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Mon-Wed. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Wow, a lot of the previous reviewers are prissy bitches. Oh no, the restaurant was quiet, that's a complaint? Okay. They decided to not be wasteful and kept the perfectly good old tables from when it was The Melting Pot? Good for them, if that distracts you during your meal you have Asperger's, sorry to be the one to inform you.
Their salad bar's selection was fairly poor compared to other Brazilian steak houses, but quality was quite good. I liked that they didn't have as many hot dishes as other Rodizios, but I think that's good, you don't fill up on tortellini before the glorious meat!
Our waiter was polite and always around, as were the gaucho's with their skewers of meat. Lots of selection, from your standard beefs and porks to Turkey and even a skewer of cinnamoned pineapple, which is amazing by the way. Eat it. Eat it now. I do wish they had some more interesting cuts that other places have, but for $45 you can't really expect Elk. I hope this place sticks around.
Underground means BROTHERS!
and
Green side means GO!
Though the trappings of past fondue functionality remains, the decor better fits the Brazilian steak the location now serves. And then there's the two sided puck. Remember, I can't stress this enough... GREEN=GO! That's all you really need to know here to keep grilled perfection served to you very plate. Keep that puck on the table on it's green side and you'll be golden. Yes, it's smaller servings, but lots of servings. So keep that in mind when you might think you may want more.
BTW - ATTN
dont bring a $4 bottle of wine to a place that charges $10 corkage
;P
The filet mignon......
The rib eye steak.......
The prime rib.......
The cinnamon pineapple.......
Four and half stars for being the first and only Brazilian Steakhouse in San Jose. I've waited three long years for one to open up in the South Bay.
No more shall I waste precious gas to drive up north just to get my Brazilian meats.
The prime rib is screaming here. I love watching the natural juices trickle down the craving knife and land on my plate. Its tantalizing and very much like getting a strip tease and knowing that you're going to get a happy ending tonight. HA!
Asides from the meats, you gonna indulge on the freshly made corn bread. It has a texture that's moist with a little bit of firmness.
Bonus Points:
- Cigar patio in the back.
- You can bring your own wine (corkage fee applies).
- We paid only $35.00 a person during the restaurant week promotion. Regular price is $45.00 per person (not including drinks and tip).
- We reserved the large private room at no extra cost.
- Kudos to Amanda Bear for bringing her vintage sexy wine collection from 1986.
- Kudos to James G for sharing his collection as well. See pics for details.
Parking: I suggest parking at the nearby lots for only $3.00 bucks after 6:00pm.
Word to the Wise:
Please don't bring $3.99 wine to my dinner gatherings. The corkage fee was $10 each bottle. * cough * van * cough *
Oh to be lulled by tales of never ending meat sticks being brought table side until your kidneys shut down from processing a ridiculous amount of protein.
The store front looks nice. Fancy even. As you walk in you can't help to notice their floor to ceiling wine cellar behind the glass. The staff is friendly and you feel like a VIP. Initially.
After sitting and having the system explained to us, the food started coming. The menu listed about 30 different cuts that would be available. By the end of the night, I'm sure I could count the "variety" on one hand. The meat tasted great, which is about the only good thing going for this place. The following are my gripes:
Food came around occasionally. You're left sitting looking at your empty plate for minutes at a time wondering if the servers notice your idle hands and mouths. Our actual waiter largely ignored us when our cups were empty and when we did catch him, it took him a significant amount of time just to refill water. The menu doesn't list the prices of its drinks unless its wine, so we got our non-alcoholic drinks (juices actually) tacked onto our check to our surprise. I also asked for orange juice and got something translucent, fluorescent, and carbonated. I was confused.
The place has potential if they weren't stingy with bringing around the meat. There were only a handful of tables on a Friday night and slowed down their service with 2 hours left before close. If you have the money and a small appetite, go for it. Otherwise, don't waste your time.
I went here a couple weeks ago for the Silicon Valley Restaurant Week, so the rodizio was $35 instead of $45. Overall, I'd give Maceio about 2.5 stars.
Upon sitting down, you are given a platter of fried plantains and yucca (cassava), along with the famous Brazilian pao de quiejo (cheese filled bread balls!). After a few minutes the first meat carver stopped by our table. We each got a piece of meat (didn't want to load up on just one kind) and we ate it....and then we waited...The meats were all delicious, but my main problem with Maceio is the servers were very slow to bring them around. I've been to Brazil and the churrascarias there bring you meats faster than you can eat them, leaving you with a satisfyingly full plate o' meat. At Maceio, you eat your slice of meat and then sit there staring at your empty plate for a few minutes until the next server comes by. Pick up the pace!
There are about 11 meats on their menu, including very juicy turkey, tender pork ribs, linguica sausage, and several cuts of beef. The side dish/salad bar has about 20 items to choose from. Definitely get some of the warm cornbread, which is more like a custardy cornbread pudding than a traditional dry cornbread. The roasted pineapple covered in cinnamon was awesome and a great way to end the meal.
I brought a bottle of wine and they did not charge us a corkage fee, which was nice. I'm not sure if they do this all the time or we got lucky. We did order another bottle from their menu later on too.
For $35, it was a good deal, but for the normal $45 price, I would prefer to go to Pampas in Palo Alto with its nicer décor, faster meat service, and better salad bar.
*Note to self*
Never bring two buck chuck to a place that charges you a corkage fee. I found out the hard way as I was heckled all throughout Waltski's UYE.
My bad guys! I really like Charles Shaw's Merlot...
But I digress, so back to my review of Maceio, Brazilian Steak house that took over for Melting Pot in downtown. (I guess the La Fondue knock off couldn't hang with this recession) So I've been to a few places like Pampas or Yoli's in Vegas so I have a good idea of what's good or bad. It's all about the quality of the meat and how well prepared. Is the meat too dry or succulent? How often do the meat imps come around etc.
The selections of meats were all good except for I wasn't too impressed with the lemon tyme chicken because it was dry but the signature sirloin of theirs is full of flavor and bloody good. One of the meats actually had a slight crust to it and the carrot marinaded turkey was interesting but worked. What I really liked the short rib as it was seasoned really well, but what I couldn't get enough off was the pineapple. Yes the Pineapple. I love pineapple.. I mean I really love it and when you roast it with cinnamon it's freakin out of this world incredible. Plus it's a perfect change of pace with all the salty meats you're eating. I honestly think I killed off a whole pineapple in that sitting.
Oh yeah there are sides too like asparagus, but what I loved best about the side bar was the corn casserole. I think I went back to the bar like 4 times and also finished the last of it. Next time I come back, I'm bringing tupperware... (Hey it's a recession bitch!)
Van The Man Must Try : I know you come here for the meat, but you gotta try the pineapple and you know what they say about guys that eat a lot of pineapple ;)
This was my first time at a Brazilian steak house (all you can eat of 13 kinds of meat? oh my), and my, did we have an interesting experience!
We had a party of four with reservations at 8:00pm and we brought a bottle of wine to pay the corkage fee of $15. Our dinner pretty much started at the bottom with a little disappointment but it gradually escalated to major awesomeness toward the end. During the first half of our dinner I would have given this place two stars. The service was super slow, and our table kept getting the crappy last bits of the cuts of meat. An hour had passed by and we hadn't even been able to try half of the meats (they kept coming around with the same cuts, therefore getting turned away). Communication was also rather meh, because someone kept telling the wrong person to uncork our bottle of wine (who seemed to have forgotten about us) and it took forever.
While waiting for the meats to come around, we tried to salad bar. I do love their salad bar! (But they charge $29 if you're eating just the salad bar alone without meat... WTH?). Different types of lettuce (standard), different types of potato salad (including an interesting green looking Brazilian one), deviled eggs (YUM!), crab salad, several other fun munchies, and some hot selections as well for appetizers). They also serve some appetizers at the table... which were all fried... but delicious fried. :)
After we got sick of waiting forever for everything, our friend stuck his head up out of the booth like a prairie dog to look around with a disappointed look on his face. We also started complaining among ourselves with a probably audible tone and they may have heard us, so that was when the service started improving. The manager became very attentive to us (but she was also really forgetful because she was frantically busy). The bartender came to uncork our bottle, our server came back to ask us which meats we hadn't tried yet, and it kept coming back around. Yay! A lot of the meats were seasoned similarly but they were all so tender and delicious.
After we finished our bottle of wine, we ordered a pitcher of red sangria which also took forever because the manager who took the order forgot to tell the bartender to bring it to us. So then we realized later on that some of the slow service was at the fault of that lady manager, who was bossy toward her bartender and servers, but bad at communications herself. She somewhat blamed her bartender in front of us, but the bartender clearly did not receive any order for our pitcher until we later pointed out that no one brought it out to us. It was made up for, however, by giving us an extra half pitcher on the house... because the first one "had too much ice in it," as they put it. HEHE! Dinner experience going uphill!
Our server noticed that our table was going crazy for the roasted pineapple (OMG SO GOOD... how funny that we were going nuts over the cheapest thing on the entree menu)... their pineapple is seasoned to perfection (who knew cinnamon could do such wonders) and incredibly juicy and tender. I could have just eaten the roasted pineapple itself for dinner! Juicy, warm, delicious pineapple... We kept eating it after we finished all of our meat courses and felt like we were about to explode, but we could not resist the pineapple. Our server kept coming back with newly seasoned pineapple because he saw how much we loved it... what an adorable guy - we personally tipped him extra after our desserts came because he was so lovely.
As for the dessert... we did not like the creme de papaya. We like papaya but we did not like that. However, their raspberry cheesecake is to die for!!! We wished we had ordered two cheesecakes instead of two mousses. But the chocolate mousse was also SO GOOD. Chocolate-raspberry with a very rich texture (but not TOO rich)... better than other mousses I've had. At the very end of dinner the lady manager waived our corkage fee to make up for all of the inconveniences we had endured. YAY! What a wonderful experience. I would definitely come back here with some other friends that I know would love this place.
Oooh, another Rodizio in the Bay Area?? Had to check it out, this would be #5 for me!
First off, I'm not a fan of downtown San Jose now that they're charging for parking. When the economy was bustling, parking was free, now it's $3 everywhere you go. I know, it's only $3 but still.
Decided to check out Maceio for dinner on Wednesday night. Walked in and waited for maybe 2-3 minutes before we were greeted. While waiting, the restaurant was quiet, didn't see any tables filled and only noticed one staff member, the bartender. We were finally greeted by two hostesses at the same time and were immediately seated. I found it weird that there was a glass center on the table, as if it was a "Hot Pot/KBBQ restaurant," I asked the hostess what it was and she said they used to be The Melting Pot. Ahh...okay! But, couldn't they put new tabletops? It was way distracting. We were familiar with the Rodizio concept so we were on on our way. First stop, the Side Bar!
The Side Bar featured your basic salads and starters. They had to great Crab Salad and two Potato Salads, one of which had bacon. Bacon makes everything taste better! I love Deviled Eggs and there's were good but you can tell they've been sitting out for awhile. I still at em. They also had Grilled Green Apple, which looked good but oy, it was sour. The other Antipasto items they had were pretty basic and not memorable.
Their hot food section of the side bar I thought was a joke. There were two chaffing dishes, each with three tray sections, the size of about a pound cake pan. One had three different rice, which needed to be replenished and was badly sticking, borderline burnt on to the tray. The other tray was their cornbread and I didn't bother touching the other two.
Got back to our table and noshed on our buffet items. The whole time we were in the restaurant, we didn't notice any guys walking around with meat. About 8-10 minutes of sitting and almost done with our plates, we finally see our first guy with meat, and then it was like a rush; one guy every minute. Highlights of the meat...it was good, maybe slightly too rare. I especially liked the Pork Ribs and Tri Tip. Everything else was just "okay." The Shrimp was good, but it still had the skin on, not to mention, they weren't that big of Shrimp either. Sadly however, the BEST thing that came out on a sword...the Roasted Pineapple. That was sincerely THE BEST pineapple that I've ever tasted out of all the Brazilian Steakhouses I've been too! But...again, that was the "BEST" thing...at $45 per person?
Overall, the ambiance of the restaurant was nice, the hostesses and server were friendly, along with the meat guys. But, it definitely is not worth the $45 per person. I don't know, maybe it's the cruddy area, the numerous homeless people we walked by to get to the restaurant, that bright street light shining into the restaurant or maybe it was having to feel the light rail train whizzing pass the restaurant, dinging it's bell every 10-15 minutes? Plus, I didn't get the feel that it was an authentic Brazilian Steakhouse as they spelled "Rodizio" on the receipt as, "Rodizzio" yikes, that's not good.
Sorry Maceio. :(
Went for dinner to try this place out since it just opened here in San Jose. What caught my eye right when we walked in, it was wine galore!!!! hhaaaaa hella wine from all over the place =)
We got seated and the waiter explain to us what and how this place works. The lights were dimmed so it was kinda hard to see the face of our waiter. He also brang out some cheese bread, banana friters, and potatoe friters to start us off.
We went to the salad bar ... kinda expecting more =( Not really many choices but what they had was not bad. Try the corn bread (doesn't look that great but it's good). Then the meat started coming ... YAH I just kept having them come and cut me a slice even though I still had meat on my plate still. Didn't want to miss out on anything! OMG you have to try the pineapple w/ sugar and cinnamon slightly on the outer edges. Sooooo good! I had a couple of slices of those, plus it was juicy too. The shrimp there looked plain but it had a good taste to it =)
It's all you can eat and stay as long as you want because it just keeps coming and coming. Oh yeah forgot to mention it's $45/person but it's all you can eat and very good customer service!
As a longtime downtown resident, I really, really wanted to love this place. It's certainly not a bad value, or an unpleasant experience in any way. But my sense is that belongs in the suburbs somewhere. The food is quite good, mostly, but not great. If you're familiar with the Brazilian steakhouse concept, it's a little above par for the course. '
However, the meat is a little hit and miss and comes at you so fast, it's hard to get a really good steak experience out of it. Sure, I really liked a couple of the skewers, but most were average. The salad bar, on the other hand is epically good and unique. but not sure how many people will show up for that.
My advise to the owners is: feature a few really good cuts of meat, market yourself more effectively, and try to make the atmosphere a little more subdued. Two big thumbs up for the affordable corkage fee ($15), btw.
Wow, talk about meat overload! Not surprisingly, this place was dead on a Monday night, but apparently it's not any different on any night. We got seated right away, and noticed the familiar surroundings. Heck, they even still had the tabletop burner from the Melting Pot!
Our server was polite and helpful, explaining the concept of the restaurant and whatnot. I was glad, considering I haven't been to a Brazilian steakhouse before. The side bar had a great selection. Plenty of dishes to munch on between the servings of meat. I especially liked the deviled eggs (with Tabasco), cornbread, chicken with some kind of tomato sauce, fried rice, and grated carrots.
Of course the star of the show is the meat. Fourteen choices are served to you, ranging from beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, and sausage (linguica?). Anyway, I liked some meats more than others, especially the cuts of pork and the sausage. It was spicy and had a nice snap to it. Apparently, I could've asked my meats to be more done since much to my dismay, all of the beef was served medium rare. Everything had good flavor, and I liked that some were spicier as well.
If I had to change something, it would be that they should offer a smaller version of the main menu. Perhaps do a six or seven meat course instead of 14 and have the customer choose the meat they would like served. At least you'll get your money's worth if it was served a la carte for half the price and half the amount. By the end of the dinner, I was sick of anything meat and the texture got to me a little.
A "Tour de meat" for the meat lover! If your a carnivore then this is heaven for you. I went here on a slow weekday and didn't have a reservation but was seated immediately. The decor was similar to the Melting Pot that used to occupy this location. I had the 14 meat tasters choice meal including all you can eat from the salad bar. "Gauchos" come to you and cut you fresh meat right to the plate. I prefer my meat medium well or even well but when I saw the cuts of meat they were medium rare...not the texture I was going for.
The salad bar had a lot to choose from and everything tasted great. The lamb was great as was the chicken and some of the beef that wasn't still mooing! This was something new to try as I have never been to a Brazilian steak house, I was surprised and really full after.
The manager came up after the meal and talked about our dinner and asked how it was. That was the first time someone other than a server has ever asked how everything was. I enjoyed the personal touch as she genuinely cared. The price is a bit steep but this is a once in a while place to dine so its well worth it. I was a nice experience.
I'll get straight to the point, not worth the price we paid. If you're going to charge "Espetus" price(actually, I think it's more than Espetus), you have to deliver. Two things saved this place, our waiter and the corn bread. the waiter was very friendly and the corn bread was the best corn bread I've ever had, might even have gotten them a 3 star if the meat was hot when it got to our table. There were no more than 6 parties there, no reason why the food should be luke warm when it gets here.
good service. salad bar is better than espetus (not that you come for the salad anyway). why didn't they switch out the tables from melting pot if they don't use that burner in the middle?
service is fantastic. can't say enough about that. extremely friendly and accommodating. brought us extra servings of meat. cuts of meat were also generous (to me).
mentioned by others - skip the appetizers. cassava was the best one and was barely chewable.
i thought the meat itself was decent, competes well against espetus. in fact, espetus tends to oversalt all cuts of the meat; i thought maceio did a decent job of keeping most of the meats within edible ranges. there were several awesome meats they bring you (i think the tri-tip was by far the best one, followed by short rib). filet mignon was, oddly, only okay; least favorite was the shrimp (oversalted, esp for seafood).
it's also been mentioned before - they like to cook their meats medium to medium-well. fortunately for me, i like medium. it's much harder to cook medium-well and not have it dry out, than it is to just make everything extra rare. i thought the moistness was great.
go with friends! don't be caught eating alone at a place like this.
Do people really just go for the side bar only ($35)?
For $10 more, we were provided with an unlimited quantity of savory meats from the Churrasco grill. After a slow start, my dining experience here was more exciting than the last time I had Rodizio in Manila...of all places. The ambiance and originality of this spacious restaurant added to the excitement. But I think it was the element of surprise that did it for me. We kept our button on green the whole time, always anxious to see what the next skewer will be.
Of their 13 spit roasted meats, my favorites were the tri tip, top sirloin cap, and filet mignon covered with bacon. Their marinated flank steak wasn't bad either. The pineapple (with cinnamon and brown sugar) was a perfect palate cleanser between meats.
Speaking of palate cleansing....their plantains and quinoa salad hit the spot as well. The cheese bread, potato salad with green sauce, and shrimp salad were great tastes. But the only side that I kept going back for was their amazing cornbread.
Service was stellar, thanks to Nancy and Clifford. They kept checking up on us, giving us recommendations, sharing ideas, and made sure our meats were cooked to our specs. It was nice of them to also give us a tour of their banquet rooms. They're clean and not too shabby!
Too bad they don't validate parking.
Thanks Ron for a delightful dinner. It's good to see a restaurant like this in our neck of the woods.
I have been to several Brazilian Steakhouses and this one holds its own quite nicely. Expect to spend splurge money if you come here and pace yourself. (The food will come at you very quickly but you can build in your own breather by turning over your tabletop indicator so that red is on top instead of green.)
The salad bar is excellent but go easy there. Your food journey is just beginning.
The real fun stars when you turn the green up on your tabletop indicator and the meat starts to arrive in waves. You are provided tongs to help guide the meat to your plate as they slice it right at your table.
They do an excellent job with all the red meats. My favorites were the Beef short ribs, the bacon wrapped filet and the Ribeye. The pork, turkey, sausage and chicken were also tasty, but this place is more about the red meat.
Be sure to try the slow roasted pineapple with cinnamon. Man! It's really good!
I recommend the Malbec as a great wine to go with the meat for a decent price.
The place was dead on Monday night. We had a party of 15 and they were very accomodating from the bartender to our waiter. Great selection of meat, you really have to come hungry to get your money's worth at $45 for the sidebar and all you can eat meat on a stick.
The cuts of meat were overall pretty good, nice flavor. Some cuts were were quite fatty though. Sausage was spicy and the casing had a nice snap. Side bar was just ok, nothing too memorable.
I probably won't be back again.
Finally, S.J.! A Brazilian steak house you can call your own. I've been to the ones in SF, San Mateo and San Bruno so I'm quite familiar with what the Bay Area Brazilian steakhouse scene is like. I was anticipating good eats this evening--I left satisfied but not blown away.
Gauchos = 5 stars. These guys are cool. They came often enough and accommodated some folks in our party who wanted their meats well done.
Decor and Ambiance = 4 stars. It felt like an upscale restaurant from the moment you walked in. If you are seated at a booth you'll have privacy with the high walls but it will feel as if you're having hot pot or or korean bbq because in the middle of the granite table tops are square holes which they covered up with metal sheets which you can pop open and stare at your company's feet if you so choose.
Selection and taste = 3 stars.
1. They have 14 items to offer on skewers and a couple of the meats were very salty. On a couple occasions, I crunched into salt crystals before I was able to bite into the meat. I had at least 5 glasses of water. Probably not enough H2O to flush out all the sodium now in my body. Great, that's all I need is to retain water!
2. The pineapple had brown sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on them which was extremely sweet.
Service = 2 stars.
1. It took several reminders to our waiter that I ordered a pineapple mint caipirinha. Took 15 minutes to get the drink.
2. When we went back for a second round at the salad bar, we were surprised upon our return that our table was bussed and cleared. They took away the alcohol, man! They brought me back another drink but it tasted more like a mojito than a pineapple mint caipirinha.
Desserts = 1 star. 3 desserts offered, 2 cheesecakes and a chocolate mousse cake. Where's the flan, creme brule or the dulce de leche???
Price = determined by you after your experience. $45.45 for the maceio and side bar or $35 side bar only. Me personally, the only thing worth a second round at the salad bar was the cornbread. BTW, if you came here for the salad bar, you need to be slapped!!
This places has been open for about a week and a half and we experienced certain situations which I hope they address. So for now, I will be enjoying Brazilian in San Mateo or SF.
If you do make it a point to come here, I provide you a couple helpful tips on parking.
1. Park at the lot on San Fernando x 1st St, across from E&O or PF Changs. Parking fees is relatively inexpensive, $3/hr.
2. Parking Validation = wishful thinking.
A-OK.
Food was okay- the best things were the grilled pineapple covered in cinnamon and sugar, and their turkey which was moist and flavored just right.
I also enjoyed a few things from their salad bar- the corn bread, chicken in some tomato sauce, and their fried rice (YUP).
Service was good, but hey, the restaurant was practically empty on a friday night so who knows how it is when they are packed.
We've been waiting to try this place since we saw an ad for Maceio "coming soon", which really meant, coming later than never.
It's always good to try something at least once. And yes, the other yelpers are right... Pampas is a lot better as far as taste and variety. However, the number one Brazilian BBQ in my book is Fogo De Chao! Where else can you see famous people like Muhammad Ali?
As I sit in the plush booth listening to flamenco music in the background, glass of Malbec in my hand and the gauchos and passadors parading around, I think...I'm in Brazil or Argentina, and I'm auditioning for the Travel Channel's Tony Bourdain's job.
Decorations on the wall take you back to the pampas, but since I've never been there, I just have to imagine it. With every bite I say "oh yeah...that's good...mmm...now that's good"...and wash it down with the aforementioned Malbec. The owner of the restaurant, Nancy, checks in with us periodically to give us a rundown of the dishes and does her marketing research. Unlike Mr. Bourdain, the only smoking that will be done tonight is the food...and lots of it.
It's about time we have a Churrascaria (that's Portuguese for Brazilian steakhouse) in San Jose. Off to the left of the main dining room is the buffet table, with about 30 items to indulge in. I pass over the routine stuff, but my eye zeroed in on a few items that nobody in their right mind should never go back to their table without...that's the quinoa salad, the beet salad, and the cornbread so good that will have you talking about it for days. This buffet alone will cost $35, but you will be a fool to stop here.
Get the full meal and you'll be in meat heaven. Turn the indicator to green, and here come the passadors with endless rodizios of meat. Pork sausage...short ribs...turkey...chicken...bacon wrapped filet mignon...top sirloin...flank steak...tri tip...and my favorites, Pichanha (top sirloin cap) and rib eye. The passador will soon figure out your preference and will cook your rodizio to your liking.
Turn the indicator to red, take a break, and go at it again. And again. And again. I'll be back, that's for sure.
I have been to several Brazilian churrascarias and I thought Maceio was just okay. They had the weakest "salad" bar I have ever seen. Even the hole in the wall Cleo's in San Bruno has better side dishes. The meats were good, but I wish they had more chicken, for those of us who don't really eat red meat. The turkey was surprisingly super moist. The best was the cinnamon grilled pineapple!
Over all service was great, but then again, the restaurant was more than half empty for a Thursday night. Oh, and the drinks were strong, just how I like them! We had the pineapple caipirinha which was fantastic.
For the price, and the food, you're better off saving it for Pampas or Espetus!
Many good things are Brazilian-the women's MMA champion Cyborg, jiu jitsu, capoiera, caipirinhas, and the Brazilian Steak House. Maceio is a fine dining establishment for your churasscaria experience.
I'm glad we no longer have to trek to San Bruno. Open less than a month, Maceio is located in downtown SJ. There's a parking garage right across the street. Too bad Maceio doesn't validate...yet, but if you're willing to spend $45 a person to eat here then $7 is chump change. Still, validation would be a nice touch in this economic climate, or maybe next time we'll take the light rail, which runs right in front.
The meats are flavorful and the bf and cousin were oohing and aahing when the rib-eye came out. One of the servers commented that he can hear them across the room. Yes, it's that good. The wait staff, and the owner and manager came by to chat and make sure we tried everything and the boys nodded enthusiastically adding they were having their 2nd and 3rd helping. Everything on the menu has a distinct taste so you should definitely sample each for yourself. I enjoyed the lamb with a certain reduction that I can't recall, but wow, was my reaction!
I had the Pineapple Mint caipirinha, the Brazilian version of the mojito, and it was well made, pleasant, and complimented the meal well.
The cinnamon pineapples came out like succulent honeycombs! I helped myself to 3 pieces, and these were probably the best I've tasted of the 3 B-steakhouses I've tried. The temperature was warm/hot and the cinnamon turned it into a glaze-like dessert.
The side dishes are a unique variety-try the cornbread, zuchinni feta, their signature potato salad, and I like the beet salad. We'll be coming by again I'm sure now that the bf is addicted. The dining area has a classy swank with a full bar. We just hope they add some chicken hearts! We heart the chicken hearts.
Had dinner here tonight. The main thing I want to comment on is the meat. I can't comment too much on the salad bar since I tried to save my belly space for the meat.
All the meat I had was outstanding. The chicken was great, the lamb was delicious, the filet mignon was so tasty with the bacon wrapped around, but the MVP for me was the top sirloin. There are 3 words to describe the top sirloin, and that is DE-LI-CIOUS! The meat was so juicy. I am STUFFED right now, but would still eat a piece of sirloin if it was in front of me right now. I asked our server what he thought was the best meat before we started eating, and he was ON POINT with the sirloin!
Another suggestion is to get the pineapple that they bring to the tables. So sweet, so juicy! It's a great contrast to the meat.
I like how they give you the cheese bread, fries and fried plantain as well. It's good to have it in between the meat tastings to get the full flavor of each meat.
The service was great. I was asked quite a few times how everything was. I will definitely go there again and have already suggested it to my family members.
I'm a bit surprised by the positive reviews. I love churascaria's but this place is a let down. The meats while needing to be rare were raw. The only thing not under cooked was the sausage. The salad bar has little in terms of selection when compared to other Brazilian steak houses. My two biggest pet peeves for these types of restaurants is when they don't have guarana drinks and no tomato and red wine vinegar dressing.
The staff was friendly and the decor is fine but when compared to other restaurants of the same genre this one falls well short. Not only that, it's also more expensive.
I won't return.
damn it I hate downtown SJ sometimes. Kids out of school, music in the park, and a mob scene where they think they can just throw themselves out in traffic. F*ckers! Almost ruined my dinner before I even got there.
But I digress...
considering the mobs outside, the place was empty. Kind of surprising but they had waiters outside trying to flag people down and when we showed up we told them we were already going in. It's been open for a few days but I guess since it's on a quiet part of 1st street not many people have noticed yet.
The old Melting Pot has given way to a Brazilian Rodizio! The place is huge, with murals, paintings and photographs of Brazilian scenes, new tables and booths and a decent sized salad bar area in the middle. We were presented the menu and you have two choices: everything or unlimited side bar. Of course we weren't going to have just the salad bar!
12 Selections on the Menu:
- Pichanha - top sirloin caps
- Top Sirloin - with rock salt
- Boneless Short Ribs
- Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon
- Flank Steak in a house marinade
- Lamb in grape juice/rosemary sauce
- Pork Ribs
- Turkey in a carrot juice marinade
- Pork Loin with spiced pineapple marinade
- Chorizo
- Chicken Drum Sticks marinate in garlic and red wine
- Grilled Pineapple
I made sure to try everything and this place has definite potential. Caveats? it's hard to keep meat in rotation for 2 people and they still did a good job at that. some of the things were on the dry side, I told the chef who came out to speak with us and he sent a rarer one immediately. Too much salt on something? Just tell them and they'll adjust accordingly. Such are the pains of a new place that is meant to serve tons of people. For the pricepoint it might be hard for the downtown mob scene but for special occasions and such it should do well.
The pros? The service. Everyone was helpful and friendly. My iced tea must have been refilled a gazillion times and our server and the chef chatted with us at length on how things could be better and they were welcome to the input.
So I think they're going to have to fix some hitches but they are more than willing in service and attitude and for that I give them the 4th star. They say dessert menu will expand and the addition of feijoada will make me return to see how they progress.
I am so glad there's a Brazilian steak house here. I've been trying to get to SF to try it and for some reason it never happens. This is totally different from anything i've had and it was a blast.
There is a salad bar serving various salad and cold appetizers like Deviled eggs and Mozz/tomato salad as well as black beans and chicken on the heated trays. Do not be fooled by the "unlimited salad bar". Just get a little bit of starch or greens to eat with your meat because there is a ton of meat coming...and that's unlimited also.
There's basically two options at Maceio, the Unlimited meat and salad bar for around $45 per person, and $36 for unlimited salad bar only.
Once at the table the waiter will go over how a churascaria works. There's a little green and red wooden hourglass thing on the table, when it is flipped to the green side the gaucho's ( cowboys) will come to your table and carve up some meat (and continue to do so). Using your tongs you can hold onto the meat as they are carving it, and if it's sausage or chicken drumsticks they will just slide it directly onto your plate. When you need a break just turn the little hourglass to red and they'll stop coming. ( It kind of reminds me of bubba gumps)
So our favorites for the night were Top Sirloin Cap, and the Rib Eye. We didn't even get to try the Trip-tip because we were so full. My boyfriend loved the cheese bread appetizer, it looked like a little mini muffin but stuffed full of cheese. I don't think we even touched the fries.
Tip: Don't be too surprised by the tiny painstaking slivers the gauchos are slicing up and ask for a bigger slice because half way through the list you'll understand why.
Decided to take a large group of 10 to Maceio for dinner on Thursday night. Everyone loved it! Great quality food and excellent service. After reading a couple of the reviews on Yelp... I was concerned. There was no need to be. This place is as good as Pampas in Palo Alto and Espetus in SF... but right in our backyard.
I want this place to stay in business! Really enjoyed it and will keep going back.
This restaurant served excellent meat dishes -- interesting sauces, cooked to perfection, served warm. The salads and side dishes were interesting and accessible, mostly tasty; however, the offering was not to diverse--just two few. (The corn cassarole is excellent!).
The ambiance is pleasant, but a little dark and cool for my taste. The owner stopped to check on things, which I appreciated but should be careful not to stay too long :)
So overall, I'd give 4 rating, except that the price was too high! Yes, it is similar to what is charged for the same meal in San Francisco or Chicago, but San Jose market in my opinion is not ready for that. AND the overall presentation does not lead one to expect those prices. I would have happily paid $30/person + wine, but our bill (including two glasses of wine) for four people averaged over $55 per person.
Enjoy, but come with a big wallet!
My husband and I came here for our 1 year anniversary and it was phenomenal. They have only been open for a few weeks so there weren't too many people there. It was also a Sunday night. I had never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before so this place made my experience wonderful. The owner was there and made our visit very special by surprising us with a private little room/booth scattered with rose petals and some very tasty wine. They called it the "No Hanky Panky" room. ;o) That was just a joke though.
The food was amazing and the staff was very friendly and attentive. We left stuffed and very satisfied. I had no cons about this restaurant. Everything was amazing and we will definitely be dining there again.
Thank you!
PROS: This place looks very nice; I like how it is set up. The colors are lovely, and the service is pretty good.
CONS: But, I was pretty disappointed. Since we've never been to a Brazilian Steakhouse, we didn't really know what to expect, and the menu was confusing. No one explained the structure or the process. The meat started arriving before we knew what was going on, and we didn't even get to order what kind of package we wanted (full bar or side bar). We would have chosen the full bar, but they just assumed which was kind of eh. We didn't even get to order our drinks, until the food started parading around and we had to ask for them to take our order.
Worst of all, they charged 9 dollars for my cheesecake, which I thought would be included in the 45USD charge, since it also included the appetizers, meat, and the side bar.
i would rather try one or two of the entrees than a whole bunch i can't remember. it felt like dim sum.
i think the menu would be nicer too if it wasn't just a piece of paper, but leather backed at least.
Everyone was very nice though. We probablyl won't go back. I hope do well though. SJ needs good restaraunts!!
We ate at Maceio for the first time last evening. We were all pleasantly surprised.
It was our first experience at a Brazilian Steak House, though we were aware of the format and mostly knew what to expect.
The variety of meats was great. It was nice to be able to try different meats through out the evening and with the exception of the pork ribs, I liked everything I tried. The only issue with the pork ribs was too much bone, not enough meat. The tri-tip was my favorite followed closely by the filet, the top sirloin, and the rib-eye.
The only minor complaints I had about the evening is I felt the salad bar selection, while nice, was a bit limited. I would have enjoyed the option for some additional starches, even on a small scale. We brought our own wines, but the provided wine list was a bit weak. They had significant selection that wasn't on the list and that looked/sounded better, but getting the wine list up to date would be beneficial.
Finally the signage for the restaurant needs improvement. It is the only restaurant on First Ave that does not have a sign that sticks out from the side of the building. We all walked by the restaurant at first and if wasn't for my wife seeing it we would have kept walking.
And it goes without saying, if you don't like meat (variety of steaks, turkey, lamb, chicken, and sausage) don't go. But if you do like meat and lots of it and a wide selection definitely make a trip. It is well worth it and the price is reasonable for what you receive.
In A Nutshell:
*Glad to have a Brazilian option in San Jose!
*The service was extremely professional (including the owner visiting our table and making recommendations at the salad bar)
*The meat selection was quite large and the meat was very tasty.
*The salad bar is very good, but not the best I've seen at a Brazilian restaurant
*Tasty Caprihna's!!
*Total Bill was $145 (included two meals, 3 Caprihna's and tip).
Overall, it's a bit pricey ($45 each) compared to other Brazilian places I've been to and the servings are fairly small (even though it's all you can eat). A good place to take a date (ask to sit in "Lover's Lane").
Despite the harsh economy, all is not doom and gloom in the south bay restaurant scene. In fact, last week a brand new top-tier restaurant opened in downtown San Jose where The Melting Pot used to be.
Maceio is phenomenal. I have been to over 90 restaurants in downtown San Jose, and I would put this on my top 5 list. The food, drinks, service, and ambiance are all exceptional.
The best way to describe Maceio would be a carnivore's candy shop. You'll be treated to over a dozen different meats cut table-side including bacon wrapped fillet mignon, tri-tip marinated in a house sauce, top sirloin, lamb, and house made sausages. There is also an extensive side-bar buffet and Brazilian appetizers served to your table (fried bananas and salgadinhas). I would also recommend trying a caiparinha with your meal, a sweet yet potent drink featuring Brazilian rum.
When all is said and done, it's not cheap... but the experience is well worth it. Clear your schedule, come hungry, sit back and enjoy. I'll definitely be going back for seconds.
I was so looking forward to this. Maceio was such a gigantic disappointment. The service was slow and when the gauchos did come, they gave us such a small sliver of meat. I am no stranger to this concept of trying out all the meat and not taking too much of one. This concept will actually work if the gauchos did actually come around with something other then the same sausages or chicken. There were many times where my husband and I would stare at our empty plates and consider getting something else from the cold bar. With this price, we certainly did not think that we would leave hungry. The one star is for their caprinias. It did bring my back to the shores of copacabana where the real Churrascos are.
This is my second Brazilian Steakhouse experience, as I have eaten at Espetus in SF before. I went here on a date last night, we ordered the caipirinhas (original for me and pineapple for my date) and they were STRONG. We opted for the salad bar/churrasco option. I knew what to expect and was pleased with the salad bar selection EXCEPT they were out of collard greens...I think they should've refreshed the bar a bit because salad bar items were looking low and it was a Friday night @ 8.
I liked all the meats except for the turkey and the pork, I would say the white meat options were too dry but the chicken was fine...except they were legs (dark meat).
I don't know what the bill came to, but I am sure it was at least $100+.
It was worth it, perhaps if they have a lunch offer that would be better to try the first time.
In all my Yelp reviews, I've never posted a review immediately after I've dined at an establishment...until now.
I've always been a supporter of new restaurants opening in Downtown San Jose. I've written reviews on Billy Berk's, the latest American cuisine restaurant in downtown. The latest injection of an exciting dining experience in downtown is Maceio. What an exciting new addition to San Jose!
This restaurant is a detour from the everyday doldrum of Italian, Mexican, American cuisine that is the make-up of downtown San Jose.
Maceio is a Brazilian restaurant and worthy of our patronage...if anything, to promote new and exciting dining experiences in San Jose. Maceio prevented hubby and me from having to drive to S.F. to experience a Brazilian restaurant for our first anniversary.
This was a first for hubby...I've had the Brazilian dining experience before. What an incredible experience we had!
From the moment we walked in, Manny greeted us with enthusiasm and showed us to our table. The "salad" bar was filled with vegetarian delights but I knew better than to fall for the temptation and forwent most of the items.
Hubby selected a glass of wine and I tried the caparihna (sp?). Manny painstakingly prefaced our dining experience with a thourough explanation of the Brazilian dinner.
No sooner did he leave us when the feast began. Fillet mignon wrapped in bacon, sirloin steak, flank stank, Brazilian sausages, etc. THIS is what San Jose has needed. No more over-priced Morton's Steak House! For 45.00/pp unlimited fare, you are in for the carniverous time of your life!
To all San Joseans: If you want San Jose to become the mecca of new and unique restaurants, please try Maceio. S.F. is no longer the place to go for Brazilian restaurants. Don't inject more money into S.F., your Brazilian experience is here in S.J.!
I really don't want to put this place down as we need more Brazilian restaurants in the Bay Area; but I feel compelled to let you know that this is not a traditional Brazilian restaurants.
Here is my breakdown:
Service= A for effort and friendliness; but need to learn more about the cuisine. Also need Portuguese speakers
Food - OK; not great for $45 flat fee. Quality of the meat is what makes these flat fees worth it in Brazilian "churrasco" restaurants. The meat was not high end.
Salad bar - was poor. Missed the point in the main key ingredients.
Drink - A+ - they nailed my caipirinha. It was delicious.
All and all worth to go if you know what to expect. If you have been to another Brazilian BBQ restaurant in the US such as "Fogo no Chao" you will be disappointed.
Hope that helps.
Thanks,
The large variety of meats are great but don't forget to try the cinnamon sugar glazed pineapple.
Disappointing selections and the place was practically dead on a Friday night. Some of the meat were overcooked, I'm guessing from low turnover of food. The salad bar selection was minimum, considering that they charge $35 just for the salad bar and $45 for salad and meat. I've been to Pampas and Espetus and they're much better than this place. Service was good but I came here for the food and I was not satisfied.
I had dinner at Maceio few weeks ago with a group of ten friends. All of my friends had been to Brazilian steakhouse before (mostly the other ones in the Bay area) and some of my friends are Brazilian. For me this was first time.
Most of us agreed this wasn't worth of second try.
First of all I thought the place was going to look amazing since it was under construction for so long. Décor wasn't impressive. The bar and even the furniture were reused from the Melting Pot - fondue restaurant that was there before. You could tell because tables still have opening in them where heat source was placed to keep the fondue warm. Now it is just covered with a plastic cover.
The place is expensive but that was ok with us because we expected lots of food. For $45 you get unlimited access to the bar and meat. You also get appetizers - cheese bread and fried bananas which are both good. They do keep bringing lots of cheese bread. I can't really say that about the meat.
The place wasn't that busy for Friday night but we had to wait long time for the meat. In other places they keep bringing meat, especially if you signal you are ready for more (green button you place on the table) but here we would wait 15 or more minutes before they came with another meat. As a matter of fact we never had to turn the button red side up and signal to stop bringing the meat and our plates were always empty :-)
The menu includes around 14 types of meats, including multiple top sirloins, ribs, rib eye, flank steak, lamb, pork loin, turkey, chicken drumsticks, sausage, pineapple with brown sugar and cinnamon (amazing) and finally filet mignon covered with bacon. The servers made multiple rounds with the cheap cuts of meat but we kept asking for the lamb and fillet mignon. They brought fillet mignon once and never brought the lamb. They kept saying that it was on the grill but we spent over 2 hours in the restaurant - no lamb takes that long to cook....just be honest if it isn't available!
The salad bar was so sad. There were just few very small bowls filled with various pasta salads, quinoa salad, some veggies, deviled eggs (?), rice and black beans. But you really don't go to this place to fill up on salad bar. You are going here for the meat.
There are deserts on the menu but they are not included in the price. We got two free deserts - I think because one of my friend's complained about the lamb :-)
Drinks were the best part of dinner. There were strong but about $10 each.
As I said, I am not going back. But I will try one of the other Brazilian steaks in the Bay Area.
Buche de Noel
San Jose, CA
December Special
San Jose, CA
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