Layla R.
Yelp
Well, I think this is a case of expectations. The Brazilian Steakhouses I have been to in Northern, CA are all very upscale places with quiet atmosphere's, even slightly romantic ambiance, with tables spaced apart for privacy. Excellent service, a wide variety of meats-- especially on weekend nights. And a large salad bar with endless options to tempt.
So that's what I expected. That is not what I got. The location is facing a frontage road facing the freeway. The atmosphere is really not upscale at all, it's loud, there were many families, and the tables were very close together.
Then there is the service. The hostess was great, and the server was friendly. But I kept having to flag people down to fill up my water glass, I had to hunt down someone for dessert options after I was sitting there, clearly done, for 10 minutes and finally had to place my order with someone else because they couldn't find her. Then I had to tell the server to add the dessert to the bill when she brought it cause she left it off. Every single time I had to ask about her it took her forever to come. It was not busy, because I went early.
That said the gauchos were relatively good. Although I constantly had to remind them all that I wanted rare/medium rare. Not medium well. Because the server kept giving them the wrong information.
Now the food. The first hint that there was going to be disappointment was the salad bar. I can't tell you how underwhelming this was. No candied bacon, only one cured meat and one cheese, and most of the options were just green salads! I think there were maybe 3 specialty salad options. It was like a supermarket salad bar at Whole Foods or the like. Also, the meat options were very limited, for my expectations. On a Saturday Night they only had 10 options offered! There were no pork ribs, and no Alcatra-- even though when I looked on their site (which I should have checked out before going) they are listed. Plus, no shrimp, no chicken hearts, no pork loin, no garlic sirloin... very basic. AND they even charge you extra for the grilled pineapple! Unheard of.
The meats themselves were okay. I liked the leg of lamb and the rib eye the best. The filet was good. The lamb chops were overpowered by the marinade-- same one on the leg of lamb, but it was much lighter on the leg. And lamb chops are generally my favorite.
That said, the servers were generous with their servings, probably to make up for the fact that it was the same few choices again and again.
The best thing was the papaya cream dessert. It was excellent and I very much enjoyed it.
Will I be back? Not for $50. For $35. I felt it was a poor value, personally. And again, I think that was my expectations. Still I can't give it more than 3 stars due to the lack of food selection and the service issues... and the ambiance.