Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse

Everything was amazing! I loved the service, the atmosphere, drinks were nice and strong. Staff was very prompt and manner-​able.

I don’t know but the food was so much better before this experience. My service was super slow and everytime I asked for a specific meat they said they would be back and they didn’t come back with what I ordered.
When we first arrived we literally sat down for 15 minutes and not one guy with meat came by our table.

I made reservations for my bday just last week and it was our first visit to fogo de Chao. I really expected to be nice and fancy and great service. It was alright nothing fancy like it was presented. The meats took forever to come around to us. Every Time my waiters would ask what kind of meat they will ask them to come by. 15 – 20 mins later thats when the meat guy come by. By that time my friends and i were ready to leave because we had already lost our appetites. Thats ridiculous every Brazilian steak houses I’ve been too we use the card they don’t t have to ask you. Another reason i gave it 2 stars due to less variety of meats. Other places have at least grilled shrimp or salmons too. I feel like for the price service was not great along with the food. Im pretty sure i will not be back though.

Good meats, and lots of it! If you’ve never been, don’t eat vegetables. All meats, all night. How can you go wrong. My fav was the Picanha with the Beef Ancho coming in at a close 2^nd! The cheese bread go hard too. I could eat those all night if I was aloud.

Just had dinner here with my husband for our first wedding anniversary. The food & service were excellent as usual. Zero complaints. They made our anniversary dinner very special. Anthony was a great server!

SKIP THE SEAFOOD.
I haven’t been to this restaurant in over 5 years, so I was excited to return with friends. However, I was greatly disappointed with the changes. What was once a fantastic restaurant with great food and well dressed diners, now seems to be the home of cut-​off shorts, halter tops, jeans and flip flops. The ambience for a special night out no longer exists in this Golden-​Corral style crowd.
Lack of any dress code aside, the food has also changed. They now offer seafood options. I was very excited about this but it too turned into a disappointment. In lieu of the regular meat selections coming to you table side, you can choose the market seafood option. This gives you freshly prepared Sea Bass or Salmon plated and brought to your table in about 20 minutes. You can go get yourself items from the salad bar with the rest of your table while this is prepared.
The salad bar is still fresh and delicious with lots of choices– the reason for 2 stars.
Once those plates are completed and cleared, guests enjoying the traditional dinner then turn over their table card from red to green and the meat selections come fast and hot to the table. My friends that went this traditional route said the meat was tasty and enjoyed it.
The seafood will come out on an individual’s plate much like a standard restaurant once it’s prepared. So there may be some awkwardness in timing while the rest of the table is ready to move from salad to entry and seafood isn’t ready.
The seafood itself — SKIP IT. The Salmon was so over cooked and dry that after waiting 20 minutes for it, I still called a Manager to have it returned. He was apologetic and put in an order for the Sea Bass instead. Another 20 minute wait for that dish which, at best, was «ok». I wouldn’t go that route again.
My recommendation — stick to their traditional offerings and no need to dress up; apparently jeans and tees are just fine.

TLDR;; Fogo de Chao was so extremely disappointing. My family spent the last half of the meal and the drive home wondering where else we could have spent $ 300 on for dinner.
First of all, the service was TERRIBLE. I made a reservation at 7pm and me and my family arrived early at 6:50pm. I went up to the hostess and told her about my reservation and handed me a wait device. I thought it was because technically it was not 7 yet that they didn’t immediately seat us. But I was wrong. My family waited about 30 more minutes before we were seated. So, my reservation basically meant nothing. When we were finally seated, our waiter was very friendly. LIttle did we know, that was the last time we would really interact with him. Throughout the next hour and a half, our waiter was never present. The only other thing he did besides introduce himself at the beginning was to hand us our check at the end. He was not even the one who gave us our change back. There was also a miscommunication of all the different waiters running around. At one time, someone in a vest tried to give us our check, but it needed a correction, at which our actual waiter showed up to give us the corrected one. Then, after we paid, a different waiter in a vest that was also pouring us water took the check with our money with it, which we expected change for. After he left we waited about 15 minutes, then the first waiter with the vest came back trying to give us another check. We had to then send him away because we already gave them our money and we were waiting so long for our change. After we sent him back, we then had to wait another 10 minute for our change to arrive. And by that time, we were just so annoyed and wanted to leave.
Secondly, my family usually goes to Tradicao alongside 59. Obviously, we heard a lot of great things about Fogo thinking that it would be somewhat better than Tradicao. Unfortunately, we were wrong. Unlike Tradicao, Fogo does not offer salmon, shrimp, or scallop wrapped in bacon included in the high price of $ 51.95 per person. That is an ADDITIONAL charge. All of their beef selections were not as great as I envisioned it to be. The taste and flavoring was just okay and I tasted more burnt than flavor. The garlic pork was too tough and the outside crust was too hard almost like plastic. The only two meat selections that stood out to me was the lamb chops and bacon wrap chicken leg. All side dishes were sub-​par. The mashed potatoes had no flavor and was only garnished with chives and black pepper. The yuca fries were overly fried where it was more of just chewing on cardboard, and the plantains were just alright. Even the Brazilian cheese balls taste better at Tradicao than here.
Thirdly, they do not bring all of the items that they have around to all the tables. My dad started complaining that Fogo did not have ribs, which Tradicao does have. But near the end of our meal, thats when we finally saw some sort of ribs going around. For a hour and half, there were no ribs circulating around our general area of the restaurant. My dad was a little peeved off that he could not eat any ribs because he as already full at the end. I also had to specifically request for lamb chops two times and never really saw it circulating around our general area of the restaurant. If I did not know that there was lamb chops then I would have never been able to eat them in this expensive visit to Fogo… same with the ribs.
Lastly, the ambience of the restaurant does not seem the same as everyone keeps saying it to be anymore. It is slowly becoming a casual restaurant, no longer romantic. You see people in basketball shorts and flip flops, and a ton of kids running around, screaming, and crying. It’s just no longer an ideal place to go with your date.
Overall, Fogo de Chao will no longer be getting another visit from us. My family was thoroughly disappointed by our whole experience there. We went in thinking «we’re finally going to be able to eat at this high-​end restaurant that everyone has been talking about and know all the hype» and we left thinking «so how many meals could we have bought with that money we spent just know? It is so sad to have our dreams crushed» Fogo de Chao not only lacked a ton of dishes and flavor that other Brazilian churroscoia restaurants have but also the service and ambience that they seemed to have worked so hard to achieve over its lifespan.
To me, Fogo is a nogo.

It’s been several years since I’ve been back to Fogo, mainly because I’ve been gracing Chama Gaucha for my churassacria needs. I decided for my birthday dinner I’d go to Fogo for a change a pace. Well, I won’t be going be back anytime soon. Service was still great, but my main issues were the frequency and variety of meats being brought around.
First off, everyone knows I love picana. The picana gaucho literally came by our table ONCE. Yes ONCE. I even requested for him a couple of times and he never showed up. On top of that, the bottom sirloin gaucho came by 5 times. I don’t like bottom sirloin and would decline each time but to no avail. Also many other meats only made 1 – 2 visits. Garlic beef, rib eye, top sirloin, filet mignon were scarce. On the other hand, Parmesan pork, sausages, chicken were readily available on a quick basis. Beef and pork ribs were nowhere to be found unless you specifically requested them. All I know is when I compare this to Chama Gaucha it is night and day. At Chama they come fast and furious, know what you like and keep coming back. There is no comparison whatsoever.
Secondly, the meats were for the most part pretty under seasoned, which totally surprised me. Some were even dry, even though I asked for medium rare/​medium. The meat was something I used to remember tasted really well. I have no idea what happened to Fogo.
I was pretty disappointed in my Fogo experience as they are supposed to still be the gold standard of churassacrias. I honesty don’t know what happened to this place. Too bad. If you want the best, go to Chama.

First time here surprising right and I’ve liver in Houston pretty much my whole life. I made reservation for 730pm got seating rather quickly as soon as I arrived. Didn’t seem very welcomed by the hostess at all they seem be look upset! But was not going to let that ruin my dinner. Got to our table and immediately greeted by our server! They gave us complimentary cheese bread so good with mashed potatoes some kind of fries and plantain. We flipped our card over to green and before I knew it the guys were coming at me from different angle with meat! Lol They also had a salad bar that consist of cheese, salads and rice.
Definitely an experience and a whole lot of food.

I had a early pre bday dinner with my daughter n friends on friday june 3, 2016 at around 600pm.
The first course was unlimited servings at fruit n salad bar. self serve… lots of veggies n chreses n fresh fruit. loved it. lots of open space.2^nd course was difft cuts of meat. loved the courteous waitstaff and servers who cut meat. very good quality and selection of food. Thanks to waitstaff Santiago from san luis and Oscar for your excellent service. thanks for my complimentary strawberry cheesecake… i loved it 100%., and will be back… excellent selection of wine also. pricey, but worth it!!!

Omg! 1^st time here and it was AMAZING!!! The meats were AMAZING! The desserts were AMAZING!!! Even the wine selection was… AMAZING!!! Love it love it love it.

They serve the meat. Fresh! Constantly check tables and the food is good old texas. Service 5, food 5, waiter 5, environment 5 and quality of food is 5 stars. If you don’t like it… You are not a texan. Great portions and delivery of the food is excellent.

Meat, it what’s on the table. Or is it?
Fogo de Chão is a Brazilian churroscoia or gaucho restaurant that features a classy ambiance, fine wines, salad bar, traditional Brazilian sides and of course lots of meats.
Of course «classy» is often paired with «high price» and both are paired with «high expectations». To me, Fogo de Chão does not pull this off.
Good, all the staff are awesome. They are friendly, quick and knowledgeable. No problems here.
Almost Good: almost classy atmosphere that gives guest the impression they are at a fine restaurant. Valet parking and well appointed entrance. This they pull off for all but those clients who have actually been to a fine restaurant.
Not so good, it seems to me that this place used to have a much bigger salad bar with many choices of Brazilian fruits, vegetables and breads. I mean, agriculture makes up over 20% of Brazil’s economy. That is more than twice their oil revenues. Most people in Houston don’t get that. So why cut your salad bar in half? I am guessing the owners decided they needed more seating. Sad trade off.
OMG, the bill for a family dinner, even a special occasion is way high. My family of four rang up a $ 300 tab with tip. That was with us drinking water and me having a single glass of Malbec. I would gladly pay that for a meal 2D4. Not so here.
Challenging, The meats they serve are also lacking. That is both in variety and flavor. I was seated for almost two hours and repeatedly was offered the same five meat selection. I think they offer eleven or twelve variations of steak, lamb, pork and chicken. I know from other visits that I can flag down a gaucho or members of the staff for help but they were so busy on a Saturday night that this proved difficult. When I did get a server, it was so loud that it was hard to communicate.
My son, a 19y old Texan, who normally has simple needs summed it up with «I didn’t like their meat».
My daughter, whose birthday we were celebrating, barely ate. She would accept on of the five meats we were served, take a bite and slide it to the other end of her plate. She only ate the Filet Mignon.
To be fair, we all enjoyed the Filet Mignon.
I travel to Brazil frequently and have been to churroscarias in São Paulo that were more crowded and guest sat at picnic tables; yet still had a great experience. So maybe the premise of «fine dining» is the flaw?
Good: fine selection of scotches and apéritifs all at reasonable prices. Great if you are on a business dinner. I was driving and behaved.
Not so good: my daughter ordered the «molten cake» for her birthday treat. It was way too dry, she barely ate it. I tried a bite and had to wash it down with a full glass of water.
All in all, we have so many steakhouses in Houston. Fogo de Chão is not one of them.

Had a wonderful family meal here to celebrate a graduation. It was amazing, the food was tasty, and we all left happy and full.
The place is nice, the décor is nice, the employees friendly and it’s an all around great place. Only negative would be parking.

First time here.
Great service. Had several staff explain how the whole concept works. Loved everything about it.
Great salad bar. Awesome Soup.
Meat selection was phenomenal.
Will definitely be coming back with an appetite!

First time at a Brazilian steakhouse. Amazing! Attended a corporate event at the private room. The rolls are amazing, the steak is cooked up to par, given as requested. I will definitely find a location closer to home, if they have one in Cali. I’m glad my first time here was a memorable one.

I love meat! And that means I was ecstatic about my trip here.
+
Lots of meats, lamb two ways, beef, beef wrapped in bacon, chicken, sausage
I was a fan of the filet Mignon didn’t try any pork.
The lamb was also good but more dry than I’d prefer (I love med rare) it was cooked well done.
The salad bar was good, play it smart and get finger foods only from here. I liked the selection and had olives, beets, baby pickles and cheese.
The sides at the table I could have done without, box mashed potatoes, frozen fries and baked plantain.
For dessert we had papaya with cream topped with blueberry syrup. I would never eat it again, def an acquired tasted.
This is a place I would come to again if invited (it was for OTC) but wouldn’t pick it for a date. Great for groups.

Talk about experience dining. From the moment we sat to the moment we left, everyone was very attentive. We had never done Brazilian before, and our server and the manager explained the process to us.
We started at the market table, which had a plethora of amazing goodies to start your meal. Proscuitto, manchego, hearts of palm, parmesan in the rind… just a fabulous selection.
We followed that with drinks. The Brazilian soda is delicious, like ginger ale and cola had a delicious carbonated baby. The Brazilian beer was dark as sin, but delicious. And my personal favorite, the carmelized pineapple old fashioned. This is what old fashioned dreams are made of, this drink was amazingly flavorful and well balanced.
Finally, we moved to the coaster flipping, signaling the beginning of a flow of meat to our table. Everything was amazing, literally every meat better than the last. I wasn’t a personal fan of the pork or chicken, but I wouldn’t kick them off the plate.
Finally, dessert was the carmelized pineapple and ice cream. Crunchy and sweet, with just a touch of tang, it was perfect.
Our server was not at our table much, but we almost didn’t notice because everyone checked on us constantly. Dan (?) one of the managers kept checking on us and was very helpful and welcoming.
Overall, this was one of the best dining experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying, and the food and service is nothing to sneeze at. Pricey, but totally worth it!

I’m a bit ashamed of myself that this was my very first time going to Fogo de Chão. I’ve been missing out on some goddamn good meats!
Came here to celebrate a friend’s birthday, our party was quite large — probably about 15 – 16 people. The restaurant was very accommodating of our entire group. It did not feel cramped whatsoever, and we all had equal attention of the staff.
The concept of this place is pretty cool, I wish it had been explained to me exactly how it works but I quickly found out that ‘GREEN’ card means ‘GIVE MY A$$ SOME GOOD GOOD’ and ‘RED’ card means ‘I’m aight, leave the kween alone’. I had accidentally placed my card on green not knowing what was about to happen and the staff practically attacks you with sticks of meat! Like fo’real. This guy slammed his meat on my table and asked me, ‘How do you like it’? I’ll have mine medium well please.
The meats just keep on coming and coming, so make sure you keep your card on the right color.
Everything was so delicious and savory. My favorite was definitely the bacon wrapped chicken breast and the filet mignon. OUTTA ‘DIS WORLD PEOPLE! The sirloin was great, very tender. I kept getting repeats of the mignon tho.
The salad bar — beautiful! They have fresh veggies and toppings for the perfect salad. My favorite is the baby corn that I used to eat as a kid from this whole in the wall Chinese restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. Brings back memories!
Here’s a tip tho, the salad bar may be pretty and all that but honestly. Stay the eff away! That’s how they get you. You fill up on their bomb ass salad and hardly have room the real shit you came here for. MEAT!
That goes the same for the cute yummy cheese stuffed bread they leave at your table. Leave it alone! I made the mistake of filling up on salad and bread too early but next time it’s going down, Fogo!
For $ 52/​person, Fogo de Chão is an excellent place to take someone on a very nice dinner. The ambience isn’t very quiet or chill, it’s very busy! Keep that in mind. The dress code I’d say is more business casual/​spiffy. Dress to impress.
I’ll be back for another round.

I can’t say that all you can eat buffets are my favorite and this is basically an all you can eat but they carve the meat at the table for you. Let’s say the restaurant looks nice — nothing too fancy but they have the meat display in the front and a nice wine fridge. The tables aren’t anything fancy.
The drinks are fairly expensive for what you get. I ordered the Bellini caipirinha and it tasted like a simple syrup drink. Nothing muddled or spectacular about a $ 12 glass. I wasn’t impressed. The cheesy bread was good — can’t say it beat the other less known Brazilian steak place I’ve been to. The meats. I have to say the filet mignon was cooked perfectly — medium rare like I like with a pink center. However, it was a little overly seasoned and slightly salty. The sirloin was a bit overcooked as were some other meats I saw people in my group get. The lamb was cooked right and not too gamey which I liked. The garlic flavored beef was juicy with a good taste and one of my meats was pretty red and bloody on one end. Overall, some meats were definitely cooked better than others and it’s just your luck on which skewer you get served from. I was disappointed that they didn’t really bring the filet mignon and the lamb until you request it — and do request it cause they’ll bring you the other stuff to fill you up on that first. The salad bar had a good selection of stuff — again nothing amazing and out of the ordinary. The salami, prosciutto, mozzarella, mushrooms, etc were stuff you can get anywhere. It didn’t stand out and wasn’t particular to Fogo de Chao. They bring you shrimp — be careful, they charge you extra for things they ask you if you want and they put on your table without warning you.
The dessert, my tres leches was delicious! I’m not sure what the crunch was in it but it made it really good. Probably cause it was cold and melted in your mouth good. Wasn’t a fan of the papaya cream with the extra blueberry rum though.
Overall for a $ 100 dinner for one person, I wasn’t impressed and could go get a really nice piece of meat cooked the way I want it with sides I choose to have. I guess Brazilian steak houses just isn’t for me — even with the selection. You can’t win it all — if you want to be good, all the cuts of meats should’ve been amazing — cooked and seasoned perfectly.

Service was great. The waitress was attentive and the meat boys were fast. Their cheese bread was amazing (I had 3 refills of bread and I’m not ashamed). My only regret was not asking if I could have my leftovers to go. The meats were okay. The meats aren’t as specialized as a typical steakhouse and maybe thats why I wasn’t overjoyed about my first fogo experience.
My final thoughts are I don’t think its worth $ 52 a person for dinner. I would rather go to Pappa Bros Steakhouse or eat my boyfriends home cooked steak :)

Fogo just didn’t do it for me, my boyfriend or my mom. We were super excited to come and the outside is very welcoming.
The atmosphere, as it looks like many other Brazilian steakhouses tend to be, is a 4 and a fun place to go on a Saturday night. All of the salad bar stuff was fine, but nothing was particularly stand-​out, and I wouldn’t need to get anything again. To be fair, I made a point not to fill up on that so I could eat as much meat as possible.
The meat was really a 3.5 with some being a 3 and some being a 4. As others have stated, I’m not a huge fan of meat that’s wrapped in bacon, as you don’t wrap a prime piece of meat in a slab of bacon to give it flavor, as it already has more than enough. I was hoping more of the meat would be standout, but it all was kind of difficult to discern, and I’m a huge meat fan.
By the end, you definitely aren’t missing steak, and you will certainly leave here totally full. For the price though, it’s hard to not have wanted my own excellent steak and sides as opposed to a bunch of okay-​good pieces of steak.
Maybe the night we chose wasn’t the best, but at this price point and with so many other options, we won’t be back anytime soon. If one of my friends was interested in trying it though, I’d be open to giving it another chance. Until then…