Rei Do Gado Brazilian Steakhouse

Absolutely love it and recommend it!!! Worth every penny! … Loved the fact that they had a buffet to compliment the steaks! &the drink I had was delicious! I’ll definitely be there again!

Great food with a lot of variety. The waiters were on point the entire evening. The less expensive options still provides a large amounts of quality meats. Definitely got our money’s worth. Typical San Diego experienced: a well-​oiled machine.

My husband and I wanted to check this place.
We were disappointed with high prices for the little amount of meat and quality of meat served.
All we ate is salad and sample of meat.
Definitely don’t recommend this place
We spend $ 160.00??? Not counting the tips.

Rei do Gado has always been top notch! We have been here many times for special occasions and just because we are craving meat! The service has always been prompt and courteous! The servers are always asking if we want our meat cooked a certain way which is great because sometimes it’s a little too bloody for my liking, and if we want any particular meat to come around. What’s better than getting the meat you want how you want!!! As if it couldn’t get any better, their salad bar for dinner has king crab legs… already cut in half!
Here is my dilemma. Just because I’ve heard others say Fogo de Chão is better, my hubby and I decided to give it a try for our anniversary. I made a reservation and signed up for their email list. They sent me a $ 20 off coupon for doing that! Awesome! For Mother’s Day I received a future complimentary dinner just for dining there on Mother’s Day. Awesome! Now I received some discount for Memorial Day! Awesome!!!
Rei do Gado — Why can’t you do that for me??? As much as I love you guys more, I have a family of 6 and I need to save money when possible! If you did that, I would stay loyal to you only!
**Looking forward to spending Father’s Day dinner there tonight with my family! I made reservations weeks in advance and so glad I did!

This is my 3^rd Brazilian steakhouse. The salad bar here is very delicious, the service is very excellent, but the meat is very very inconsistent. Even though the meat comes out very quickly and the meat men were attentive, we had meats that were just perfect to well done. It was seasoned well and tender but we were waiting for the rib eye because when we had it the first time it was delicious and cooked medium-​rare. The second time it came out, it was just well done. I can see how if you keep getting pieces cooked not to your liking, you will not enjoy it as much. As for me, most items that came out were just well done.

~$ 24.95 per person for lunch (6÷14÷2016)
I used to be a huge fan of Rei De Gado, so after being away from San Diego for 6 months, I decided to drop by before leaving. A couple of things have changed.
1. The salad/​side bar has been rearranged. Items were either gone/​replaced or it didn’t taste as fresh as it used to.
2. Prices increased for lunch. It used to be $ 21.99.
3. The service of the guy cutting the meat during our visit was terrible. He would talk to another guest (at a table diagonal from us) while trying to serve us every time he came by. This resulted in him either assuming we don’t want any (and just walking away), ignoring our requests, or serving us when we said no thank you. If you’re going to talk to a different table while serving us, either stay at that table or go clock out and let someone else do your job.
4. Most of the meat on the special lunch menu was dry or over cooked (except the flap steak with garlic)
Rei De Gado, what happened to you while I was away?

If you’re not a meat eater, this place is still OK. for lunch, they have an extensive salad bar with lots of choices. For dinner they do have an option for seafood.
If you’re going with a group of meat eaters, it’s OK. but probably not worth the cost of going there just for the salad

Absolutely love REI do GADO. DEFINITELY BETTER THAN FOGO DE CHAO! Finally went to fogo today to compare and utterly disappointed. Here are the highlights, in my opinion, of REI do GADO
1) the vibe/​atmosphere
Everyone there is so friendly. It has a really social atmosphere and the servers are very friendly and engage in conversation.
2) the servers/​owners
I believe the owners themselves are Brazilians so that’s definitely a plus! It’s nice to have an authentic Brazilian atmosphere provided by actual Brazilians. The servers: ALL VERY BEAUTIFUL! I know looked shouldn’t matter but it’s nice and they always look very clean.
3) THE FOOD!
Defiantly love the linguiça and the cheddar chicken :)! All their meats are full of flavor, unlike fogo de chao. Also, I love the wide variety of the market table. ALSO THE PÃO DE QUEIJO! I probably eat more pao de quiejo than I do meat when I go. Also, the fruit is very sweet and fresh, so that’s an extra! I defiantly recommend getting some feijoada with rice and topped with farofa!
4) the location
It’s really conveniently placed near the downtown mall and other places. Also very visible and not thrown down some sketchy street .
CONS:
The only con I ever see is that it’s almost always packed. I don’t mind though, personally, since it gives the restaurant a more lively vibe. If you have more than 4 people in your group, I’d call ahead and make a reservation.

Oh, the memories I have of this place from my college days…
So here’s the rundown:
— All-​you-​can-​eat meat brought straight to your table.
— All-​you-​can-​eat salad bar that is arguably satisfying even if you don’t have any meat.
— Full bar with very high-​quality drinks
— Excellent staff
— Chicken Hearts by request!!!
Pay close attention to your table marker. Obviously, green means go, and the meat comes by often. As expected, red means stop, and you can settle down before you go again.
It gets expensive at night. These days, it costs $ 55 a person on a Friday night. If you have the time during a weekday lunch, that is when it’s most affordable. However, during dinner, they do have more options, like lamb, skirt steak, and a few other premium choices. More details on their website, as it changes every so often.
All of the staff was very courteous. My water and tea cups were always kept full. They even brought me a couple of items by request. For the prices we paid, the tremendous service had to have justified it.
The place itself looks fancy, as it’s in downtown San Diego, where there seems to be a standard on how places should look. Since this place has been around much much longer than many in the area, I claim it sets a standard.
Sometimes, they have a random piano player. That and an attractive Brazilian lady in that little elevated frame who makes Caipirinhas, which are similar to margaritas, except with rum instead of tequila, rimmed with sugar instead of salt, and with fresh mint leaves. I may or may not be wrong about the rum.
Their alcoholic drinks are also in the camp of a-​bit-​pricey-​yet-​worth-​that-​price.
Come hungry. Don’t be a sucker and have a big meal beforehand.

RUBBISH!!! PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE!!! This place is the WORST restaurant I’ve been to in many years, and the ABSOLUTE WORST for the ridiculous cost! I’ve been to various other Brazilian steak houses in other cities, which were all a fantastic experience, and well worth their cost.
This place on the other hand was TERRIBLE. The salad bar variety was halfway decent, though taste was unimpressive. The hot food buffet looked days old, so I didn’t even bother. Then there’s what we really came for… the meat. The turkey was okay (though I didn’t eat the under-​cooked bacon in which it was wrapped), but every other meat selection was sub-​par to ‘meh’… fatty, greasy, tasteless, and surely NOT FRESH. Even the pineapple was bad. Who screws up the pineapple??? These folks, that’s who. We were basically served the core of the pineapple saturated in cinnamon. The only ‘good’ thing my wife and I had was the fresh fruit (which, unlike the meat, actually was fresh) from the salad bar.
The service was also not really impressive. The gentleman bringing the meat around was nice enough. The waitress was inattentive, yet had the audacity to circle the suggested tip amount at the bottom of the bill. Nope.
To really top it all off, my wife and I felt progressively worse throughout the day after dining there for lunch. By evening, we were both miserable. Not exactly how we planned on spending the first day of our anniversary vacation.
ZERO STARS.

Had a great dinning experience at this Brazilian BBQ!
You are not coming here for the atmosphere but for the delicious variety of meats and all you can eat salad & seafood bar! I’ve never been to a Brazilian BBQ that offered a seafood bar before so that was a treat! You can’t go wrong with all you can eat meats & King Crab Legs! The salad bar had a large variety of different dishes, both hot and cold. Service was beyond stellar, servers constantly coming around removing our dirty plates in exchange for new ones and there was always a steady flow of meat being served throughout the restaurant.
Not sure if it’s only the weekends or everyday, but they had a piano player and belly dancer that would dance in between the tables.
I would definitely come back to Rei Do Gado next time I am in the San Diego area.

My first steakhouse experience ever and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I took my boyfriend here for his birthday for premium lunch (everyday from 11am-​4pm for $ 32.95 a person), and we were stuffed until the end of the day.
At first, we were a little confused even though the waiter told us how it worked just because we were overwhelmed. But you get the hang of it real quick. There’s an indicator that you either turn it where red is facing up (stop the meat!!!) or the green is facing up (keep it coming!!!)
So, it’s buffet style, except for the meat because they personally come to you to slice it. It seems as if there isn’t a huge selection of salads and sides, but they have tasty options. I particularly loved their broccoli (it wasn’t just regular broccoli) and mashed potatoes, and my boyfriend was obsessed with their potato salad because there are sliced up apples in it. I fell in love with their cheese balls (I forgot what they’re called), but they are given to you/​not at the buffet, and we were only offered them once.
The meat started at a steady pace and weren’t huge slices or anything. But later on it kept on coming nonstop and it just got bigger and bigger. I think the main reason the people with the meat kept coming (aside from our green indicator) is because for a moment no one was coming at all and the manager (I’m sure this woman was the manager because she was dressed differently than the rest) had to tell people to serve us. I could see her looking over at us and searching for people with meat, and she even took my plate out of the way and gave me a new one.
Their selection of meat is spectacular. My boyfriend loves loves loves meat, so he was so excited. There were a lot of pieces with an overpowering amount of fat that I couldn’t eat though. And there was one meat (filet mignon with garlic I think, I just know it had garlic) that was too red for me, but I knew it would’ve been good if otherwise. I typically eat things medium well, so this was a little out of my comfort zone, but for the most part the meat was doable!
The people who cut the meat for you aren’t very friendly, but they aren’t completely rude (all the time). They’re kind of just there. Our waiter was really nice, though. They sang «happy birthday» to my boyfriend in Portuguese, and it was a pretty big group of them! They also brought him a complimentary dessert, and it wasn’t just a simple dessert! It was even wrapped in something that was actually made out of chocolate. It was delicious. Side note: they even give you a little sign for the table that says «happy birthday»!
I haven’t been to Fogo de Chao – or any other steakhouse for that matter – but I always hear these places being compared because they’re both Brazilian steakhouses. I would like to try Fogo though, so I could see which place I prefer!

Green for more meat please!
This place is amazing. Every slice of meat that is brought out is heaven on a stick. I e been here a couple times and i eat so much! It’s delicious. Never have I ever been so satisfied with food haha.

Came here with hubby for my belated birthday lunch. For Saturday and Sunday, lunch is $ 29.99 until 4 pm for 15 different kinds of meat (including fillet mignon) plus unlimited salad bar that has so many options too. I’ve been here a few times in the past for dinner also. The dinner costs around $ 50 if I’m not mistaken for 20 kinds of meat. For Monday to Friday, until 2 pm, they have their lunch special that costs $ 21.99 for 10 kinds of meat if I’m not mistaken.
Personally to me, lunch is already more than enough & satisfying. My favorite meats are their signature sirloin (picanha), beef short ribs, and garlic sirloin. I would say prioritize taking their beef rather than chicken and pork.
Originally I intended to come here during the restaurant week but I found out that reservation is a must during restaurant week. Other than that, walk in is just impossible– lesson learned! Yet, weekend nights seem to be pretty busy and reservation will definitely be a safer option.
Parking is best at Horton plaza with the 3 hours validation. Rei Do Gado is very close to the mall entrance.

Brazilian fare isn’t new to me, so I had high hopes when we walked through the doors. My hopes were crushed quickly by our inattentive waitress, the lackluster meat service, and the nonexistent ‘seafood bar’ which was literally nowhere to be found.
The ribeye was delicious, as was the sirloin. The lamb was disgusting and gamey as hell. I had to take a break from eating to get the taste out of my mouth. The salad offerings are mediocre at best, and the sides are about the same.
The hostess told us we would be seeing 20 cuts of meat, but we saw about 5. The meat server (just one!) was slow to come, and brought the same things more than once. The seafood bar was not set up (if it even exists), even though it was dinner time.
All in all, we won’t be back. We dropped $ 120 for two people and neither one of us was satisfied by our meal. Keep on truckin’, Unilocalers. There has to be a better option here in SD for this type of food!

One of the better Brazilian steak houses my husband and I have had. Service is wonderful here, variety of great tasting seafood and brazilian bbq at a really great price. Dinner including salad bar, seafood bar, all you can eat brazilian bbq and drink or dessert for $ 49.99 per person. Lunch is $ 21.99 per person.
There’s a variety of meats and they all taste unique/​flavorful. (At other brazilian bbq restaurants the meats are seasoned with way too much salt and/​or they all taste the exact same.)
Try everything if you can but it’s a lot so if you start to feel full, I’d recommend trying the following at least: skirt steak, sausage, filet mignon, beef ribs, prime top sirloin, rib eye steak, and the grilled pineapple. The all you can eat Alaskan king crab legs from the seafood bar is a big plus.

I have been here on two occasions: 2015 Fall Restaurant Week and 2016 Winter Restaurant Week.
The first time, everything was amazing from service to food. We paid $ 20 each and there was plenty of food. There was a large selection and all of the meat was savory. It was one of the best Brazilian Steakhouse experiences I had. I dreamed about the food and wanted to come back.
Came again last week, and it was completely the opposite. It was so hard to flag down the waiter just for water… We probably waited 10 minutes for that. The food also took forever to come out. There was only 2 waiters for 10 – 15 tables. We waited a good 20 minutes before the meat came around to us. It was very disappointing seeing the waiters bring out food, have it run out, go back in, and repeat. Why were there only two people serving food during Saturday dinner?!
When we did get the meat, there was only 3 of the 7ish options they listed on the menu… Super disappointing. Service was terrible and slow. It really turned me off from wanting to ever come back.
The only reason why I am giving it 2 stars and not 1 star is because the first time was great, but you guys sure did slip!

Do not come here during restaurant week even with reservations — service is horrible.
Our server did not come check up on us until 20 mins in the meal — we were all thirsty. We tried countless of times to flag someone but NO one cares here. We finally caught someone’s attention and put in our order for 2 bottles of wine and water. She said, «I’ll pass this information to your server.» We continued to wait and got nothing. 20 mins later — the server for our table appears. Everyone was trying to be patient but waiting 20 mins for water is just ridiculous.
The meat servers had an attitude and you could tell they hated their job. They barley made any stops to our table because it was in a separate dining area. It was most bothersome when they served us chunks of meat fat. The meat here is also very low quality and either too salty or too bland. I gave up eating, not because I was full, but because I was tired of the rude service.
Salad bar was basic. I enjoyed the fresh chocolate chip cookies of all the things I had here.
I love dining out but poor service with mediocre food at most kills the vibe. I won’t ever be coming back.

Went here for SD Restaurant Week for lunch. We opted for the limited lunch menu $ 20 (not the Premium lunch menu $ 29.99). The salad, soup, appetizer bar had a good variety of items. It’s hard to maintain portion control with the salad bar and the meats which come to the table because it’s all so good.
It’s just so crowded here like Rei Do Gado tries to squeeze as many tables and chairs into their dining room as possible. When their busy, you’re constantly dodging other guests and staff as they move about the restaurant. They could remove some tables just to make more space to improve the traffic flow to/​from the salad bar. There’s always servers coming/​going due to the nature of the meats being served at all the tables, but it could be more «open» like Fogo de Chao.
My iced tea was finished to the point there was no ice twice without it being noticed by the servers. I don’t know if everyone was too busy to realize. Overall, no real problems, but on the other hand, nothing that really blew me away positively either. Make sure you come hungry as you’ll quickly get full fast. It’s a meat lovers dream as there’s plenty of protein to be eaten here.
The Picanha (Brazilian Top Sirloin) was my favorite meat! It’s well seasoned, and just to die for! I also like their cheese rolls (I think I ate 5+ rolls during lunch). I had their quinoa and couscous salads and they were also very delicious. Since we were celebrating my birthday, they brought out a chocolate cake for me and sang a traditional birthday song.

Came here for San Diego Restaurant Week! First time.
We had to make reservations. It’s an AYCE meat and salad and cheese bar!
Try the cheese bread they have a certain name. It’s good while it’s warm!
Many different kinds of meats: ham and pineapple, sirloin steak, rack of lamb, short ribs, filet mignon, bacon wrapped turkey, sausage.
And you get to choose to have dessert or wine.
I got the wine and it was too strong but my friend got dessert and it was good.
There is indoor seating and outdoor. We had live music.
Cute little place.

ALL YOU CAN EAT! Bring it! I first came here on my 24^th birthday — (last year) haha ;P
Their food seems better this time… maybe cz they have more selections than FOGO. Anyway —
15 cuts of meats! okkaaayyY! With salad bar and a variety of appetizers. Very crowded inside, not crowded with people but the décor itself — huge tables a piano, etc… its cute though.
REI is a more casual ambiance where you can unbutton you pants and eat away. Definitely worth a visit. Come at an EMPTY tummy to get your money’s worth. Brazilian BBQ is delish — fresh & juicy. Great service too by real Brazilian mens!

We came down to SD, looking for good dinner options. Consulting my trusty Unilocal app, I spotted this place about a block from where we parked. We walked in here, and opted to sit outside.
We first hit up the salad bar, and they had quite an array of options. From this bar, I got some smoked salmon, mozzarella cheese balls, spiced salad, cheese with garlic, ciabatta and cheese bread. For the main course I had a taste of all their meat options, and paired it with a large bed of rice and some cheese on the side. To drink, I had iced tea. I didn’t get any wine this time, as I already had a night of debauchery the night before and was taking it easy.
I liked this venue, the staff was friendly and the service was efficient. The price is comparable to the quality, and this is an alternative to the other Brazillian steakhouse in downtown SD.

Went here for my birthday dinner and it was pretty decent. It’s a Brazilian Steak house, with meat. The side items on the buffet were pretty good but nothing that was just over the top amazeballs. They did have a huge pile of Blue Cheese which did score a few points. Their meats were all good and hot as expected, but again nothing that was just truly amazeballs.
I couldn’t decide on the desert so I got 2 to share. Would go again, but it was kinda pricey.

We decided to check out this place because we couldn’t pass up $ 20 for AYCE brazilian bbq for restaurant week. Sooo worth it.
Since it’s downtown, parking sucks, but horton plaza is only a block away and you can get 3 hours free if you validate it inside, and they also have their own valet that you can also use.
Once we settled down at our table, we went over to the salad bar, which has a nice selection of salads, cheese, fruits, olives, and other things. You’re going to need it to balance out the protein.
Each table has this dumbbell-​looking block of wood, with one side painted red, and the other side painted green. When you are ready for the meat to start coming in, you flip the green side up. If you want to take a break from the meat flow, you flip the red side up. What they do is that they have servers who bring in the meat to your table and tell you what it is, and if you want it, they will personally cut it up for you right in front of you. It’s really simple and easy.
Tip for first comers: if you’re eating with other people and want to try all the meats before getting those huge chunks that they cut out for you, just get one piece for the entire group to try out or ask for smaller cuts. What we did was that we each got every meat that came along for ourselves and we were full in no time. We realized that we should’ve split one piece to try them all out.
My favorites were the prime top sirloin (Picanha) and the whole top sirloin (Alcatra). They both just had a unique, smoky taste to them, even though one of them was a little more subtle than the other (forgot which one). I think that after a while all the meats started blending in and started tasting the same and I couldn’t tell which meat was which, but when I picked up either of the sirloins, the flavor just instantly filled my mouth.
My least favorite ones I would say would be the baby back ribs (Costelinha de Porco) and the top round (Coxao Mole). It’s not really that they tasted bad or anything, but they were a lot drier than the others.
The pineapple and ham (Presunto E Abacaxi) is definitely something to try out. They add cinnamon to their pineapple so it gives it some extra flavor that you can definitely taste. The beef short rib (Costela De Boi) has more fat than the others, so it gives it that extra greasiness that some may or may not like. The spicy pork sausage (Linguica) is definitely spicy, but not so much to make me reach for my glass after every bite. It’s hot and smoky, and it has that pepppery kind of spiciness.
All the servers who came around were friendly and was nice to explain everything to us since it was our first time. They consistently filled up our water glasses and took away our finished plates. All the meats also came over so quickly that the next server with the next meat came over when we were still working on the ones we already had on our plates. They made sure that everything was to our liking and we left the place feeling satisfied.

Oh mein Gott. Das essen ist so fantastisch!!!
50 $ für All you can eat steak klingt relativ viel aber bei der Qualität an Fleisch und Beilagen
Ist das volllkommen in Ordnung und Gerechtfertigt.
Getrunken haben wir eine Karaffe Sangria für knapp 36 $. Auch sehr lecker!
Auch das Ambiente ist wundervoll livemusik am Tisch ein prasselndes Feuer…
Wenn man in San Diego ist ein Absolutes muss!!!

Absolute Empfehlung für dieses tolle Lokal! Das Essen und der Service sind ihr Geld wert. Das Fleisch ist von der Qualität und Zubereitung her einfach fantastisch. Die Ober kommen sehr häufig mit verschiedenen Spiessen an den Tischen vorbei (bei uns ca. alle 2 Minuten ein anderer) und sparen weder mit der Auswahl, noch mit der Menge.
Entgegen der Erfahrungen über die andere Besucher hier berichtet haben, wurde bei uns das beste Fleisch (z.B. Picanha, Skirt Steak etc.) zuerst serviert. Ausserdem durften wir Wünsche äussern, was wir als nächstes probieren möchten.
Auch die Beilagen vom Büffet waren allesamt lecker und hochwertig, so finden sich hier bspw. Pecan-​Nuss-​Salat, gebackene Bananen oder auch Krebsbeine. Man muss aufpassen, sich nicht schon hier den Bauch vollzuschlagen.
Der Service war sehr freundlich, schnell und aufmerksam. Für Gäste wird für 8 $ ein Valet Parking direkt vorm Eingang angeboten.