Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse

Our waitress didn’t seem to care much about us. Had to ask multiple times for things and drinks were not refilled often enough, meaning once all night. Gave us free dessert because of how poorly we were served. 2 – 3 cuts of meat were amazing, the rest, mediocre. Way over priced for service and quality.

Not sure why my family brought me here my first night in SF, but I don’t eat beef, pork, or chicken. The salad bar was nice and the service was good. Seemed pricey for a salad bar, to be honest. I don’t really eat a lot. This is definitely a place you go if you have an elastic stomach.

Safeway agro meats.
Ate there a few months ago due to the convenience of the location.
Gut rot food.
I didn’t leave a review until now because I didn’t enough care until now.

We waited for a while before trying this place out. Overall was very impressed and will go back. It’s an elegant contemporary room, prompt, friendly service, and excellent food. My partner is vegetarian and they didn’t bat an eye. The «market table» is way more than just a salad bar — many interesting grain salads, pickled vegetables etc. The meats were uniformly good and offer the full range of doneness from pink/​medium rare to well done. I only tried the various cuts of beef so can’t speak to the chicken, pork, or lamb but those meats looked good.
We were there early on a weekday evening and the crowd was heavily business people (mostly men) who were attending a conference at Moscone. Since it’s a chain, and a steak place, I assume that’s always going to be true. They have several nice looking rooms in the back that can be sectioned off with sliding walls for semi-​private dining for groups. When we mentioned that we live nearby the servers and staff were even more attentive and friendly, which is appreciated.
Overall on the expensive side for the ambience, setting and food, but understandable when you go to an expense account restaurant. We’ll keep it in mind for groups and for our own business dinners; not so much for romantic or intimate meals.

I’m a big fan of Brazilian steakhouses, and been to Pampas and Espetus multiple times. I had been waiting to try Fogo for a while, and decided to do so this week since they were offering $ 25 off per person (up to 2 person per table).
I enjoyed the ambience of this SF outlet — great interior design, lovely music, polite staff. They got to do something about the front door though — it shuts very loudly on its own, especially when it’s windy, and it’s usually windy in SF — so yea, it’s really loud every time someone goes in or out.
Really impressed by the Market Table (their version of a salad bar), with smoked salmon, fruits, vegetable, cheese, salad, soup. rice, etc. The setting of the Market Table is exquisite.
The meat from the barbecue selection is of a higher quality than other Brazilian steakhouses I have tried. Filet mignon, lamb rack, beef rib, sirloin — everything was top grade.
I find their BBQ seasoning to be on the stronger side. It’s best to pair the meat with sides from the Market Table so that your taste buds are not overwhelmed by the meat seasoning.
It was a fabulous meal. Only disappointment was the lack of seafood (shrimp) or grilled pineapple in the barbecue offering — both Espetus and Pampus offer those.

This is my first time going to a Brazilian steakhouse and I have to admit that it does not disappoint at all. From the prompt service to the delicious meat, everything was really good.
After being seated, you go up to the market place table and pick out whatever you wanted ranging from fruits and salads to smoked salmon and prosciutto.
When we was first seated, the servers came by with all sorts of meats and I didn’t even have time to take a couple of bites before my plate filled up with meat. Then I realized I could turn the card over to stop it for awhile.
There were so many different kinds of meats brought over, but my favorite was the bacon wrapped filet mignon. The meat was really tender and the bacon added more flavor to it. My second favorite was the prime sirloin, but everything there was pretty good.
The waiters and servers were really attentive and they made sure we got everything we needed to enjoy our meal.

War dort zum Mittagessen, und es war so wie ein Rodizio sein muss. Sobald der Button auf grün gedreht wurde gab nonstop frisch gegrilltes Fleisch vom Spieß. (Ca. 10 – 12 versch. Sorten)
Der Fleisch war super lecker, vor allem das Lamm und das Rind.
Dazu kamen noch zwei Beilagen in Form von Kartoffelpüree und Polenta Fries, auch sehr lecker.
Außerdem kann man sich an einer guten Auswahl am kalten Buffet sowie am Feijoada-​Buffet bedienen.
Das einzige kleine Manko ist, das es keine Saucen gab, mit denen man den Geschmack etwas variieren kann. So hatte man immer den gewichen, wenn auch sehr guten, puren Fleischgeschmack.
Alles in allem ein super Erlebnis zu einem für SFO sehr akzeptablen Preis.

I had my wedding lunch reception here and they really made my event amazing.
PROS:
— Dustin, the event coordinator, was very helpful, prompt, and flexible.
–The private room was spacious, well decorated, and fit 30 people comfortably. They also was a mic and screen set up for our use.
–Service was great, my guests were well fed and well served.
–Price. You cannot go wrong with all you can eat, at about $ 45/​person for lunch it was well worth the price.
–Good wine selection.
–Food. Two Words: Top Sirloin. NOMS.
CONS:
–Parking. Although there is a parking garage right next door on 3^rd (Moscone Center) It gets extremely packed $ 13 for two hours. The restaurant does not validate. The W Hotel down the street does valet parking for $ 19.
–Location. Extremely congested. They were doing construction across the street, lots of cars going in and out.

Sadly this Fogo does NOT live up to the standards the chain has set. I’ve been to the ones in Philly and Scottsdale and SF. Although relatively new, the SF branch has to improve on a some things.
#1 Service, It seems as if the wait staff does not care about you. On many occasions I’ve had to flag them down. Although card was flipped to green, it seemed as if I was ignored, and they did it to others as well.
#2 Knowledge, the main reason to come is for the meat. Unfortunately the staff that came to carve the cuts did not know how to tell medium from well done. If they fix these 2 main issues, it will be able to compare to the other 2 establishments.
Unfortunately because of this, as well as the price, spending it here did not seem like the typical Fogo Experience if that is what you’re looking for.

********************* 1521 *********************
I finally got to take my parents here for their first time. I’ve been to the one in Santana Row many times as well as Beverly Hills and Florida location. I know what to expect, but my parents were surely in for a real treat.
Fogo de Chao San Francisco location took over the former Chevy’s spot, conveniently right across from the W hotel and across from the Moscone Center, what’s an ideal location for a steakhouse.
The restaurant showcases a beautiful dining room with seating for about 200 plus guests, the bar area with a TV to watch sport games, several private and semi-​private dining areas, and an outdoor seating with heat lamps. The interior of the restaurant reflects a mixture of Northern California and Brazilian modern design.
My dad went crazy for the Salad Bar as usual. The Heart of Palm, this Brazilian imported delicacy is crisp, organic and sustainable. The artichoke, beet, green beans, corn, and the ready to serve Caesars Salad were all fresh and tasty. The Imported Cheese — fresh mozzarella, aged manchego and two-​year aged Parmesan pair nicely with imported cured meats and tangy sun-​dried tomatoes.
My mom loves the FOGO PREMIUM CAIPIRINHA Muddled with Fogo Premium Aged Cachaça, fresh limes and cane sugar as well as their new Mango and Basil cocktail. She enjoyed it very much. I opted for the Fogo de Chao Malbec signature they have, quite nice.
For a carnivore, this is heavenly on earth. My mom loves beef, so she went crazy. She literally tried at least 10 type of meats. A few that my parents and I enjoy very much:
— PICANHA Prime Part of the Top Sirloin — picanha represents the art and science of churrasco cooking. Lightly seasoned with rock salt and sliced thin, it is tender with a robust flavor.
— FILET MIGNON Beef Tenderloin — Our gaucho chefs expertly grill the tenderloin on skewers and skillfully carve the perfect bite every time. Also served wrapped in a tender strip of bacon.
— BEEF ANCHO Rib Eye — Arguably one of the most popular cuts in the world, this was cooked to medium rare as we requested.
— FRALDINHA Bottom Sirloin — Fraldinha is one of the most distinctive and flavorful cuts of meat from Southern Brazil due to its strong marbling characteristics.
— CORDEIRO Lamb — this was 1 of my favorite.
— The Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail — gigantic with the cocktail sauce
For side dish, the Polenta, Fried Banana, and Mashed Potato were awesome. For desserts: The Papaya Cream — By far our most popular dessert in both Brazil and the United States, fresh papaya is blended with vanilla ice cream and topped with a black currant liqueur. And the Flan as well as the vanilla ice cream, my parents loved them all. I finished with a glass of Porto, check out their whiskey list too!
Service was impeccable. The servers who cuts the meat were all smiling to take pictures with my parents. They kept on coming and offered us more meats. All our servers were very attentive, especially manager Mahelley and even the GM Ryan came to wish my mom a Happy Mother’s Day, they kept checking up on our table to make sure my parents had a good time.
The place was overly packed on a Saturday night, but it’s the Saturday Mother’s Day weekend, and what do you expect. Above of all, the food was good, plenty to try, the drink was strong, and the service was wonderful. I couldn’t ask for a better experience for my parents on their first visit in San Francisco location.
For $ 59.98 per person at dinner, it’s surely a bargain. Fogo de Chao is a great place to get together, holiday party, business dinner or any occasion.
I just found a new spot for power lunch and business happy hour in SoMa, this is where I’ll hang out during conference at the Moscone center and 2 blocks from my parents’ favorite hotel InterContinental.

This sure isn’t Chevy’s anymore. It’s an all-​you-​can-​eat meat house granted a high-​end one, but there’s no getting around the concept of having servers come every three minutes with different skewers of mostly succulent meats. Those eternally carnivorous diners who have already been to Espetus Churrascaria know what they’re in for here, and it’s a much nicer place than the one portrayed in the bridal shower lunch scene in «Bridesmaids» before they, well… you know. Anyway, I made an Open Table reservation for Jamie W. and me, and we were surprised how bustling business was even around 6PM.
Once we told the server we were here for the $ 59.95 Full Churrasco Experience, we were handed the circular cards — green on one side, red on the other — which indicates to the men with the meat if they should stop by and start carving. There wasn’t much direction beyond that, so we immediately made a beeline to the Market Table (photo:
). It was an expansive buffet-​style table full of salads and cold side dishes that reminded me of that scene in «Fargo» when Marge and Norm piled up on chicken fricassee. To say that was a meal in itself would be redundant since they offer a Market Table-​only dining option for $ 28.95.
I always forget to graze less at the Market Table (photo:
) because it only means I can eat less of the meat to come, at least in theory. It didn’t take long after we sat down that the meat started to pass by us. Dare we turn our cards over. Yes, yes we did, and the gluttony didn’t stop. We tried at least three of the six steak options: Picanha (the prime part of the Top Sirloin; Filet Mignon; and Costela (Beef Ribs) (photo:
). All were succulent and tasty. We were less enamored with the Lombo (Pork Loin) and Frango (Chicken Legs) which we found overcooked (photo:
). Meanwhile, the server left us plates of Grilled Polenta and heavily creamed Garlic Mashed Potatoes (photo:
).
Needless to say, we were about to reach capacity when I weakened and ordered dessert, the $ 10.50 South American Flan, which was decent enough though quite refrigerated in temperature (photo:
). The effusive manager came by to see how we were doing, and I have to say that was a nice touch in an otherwise impersonal calorific extravaganza. On the way out, I took a quick look at the series of ovens where the meat was prepared, and it was an impressive operation since they apparently don’t serve meat that’s been out of the ovens for more than two minutes (photo:
). Leftovers must be amazing for the staff at the end of the night.
FOOD — 4 stars… impressive Market Table choices, steak skewers are the best, the rest somewhat skippable
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… quite a sleek operation for such a big space
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… a bit automatic but then again, those skewers look pretty unwieldy
TOTAL — 4 stars… pricey but if you’re a hungry carnivore, it might be worth a splurge

Very disappointing.
Same concept as Espetus Brazilian Steakhouse. Fogo de Chao is an AYCE Brazillian steakhouse, which includes AYCE various types of meat, market table, and a few sides (mashed potatoes, polenta fries, fried plantains, and cheese bread). There are a good amount of servers coming to your table offering all types of meat. There is also a sign indicator on each table indicating whether you want the servers to keep coming to your table to keep serving you the meat. If it’s green, the meat will keep coming. If it’s red, it means you want to take a break from eating or you just want to stop eating.
The meats were definitely a miss in my books. Meat quality was not that great. Very chewy and fatty. The sad part is. all the meats tasted the same. Nothing special at all. Most of the meat were rare even when we asked for medium rare. FYI — if you’re looking for the beef ribs, it’s by request only. You’re not really missing out though because it was also very fatty. :(
Service was majority a miss. Our waitress rarely checked up on us. Not very attentive. We always had to flag someone down to refill our water or change our plates. I also didn’t like the way the meat servers served. I felt like all the servers were in a rush trying to serve the meat. One server was so careless that whenever he finished cutting the meat, he would splash the blood/​juice of the meat everywhere on the table. I was quite worried that it would get on my clothes. They need to work on the meat servers’ training.
If you want good quality meat, please go to Espetus Brazillian Steakhouse in San Francisco or San Mateo. Service is also more professional, attentive, and friendly there.

The food was okay, meats mediocre being a hit or miss but nothing special. Some sides were surprisingly good.
MEATS:
Ranging from juicy and flavorful to dry, tough, tasteless and overdone. Quality was okay.
Pork Tenderloin — ²⁄₅ flavorless, dry and tough
Picanha — ⁴⁄₅ One of my favorites, the rarer cuts were fatty and tender
Bacon Wrapped Filet — ³⁄₅ Filet is lacking in flavor but that’s to be expected. The bacon fat infused into it in some bites. Great texture though, rare inside, juicy and tender
Flank Steak — ³⁄₅ Nice char, on the chewy and dry side
Top Sirloin — ⁴⁄₅ Probably my favorite cut in terms of flavor, great smokey char, rare inside and juicy. Downside is there was a lot of fat and gristle.
Ribeye — ²⁄₅ Had to ask for this cut, disappointing, overdone and dry
Garlic seasoning was great on some cuts
SIDES:
Cheese bread (pao de queijo) — Like eating buttery cheesy clouds. Cream puff like in structure with a firm outer shell and buttery, cheesy fluffy insides. One of my favorite parts of the meal!
Polenta Fries — Warm and crispy throughout.
Fried Plantains — Soft, sweet, and caramelized, a nice reset for in between meat courses.
SALAD BAR:
Bacon — limpy, cold, weak
Proscuitto — flavorless
Salame — Not bad
Manchego — Standard
Hearts of Palm — great
Beets — tough, too raw
Mozzarella — soft and fresh
DESSERT:
Key Lime Pie — ²⁄₅ Three layers: cold and cardboard graham cracker crust, dense and blandly sweet custard layer, best part was the white whipped cream layer was light and lime-​infused. Green syrup drizzled over was particularly offensive and lingered with its artificial made-​in-​lab aroma.
Chocolate Mousse Cake — ³⁄₅ Mousse layers were okay, cake layers a little bland. The white sauce drizzled on was also terrible and tasted like a vanilla Glade plugin.
AMBIANCE: Had a reservation for 2 and were promptly seated. We were in this weird corner table facing a wall and window but the privacy was nice and servers never forgot about us and came around often. Definitely does not feel like an upscale restaurant. Ambiance is weak, I know it was a former Chevy’s but the booth furniture was tacky, the wall I was facing looked unfinished with scratches and leftover hooks still in the wall.
SERVICE: Nice and engaging. The first server poured the soda too quickly and spilled some on the table but was apologetic and it wasn’t a big deal. Servers rotated around well, filled my water, and they work as a team. A lot of upselling on other items: drinks, Pellegrino, post dinner Bailey’s coffee (you must have a death wish to want to cap it off with even more food and calories at this point).
With some non-​alcoholic beverages, the total came out to be around $ 80 per person pre-​tax and tip. If you’re into quantity, then it might be worth it but I’d rather have a really nice, pared down steak dinner or picked up a pack from Costco and grilled them myself. The value for price wasn’t there, so I wouldn’t come again. Redeeming parts were the nice service and variety of meats, if you asked for it.

This place is similar to Espectsu in San Mateo or San Francisco. They serve Brazilian grilled meat in an all you can eat style. They are slightly more expensive than Espectsu.
As I arrived in the restaurant, I was greeted by the hostess and it took them about 10 minutes to seat us. It was a Saturday evening and I get that they had to arrange the tables first. We were seated and our server came by to say hello and asked us if we wanted any drinks. They have a salad bar for you to grab whatever you want and need. Service was fast as soon as we flip the cards to green, the meat was juicier and texture felt better than other places. I felt that their interior design/​decoration and everything was more modern and nicer (because they are a relatively new restaurant) they also have a bar area if you don’t have want to eat.
I recommend coming here if you like Espectsu. It’s worth a try!

So we went here on Fat Tuesday (Mardis Gras) because was going to give up meat. I’m not really impressed as much.
I ilke Espetus and Pampas in Palo Alto so I have that to compare to.
Espetus and Pampas have a really big salad bar.
But you are here for the meats and where are the chicken hearts. So already –1. The cost too is more then. So again –1 for the value. Then there’s for some reason the taste of the meat it was more salty then I was used to.
It was okay.
On my second time to go there I went to their happy hour and it looked promising but I haven’t tried the foods yet. I’ll give it another try when for lunch or for happy hour again. But their happy hour doesn’t look too bad and their bartenders and staff were accommodating to us.
I work in the same building so I kinda feel bad for the bad review. But oh well. I can always change it later. I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of changes to decide better but this intro to Fogo de Chao wasn’t the best first impression.

This place is located at a nice central location on the corner of a busy intersection downtown SF across from Yerba Buena and the W hotel. From the outside, it looks grand, but when you walk in, you can’t help it but to be surprised with a narrow layout, very small bar, and an odd sitting area near the bar. They have an outdoors bar sitting area which seems to be nice but it is closed for now. So during the summer, that might become a nice after work cocktail place.
I was a bit thrown off by the layout of the floor as the main salad bar is on the back of this L shaped restaurant so for those sitting by the front of the restaurant you have quite a walk to get their salad or sides.
Salad Bar — disappointing. Very limited options, very small and not enticing. So vegetarians accompanying meatarians for dinner, eat before coming to dinner here.
Service — EXCELLENT! Friendly, attentive, and efficient. I am impressed. Starting at the bar. I had a mango drink which was a tad too sweet. The bartender inquired about it and when I gave him feedback that the drink was sweet, he created a drink with fresh strawberries with the same base and it was delicious! I really appreciated his attitude of trying to make the customer happy. Eder and Thiago were our servers and they were exceptional.
APPETIZERS: the sliders were Ah-​mazing. Sliders made out of cheese bread!!! You can not go wrong with that!
The MEAT — hit and miss. Some were incredibly delicious, some were tasteless. The variety was lacking and the same cuts would come around often. The better cuts were more of a rare occurrence but upon request, it would eventually come around.
SIDE DISHES — if you are a serious meat eater, stick with light salad and eat your meat. The sides will quickly fill you up. Heavenly cheese bread (Pão de Queijo), fried banana, fried polenta (I secretly wished they were fried yucca) and mashed potatoes.
The DESSERT– oh my dear God. I am Brazilian, I go to Brazilian steakhouses often and always have papaya mousse and I can safely say, I have never tasted a better one. It was, oh so good. I shall say it tasted orgasmic! Highly encourage papaya mouse with cassis liquor.
All in all, it was a pleasant experience especially because of the excellent service and their willingness to make us happy. Thank you Fogo. I shall be back!

I came here for a surprise birthday party last weekend. Since we came in a party, there was a prix fix menu for $ 99 a person (before tax and tip). This included 3 hours at the table, unlimited meat, salad bar, two drinks a person and dessert.
Pros:
1. Salad bar was great. Their candied bacon is honestly some of the best I’ve ever had.
2. Their dessert was really delicious. The cheesecake was scrumptious.
3. Ambiance: very swanky place. Very clean, the staff was super attentive/​friendly. Its also a very large establishment. Great for large groups.
Cons:
1. All the cuts of meat, even the higher grade ones, were all on the drier/​chewier side. I love a great steak, and I did not have anything at the restaurant that I could not make better myself honestly. I asked for every cut rare, and a lot of them were medium at best. There was a chicken Parmesan cut that was horrendously dry. The only meat I can say that was good were the sausages, and my lamb. (I say mine because I got a great cut of lamb, meanwhile my fiancé got a super dry and tough piece).
2. the drinks: we were allowed 2 drinks each. I assumed this meant any cocktail off the menu, but when I asked the waiter, he looked puzzled and kept trying to offer their caipirinhas. So we had two. After two drinks, both my fiancé and I felt incredibly hungover, and we are not light drinkers. I feel like the booze used in the drinks was shitty quality.
TLDR: basically, for the price, I would much rather go to a great steakhouse, and have a wonderful cut of steak instead. I didn’t think this was the price. Yes it is a ton of food, but the quality wasn’t anything impeccable.

My bf and I came for lunch spontaneously when the restaurant first opened. It was our first time trying Brazilian bbq and we were so impressed! I love the concept of trying different cuts of meat, especially since I’m a picky eater.
For ~$ 40 per person, you get unlimited access to the salad bar. They had some really fresh salads, fruit, and hot food. It was fantastic! Very well prepared and a lot of options to choose from.
The meat was definitely the highlight of the meal. We were offered different options of beef, pork, and lamb. It was all very mouthwatering to watch as they come by to slice the meat. Most cuts were also very well cooked and our favorite was definitely the garlic steak!
Overall, we were very happy and hope to return soon.

A group of us came here for my sister’s bday the other night. We made reservations and got seated right away. The restaurant seemed pretty empty but maybe because it was a rainy Sunday night?
One of the first things we noticed was the market bar. It’s much smaller here and the variety was just okay. (I’m comparing them to Espetus which has way way way more variety and everything at Espetus’ market bar is frikkkkin deadly!!) We noticed that It was mostly all cold dishes here and none of them really stood out. Except the bacon lol and the butternut squash soup!!! I also really enjoyed the mashed potatoes they brought to us lol. A few of us felt that the meats were on the salty side.
Also, I remember us sitting there for approx 10 – 15 minutes waiting for the meat to come around. Any meat! Nada. They flocked to our table once we got there and then just stopped coming around? All of our cards were still giving the green! There was also supposedly a big party going on but hellooo that doesn’t mean you forget about everyone else. & Thinking back, it was annoying and kind of frustrating! We even asked for specific dishes (that we saw from a distance but never made it to our table) and they said they would send it out but never did.
I feel like we didn’t exactly get our moneys worth. Fogo de Chao was just alright in my opinion. But to be fair, I’ve been spoiled. so nothing beats the steakhouses in Brasil. As far as Brazilian Steakhouses out here go. Espetus is best. I really wanted to love this place but I can’t say that I did. I hope my sister did though because it costed a clean fortune!

Love love love it!
The plantains, meat, & cheese bread were the highlight of my meal!
I couldnt get enough of everything. it was just so delicious! All the meats were fresh & hot when served to us & definitely made sure that we had enough meat on our table.
Customer service was beyond excellent! All the staff were very friendly and made sure we were content w/​our food.
I love the Brazilian style food but omg is it expensive but totally freakin worth it!

Dinner review. Following topics as compared to other Brazilian steakhouses.
Meat variety — Good
Meat quality — Decent
Problem #1 — Many of the meats were overcooked.
Problem #2 — Less desirable meats brought by constantly. Good meats rarely or never brought by.
Problem #3 — Express requests for meats are still not brought over until the 4^th or 5^th request.
Problem #4 — Refusal by servers to give specific cuts or portions.
Overall, high expectations met with disappointment. «I think not.»

We are fans! We have had our fair share of Brazilian steakhouses. Even have had the pleasure of going to the Fogo in Beverly Hills (I hear David Bekham is a fan)! This place is no let down. They took over the old Chevy’s Fresh Mex place and wow is it a transformation!
Now to whats important. The grub! The meat was delicious! Mouth watering. Ask for the beef ribs. They dont come out usually, you gotta ask, and get the special. The market bar is filled with yummy goodness. The Caesar salad isnt my favorite. The dressing is a tad too tangy for my taste but I can let it go! Lots of fresh mozzarella to choose from and yummy olives!
Cheesy bread, yucca fries, and mashed potatoes on demand. Holy carb loving!
Service was on point. My iced tea was never empty. Warning sodas are not refillable.
All in all great fatty experience! I rate it ⁴⁄₅ fatty experience!

Came here for the MEAT! was able to try this new place in the city after seeing a few post, the ambiance alone are $$$$ huge fire place concealed in glass and modern dark hardwood, dark hardwood floors they used allot of money to make this place look this good
On to the meat, I was able to come here for lunch with some co-​workers I want to say their selection of meats was good, like most brazilian buffets this one had it’s definite yes’s and some not so greats, chicken wrapped in bacon was good on first bite but when getting to the middle of the chicken it was dry, their ribeye, flank, filet minon were all juicy and tender, chicken hearts are a must for me sadly they were not salted enough to my palate, sausage was better then most of the Brazilian spots I have tried not dry in the middle well spiced and delicious, I was told this is a chain which was to be expected since it is in the city and cause it’s so dam fancy in there.
the botched banana’s were standard sweet and chewy, the cheese rolls were oddly hard like most places it is served piping hot and usually melt when biting into it, here it was hard and gapped with air pockets,
In comparison to Espetus and here I wanna say it is somewhat of a tie, some of the meats were better prepped some not better others not as good, Only thing is I know during the dinner menu at Espetus they do have more meats one specifically the does not come out on a skewer but on a cutting board, one of the best cuts of meat the offer hands down, I am not sure they offer this a Fogo but I guess I will have to come back and try there dinner menu.
There salad bar had a fairly large selection, no deviled eggs that I saw on the table, I also did not see the roasted pineapple that most of the other places offer. this location is very spacious allot to look at, huge curtains run from the middle of the room and of course by the sides of the windows tied off, also did not see any première types of cognac on the shelf, maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough.
If you like meat, definitely a place you would like to visit, more then enough meat to go around, you will not leave unsatisfied more like in a coma, and to meat sweats to follow later in an hour of consuming all that meat
food ****
price $$$
service **** responsive, friendly, helpful
ambiance ***** Jesus so fancy

Two words — Meat Sweats
This place opened recently by my office in the old Chevy’s spot in SOMA. We went for a birthday lunch and I wasn’t sure what to expect. They have a large salad bar and of course I had to taste a little of it all. The apple salad was my favorite. When we sat down after hitting the salad bar, our waiter explained that when we wanted meat you turn the little coaster thing by your plate on green and red when you want them to stop. And you really need to do it or they will just keep bringing you meat and more meat and more meat. And it is all delicious! I really enjoyed the bacon wrapped steak and lamb. We definitely all wanted to take a nap when we got back to the office. Great addition to the neighborhood and we will need to check out the happy hour soon.

Being Brazilian I have high expectations for churrasco and this Fogo has thoroughly disappointed me. The market table has some very slim choices (veggies mostly) and only feijoada as a hot dish). I’m used to an abundant market table that should include some Brazilian comfort food like bacalhau or beef stew. In Brazil it includes sushi!
The second disappointment was the cooking of the meats. I like mine medium rare, but everything came out well done even after repeatedly asking them to undercooked for us. Waste of meat really.
Lastly, but most important, NO CHICKEN HEARTS??? Huh? This is the only Fogo that doesn’t have it?
Ok, I’ll take my business to Espestus where u can find chicken hearts, medium rare meat and bountiful market table. Not to mention that it is a couple of bucks cheaper.

Came here a day before Valentine’s Day with the reservation and we’re seated real fast. Service was great our main server Daniel was there from the time we we’re seated to the time we left checking up on us, all the staff here where friendly and and always there when we had our card turned to green. What a nice Day before Valentine’s Day dinner. The salad bar was awesome they had lots of different healthier choices to choose from I really like the marinated mushrooms and fresh vinaigrette. We tried all the meats, there where like 12 different meats out of the 12 I like the Picanha the most it was seasoned and juicy. also they have a meat behind the salad bar think it was prime rib don’t know if it was just for that night are they serve it all the time. One thing I did learn was that most of the meats here you got to eat while it’s hot. If you Bring your own bottle wine is a 35 Dollar cork fee and ain’t nothing like having a bottle of Cabernet with your dinner. I will be back and Thank Fogo De Chao staff.

I’ll let the meat eaters describe Fogo de Chao’s constant rotation of grilled meats on skewers because I didn’t order churrasco; I ordered the salad bar. I started with my usual salads & chicken salad on bibb lettuce but abandoned that boring mess when I spotted their bacon — peppered with a brown sugar glaze, this bacon is all flavor. I don’t always eat bacon but when I do, I eat my weight in bacon.
Four stars are solely for this magical bacon & Fogo’s nice, stiff vodka martini because sides & the buffet items were sorely lacking in flavor. Cheese breads were bland, as was the polenta; mashed potatoes were a bit gummy; and bananas were over cooked & mushy. Their feijoada was watery & had no savory deliciousness I’ve come to expect from this Brazilian dish. However, their butternut squash soup was quite good.
No complaints about service, but I will note that it seemed the staff felt overwhelmed by my party of seven. I’m sure time and the resulting experience will remedy this, but the staff should know that customers can sense their stress and intensity.

Ok guys, I can’t compare Fogo with Espetus because I’ve never been there. But according to my friends who has been to both… they liked Fogo more.
Now for my first Brazilian meat experience, I was just blown away by the varieties and deliciousness. The meat were all so tender and juicy and seriously… i ate enough meat for days! Their beef options were countless. From sirloin to ribeye, and from tri-​tip to filet mignon. Besides beef, they had pork, sausages, and lamb. Once your card placemat is swapped to ready… the staff will be at your table non-​stop serving you meat until to flip the card around. Very attentive and they definitely made sure you don’t go hungry.
Their self-​serve buffet area is really decent as well. Don’t forget to check that out but don’t get filled up from there. One of my highlights of the night was the cheese bread! YES… their simple bread that they bring to your table at the very beginning. It was THAT good.
They have lots of cocktails to choose from. One of their signature drinks is the pineapple old fashioned. I thought it was just OK. I prefer the original one better. Their black cherry manhattan was strong… just the way I like it.
Maybe I should try Espetus one of these days? Or not.

Ok guys, I can’t compare Fogo with Espetus because I’ve never been there. But according to my friends who has been to both… they liked Fogo more.
Now for my first Brazilian meat experience, I was just blown away by the varieties and deliciousness. The meat were all so tender and juicy and seriously… i ate enough meat for days! Their beef options were countless. From sirloin to ribeye, and from tri-​tip to filet mignon. Besides beef… they had pork, sausages, and lamb. Once your card placemat is swapped to ready… the staffs will be at your table non-​stop serving you meat until you flip the card back around. Very attentive and they definitely made sure you don’t go hungry.
Their self-​serve buffet area is really decent as well. Don’t forget to check that out but don’t get filled up from there. One of my highlights of the night was the cheese bread! YES… their simple bread that they bring to your table at the very beginning. It was THAT good.
They have lots of cocktails to choose from. One of their signature drinks is the pineapple old fashioned. I thought it was just OK. I prefer the original one better. Their black cherry manhattan was strong… just the way I like it.
Maybe I should try Espetus one of these days? Or not.

Meat galore. Good service and nice ambience.
Their chef came by my workplace and offered a neat offer for a meal. Took abit of planning to ensure we are all ready for a carnivorous dinner.
Made a reservation via Opentable which offered an additional 100pts for reserving a table which is awesome.
The staff promptly sat us down and was immediately attended by a server. The service was really quite awesome and thoughtful, except perhaps if some of the staff followed through what they said they were going to do. Eg They took my plate and said they wanted to replace with a clean one, which is nice except they never did. I had to request for one. They said they were going to get me this particular meat cos I said I really liked it, they never did. Again I had to ask again for the meat.
It’s an interesting experience where they provide a coaster with one side color green and another red. Green signify «GIVE ME MEAT» while red means «let me finish the food on my place first». It was hilarious and amusing at the same time, the speed of how fast the meat came once we switch it to green, I literally saw a server «ran» to served us those awesome meat!
They have a market table which offer salad, fruits and some light bites. Another table with rice, fruit and soup. Did not try them as I was saving my stomach for the MEAT!
The food itself was pretty good. My favorite is Picanha! I wouldn’t called it’s awesome though. $ 59.95 per pax for dinner is rather pricey.
We ordered crème brûlée for dessert. The portion was huge and tasted pretty good.
Overall, I would recommend this place for meat lovers and people who enjoy unlimited meat! Make sure you go on an empty stomach.

Mid bite into a slice of succulent, perfectly roasted leg of lamb, I found myself telling my fiancé that my version of heaven would not be much different than being at Fogo de Chao that night. I admit it’s a gluttonous thought, an obscene one even, but who among us does not find a night of delicious meats, fresh sides, and caipirinhas with your #1 girl a heavenly experience?
Add on the hospitality of the gracious staff, and that experience gets exponentially better. We couldn’t have gotten luckier to have a southern gentleman as our main server. ⁵⁄₅ stars to him for complimenting this feast.
My favorite is always the lamb. Fogo offers leg of lamb and lamb chops, and you can imagine they’re dripping with juice and flavor. This meat is slightly smoky, slightly gamey, and encrusted in herbs and spices before it’s slow roasted to decadent levels. Absolutely mouthwatering. They have an optional chimichurri that pairs nicely with it too, as well as with all the other meats.
I originally heard about Fogo from celebrities and the like raving about the other locations across California, Nevada, and New York. But now you’re hearing it from me, just a regular guy who’s in love with his woman and his churrascaria: go to this place if you have an appetite for a fancy, indulgent meal. I can say that with confidence even in such a food capital like SF.
Wash down those meats with some caipirinhas why don’t you, or how about some tender heart of palm or fresh mozzarella to refresh your pallet at the Market Table? All of it is right here to satisfy your bottomless, perverted cravings.

I am going 5 star with this update! Now that I have been to happy hour many times and had full dining service, I have to say this is one of my favorite places in town. The food and service are consistently top notch. The bartenders are fantastic and experts at crafting perfect Brazilian cocktails.

I’ve been wanting to go here since they opened and I finally got that chance. I am pleased to say that this place met my expectations. They’re known for their meats but their salad bar was enough to fill my entire stomach as a meal itself.
Great wine selection to pair with their endless selection of tasty meat. The service is great and they did a nice job with the ambiance of the location (it used to be a Chevy’s, so yes it’s safe to say the upgrade is welcomed). I will definitely be back once my food digests.

We ventured on over here on a Wednesday night, with a party of six, with the hope of leaving stuffed with enough red meat to offend vegans everywhere. While we did succeed in the goal, it turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than we expected.
Upon being seated our server came over, introduced herself, and gave us the basic rundown. One member of our party immediately ordered a cocktail, while everyone else asked for a bit more time. Off she went, and returned about 10 minutes later without the ordered drink. We placed our drink order and asked for a bottle of wine. Off the server went, and returned 15 minutes later to drop off 4 glasses (for a party of 6) and the wine, as well as the ordered cocktail. (Poor guy nearly died of dehydration.) She didn’t open the wine, but rather walked off yet again, without a word. She finally came back after about 5 more minutes, with the final two glasses, and then opened the wine. No apology, no explanation for how long everything took. Friendliness was not her strong suit.
We soldiered on, and after a bit of wine, and some amazing red meat, we had a great time. But the service left quite a bit to be desired.

One of my favorite Brazilian steak houses! I work around their area so when I saw them building it I was real excited. So I decided to book Valentine dinner here this year. Little did I know they gave a complimentary gift card for one free dinner with them!
The food here is just great, atmosphere is real classy and nice! Glad I came here for Valentine’s Day and in my opinion I think this one is better than the one in Santana Row. I really enjoyed their rib eye while my gf enjoyed their lamb. Another really good meat was the bacon wrapped chicken Breast and their garlic steak.
Can’t wait to come back with the complimentary gift card.

This place opened up recently and I wanted to check it out to compare it to Espetus, which is the other game in town as far as Brazilian steak houses go. Their prices are basically the same, so I expected the quality to be similar.
I was a bit underwhelmed, though. To put it plainly: Espetus is better in just about every way. Their meat is higher quality. They have more variety both in terms of the market table and the meat dishes. The service at Espetus is better and faster.
If I were rating this place based only on food quality vs. value, I’d probably give it 3 stars, because it was still solid. However, there are a few other things that I thought were kinda dumb where this place loses more points:
1. The drinks are way over-​priced ($ 15 for a cocktail). — ½ star
2. In a restaurant with a sitting capacity of 320 plus outdoor seating for 80, the men’s bathroom only has 2 stalls and 1 urinal… in a restaurant that generally encourages stuffing yourself until you can barely walk. Really? — ½ star
So, yea, in case it wasn’t clear, if you want to go to a high-​end Brazilian steak house, go to Espetus instead.

Service is SUPERB here.
Came here with my fiancé to just try out their food since we have heard so many things– but they were fully booked and it was a half hour or more to get a seat so we opted for the bar after hearing they serve food there.
We sat down at the table next to the grill that is enclosed with glass so you can see the servers go in and out and slicing beautiful, jaw-​dropping gorgeous pieces of prime beef, chicken, what-​have-​you. That was a bad choice since we both regretted not getting the buffet haha.
We got a beer ($ 10) and the beef sliders as well as the beef kebab/​on the stick.
The meat for the sliders was HORRENDOUSLY disgusting– it was full of fat and gristle (the hard tendinous part that nobody can chew, nevertheless swallow) — the meat itself was barely ¹⁄₃ of what was in the slider itself. I just ate the buns (they are the Brazilian style cheesy bread and SO good).
The kebab was really tasty– nothing wrong with it at all. This was $ 15 for the kebab and the sliders were $ 10.
However, where they redeemed themselves is the bartender/​server who came over and when I mentioned this casually, since I was not trying to get comped or anything, just letting him know the quality was definitely mediocre and the meat was not up to Fogo standards as I know it– he went and took the more expensive kebab off our bill! Without any prompt. It was superb customer service and totally appreciated since we literally just ate the buns off the sliders and didn’t even touch the meat since you could barely eat it– or just chew it like bubble-​gum and spit it out.
So– will be coming back to give their full on «buffet» experience a try out ($ 65 per person…) and will have to fast for a week before going here to load up on the different meats available.
Thanks to that bartender /​server /​waiter! That was really nice.

Really disappointed. Been to fogo in Houston, Boston, Vegas and now SF. As you can see, pretty big fan of the place.
However, SF was like going to a different restaurant. I had last gone to fogo Vegas last November and man was it a good time. Their carmelized pineapple old fashion were amazing… so amazing that I had 7 that night (thank you über!)
Fast track to SF fogo. Granted we walked in at 9 and they close at 10, but we still had a party of 9. The filet and ribeye were amazing, I would just wait for those.
But what made this experience so different? Well first they told us they made the wrong drinks so the right ones would be coming shortly. 30 min later the drinks came and they weren’t even the right ones! But at this point we’d been waiting so long we didn’t want to send them back (at $ 15/​pop!!!). And during that time the waiters while nice and attentive also managed to drop whole pieces of filet on not one, but two of our party. And another waiter also sliced some beef right off the skewer onto another member.
We got an apology for both the drinks and the fallen meats, but that was it. For $ 100/​pp and a SF worker surcharge id hope to get the right drink and not to have food dropped on us.

When Open Table let me know I had a gift card that I could redeem at any OT restaurant, I chose Fogo because my husband LOVES Brazilian steakhouses. The last good one we had was at Plataforma in New York, which we both liked better than Espetus in SF.
Then I saw all the subpar reviews and I was like, uhhhhh should I change our reservation? We decided to bite the bullet and just go; perhaps we’d have a better experience.
The great:
+ Decent variety of meat circulating around. We had our little placard switched to green most of the time.
+ Good quality meats — nothing was dry or overly salty (according to my husband).
+ The small selection of sides they brought to the table (caramelized bananas are my favorite) were good. The polenta fries and garlic mashed potatoes were tasty too.
+ Selection of non-​beef items. I don’t eat beef, and I did manage to get some pork chop and pork ribs, though I wasn’t interested in the chicken. The pork chop was good, the pork ribs were better.
+ Papaya crème dessert was better than I thought, and I don’t even like papayas!
+ Good service.
The bleh:
— Market table was terrible. The food wasn’t good (especially the feijoadas — zero flavor or spice), the selection was tiny, and it was just generally not impressive.
— Tres leches cake was overly sweet to the point where I couldn’t even eat a bite. And this is typically my favorite dessert at a restaurant.
Overall it’s a good dining experience. It might have helped that the restaurant wasn’t full, so we received good service and the circulation of meat was pretty quick, so perhaps an earlier reservation (we went Friday at 6 PM) might be better if you want more attentive service.

It was a great last minute Valentines dinner for sure! Much Love to the hostess for squeezing us in! With no reservation too!!!
The food was good and the service was nice… I personally think our other Brazilian Steak House we frequent is better but maybe that is because they know us so well they take extra good care of us …
All in all it was cool … They are our secondary choice though … Compared to our regular spot … And we can say we tried it …
To Ruano at Espetus … Thank you man — we have always appreciated you and the staff … Now we really have extra appreciation for you and your crew …

I’m giving up red meat for a little while and wanted to try Fogo de Chao before doing so. The roommate and I decided to come here for dinner on Monday, February 8^th. I made a reservation for 6pm through OpenTable table the week prior.
Since we got there early, we hung out at the bar for a quick drink. They have happy hour in the bar area, Monday through Friday, 4:30pm-6:30pm. I got a glass of wine: Fogo de Chao, «Gran Reserva», Malbec — Mendoza, Argentina ($ 10). It was a generous pour. It’s normally $ 16, so I saved $ 6 with their HH pricing. We didn’t finish our drinks before 6pm, so we took them to our table. The roommate got The Macallan 18 yr ($ 34).
Finally, the all you can eat meat fest can begin! Dinner is $ 59.95 per person and also includes their salad bar, bread that resembled mini popovers, garlic mashed potatoes, polenta fries and fried bananas. Their mashed potatoes were pretty good. I only tried a few things from the salad bar: asparagus, mozzarella, mushrooms, roasted garlic and smoked salmon. The roommate got a huge mixed greens salad with some cheese and jalapenos. I also got some fruit for dessert.
Meat wise, I tried everything that came by our table: bacon wrapped chicken, bacon wrapped filet, pork sausage, parmesan chicken, all cuts of beef, lamb, chicken and pork. My favorite was the cut that’s the main pic on their Unilocal profile. I believe it’s the picanha (or sirloin)? It was nice and rare with lots of flavor. The outside had a nice crispness to it which I adored. Most of the huge pieces of beef had rare to medium rare spots in it, but most of their meat was too cooked for me. I like my lamb and beef rare, but most of their meat was medium and up. Especially the lamb which was mostly medium well to well done.
I’ve only gone to the other SF Brazilian steakhouse on Market a couple times and their other restaurant in San Mateo. I have to say, I prefer that restaurant over this one. They have more of a selection. Both in their salad bar area and in meats.
During dinner, I also got a Black cherry manhattan: knob creek rye, martini & rossi sweet vermouth, luxardo cheery sangue morlacco, orange bitters, black cherry ($ 15). It was a good drink, but on the pricey side.
Overall, I did get my meat fix, but I was a little disappointed in their selection. Where were the chicken hearts, grilled pineapple, etc? Plus, after I was done eating, I saw a plate of ribs being carried by one of the servers. Only after reading some of the reviews here, did I realized you have to request them. A real bummer as I would have liked to try that dish.
After leaving, I did feel meat wasted. But I couldn’t help but think, I would have enjoyed a steak prepared exactly the way I wanted instead of a bunch of random meat that was overcooked (for me). Glad I came by and checked them out, but my experience was just alright.

After discovering that a new Fogo de Chao was opening in San Francisco, I immediately set out to make reservations for my boyfriend and I. My boyfriend and I are not new to Brazilian steakhouses, so we were excited to see what Fogo de Chao has to offer. We arrived promptly to our dinner reservations and were seated immediately. The place is huge and we were seated in the far corner at the end of the restaurant. With our distant seating, I was hoping we wouldn’t be excluded for the rounds of meats swarming around the restaurant. Our waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink within just a few seconds of taking our seats. Similar to other reviews, there was a bit of up selling, but not a considerable amount that effected our dining room experience. Please be aware that the prices for drinks are ridiculous and there are no free refills on drinks or soda.
I was surprised to see that even in the far back corner of the restaurant of where we were seated, we received an immense amount of attention. The service was good and each carver was kind of enough to ask if we wanted a second piece — they were definitely not stingy or gave judging stares to my hungry-​looking eyes! I was also impressed with the service from our waitress because she made her rounds to our table to make sure everything was ok. I thoroughly enjoyed that she asked if we would like to replace our plates with new ones, which I haven’t experienced much at other Brazilian steakhouses. I also didn’t have to wave down our waitress on ordering more side dishes because we were immediately asked if we wanted more. The meats were delicious and I love that they offered a basket full of cheese breads!
Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in the market bar. The market bar did not have a great selection of hot plates and mostly served fruits and cold grilled veggies. I only went up to the market bar maybe once or twice, but a lot of the items were not refilled. I get that the big money maker is in the meat, but with the price you’re paying, I expect more at the market bar than fruit. I was also sad to find out that they do not serve grilled pineapples!!! The grilled pineapples served at Brazilian steakhouses are usually the highlight of a perfect meal for me. The restaurant also serves the included sides of mashed potatoes, fried plantains and polenta, but honestly, doesn’t have much flavor/​season to them.
Honestly, with the amount I paid for dinner, I would much rather venture out to another Brazilian steakhouse for a similar or even lower pricing than here. It was a good experience, though.

I was curious when this place took over the old Chevy’s– would it make it? Would SF accept it into the fold? Sure it’s another chain but is it actually any good! What the heck does one do at a Brazilian steak house anyway? Would I look like a n00b?
In anticipation of this dinner I ate very lightly during the day, and I suggest you do the same. Bring on the meat parade! The best way I can describe this to my Bay Area homies is that it’s like steak dim sum. Green card means «offer me your meat,» and red means «I need a time out.» Servers come around with different cuts of meat and you get to say yay or nay depending on what you’re into. There’s also a market bar in the middle which hosts all the vegetables and salads, and I reluctantly got some greens to balance out my meat sweats.
So, without further adieu, here’s the list of aaalllll the meats I had, starting with my favorites: garlic steak, NY strip, top sirloin, lamb shank, pork sausage, flank steak, bottom sirloin, filet, parmesan pork, and filet wrapped in bacon. My main strategy was to try a little of everything so you can definitely ask for smaller cuts. We also got mashed potatoes and polenta fries for the table, and both were good, but cold.
Service was very attentive, there’s plenty of staff swarming around. We were a little wanton for coffee refills after we paid our check, but eventually we got to someone. We didn’t have room for dessert but they looked enormous so I’d suggest splitting it with your table.
So with my glass of wine, the «full experience,» and a tip, it came out to $ 98. Not your every day meal, but definitely satisfying.

A solid 4.5?
Wanted a quiet but novel anniversary dinner nearby and Fogo definitely fit the bill!
This Fogo is brand new… and sort of feels like it. It was fairly empty and the staff didn’t feel as confident as their Beverly Hills location– but I guess because they haven’t had to pander to hordes of pretentious food snobs (yet ;))
That being said, for a place that is BRAND new, where the staff probably hasn’t seen a lot of restaurants like this to base service off of, I think the evening went pretty well. Also, this is SF. And since prices are similar to BH, I think it’s a great deal for a nicer, meat-​centric dinner in the city.
The starters are your typical Fogo sides. Mashed potatoes (these were meh), polenta fries, candied bananas and Brazilian cheese bread. Weirdly enough I LOVED the bananas here (normally don’t) and thought the cheese bread was just OKAY here (too airy on the inside and not a lot of soft chewy bread inside).
Definitely Try:
+ Picancha– Ah. the always foisted meat. That being said its reliably tasty and good but don’t fill up on this one! It’s a cheap cut :)
+ Bacon wrapped filet and chicken– the filet was just OK but the chicken was YUMMY. Perfectly cooked nom nom.
+ Parmesan Pork– TASTY with the caesar salad omg.
+ Ribeye– my favorite cut of the night. Moist and perfectly done.
+ Lamb– a little gamey but not offensive. I probably liked this the *least*
+ Pork Ribs– also a little gamey but also not offensive.
+ Argentinian Merlot definitely get! Was only $ 13-​$ 14 a glass and had such lovely, soft tannins. A real treat :)
+ Cesar salad + grilled peppers were great, very fresh!
Pass On:
+ Fresh Mozzarella, definite pass
+ Mixed drinks if you like your drink to TASTE stiff. The passionfruit caipirinha was sooo sweet even though it was less sweet (I think this is partially because I got passionfruit. haha!)
If you’ve never been, I definitely recommend it. «Flipping» the red/​green card to indicate if you’d like meat or not is surprisingly delightful, AND no wait time for food! Will definitely come back when I’m feeling particularly carnivorous again :)
Only neg:
Didn’t like the strong upselling– odd because I’ve never had them try to upsell me at their BH location. But shoutout to the bartender + hostesses who were ridiculously adorable.

3.5 STARS
I despise those «Facebook Memory» reminders (A year ago…3 years ago…). I want to live in the moment!
That’s was until an old NYE post popped up this NYE. It reminded me of the long drunken trek to get home from a NYE party 5 years ago: walking in the rain for over 2 hours… in 5 inch heels like a new born baby giraffe on roller skates… enjoying my first meal of the year next to passed out hobos at Carl Jr. in the Tenderloin at 3 am… getting shoooo’d away by the Four Seasons security staff while trying to hail a cab home (I guess we looked like hookers?)…and finally getting home soaking wet at 5 am. It was like the walk of shame… without the happy ending.
It was certainly a night to remember BUT never again (I ended up with laryngitis). I’m too old for that sh*t.
This year, I’m ringing in the New Year with a meat orgy!
As a Fogo de Chão virgin, I kept my expectations low since I’m not a fan of AYCE and buffets. But we choose to dine at Fogo de Chão for NYE because we didn’t want to pay for some overpriced NYE prix fix menu. For being open less than 2 weeks in their new San Francisco location, the service was stellar but the churrasco is MUCH better at Espetus.
P R I C E S
Dinner is $ 59.95 and lunch is $ 39.95 which includes endless amounts of meat sticks served by strapping gauchos, market table (salad + cured items), and Brazilian sides.
Cocktails are overpriced at $ 15-​$ 17 but during Happy Hour (M-​F 4:30 pm –6:30 pm), they’re $ 7-​$ 8 at the bar! Get any of the Caipirinhas:
!
B E W A R E O F U P S E L L I N G
As soon as we were seated, the staff asked, «Would you like a bottle of Panna or Pellegrino sparkling?» Sneaky! I’m not blaming the staff since that’s what they’re trained to do but I dislike Fogo de Chão’s practice of upselling $ 10 bottled water, $ 20 shrimp cocktail, and $ 10 dessert especially at an AYCE place.
C H A R R U S C O
There’s supposedly about 16 meat options but we only saw only 9 – 10 options. No grilled pineapple (boo!). I later found out via a food blog that the more premium meats like the beef ribs (I really wanted to try this) are by request only. How are customers suppose to know this when you do not inform them AND do not offer a menu of your meat offerings?! Not being upfront/​withholding information is borderline deceptive IMO.
+ Ribeye: Fav of the night! Well-​marbled and perfectly seasoned, the ribeye was incredibly rich and tender.
+ Leg of lamb: Tender and nicely gamey.
— Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon: Terrible! Salty, hard, and dry.
— Pork Sausage: Well-​seasoned but on the drier side.
— Top sirloin: Tough and sinewy.
— Bottom Sirloin: Tough and chewy.
— Pork Ribs: Dry and flavorless.
— Lamb Chops: Chewy.
I felt sorry for the gaucho who had to serve the Parmesan crusted pork. That meat stick got as much love as a microp*nis.
S I D E S
&
+ Cheese bread: Warm, fluffy, and cheesy (gluten-​free).
+ Polenta fries: Crispy and soft.
— Garlic Mash: Yucky, pasty texture.
S A U C E S
+ Chimichurri: Herbaceous but needed more acid.
— Horseradish: Zero kick.
M A R K E T T A B L E
+ Brown Sugar & Pepper Bacon: Crunchy, sweet & spicy porky deliciousness.
+ Marinated mushrooms: Tender and good amount of acid.
+ Pickled veggies: Helped cut through the richness of the meats.
+ Fresh veggies: Crisp.
+ Oranges, grapefruit: Super juicy.
— Feijoada: Like something out of the Great Depression era – bland, watery, and meatless.
— Smoked Salmon: Hella salty!
— Charcuterie: Hella salty!
D E S S E R T (+$ 10-​$ 11)
*Carmelized Pineapple w/​vanilla ice cream ($ 10): Juicy, sweet, and refreshingly tart. Sprinkle the brown sugar & pepper bacon on top of the ice cream for a crunchy porky sweet heat!
S E R V I C E
Young and eager to please, the staff was very enthusiastic and attentive (they were very well trained by the seasoned staff). The staff is 95% men… handsome at that. Cougars would go nuts in this place especially with the gauchos (Caio was the best) eager to serve you their meat stick with a warm smile!
A M B I A N C E
Upscale, classy, and a large open space but the corner booths in the front were cramped compared to the spaciousness in the back of the dining room. Great for large groups!
P A R K I N G
No valet. Yerba buena garage is 2 blocks away on 4^th/​Mission.
Fogo de Chão exceeded my low expectations with the stellar service but with the $ 100 pp tab (including 1 drink, tax & tip), the meat quality was more of a miss. I prefer spending that $ 100+ at a fancy steakhouse like Alexander’s, Hillstone, or Bobo’s where I know all the cuts will be top-​notch and cooked perfectly. I know they’re still very new but I’m rounding down my rating because of Fogo de Chão’s upselling tactics and not offering their full meat selection upfront. I REALLY wanted to try those thick, girthy beef ribs. *Sad pouty lip*

Where do I begin? Well, with the reservation. I had made a group reservation for this place and when we got to the restaurant, the host tells us some guy came in before us, claimed to be me, and changed our group reservation to two people. Was there a tech genius hacking into Open Table accounts and stealing reservations? They said they could no longer find the guy even though they gave him a pager. When I asked if they could page him so I could speak with him, they said «Oh that’s a good idea. I’ll do that right now.» The guy came to the host-​stand pretty immediately and it was obvious that he was just a walk-​in with his girlfriend. Because they thought he had my reservation, they quoted him a reasonable wait but then had to tell him the wait would be 2 hours instead. How the guy’s first interaction with the host led to MY reservation being changed is beyond me. The good part is that they worked quickly on setting up our table again and we sat within about 15 minutes.
I don’t know if there were so many issues because the restaurant just opened but I know there are many Fogo locations so there should be some experience in running a place of this caliber. The lights kept going out and/​or flickering in our part of the restaurant, the salad bar needed to be restocked upon request, the servers dropped quite a few dishes throughout the night, and it was freezing (both from the ventilation and from the hosts leaving the front door open in 40 degree weather). We were also told by one server that they didn’t have menus when we had just seen it from another server.
As for the food, it’s not better than Pampas or Espetus. The salad bar is really subpar and does not justify even a portion of the $ 59.95 all-​inclusive price tag. The best things were probably the squash soup and fresh mozzarella balls. There was some meat at a carving station that was included into the salad bar but once it was gone, it never came back. That meat, rice, beans, and soup were the only hot food options.
The meat selection was smaller and a few of them were over done or lacking seasoning. The chicken drumsticks were overcooked, and messing up dark meat is just unheard of. The beef ribs are by request only (weird). Luckily one of our meat cutters liked our table and brought it over to us. Unfortunately that particular meat was so fatty, it was unenjoyable.
Be careful when ordering extras because some of the cocktails cost up to $ 17. The servers are on top of giving you soda refills but those aren’t free. They comp’ed our wine bottle because of the earlier mistake I THINK. I don’t know actually. No employee officially said it to us but it wasn’t on the bill. Conclusion? I wouldn’t come back. I heard the San Jose location is better so you might want to start there if you’re dying to eat here.

I came here for a soft opening event, and was blown away by the experience.
The food was top notch. Everything on the market table was fresh and abundant. All the meats were perfectly cooked not lacking in portions and variety.
I was super impressed with the impeccable service. For a brand new restaurant, the staff did not miss a beat.
Apparently they bring seasoned staff from various locations to help train the new staff.
The price is comparable to most steakhouse but you get so much more in terms of the overall experience.

Saying that I’m a fan for Fogo would be an understatement. Over the last several years we’ve ben fortunate to have either lived near or visited near one of their locations. All this changed when we moved to NorCal, not really any close locations until now.
Last week (¹²⁄₂₃) we were thrilled to hear that their newest location finally opened in San Francisco, yes! Having been to many of their other locations (Scottsdale, Vegas, Miami) Id have to say that this location is perhaps the most chic, relaxed and inviting. From the sleek tile entry to the walls of slat wood paneling the atmosphere is chic, dark and romantic. We were sat in the small booth and proceeded to enjoy the comfort of the bootie friendly banquettes (seriously, it’s so nice that this new restaurant has soft comfortable seating as apposed to the other new places, that insist you sit on a hard «reclaimed» wood bench seating and expect you to be comfortable).
If you’re familiar with the Brazilian Steakhouse concept, nothing is different here. Huge slabs of meat salted and wood roasted are carved table side by hunky guys. Beef, pork, lamb, sausages, and chicken arrive in waves all controlled with a paper coaster. The coasted is colored coded, red for stop and green for «bring me all that thick tasty meat» errr, Im mean go. There is also a large fresh food bar filled with cheeses, cured meats, and salad makings if you wish to have those with your dinner. But be careful, you don’t want to get full on this stuff, save room for their incredible meats. All of this comes at the price of $ 59.95 plus drinks, tax and tip.
Fogo also has a pretty decent wine last which is well priced and accessible. Our server tried steering us towards Argentinian Melbecs but we ended up with a Sonoma Cab. Anyways, trust your gut and go with what you like. I don’t think you can pick a bad wine form their list.
Service was friendly and attentive but be warned, they will try to up sell a few items form their menu including a plate full of colossal shrimp. We were hungry so we didn’t resist her description and went with it. For $ 19 I’d say the appetizer was well worth it. Plump juicy shrimp, what’s not to love. They also have a few specials in their menu including a fish option for those who aren’t into AYCE meat, why?
Be warned, there is very little on street parking around Fogo but there are several garages close by. Now get your meat on!