Chapada Chophouse & Churrascaria

If you have been to Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao, you would know that this place does not even come close to an authentic churrascaria. I had such a bad experience for dinner. The only reason why I din’t give this place 1 star was because the server was very good. First, this is not one of those red/​green circle places, the meat took forever to come around, and the selection was very poor. The grilled pineapple was so small and not grilled at all, what a joke. For sides, they didn’t have much either. The Salad bar was not taken care of, and poorly lit, you couldn’t see anything, maybe it’s because the quality was so bad. Unfortunately for me, I have had a lot better.

We enjoyed our meal. The meats were great and the pineapple was yummy

Pricey but deliscious! We got their specialty, unlimited meat and salad. Go when it is a bit busier than usual so the meat is fresher.

All the good was amazing, I believe they have the best steak in Wichita. It is little on the pricey side, but it’s great food and great service.

Yeah it’s Pricey — but it’s worth it
This is the only place of its kind in Kansas that I know of
AWESOME FOOD especially the garlic sirloin
Come hungry and plan to try everything — don’t forget the grilled pineapple

Chapada’s effort towards translating the concept of a churrascaria to its restaurant is lame, so lame. Even more of a concern, however, is the wretched food. So let’s start with the food first.
The meat brought to the table by the sole meat server was tepid, overcooked, dry and the only flavor was salt, salt, salt and more salt. The garlic picanha was so cold that the slathering of what appeared to be a type of commercial garlic spread was not even melted.
The salad bar should have been an embarrassment: skimpy portions of sadly wilted greens barely covering the bottom of the serving trays, ho-​hum garnishments far less than what Dillons offers — except at Dillons when one goes to insert the tongs to retrieve a few slices of cucumber a small cloud of gnats does not erupt. The wrapped Pepperidge Farm wheat cracker my dinner companion picked up was so stale it bent rather than snapping crisply. The cured meats appeared to be rolled ham and turkey slices plucked from a package of Oscar Mayer’s Carving Board lunch meats. I couldn’t even bring myself to lift the lids on the soup tureens.
The bacon wrapped chicken was good and so was the roasted pineapple. It is a sad situation, however, when a poultry entrée and a pineapple — a pineapple! — outshine what should be the blazing stars: barbequed beef, pork, lamb, and sausages.
The churrascaria «experience» Chapada’s promises to offer you is underwhelming. You are told the meats will not start until after your salad plates are picked up. The meat is brought to you by one person wielding several skewers at once on his timing not your signaling of your readiness to have more meat. The all-​you-​can-​eat sides (note: sides is plural on the menu) was merely ONE bowl of rice/​black beans/​salsa which arrived only after the meat server had made a second pass with his nearly unmanageable quiver of skewers. It, too, was cold.
The wait staff seemed genuinely eager to please. I won’t fault them, because I’m convinced the spotty, clunky service is a function of ill-​conceived management dictates.
Succinctly, I don’t think Fogo de Chao has any worries about competition from this ineffective, copy-​cat establishment. Fugate should have limited this eatery effort to simply a chop house theme; still, I can’t recommend this restaurant even on that level because of the poor quality of the food.
Date of Visit: 8Nov2013

«I’m sorry, but we’ve run out of meat» — The Manager
Yes, that actually happened. It’s the latest in what’s become a downward trend, in my opinion, of this restaurant.
My first visit was actually earlier this year for one of my date nights with my fiancé. That time was a blast. The churrascaria experience was executed as promoted and for the price, it really was a steal.
Since then, it has been somewhat downhill. I always go with the churrascaria experience since, really, who doesn’t like having spears of meat parading before your table? I know I do! For the price, the food is usually handled pretty well. While it’s not necessarily as consistently fresh or as well presented as it’s peers, the effort is there.
So, why have negative thoughts then? It would be the latest visit, with the wonderful quote that started the review. It was once again date night, and we came in on the tail end of a seemingly dead mid-​week evening. We were seated pretty quickly and ordered fairly quickly as well. She chose the new menu addition that provides the Churrascaria meal on one plate, in one serving, for ten dollars less than the traditional plan. I of course went with the old standby, and that’s when the news came.
To their credit, they did rush to get the meats in the broiler (I’m still kinda not over that one) and the manager on duty was really good about going into the kitchen and checking on the progress of the meal. Really, in all fairness, the food was fine. They gave us both the «meal» version and only charged us for that price. Aside from the entrees, the salad bar is a bit of a joke. The tortilla soup has consistently been pretty good though.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve been spoiled by Fogo de Chao but seeing a cheaper version, with Scotch & Sirloin-​esque hostesses present makes you feel like you’re not getting the most from your discretionary dining dollar. I will give them another chance though. I’m an optimist at heart, and really, it’s not like there’s a rival churrascaria in town.

I definitely give it a 5 for Wichita, KS especially churrascaria menu… They bring so much meat in one seating to where u eat until you drop. The atmosphere is great n our server was great… If you plan to come here prepare yourself for a feast because the food is superb…

I find steaks in general to be a little over-​indulgent. I don’t need to eat a 16-​oz sirloin in one sitting, and nutritionally, neither do you. Churrascarias take this gluttony to the extreme, not only providing you with unlimited quantities of steak, but with a stronger pressure to eat it: «The skewer guy is coming around again. Quick! Shove that fillet in your mouth so I can get some of the bacon wrapped chicken!» It’s also among the most expensive meals you will find in any city; in Wichita, it certainly takes the top spot. All the protein ain’t cheap, folks. Nor should it be — when we’re paying this much, we want an upscale appearance in both food and atmosphere.
It’s with this in mind that I avoided Chapada for its first few years in business. It didn’t seem like a concept that could work in a budget-​minded town like Wichita, and given its prices were about 60% of the cost of what you might find at a Fogo de Chao, it seemed to me that they were taking a more economical approach to the whole thing, and a cheap churrascaria is embarrassing for everyone involved. Also, the initial reviews were pretty bad. I should have known better than to trust them, though, because I finally seized an opportunity to check out Chapada, and while it was not nearly as over-​the-​top as the bigger churrascarias, it gets the important things right.
Namely, the interior, which has lots of nice large heavy wood construction with plenty of dark browns to accentuate the premium dining experience. The floor-​to-​ceiling booth in which I was seated was pretty enclosing, too, with dim lighting giving an intimate appeal. I didn’t understand why there were mirrors in each of the booths — I was here to shove an uncomfortable amount of meat into my face hole, and I certainly didn’t want to look at my disgusting face by the end of it.
Other reviewers have mentioned that the churrascaria doesn’t come with the salad bar, and I ordered as such, choosing two of the family-​style sides to serve as whatever meager vegetables could get us our daily value of vitamins and fiber. This turned out to be false in 2013, as the waitress immediately directed us to the salad bar to help ourselves. It was a wise choice to include the salad bar — one, because tomatoes and cucumbers cost less than big ol’ hunks of meat, and two, I would be pretty peeved if I had to pay $ 15 for a «gourmet food bar» that’s not much better than your run-​of-​the-​mill Golden Corral salad buffets; plus for $ 15 there, I can get some overcooked spaghetti and select-​grade steaks to boot. This is nonetheless serviceable, and still sounds better than what Chapada used to have, but it certainly seems like this is where they were able to make cuts to keep that churrascaria price down.
The Brazillian steakhouse experience is about outrageous quantities of meat, but it’s also about the flavoring of said meat. This was best exhibited in the picanha, a roast flavored with garlic and sea salt; the lombo, a pork tenderloin; the linguicia, a pork sausage; and the frango com bacon, bacon-​wrapped chicken breast. I wouldn’t say any of the meats I tried were very heavily spiced, but they were seasoned well enough, which is good enough for me. They also err on the side of rare, which I appreciate. My least favorites were the sirloin tip and the tenderloin, which were pretty ordinary.
Despite my best efforts (or because of them), I was still feeling a little uncomfortably full by the time I called it quits on the protein. It made me worried about the family-​style broiled tomatoes and sautéed asparagus that I mistakenly ordered, but my waitress’ spotty memory (or silent pity) worked in our favor, as neither she nor I mentioned their absence. The other negative aspect to the salad bar is that it probably draws some money away from those sides, but if you are here with a large group I’m sure you could knock off a plate or two of garlic creamy potatoes, creamy spinach, creamy corn, or whatever other creamy dishes might be on offer.
A slice of grilled pineapple was a nice (and light) way to finish the meal. As I was waiting for my dining experience to end and my night of digestion to begin, I felt a little silly about having pre-​judged Chapada for so long, letting the opinions of others cloud my judgment in the face of some nice presentation, an interesting churrascaria and non-​churrascaria menu (I still want to try their Sonoran dogs), and a decent collection of meats. It’s not Texas De Brazil — the salad bar is mediocre and the beer selection sucks — but there’s more than enough here to have a good time.

Everything was amazing! We ordered a steak and the salmon. The wait staff was attentive and prompt. Our food was amazing. I’ve never had such flaky salmon. My husbands steak was awesome. The cut was amazing.
We’ll go back for amazing special occasions.

This place is expensive, but I was able to nab a Groupon for ½ off. We went on a weeknight and it was quiet and not busy at all. We got the churrascaria, which gets you unlimited trips to the salad bar and unlimited meat.
The salad bar was decent– lots of veggies to make a nice salad. There were also a couple soups, though I didn’t try them.
You get rice, black beans and pico with your meat. The meats were so delicious! Every couple of minutes they came around with a different one. Once we had been through all the choices, we were asked which ones we want more of. Everyone at the table ate until we couldn’t any more. It was a really really good dinner. If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d certainly eat there again.

Check this off the bucket list or rather let me! I don’t know how they keep their doors open. The $ 8 mac n cheese tastes like Kraft with spice. The sandwich I had was soggy and lacked flavor. The prices are way out of line for the quality. Keep driving this place ain’t worth the stop!

Wow what an unexpected treat! My sister and I decided to dine here for lunch last Friday. Man I’m glad we did, the food was excellent! When we first pulled in the parking lot, we wondered if it was closed because their were few cars in the lot. When we went inside, we noticed only three occupied tables.
Having never been here before, the building inside is absolutely beautiful. You can tell the designers really had an eye for detail. We were promptly greeted and sat at a large table near the bar. We thought it odd being sat at such a large table only for the two of us, but after scooting close together it did not bother us at all. The waitress was very informative about their menu and was eager to please us.
Sis and I decided on the same thing, a chicken sandwich with honey mustard. We decided to order different sides and share — she order the salad and I the french fries. (Side note — my mouth is watering while I am writing this review). The sandwich was so good, with roasted peppers and spinach all on a buttered roll. MMMMMM! The salad was a good size as well as the fries they gave us. We were unable to finish all that was on our plates much less have room for dessert.
Again, food was delish… and service was fantastic. They do offer a lunch buffet, but only serve soup and salad on it. For the price of the buffet, I think ordering off the regular menu is a better bet. Sis and I WILL be back.

Love the new Salad Bar… Wonderful experience all the way around

Chapada is just a couple of blocks from our offices. I eat there a couple of times a week for lunch and for dinner. The food is tasty and the service is good. I like their salmon entrée for lunch or their sandwiches. In the evening, my son and I like their Churrascaria with several meat choices.
I’ve taken clients there for business meetings and have always had a great experience. The only thing they need to improve is the font size on the menus… or maybe it’s just my old eyes, but the food is great and the prices are reasonable.

The «gourmet food bar» looked liked a sad display of (at least) yesterday’s foods. While some items were flavourful, I have a hard time paying $ 12 for wilted greens and slices of deli cheese. With the $ 30 churrascaria, I agree with the other reviews. Very light on flavour, except char. The pork tenderloin was delicious, but the beef entrees just tasted like beef. And mediocre beef at that.
As for the service, the waitress was prompt, but that was probably because we were the only people in there (at 7 on a monday). The outfits are terribly tacky. There is no reason for that much leg. And the waitress continuously tried to flirt with my husband while barely looking at me. The guy serving the meats was decent, though.
I find the lack of definition as to the type of restaurant annoying. It tries to mesh sports bar and upscale eatery, and fails at both. Either ditch the expensive plates and keep the TVs and garish lighting, or get rid of the TVs and dim the lights.
Will not be going back. Save your money and go somewhere more defined.

Went here for the first time and was really impressed. We went with the all you can eat option and they had a wonderful selection of salads, and soups. We also did a wine flight and was able to choose any 3 wines of the menu for $ 8. Of course we tried the 3 most expensive wines on the menu. Our service was outstanding and we actually had to turn away meat that they kept bringing us, we were really full to say the least by the end of the night. I will be back and plan on having some business dinners here in the future.

I had the steak tacos and salad bar. Both were great. Interesting items on salad bar with a lot of variety. I ordered the steak tacos with soup that was wonderful. Waitress was very friendly. Friend said the steak sandwich was delicious too.

While I have not had the full dinner experience here I plan on doing so based my lunch experience.
While I ordered some pork sandwich that can be described as unmemorable, my wife ordered the steak sandwich. Which we both heartily agreed was excellent! The meat was seasoned but not overly so, it was cooked perfectly and still moist, and overall the flavor was simply great.
I noticed several other comments here and on that other restaurant review site that mentioned the tacky ness of the outfits and I actually really do have to agree with that.

If you’re expecting to dine at Chapada and have an experience similar to Churrascarias in other cities, forget it.
From the start, our experience left a dry taste in our mouths. The front-​of-​the-​house staff of 4 young women all seemed very confused, but we were finally greeted and brought to a table.
The female servers are dressed from the waist down like Hooters servers. I could literally see one female’s butt cheeks, and she was standing straight up. That’s simply tacky.
The «gourmet» salad bar was comparable to Golden Corral at best. The food seemed to mix Mexican fare like guacamole and salsa and typical pre-​mixed pasta and potato salads together.
We opted for the Churrascaria with the unlimited meat and salad bar, but there are other a la cart steak offerings. When the gaucho finally brought the first skewer of meat around, it was the dried and overdone remains of a tenderloin. We decided to try it, but it was bland of overdone.
The pork was next. It had no flavor and was dried out. The bacon-​wrapped chicken had a succulent flavor and was about the only standout. The other tenderloin and sirloin offerings lacked any flavor or seasoning and were extremely rare.
The gauchos kept asking if we’d like more of anything else, and unfortunately the chicken never made its way back to us.
The cheese rolls that they tried to emulate from Fogo de Chao and other Churrascarias were too doughy and tasteless.
I can’t see this place lasting long. I guess the concept is novel to people in Wichita who have never tried a similar place in another city, but for $ 29, I don’t see how they would find value when the quality is sub-​par.