seafood.
This is a white table cloth place but I would not classify it as high end fine dining by any stretch. It’s more high quality food served in a casual setting. You will see people in nice dresses and suits, as well as folks in jeans and shorts.
The wine list is not extensive but adequate. I don’t think they have any bottle of wine over $ 30. This ties in to the non pretentious atmosphere this restaurant has going on.
In most cases you don’t need a reservation but I would recommend it. Chef Santo’s is not on Open Table so you have to call to make the reservation. You never know when Salisbury may be having a festival going on in downtown so better safe then sorry.

I dined at Chef Santos on January 18^th for my wife’s birthday. This was our first time there and we had a reservation for a group of 8. This is a fairly small restaurant and I’d estimate it seats 50 – 60 people. The tables were nicely adorned with table cloths and place mats (disposable, but it wasn’t tacky).
Several of the notoriously late family members were, you guessed it, late, but our server, Kelly, was more than accommodating. We were immediately seated and given bread with a balsamic dipping concoction. The bread is served warm and covered in a garlicy, cheese topping and is excellent. We were given several baskets of this throughout the night and it was fantastic.
The theme of the restaurant is Italian with a South American twist and I was pleased to see the availability of a couple of Brazilian beers — notably Xingu — a great dark beer, I’d only seen previously at a Brazilian steakhouse.
We ordered the calamari and it was ok. It needed some seasoning as it was somewhat bland, but it was nicely fried and the sauce it came with was good.
I had the french onion soup and my wife had the ceasar, others at the table had house salads and it was all good.
For entrees, I ordered the veal oscar and was pleased with it. The crab meat that came was good and plentiful, the hollandaise was nice, and the pasta was pasta.
My wife had the chicken copacabana and enjoyed it. It came with fried bananas (the South American twist) and mushrooms and was a good meal.
We had my five year old daughter and they were very accommodating for her. There is no kids menu, but our waitress said they could take any dish and make it a kids portion. She got the spaghetti and ate almost all of it.
Overall the service was very good. Our waitress was on top of things and was very pleasant. I would certainly go back as there are other things on the menu I’d like to try. At the end of the night they even brought my wife a dessert for her birthday with little fanfare — no hokey songs or anything, just a candle and a happy birthday wish!

Chef Santos is a downtown Salisbury Italian spot with a South American twist. The menu is moderately priced, a great deal for lunch. The dishes are inventive and tasty… Italian classics with strange additions such as fried plantains! The bread is ridiculously addictive and is served with a seasoned olive oil that you may dream about later. Atmosphere is nice, adult, great for a date.