My family ate at Fogo de Chão for the first time for $230. The steak house's unlimited salad bar and excessive meat service weren't our thing.
- My husband and I visited Fogo de Chão steak house with our teenage daughter for the first time.
- The meal cost $230 for our party of three and included drinks, salads, sides, and meats.
My family has never cared much for chain restaurants, but in the last year, my husband and I have visited more with our teenagers.
By dining at steak houses like Ruth's Chris and iconic breakfast spots like IHOP, we've learned to appreciate what chains have to offer, from reasonable prices to a consistent experience.
But we'd yet to try a Brazilian churrasco meal like the one offered at Fogo de Chão.
The steak-house chain focuses on its fire-roasted meats, which are carved tableside by chefs. It has more than 50 restaurants worldwide and offers an all-you-care-to-enjoy prix-fixe menu and à la carte options like picanha steak and Chilean sea bass.
My family recently visited the chain in Orlando, Florida, for dinner. Here's what the experience was like for me, my husband, and our 13-year-old daughter.
The restaurant was crowded, and we had to wait even though we had a reservation.
We visited Fogo de Chão on a Friday evening and were surprised to see people lined up around the host stand and in the bar area.
Although we made a reservation in advance, we had a long wait just to check in. Then we were given a buzzer and told to hang out in the bar area until our table was ready.
We waited about 10 minutes before the buzzer went off and we were led through a packed dining room to our table.
I started my meal with a mocktail.
As someone who has recently adopted an alcohol-free lifestyle, I was impressed to see all the zero-proof cocktails and mocktails on Fogo de Chão's menu.
For my drink, I ordered a nonalcoholic cucumber martini ($8), made with a vodka alternative, basil, cucumber, and lemon.
The drink was really good, and I didn't miss alcohol at all when it was in front of me.
My husband and daughter had wine and mocktails, respectively.
My husband had two glasses of malbec red wine ($16 a glass) with his dinner. There were less pricey wines as well, in addition to lots of cocktail and beer options.
My daughter started her meal with a virgin mojito ($6.50) before ordering a Sprite ($4.50).
Fogo de Chão offers continuous tableside service of fire-roasted meats.
There are plenty of entrées on the regular menu, but we visited Fogo de Chão to try out its tableside meat service.
Chefs make their rounds to each table, carving meats like steak, pork belly, and bacon-wrapped chicken.
My husband and I chose the adult prix-fixe menu, which cost $63.50 a person.
The Fogo de Chão menu says kids ages 7 to 12 receive their meal half off. But we told the server my daughter was 13, and her prix-fixe meal only cost us $32.
The buffet area was a bit chaotic and didn’t feel worth the effort.
Our meals came with access to the all-you-care-to-enjoy salad bar, which was stocked with everything from feijoada — a black-bean stew — to veggie-packed salads and charcuterie.
I've admittedly never been a buffet person. Standing in line for food and waiting for other people to scoop a dish onto their plates before I get a turn feels a bit stressful to me.
Everything I put on my plate was delicious, but I only made one trip. Waiting in long lines to get to crowded salad bars didn't give the relaxing Friday night dinner vibe I was hoping for.
Each churrasco experience comes with a few sides.
Each prix-fixe churrasco experience comes with warm pão de queijo (a cheese-filled Brazilian bread), crispy polenta, mashed potatoes, and caramelized bananas.
We enjoyed them all quite a bit. But since the restaurant was pretty busy, it was difficult to get more when we ran out.
We had the opportunity to try several cuts of beef, lamb, chicken, and pork.
All the meat we tried was really good.
Our favorite was the tender and moist filet mignon. But there was also delicious bacon-wrapped chicken, pork sausage, lamb, and different cuts of beef available.
We were given two-sided cards (one green for yes and the other red for no) that we could place on the table to indicate to the servers if we wanted more meat.
No matter what we did, the meat kept coming.
Visiting Fogo de Chão on a Friday night may not have been the best move. The restaurant was continuously crowded and felt chaotic.
Seated in the middle of a loud dining room amid crying babies and families who just left the Orlando theme parks for the day, we felt a bit overwhelmed by the volume level and crowds.
The servers appeared to be feeling the same way — whether we turned our card to red or green, they continually brought meat to our table and tried carving it onto our plates.
We'd have liked to have a bit more time in between carvings. Full and overwhelmed, we felt a bit too rushed to really digest and enjoy our food.
I think Fogo de Chão is great for certain types of diners.
There are plenty of people who would enjoy dining at Fogo de Chão, especially those with hearty appetites who could get the most value from the all-you-care-to-enjoy meal.
I think it's a great way to try lots of new dishes all at once. But our total came to about $230 before tax, which is pretty pricey for a chain.
No one in my family is a huge eater — we've often marveled at the amount of leftovers we take home from chain restaurants. And I didn't feel like I was able to feast on $64 worth of food.
Based on our experience, I don’t think I’d come back.
There was no arguing that the food at Fogo de Chão was delicious. But we've had similarly priced meals that felt way more relaxed and decadent at other chains.
It all felt rushed, but that may have been a result of the timing of our visit since we went on a Friday.
The format of the salad bar and tableside meat service weren't really for us, and the price per person wasn't worth it for our family.
I probably wouldn't return to the restaurant, but I think it's a great option for people who enjoy buffet-style dining, have bigger appetites, and don't mind a vibrant and busy dining experience.
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