Villa Brazil Café Grill

"Villa Brazil is a longstanding Queens favorite for Brazilian comfort food, especially regarding the all-you-can-eat buffet. “You want some of the best Brazilian BBQ in NYC?” says Khan. “You have to come to Astoria where there’s a community of Brazilian people here that keep the culture and cuisine alive. Make sure you ask for the spicy chicken sausage and the beef ribs.”" - chris mohney

"Villa Brazil is a cafeteria-style buffet complete with sneeze guards and tiled floors, and all of the food here is sold by the pound. But unlike your typical buffet, this Astoria spot has amazing homestyle cooking and a dedicated Meat Guy. After you’ve piled your plate with freshly-made Brazilian hot dishes and salad, go to the churrasco window where the Meat Guy (who's also the head chef) will offer you the day’s selection of grilled meats. This is one of our favorite homestyle Brazilian spots in the neighborhood, and the quality of the food is on par with what you'll find on higher-end à la carte menus." - bryan kim, neha talreja, sonal shah

"If it’s one of those nights when you’re so hungry that everything on your way home looks good, try to hold out until you get to Villa Brazil Café Grill. At this Brazilian buffet-style restaurant in Astoria you get homestyle food by the pound, and there’s a churrasco window where you can choose from a rotating selection of things like picanha, frango, and sausages right off the spit. The intimate dining room is calm, the buffet spread is impeccably clean, and they’ve got freshly baked desserts behind the counter to take home." - neha talreja, carina finn koeppicus

"Before you go to Villa Brazil, you’ll need to master the art of making a plate. Specifically, the cookout plate. The setting here is a cafeteria-style buffet complete with sneeze guards and tiled floors, and all of the food is sold by the pound. But unlike your typical buffet, this Astoria spot has amazing homestyle cooking and a dedicated Meat Guy (the nexus of any good BBQ). After you’ve piled your plate with freshly-made Brazilian corn pudding, seafood casserole, and perfectly salted white rice, go to the churrasco window where the Meat Guy (who's also the head chef) will offer you the day’s selection of grilled meats. You can choose from a rotating selection of things like picanha, frango, and sausages right off the spit. photo credit: Emily Schindler With so many heavy meats sold by the pound, you’ll likely end up surprised by the final price tag (no matter how much math you do)—but this is one of our favorite homestyle Brazilian spots in the neighborhood, and the quality of the food is on par with what you'll find on higher-end à la carte menus. The intimate dining room is calm and quiet, and the buffet spread is impeccably clean, so don’t let the spotty reputation of buffet-style dining deter you from coming in for a nice, wind-down weeknight dinner. And don't leave without trying one of the 10 or so freshly baked desserts on display behind the counter. Take home a huge slice of bright yellow chocolate carrot cake, and see how long you can wait for those sausages to digest before digging into it." - Neha Talreja

"At Villa Brazil in Astoria, the setting is a cafeteria-style buffet complete with sneeze guards and tiled floors, but there's amazing homestyle cooking and a dedicated Meat Guy (the nexus of any good BBQ). It's got a cozy, familial feel, and you can eat and run as soon as you finish whatever you've piled up on your pay-by-the-pound plate. " - Hannah Albertine, Bryan Kim, Neha Talreja