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Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sat. 4:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 4:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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i came here expecting to stuff my face with meat.
instead, i found myself stuffing my face with their cheese bread. don't get me wrong-- i definitely ate my fair share of meat, but what really blew me away was this bread. the bread!!! it was crispy and biscuit-like on the outside, while soft-- CASHMERE-soft inside. it tasted almost like little pats of half-melted butter. it literally melted in my mouth.
yeah i know, i'm a total waste of money.
come here if you have a big appetite, but be prepared to spend a small fortune on it. luckily we went during restaurant week, so it was $44/person. i just can't deal with the pressure of having to accomplish eating $44 (or $57 on regular nights) worth of meat.
ps. their filet mignon was the best cut of meat i had.
Maybe I was a little too excited to eat here, because it didn't meet my expectations. But, regardless, the food was good, and at restaurant week prices ($44 for dinner, originally $58), I was glad I got to try it.
1st course: salad bar
There was a wide variety of salads, potato salads, veggies, etc. They even had salami and cheese! But, there was no corn....or eggs...and the asparagus looked like it was on steroids. I don't know...something just seemed...incomplete.
2nd course: MEAT
Oh. So. Much. Meat. Cheese encrusted pork, sirloin, filet, pork sausages, chicken sausage, beef and pork ribs, etc. etc. Wow. My favorites were the pork ribs and all different sirloins. The pork sausage was pretty good too. But honestly, the meat wasn't all that SPECTACULAR. For $44, I would expect a little more to tell you the truth. But, I'm being nit-picky here. It was good. Just not $58 good.
The fried bananas WERE SO GOOD. 5 stars just for that.
3rd course: dessert
I tried the flan and the tres leches. Yum! The flan was ok, but the tres leches was awesome.
Definitely an experience, but I think once is enough for this meat lover. Oh and valet is a ZOO.
With DineLA Restaurant Week almost at an end, my boyfriend and I had to check out Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills. Yes, it is pricey. Yes, there's a long-ish wait (even with reservations). But the food and service are above excellent.
The Salad Bar: a small selection of cheeses, meats, and veggies that are difficult to pass up or scrimp on. I absolutely love artichoke and palm hearts, and there were plenty of each. Excellent aged cheeses. The thing is, you MUST pace yourself. Otherwise, you won't be prepared for....
The Main Course: everyone's already explained how it works. You flip over your coaster-like card, and immediately, mashed potatoes, fried polenta, cheesy bread, and delicately fried plantains arrive at your table. Then, the meat starts to arrive. I think my fave had to be the bacon-wrapped filet mignon or the alcatra. So delicious and meant to be savored. The meat keeps coming, and the waitstaff even checked in to see that we had tried all the different types we wanted. I recommend asking the servers about what temperature/level of preparation to take for each cut. They know their stuff.
About half-way in, I realize that we're getting dessert. The papaya cream was soooo delicious, my boyfriend and I were practically fighting over the last bite. The tres leches cake was also amazing-it's gourmet, but still authentic, and sooo creamy: rich and light at the same time.
Finally, I have to mention the Brazilian Mojito and Caipirinha are amazing. A little pricey, but with high quality cachaca and attention to detail (they strain the majority of the mint - making your smile minty in a good way--not a leafy way!) make it worth it.
A great date night. For someone on a budget, I would definitely make this a lunch destination.
When I saw Fogo de Chao on the Restaurant Week list and their price point, I was immediately interested. I had never been there but I knew that their lunch regularly costs $34.50 and dinner $56.50. And that doesn't even include dessert. During dineLA Restaurant Week, weekday lunches cost $28 and dinners cost $44, both include a choice of dessert (although not all choices are available).
I had the same problem I always have on buffet lines: I get everything. The veggies were fresh - I was impressed considering it was a "buffet".
Fresh spinach, big and sweet asparagus, juicy tomatoes to go with your burrata. Nothing outstanding, but definitely meets the standards.
Their po de queijo were warm, big, and nicely cheesy. These were much better than what you may get at a random chain store in Brazil (especially if you're at the airport ...).
I could eat a lot of these, if only I didn't need to make room for meat.
Flip your card to the green side and the men will come bearing skewers of various meats to your tableside.
Fogo de Chao offers a variety of cuts and meats - 15 to be exact. Besides your typical sirloin, rib eye, beef ribs, pork ribs, they also have bacon wrapped pork and chicken, etc etc. For more details, you should check the dine LA's Fogo menu here.
Among our favorites were the picanha (prime sirloin flavored with sea salt and garlic) and the lamb chops.
Not that I've gone for all-you-can-eat Brazilian bbq that much before, but this is definitely one of the best I've had. Just make sure you ask for it to be cooked the way you like it - that's medium rare for me. I couldn't eat that much so towards the end I ended up sticking to just my two favorite cuts above.
With the meats came three sides: mashed potatoes, fried polenta, and plaintains.
I got the papaya cream for dessert, which is papaya pureed with vanilla ice cream, topped with creme de cassis.
Yeah, okay, so it's a pretty simple dessert, and it tastes exactly as it's described: papaya pureed with vanilla ice cream, but I liked it since I like papaya and rarely gets it in the US.
Photos: http://bit.ly/ajHX83
My 2nd time at Fogo was just as good as my first visit, if not even better! I came for dineLA restaurant week and it was such a great deal!
It was $10 off the regular price AND they even gave us dessert! My friends and I tried all 3: the tres leches, flan, and papaya ice cream. They were all pretty good, but none were amaaazing, and I personally liked the flan the best.
As for the meats, everything I said in my first review still stands. I LOVED the picanha and garlic beef. The cheese bread had the most perfect soft and chewy texture as well as an amazing taste that wasn't too overbearing. The salad bar had super fresh pico de gallo that perfectly balanced all the meats! And the sangria here is still one of the best I've tried. And service is spot-on! I don't have a single complaint about this place. This is still my #1 recommendation of must-try restaurants!
THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT ON LA CIENEGA!!
I've had good brazillian bbq at other…
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This place is the food equivalent of Steven Segal's fighting technique...it just kicks ass. So where should I start? With the awesome cheesey goodness that is more commonly referred to as pao de quiljo, or possibly with the salad bar which is a meal in itself, or maybe with the the button...Yeah I'll start with the button.
When in doubt, make sure you're button is green side up. This magic button is the key to happiness here at Fogo as it signals the "gauchos" to deliver juicy cuts of meat to you table. So thats that...
As far as sides go the Pao de Quiljo's got two turn tables and a microphone because it's where it's at! Seriously I could eat these things like a bag of popcorn, but thats not all. They also serve crispy polenta cakes, garlic mashed potatoes, and fried plantains. Best part is that it never ends just like the meat. So have your fill, just make sure you don't get too full.
When it comes to the meat, my absolute favorite cut is the beef ribs. It only comes out once an hour so keep you're eye out. Its tender, juicy, and seasoned to perfection. Everything I love a nice piece of meet. The Ribeye, Pichanna, and Lamb are round out my list of favorites, but make sure you give everything a go because to be honest they're all pretty good!
Oh and make sure that you get the Papaya Creme for dessert. It not only tastes amazing, but it also helps in digestion. A fun little fact that the General Manager mentioned to us as she came over to say hello. She really knew how to work a room, as she went from table to table making jokes and ensuring a good time was being had by all.
Overall this is a great dining experience, that should be had by all. Dinner is a bit pricey but well worth it. My recommendation would be to come for Lunch. Its half the price and its got all the fixins that Dinner has. Best deal in town if you ask me!
Disappointed :(
We loved the Fogo in Chicago (we were regulars), but this one was inconsistent -- some of the meat was overdone, much of it was too tough, service was not as good as would be expected for a restaurant in this price range. Even bites of meat within the same cut/slice were inconsistent (which doesn't even make sense to me).
At DineLA prices ($28 for lunch, includes one of three desserts), we might go back, but not at full price (~$35).
I can't past up a great deal especially when I can try a fancy restaurant . Every year, we always wanted to go experience DineLA but never really got to it, however, this time around, we were adamant to try Fogo de Chao after hearing great reviews so we made reservations the first day they had their DineLA special. We saved about $20 bucks each. The price for dinner regular is about $56 but with DineLA, it was $44 plus dessert.
The salad bar is basic; it has some cold veggies, creamy type of salad, cheese and cured meat. I was a little disappointed, since I was hoping they would have hot foods at the salad bar like other churrascaria I have been to. So, if you come here for the salad bar, don't waste your time but come to think of it, I don't think they have just a salad bar price.
At Fogo de Chao it is definitely about the meat! I am not really a "red meat" eater but once I tasted one bite of their sirloin, my carnivore in me was wide awake. I don't think I have ever ate so much red meat in a seating in my life not even at other Brazilian BBQ. Their meat came quickly once we turned our pass to green. I focused mostly on their filet mignon, top sirloin and the sirloin cap. It seems like I couldn't stop, I wanted more and more. The meat is juicy, tender, flavorful and not overly salted. It was just right!
They provided complimentary cheese balls, cinnamon sugar bananas, mash potatoes and polenta.The cheese balls were so light, soft and with a light cheesy taste; the mash potato was a compliment to the meat; the bananas were cooked to perfection; and the polenta has a great crisp even though there wasn't much flavor.
For dessert, I opted for the Tres Leches; it was moist and delicious, so good that words can't explain. I also tasted the papaya cream and flan and both were also good but not as good as the Tres Leches cake. It was a great ending to an affordable, great meal.
The service was okay. Near the end, although I was still eating, a waiter came and took the banana plate away without asking. My fork was half way on getting another piece so I thought that was really rude. Our main waiter seems like he was rushing and wasn't really paying attention to our table. The only one who I though was really nice was the lady who gave me my dessert.
Hooray for DineLA. You save about $20 per person off the regular menu price, dessert included. Not too shabby, a huge reason why the place is packed with so many people when we left. You'd think they were giving away free meat. At this very moment, the Fogo de Chao meat in my stomach is currently in the process of slowly digesting through the night and well into tomorrow. Safe to say, I'm good on meat for a while.
My all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak experience has been fairly limited to some place in Fullerton a while ago and a couple times in Agora in Irvine. I do have Greenfield in LB bookmarked for the future. I heard positive things about Fogo de Chao, so I was expecting high quality meats. It didn't disappoint.
Everything I ate was tender, juicy, and most importantly... not overly salty. Too many times, I've been to places where the meat is just overladen with so much salt, I can feel my blood pressure rising the moment I start chewing. But here, I thought that every piece of meat was perfectly seasoned and cooked properly. When you ask for medium, you get a cut of medium.
While the meat was a major plus, I thought that the salad bar was pretty weak. I know that most will say, the meat is the most important. But there are other places where there is such a large variety in their salad bars, including seafood, rice, black beans, fruit, etc. Here, it's some lettuce, veggies, some cold cuts, and... I think that's about it. I do give props for their garlic mashed potatoes, polenta, bananas, and best of all, those damn addicting cheese bread balls.
But a minor quibble, for a small salad bar, it just places more of an emphasis on the meat. As much as I stuffed myself, I managed to make a little room at the corner of my stomach for dessert. After all, it was included as part of the DineLA special. With a group of 4, we managed to try all 3 types of desserts offered. My favorite would be the tres leches, followed by the papaya cream and flan. All were excellent. I would return again soon. Okay, I need my vegetables now.
as much as it pains me to say this, FOGO did NOT live up to the hype and i was expecting so much more! i was SO disappointed after the meal!
the highlights of the meal the CHEESE BALLS! the picanha, the filet mignon, and the beef ribs, OH AND LETS NOT FORGET that decadent dessert, papaya mixed w/ vanilla ice cream and black liqueur on top!! the alcohol complimented the papaya so well!!!
other than that some of the meats were dry! especially the pork ribs! i just can't imagine why they would have dry or even tasteless meats at the price you pay! (it must be inconsistent because i loved the filet mignon but when my roomie went she said it was dry)
as for the sides they bring to your table, the mashed potatoes were so grainy like boxed mash!.. polenta was good.. bananas were ok.. salad bar had good selection.. tres leches cake was eHh i've had better
their service is great though! if you don't want to wait for any of the meats to circle to your table, just tell any waiter and they will bring it straight to you!
question resolved: what are those tongs for? to pull the meat from those swords adorned w/ meats!
i mean i guess the meal wasn't BAD but for that price and after all i've heard, i just expected so much more and I was very let down like a deflated BALLOON!
The place is good, but I'm not a very big meat eater so I'm probably not as in love with it as other reviewers here =). So, there is probably nothing I can say about it that hasn't been said a million times before. However, in regards to all the other food there, I am totally in love with their salad bar, i love salad SO MUCH. mozzarella balls ftw!!! =D their cheese bread too....i need to find out how they make them. so delish! dessert-wise, my fave was the papaya cream....oooh, i'm going to make this myself one day. and the tres leche was to die for as well. I was a little disappointed with the flan - it was overcooked on the bottom.
now, something i have to gripe about - the waitttttt.......we had reservations for 830, but we weren't seated til 940!!!!!!!! o.m.g....what a horrible horrible wait. and for a thursday night? seriously? it made me sad =(
nevertheless, a great experience =)
For the LOVE of Meat! Thank you dineLA for making it affordable! I've been hearing so much about this restaurant and finally made it!
For those of you Open Table users like me, you can only book a reservation via their website...sorry no points :0( but that's okay.
My husband and I booked it for 7pm, and was seated immediately. I imagined we'd wait a few minutes, as I've heard, its always busy.
Bonus Tip: Fills up between 7:15pm - 7:45pm on weeknights, book your reservation early and arrive before 7pm.
DECOR: I felt like walking into a castle as you open the high, wooden double doors. Upon entrance, you will be greeted with 3 stories high of wine collection. You know it's a great restaurant when wine is also used as decor. The lights were dim, but not romantic dim. It was a very casual setting for a Beverly Hills restaurant, which was nice. So feel free to dress up or simply come in jeans!
PARKING: $5.50 valet parking only
STAFF: Fast, friendly and furious, very attentive and they'll keep replacing the cheese bread. They wouldn't even let us pour our own wine [ in a good way ]. The servers would jump in and make sure our glasses weren't empty [ hhhmm is there a camera at every table? ]
FOOD:
--Gourmet Salad and Sides Bar--
Here are just a few of the wonderful items to choose from:
Hearts of Palm, Giant Asparagus, Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Chicken Salad, Homemade Potato Salad, Red and Yellow Bell Peppers, Fresh Cut and Steamed Broccoli, Marinated Artichoke Bottoms, Apple Salad, Fresh Tomatoes, Tubule, Smoked Salmon, Prosciutto, Italian Salami, Italian Bread, Manchego Goat Cheese, and Parmesan Reggiano
**I've had a little bit of everything and it was all good, it only made me more full -- which is a great thing. My favorite is the apple salad and the hearts of palm**
---Unlimited Servings of 15 Different Cuts of Meat---
Gaucho chefs carving tableside a variety of succulent meats.
PICHANA -One of the most popular cuts, this prime part of the sirloin is served with sea salt or flavored with garlic
ALCATRA-Cut from the top sirloin, this piece of meat is tender and full of flavor
BEEF ANCHO-The prime part of the rib eye, beef ancho celebrates the rich flavor and delectable texture of that elite cut
COSTELA-Tender, juicy beef ribs
FRALDINHA-Cut from the bottom sirloin, seasoned to perfection
CORDEIRO-Fresh young leg of lamb sliced off the bone. Also served as chops
COSTELA DE PORCO-Tender pork ribs slow roasted to perfection
LOMBO-Pork tenderloin, sizzling with flavor, served with parmesan
FRANGO-Tender chicken breast wrapped in bacon, and chicken legs.
**Everything was really good, my favorite PICHANA, FILET MIGNON wrapped in bacon, RIBEYE, BOTTOM SIRLOIN ...
--Side Dishes--
Each table gets side dishes included with the meal, mainly as starch.
Caramelized bananas, hot crispy polenta, garlic mashed potatoes, and warm cheese bread.
**Everything was yummy, my favorite is the warm cheese bread.
--Desserts--
Papaya Cream-Fresh cut papaya fruit blended with vanilla ice cream and topped with a splash of Crème de Cassis
Flan-Southern Brazilian homemade pudding
**My husband had the Papaya cream and it was absolutely refreshing, the Flan [ since I'm a sucker for flan ] is wonderful and absolutely delish.
BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE
Next to the salad station and 2 tables from the kitchen where the gaucho chefs work their magic. As soon as they come out, we got first dib on every meat..
RESTAURANT 411
Edgie: How long has this restaurant been open?
Staff: About 5 years ago
Edgie: How much meat do you go through a day?
Staff: On a weeknight, half a ton, on a weekend, about a ton of meat
Edgie: Wow, that's a lot of meat! At what temperature do you cook all of the meat?
Staff: 600 - 700 degrees, takes about 3-4 minutes each side, sometimes depending on which kind of meat
Edgie: Do you age the meat?
Staff: No, its delivered fresh everyday, so as the produce.
Edgie: Why do you have a high ceiling?
Staff: The wine cooler room, which you'll notice upon entrance, is 3 stories high and needs to be kept at 55 degrees.
Edgie: About how many bottles of wine do you have?
Staff: We have about 12,000 wines in the building
Come with a HUGE appetite and elastic drawstring pants! You'll get your money's worth at this top notch buffet restaurant!
This is where DineLA really make up its value. You get to try the places that you have been wanted to try but hesitate to do so because of the price.
The lunch we went is usually $34.50 and dineLA also thrown in a free dessert, excellent value. That will give you approx 15-20 bucks of Saving.
Starter: po de queijo (warm cheese bread), crispy hot polenta, garlic mashed potatoes and caramelized bananas. My favorites are the cheese bread & bananas! Its so good that we asked for more!
Salad Bar: Anything from Aged Cheese, Smoked Salmon/Meats, Jumbo Asparagus..etc. My favorite are the apple salad with pineapples.
Meat: High quality of meat selections. Offered 15 different cuts from Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Lamb. You can also order the meat the way you like (Med, Med Rare, Med Well, etc) and the portion. Some highlights of meats:
Top Sirloin (Picanha) is the house special steak, also my personal favorite. It may be a bit salty on the outside since it was grilled with sea salt but the meat itself is very juicy and tender.
Filet Mignon - it was served in both filet mignon wrapped with bacon and filet mignon standalone steak. I like Filet Mignon stand alone as its more tender and less salty.
Linguica (Sausage) - Pork sausage. Juicy & Full of flavors. Still a bit on the salty side as well!
Rack of Lamb is my friend's favorite. I can't comment on that since I don't eat lamb myself.
We also tried the different cuts of sirloin, chicken legs, bacon wrapped chicken, and pork ribs. However those are all on the dry/over cooked side :( I wish they are more tender and juicy so its more edible.
Dessert: They offered Key Lim Pie, Tres de Leche and Papaya Cream and we all opted for Papaya Cream. Its so good :) I highly recommended ordering Papaya Cream, too bad its not an all you can eat item!
Overall, service is VERY good (better than some of those 1*, 2* Michelin rated restaurants in LA) I think this is a very romantic yet fun place to bring your dates or even friends who wants to challenge themselves with number of meats that can be consumed in a night.
Tip: When going with multiple people, only order small portion to start off to sample out, as you'll get fill up VERY fast. They do come by quickly so if you missed ur favorite meat, you can simply ask waiter for it.
Parking is readily available on La Cienega Blvd. Those meters even take Visa/Mastercards. $2 gets you 2 hours of parking, more than enough time for us!
**Dine LA Restaurant Week Part I**
Go to the lobby and you can see hungry people eating from the open window. Go to your right and the bar is there right next to the restroom. The place is loud and most people come with family and kids.
The four of us went here and ate meat like we never saw meat before. I love Brazilian cheese bread aka pao de queijo. At one time I ate 15 of those pao plus tons of meat. That was 10 lbs ago =P
Picanha, lombo, linguica, cordeiro...I was so full that I had to stop myself and save room for dessert.
The best part of my meal was the dessert. We got papaya cream, tres leches and flan. That was the first tres leches I liked. Flan was pretty good. The best one was papaya cream.
Papaya cream: fresh cut papaya blended with vanilla ice cream and topped with Creme de Cassis. You could say no to the alcohol but that's the best part. No, I am not an alcoholic but I didn't say stop when the waiter poured the alcohol. It was sweet, creamy and addicting. I would go there just to get this.
This place is a little pricey compared to the other Brazilian Churrascaria places but the meat quality is better. I did like Roda Viva in Puente Hills mall but that place closed down.
Fogo de Chao is yummylicious!!
When the highlight of the meal was the cheesy rolls, something's wrong.
i went. again. and i - again - feel the same.
if you want steak, esp. at this price point, go to a steak house.
there are SO many: stk, wolfgangs, maestro, mortons, ruths...
if you want a VERY expensive all you can eat experience, which makes you feel like you're at an extremely high-class hometown's buffet, come. come and eat your inner fat-a$$ heart out. why did i go? restaurant week made the usual 60 per person go down to about 40. alas, my tummy really hurt after - like really bad. so, tengo cuidado.
im gonna keep this short and sweet, yelpers:
if u want steak, go to a steak restaurant.
now the…
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Had Fogo for lunch during DineLA. I've been to Greenfield and Agora and now finally I've had a taste of Fogo. I've heard a lot of great thing about Fogo which probably increased my standards a little. There's about 12 different cuts of meat, but I only really enjoyed 3 of them: the ribeye, filet mignon and beef ribs. Brazilian BBQ typically do not season their meat with anything but salt and pepper, so a lot of the cuts tasted very similar and most of them had too much salt for my preference. I loved the high end salad bar though and probably should have eaten more greens. The service was wonderful , even for dineLA (the place was packed during lunch). Overall its like what yelps says... its A-OK.
Meat on top of meat and then more meat and...saved money, too.
YAY FOR DINING IN LA
Got my grub on and saved a buck. This place was packed. So many people. I even thought I saw someone I knew there. So, they don't run out of meat and you don't even have to stand on your feet. Just eat, eat and eat.
The salad bar was lacking compared to other places I have been. The guys bringing the meat around were hella slow!
There is a full bar. Beautiful place to pose for a photo.
One of the meats reminded me of this Chinese meat wrapped in bacon, delicious, oozing with taste and dripping with deliciousness. I think the waiter said it was fillet mignon. Doesn't matter. I will eat this meat every day for the rest of my life if I was given the chance.
Oh ho ho..dessert! Yup, it is included! Tres Leches was the best I have had. Papaya Creme..Yummylicious.
I have to say that I actually prefer Greenfield in Long Beach. Faster service and more variety.
This place is right on the money. Dine LA sealed the deal with the discount given. This discount allowed for nice servings of merlot.
Fogo de Chao is yummylicious.
Went for Restaurant Week, and the place was sooo busy! We had 8pm reservations but didn't get seated till 9:15pm. However it was Restaurant Week so we sort of understood the wait on a Fri nite in LA!
The salad bar is great, however I've been to other places, and they have more options. Palenta side dish is well made. The meat itself is okay. I think because it was such a busy and crazy nite, it probably wasn't the restaurant's best night. The house special and the rib eye is great! Filet Mignon was over cooked, and the chicken was dry. Again, it was an insanely busy nite!
Probably would want to go back when it's not as busy to see if the food is better. Wine selection is great by the way!
Meat Meat Meat Meat Meat!
My cousins, respective partners, my boyfriend and I went here on the last night of DineLA Restaurant Week. I made reservations for a table of 12 at 8pm, but called that afternoon (say, 4:30ish) to let them know my table is now 10. At 7:45pm, they left me a voicemail to confirm my reservation for 8:30p. Seriously? Even after I called 3 hours prior to make changes to the reservation and you tell me a different time than what I requested?! So I call them back and tell the girl that we're on our way to the restaurant and she relays that she messed up in leaving the message and meant to say 8pm. Fine. But not even a MINUTE passes when I get another call from Fogo. It's another hostess calling to confirm my reservation at 8pm. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Fifteen minutes before my reservation is to take place, you call me twice (two different hostesses) to confirm my reservation? So ridiculous. Needless to say, we had to wait an additional 30 minutes before we were sat--thus having our dinner start at... 8;30pm.
Despite all the disorganization, I had a great dinner. A lot of the meats were tasty--the filet was a perfect medium rare, the parmesan pork savory. The salad bar was AWESOME--I don't know where they get those huge beets, but yummy!
The most redeeming thing for me, though, were the cheese puffs/popovers. Gosh, I can just go just for those. Warm, savory, crispy on the outside, soft and buttery in the inside. Mmm...
All in all, the food was good and the company definitely made my night. But if I go again, I might have to have someone else make the reservation so I don't get a ton of last minute confirmation calls.
Everything about the meal, starting with the decor all the way through desserts, was well worth the money. I think the level of service isn't mentioned enough. I am usually one who likes a single, attentive waiter/waitress, but this place executes its team philosophy as well as could be done. The floating managers ensuring your satisfaction top it off.
I read a few detractors of the salad bar, and honestly am puzzled. I guess you have to think of it as a non-traditional salad bar and construct a salad with meat in mind. All of the vegetables offered were at once delicious alone and complimentary to the various cuts of meat, namely the shiitake mushrooms, green beans and asparagus. Add in a few beets and nice mixed salads, and I was definitely satisfied.
Overall the meats earned 4 stars; I thought some of the cuts were overdone. The chicken wings were extremely moist and tasty, the garlic beef was flavorful and the in-house specialty was unreal. This being my first trip, I would indicate I was ready for meat, get three cuts, and stop to eat, then repeat. This kind of pace let me get a variety, not overindulge, and stop when I was comfortable. Highly recommended.
To me, Fogo executes exactly what it sets out to do, which is what makes a great restaurant. Not something I'd do with regularity because it does feel a bit gluttonous, but good for a trip every so often.
I have tried all different Brazilian BBQ restaurants since I was young way before the whole Brazilian BBQ trend so I'm an expert in this field. (Trust me. I'm from South America so my father and I are not only obsessed with Brazilian BBQ but we know a lot of whole in the wall areas outside of LA that we frequent.) And from all the places I've been to, Fogo de Chao is by far my favorite.
The bf got in trouble so to make up for it, he decided to take me to Fogo. We got lucky and got reservations last minute and found out they were participating in Restaurant Week. When we first arrived, it was a zoo in there. Absolute mayhem. So we went to the bar and ordered some Tropical Caipirinhas and got drunk.
We were seated in a more secluded area and I was worried that we wouldn't get a lot of meat. I kid you not, that was one of my worries when I first noticed where we were sitting.
While waiting for the meat to arrive, we helped ourselves to the Salad Bar. All the vegetables were fresh and crisp. I love Hearts of Palm and most restaurants have soggy Hearts of Palm but Fogo has crisp ones that I couldn't stop eating. The Salad Bar is lacking in the sense that there aren't any pasta salads, etc. but it offers a lot of vegetables and a antipasto platter. They also bring out a basket of Cheese Bread, and sides of Mashed Potato, Polenta, and Plantains. I barely touched any of these except the Cheese Bread.
Now, let's get to the best part -- the meat. As soon as we sat down, the meats started arriving. A manager came by and apologized for the long wait earlier and asked if we would like a specific meat. We both love Picahna so as soon as we asked for it, it was at our table. Even the lesser quality cuts of meat are far superior than the meats at other Brazilian BBQ restaurants. If you've never been to Fogo, I would start off with something besides the Picahna because that's so tender that you'll soon forget about all the other meats! Try the Lamb, Filet, etc. because you over stuff yourself with the Picahna. But avoid the Chicken wrapped in Bacon. It's not bad but why fill yourself up with something less tastier.
The DineLA menu also included dessert ($44/person compared to $60/person without dessert. What a great deal!) but I ordered off the menu for an extra charge and got the Creme Brulee. The bf ordered the Papaya Cream which was good and tasted interesting. The Creme Brulee I ordered was DELICIOUS. I don't usually order it because it tastes too egg-ish but this one had a creamy texture and the caramelization on top was delicious. I finished the whole thing! Which was shocking considering I ate more meat than my bf, but everything was so delicious.
Besides the delicious food, the service at Fogo was amazing. Our waiter was friendly and attentive and when he noticed our plates were messy from all the meat, we were offered new ones and he often came around to check and see what other cuts of meat we were specifically waiting for. At the end of the meal, the manager came by again and apologized for the wait and asked if everything was ok. I will definitely be coming back to Fogo in the future.
THE MOST DISGUSTING RESTAURANT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!!!!!
Meat non stop meat....rib eye, filet, bottom, top, cock, balls, pork, chicken, lamb, sausage....
they keep coming to your table with meat, and you keep eating thinking I have to get my $60 worth...
there's enough food here to feed an entire country...
skip the sides, salad bar, dessert...you came here for meat...
the sangria is pretty money.. get a pitcher...
I ate like a fat bastard here... I just took a huge gigantic dump... it was really dark.....
disgusting... completely disgusting...
I'll spare a long review, as everybody states this place is amazing.
The service is top notch, the food is wonderful for a buffet.
Just remember valet is 5.50 and you wont find street parking so don't be cheap.
As one meat-lover would say to another.. I love this place!
+ good selection of meat
+ great atmosphere for both large and small groups
+ wide selection of alcohols
+ easy parking (valet, or street if u're lucky enough)
+ nice place to celebrate special occassions
+ I'm not a dessert person but this place has a pretty good selection of dessert
- can get a little pricey
- rather expensive valet
- significant price difference between lunch & dinner
Verdict: I would recommend the place despite the price since u're getting both quantity AND quality.
You don't come here on a whim. You don't come here because you want to "try something new today." You don't come here thinking you just want to sample a few different cuts of meat. No, no, no, that's just silly.
To decide to eat a place as glorious as this is a commitment. You are saying to yourself, "Yes, this week I WILL exercise the band of my stomach and will make every effort to stretch it out before the big day." You also need not to eat at all that day that you come. Stumbling out of your car, famished, when you first arrive is regarded by the Valet drivers as a sign of respect for the Fogo. For, nothing is as disappointing as becoming full too early at a buffet.
When you eat at Fogo for the first time, make sure that you go with people who have been there before. They can guide you through the evening dance of the meat skewers and spare you from the temptation of committing too early to less worthy meat choices. It's like a dating game. Girl goes to a bar w/ her girlfriends and strategically shuts down the advances of douchebags, until finally, Mr. Cutie w/ the plaid shirt, fresh kicks, and Jack-n-Coke-in-hand swoops in. The night is young again, and the girl is reminded that not all guys in the world are idiots, just as not all cuts of meat are as unfulfilling as the mere peppered steak.
My personal favorite is the Picanha. It's the cut of meat that comes with an accompanying layer of fat around it. As if the already tender sirloin needed a wingman to win you over. Add a touch of garlic and cracked sea salt, and you got me at hello, Mr. Cutie. Here's my number. Let's grab some drinks later. Caipirinha, maybe? After all, this is Brazillian dining...
--
Expect your stay to be at least an hour, enough time to savor, digest, rest, and repeat.
Salad bar is fresh and crisp.
Popovers and polenta are the perfect starchy sides to please the palette.
My boyfriend and I went to Fogo De Chao during DineLA week. It was our first time trying Brazilian BBQ. The salad bar, dinner sides, and meats were all you can eat.
The salad bar was okay. I was more interested in the different meats and sides. The fried plantains, garlic mashed potatoes, and cheese bread were delicious!
Of all the meats, we really enjoyed the lamb chops. They were well seasoned. There were so many different kinds of meat that everything started to just taste like MEAT. The chicken wings and sausages gave us some variety and they were juicy and well seasoned.
We tried the Keylime Pie and Flan. The desserts were good, cant go wrong there.
The food deserved 4 stars.. but the service was horrible.
They sat us in the wine room against the wall. It was so hard to get our waiter's attention. I had to yell out "Excuse Me" to get some more water. The meat servers would pass by and skip us. We spent about two and a half hours at the restaurant and majority of the time we were waiting for service.
Also, the waiter said he would give us complimentary desserts because we were "being so patient" when really the desserts were part of our fixed 3 course meal menu for DineLA week. I don't appreciate the lies.
While he was clearing the table, he dropped my dirty fork on my dress.. I was not happy with our waiter.
It was one unlucky first time experience. I'm not sure if I'll ever come back.
I went there for dineLA and it was great!
The unlimited salad bar is similar to what you would find at any Brazilian Churrascaria. The meat was tender and perfectly seasoned. The juiciest cuts were picanha, filet mignon and alcatra.
They also served mashed potatoes, cheese bread and fried yucca (kinda bland).
Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to go back.
I love meat and I mean I LOOOOOOOVE meat, so this was heaven for me.
I've heard nothing but good things about Fogo de Chao, but never had the chance to go until 2 nights ago. After dinner, I was kicking myself for waiting so long to try it!!! It's a great experience and is so worth the price. The meats they serve are so savory, tender, and flavorful (I recommend ordering medium rare to really bring the flavors out)! The price makes up for it plus more because think about how you would spend about the same price for one cut at a steakhouse, while here you get about 11! And it's all you can eat (although I was only able to eat about one of each). The cheese bread, polenta and plantains, along with the sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, etc from the salad bar are nice additions, but make sure that your focus of the night stays on the meat! Definitely save room for their signature papaya cream dessert...very nice and light, but filling!
Our reservations were at 6:30 PM and the restaurant was practically empty, so we got seated right when we arrived. However when we were leaving at 8 PM, it was so hard to get out because it was packed and there were so many people waiting in the lobby and outside. I don't know if it was because it was Dine LA, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's like that on a regular night. I am definitely coming back here again. I like that the staff are all friendly, helpful, and attentive. I also like that this is a place nice, but casual enough that you don't have to reserve going to it just for a special occasion.
Fogo de Chao = MEATGASM.
I went with two friends for dineLA and had a total blast. We spent roughly 2 hours. For $28, we got unlimited salad bar, non-stop meat, yummy appetizers and dessert - good deal, ya?
To start off.. definitely make a reservation. While we were seated immediately, Fogo was PACKED like sardines; just circling around the salad bar was tricky. The noise level wasn't so bad that I couldn't hear my friends, but the number of people eating probably affected the rate at which waiters served us meat (grr).
The food was, of course, amazing. The salad bar was filled with a wide variety of meats, cheeses, and salad garnishes. I actually had a lot of fun eating salad, and I'm not even a greens person - there was asparagus, smoked salmon, potato salad... etc. The appetizers were even better! The plantains were soft and perfectly sweet, the garlic mashed potatoes had the right amount of kick, and the fried cornmeal was also tasty.
The starters were the perfect complement to the meat served, which included, among others, the filet mignon (perfectly tender), the picanha (no words), top sirloin (best when you get the crunch!), the chicken, the chicken wrapped with bacon, etc, etc. I was a little disappointed with my lamb chop - too dry - but I think that was just me, because my friends loved it. I'm also sad we didn't try the pork. And my third caveat: the meat didn't come often enough!! But that's just because I'm greedy - I admittedly ate the perfect amount of meat.
But as much as I hyped the meat, it was the desserts that truly stood out. We each got a different dessert - the flan, the tres leche cake, and the papaya cream - and we were just so in love. Everything was perfect. The flan had a perfect consistency and just the right amount of sweetness. The cake had three layers - cream, white cake, and some kind of wine sauce - that was light and sweet. And the papaya cream was my favorite, I think just because it was so unusual - the alcohol contrasted very well with the sweet papaya/ice cream.
So do you even have to ask? YES I'M COMING BACK HERE.
$60 for dinner! Wow expensive right? But you get what you paid for, which is perfectly cooked meat delivered to you! And the best Salad Bar ever! What more do you want? How about a Guarana!
I went in December for my friend's birthday and they were giving free shot full of Whiskey!!!
Fogo de Chao is a meat lover's paradise! Probably my favorite restaurant. Before each visit, I get super excited... giddy... like a kid on her way to Disneyland. But man it's pricey! esp if you drink copious amounts of good wine.
If you've never been to a churrascaria before, you're in for a treat. Each person has a coaster-like disc - one side is green, the other is red. When you turn it green-side up, men with scrumptious sticks of meat magically appear. Although you'll be tempted to say "yes please" to everything they offer, you should exercise restraint (ha! like that's possible) so that there's room for seconds of your favorites.
I adore the PICANHA (house favorite), the GARLIC BEEF (a specialty dish but they always seem to have it, or maybe they make it once I ask for it?) and the LAMB CHOPS! And I definitely get my money's worth... I end up eating like two racks of lamb! Keep it coming boys, keep it coming. If there's something in particular that you want, just ask and they'll get it. If you want your meat more rare/cooked, tell the gaucho and he'll come back with it. The service here is amazing!
Three side dishes are automatically brought to the table - mashed potatoes, fried polenta and plantains. Plus, black beans and rice are also available upon request (free of charge). And if you like chiles, they'll even make jalapenos torreados for you. One time, the kitchen sent out the jalapenos, some brazilian chiles, and a freshly made salsa for us. Like I said, excellent service.
And although it's difficult to save room for the salad bar, you at least should check it out. It has a great selection of fresh veggies, cured meats, and cheeses... including fresh parmigiano reggiano that you scrape from the wheel! and moist buffalo mozzarella, manchego cheese, proscuitto, asparagus, hearts of palm, artichokes, etc.
Since dinner costs almost $60 p/person, it can get expensive quick! I have a penchant for starting off great meals with a glass of champagne (it makes me happy!), and I love a good Cabernet with dinner. Since the corking fee is $25, it's usually a better bargain to bring your own bottle(s). But if you order a bottle, make sure it's the year listed... we went on New Year's Eve and ordered the 2005 Joseph Phelps. We were served the 2006 bottle and when we commented on it, the server said: oh it's the same thing. uhh, no actually it's not!
*** Lunch price is $20 less p/person (like $36 p/person) and it's the exact same menu as dinner! But it's only Mon-Fri, from like 11:30 - 2:00 (so long as you're seated by 2:00, they'll keep serving you :)
Oh myyyyy this place is delicious!!! I came here on my birthday last week it's A+++++ in my book!
Service is GREAT; the servers are so attentive, and are quick to help you out if you have any questions, and are even quicker to serve you meat!!
Food is SOO good; all the meat they have there is so tender, juicy, and sizzling hot! Please try everything!
Its all you can eat salad bar and meat for about $56. Not bad cause the meat is unbelievably good. They season it perfectly and sometimes the skin is just a little crunchy and the texture is just perfect. Party in my mouth!
I am coming back here on...Valentine's Day? The fastest upcoming holiday for an excuse to treat myself ;)
DELICIOUS AND WELL WORTH IT!
BOMB MEAT, I tried EVERYTHING at the salad bar, and loved that the service was so nice! Came here for mine and my boyfriend's anniversary and I loved everything. Ate so much I was almost food-comatose when we left. Valet parker was even nice too to take our pic in front of the place, and made sure he got it centered and everything. Great place.
Yelp, you have led us astray.
Now, you may discount my review because I stuck to the salad bar, but I came with two meat-loving men whom I grilled for feedback (no pun intended). First, there was J, who had heard about Fogo about a year and a half ago. While he wanted to go for a while, we realized it didn't make much sense because I couldn't eat the main attraction. Then there was my brother. He's the family non-kosher eater and loves a good treif meat. He was out visiting from the east coast and I wanted to take him out for a nice dinner to celebrate his college graduation. I asked him his favorite cuisine and he said "Brazilian" having once worked as a gaucho. So Fogo it was.
We made a reservation the night before and arrived early enough to find street parking on one of the few non-metered, non-permit streets. Nice, since the Fogo lot was filled with luxury cars that would give my Corolla an inferiority complex. We were seated within 5-10 minutes of arrival.
The interior is pretty nice with lots of wine cellars and wood. It's dark and a bit swanky, with the grill in the back corner (or is it front corner?)
Although we weren't in the far corner of the room, we were in a "corner" such that two of us were against metal grates, the people who had arrived at the hostess basically saw us, and many a gaucho just walked by.
The server came by and explained the whole process. I opted for the Salad Bar meal and the other two were all about the meat. The server was nice enough, though apparently they have zero clue about the pricing of any drinks since they don't go near the computers. So you have to keep an eye on that yourself, since even a Bud Light will run you $5.
The salad bar was okay.... nothing great. They had balls of fresh mozzarella, which were good, but the accompanying tomatoes were basically Subway quality - likely because they're out of season. They have plenty of oils and vinegars, which I would recommend over the vinaigrette, which tasted off. The green bean salad was tasty.
The sides were the highlight of the meal. The fried polenta was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The fried bananas had a little crispiness and were very tasty. The cheese bread was yummy too. The mashed potatoes were overly salty.
As for the meat, here was the feedback I got from the dudes:
Picanha - They never got this (despite it being the signature meat) because the Picanha gauchos kept passing by without even glancing at our table.
Filet Mignon - They said that this was much tougher than they would have expected and slightly dry. J tried the bacon wrapped one too and said it was okay.
Beef Ancho - This was tasty and well cooked.
Alcatra - This was J's favorite - tender and succulent.
Fraldinha - Another favorite at the table, since it was tender and well-seasoned.
Cordeiro - My brother's favorite - he ate several of these lamb chops. J's, however, wound up having lots of gristle on them.
Frango - They ate them but were underwhelmed. Even bacon couldn't save it.
As I mentioned, the gauchos would sometimes pass by without offering. When they do come to your table, you can let them know the doneness of the meat that you'd like and they'll cut from the appropriate part.
We didn't try any desserts because everyone was full, but that's another thing. A meat dinner is $56 and salad bar is almost $30. To eat $56 worth of meat you really need to pack in a lot, just like at a buffet. So you're faced with that dilemma - do you want to get your money's worth but feel heavy/sick afterwards or eat till your contention and feel like you were ripped off.
My brother had one plate's worth of food. J wasn't amazed by anything. Our tab wound up to be $190 after tax + tip (we had a few soft drinks). With so many fabulous restaurants in LA, we could have had a great dinner at a place like Lucques for that amount, and been satiated both with full bellies and having tried wonderful, seasonal, and well-prepared food. With nearly half of the meats being overdone, the salad bar lackluster, and a steep check, I really don't understand the hype around Fogo.
Like all steak houses, I liked their sides the best.
Their meat was ok, if you're looking for tender meat stick with the filet mingon. And don't get anything with bacon wrapped meats, the meat is dominated by the flavor of the bacon--unless of course you love bacon and want to taste only bacon.
Their lamb chops were good, since it was all you can eat I didn't mind the small amount of meat you get for each piece. Also, their garlic beef had a nice garlic flavor, since we were being served lots of beef it was really nice to have it flavored differently.
SIDES: Their cheese rolls are yummy. They remind of those frozen cream puffs you get from costco, light crisp outside and an almost gooey(ness) inside.
Their caramelized bananas are nice and mildy sweet, it helps balance out the large amount of meat you're going to be eating.
Their fried polenta w/ parm on top had added a crispy texture and the savoriness of the parm is a nice touch.
Their cheesy, creamy, and buttery mashed potatoes... Need I say more?
All together the sides really do make the meats more enjoyable. I'm definitely coming here again--if only for the bread.
Try their papaya cream desert thing, their special soda, and their coffee. All are wonderful compliment to the meal.
Hooray for Dine LA! I felt like Genghis Khan ... MORE MEAT!
Went for lunch today, $10 off plus free dessert. I had flashbacks to my first "tenedor libre" experience in Buenos Aires. I managed to cut myself off before making myself sick this time, however. We'll be back next Dine LA for more top (and bottom) sirloin.
("Let's try Gyu Kaku) + ("No reservations and nasty scowl from the hostess) = ("I've always wanted to try the place next door")
Who knew that hunger could be solved algebraically!?! Poor planning on New Year's day helps, too.
So Nekked Sexxy & I decided to ring in the new year with dinner on the day and ended up here. Funny thing is we just talked about Brazilian restaurants a few days prior and my contribution to the conversation was that I had never been to one.
What a deprived Phoenix I am no more! I feasted on tender bottom sirloin, juicy bacon-wrapped filet, succulent lamb chops while taking bites of the wonderful goodies I grabbed from the salad bar...artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, buffalo mozzarella, tomato slices, and some prosciutto-ish cured ham. Had my first capirnah (sp?).
That was me. Nekked Sexxy was sitting next to me repeatedly dying, going to heaven, and resurrecting with each kind of meat he ate. I'm sure there was a trip to hell in there, too.
On top of our great service, the manager came to our table and spent a few minutes chatting with us, making sure we were enjoying our meal and talking about Brazilian-style restaurants in general.
NS & I both loved our experience here. Words like epic and un-fucking-believable came to mind. So did "I'm going to live in the kitchen".
But who knew about a "mathematically sound" meal....
still a HUGE fan of fogo. dropped into fogo last night with 10 friends and fogo was PACKED. i had a reservation for 7:3-pm, however, since our group was a tad slow in arriving, we were not seated till a little past 8p,.
the food.
STILL SOLID
my faves of the night were:
1. picanha - the cripsy fat cap was divine. and the meat was nice and juicy
2. lamb chops - nice and tender and extremely juicy. the top meat that evening
3. filet mignon - tender and juicy. bloody as hell, just the way i like it.
4. pork ribs - nice crust and tender.
i also had an assortment of the other meats form the bottom sirloin to the bacon wrapped filet to the sausage. all we good but not entirely memorable.
service was fantastic and the value was immense due to the dineLA deal. $44 for ayce salad bar/meats and dessert.
i left stuffed and happy and promptly went home, showered and passed out. what a nice night indeed!
OH MY FRICKIN' GAWWD!!! i love you fogo!! will you marry me please? PUHlease???
i was always under…
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The warning I would say is when that little card board is facing green, boy does the meat come fast. The servers come by very quickly before I even had a chance to cut my first meat. I would say my best cut was the house special. I usually enjoy rare, but the garlic beef was very moist and juicy considering it was well done. The lamb was very gamey.
The plantain was very mild and not too sweet which was great. Mashed potatoes came by and was refilled rather quickly.
The salad bar was pretty good as well. I wouldn't say it had a wide select, but a good selection none the less. Heart of palm, artichoke heart, cured meats and other vegetables. I would not go as far as what they say in the the placard of exotic meats.
The red sangria was subpar with floating apple and pair bits.
The service was good overall as it was a team effort.
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
Category: Brazilian
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Latin American
Neighborhood: Glendale
Category: Brazilian
Neighborhood: Koreatown
Category: Brazilian
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Steakhouses
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