Samba Grill Brazilian Rodizio

Go here. Just pay attention- they don't have a menu, so it uh, gets confusing.

This place gets 5 stars mostly because they catered to my ignorance.

The service was amazing, however, we were so distracted by the aromas and buffet, that we weren't paying total attention to what our (heavily-accented) waiter was saying.

So, without knowing it we ordered the all-you-can-eat menu- and mind you, this type of menu isn't conducive to my small stomach. We quickly realized, after the 2nd kabob was brought over, that this was NOT the $5.95 menu we anticipated.

The staff was so apologetic when they saw how confused we were that iit was almost embarrassing; clearly this was our mistake, not theirs. However, they still brought over a few more meats for us to try, complimentary dessert, and then only charged us for 1 all-you-can-eat meal! (believe me, we left a massive tip...)

On a different note, the meat was FANTASTIC. There was not one thing I tasted that I was even on the fence about. Prime rib, skirt steak, pork- all delicious. The (complementary) flan was delicious, and the pitcher of sangria, at only $18 was a total steal.

I will most certainly be back... and more knowledgeable this time.

I wish I could give them a 3.5 rating instead of 3. Samba Grill is great and I am glad that Astoria has a Brazilian Churrascaria Rodizio place.

The meat is better than most other places specializing in meats in this area. However, the quality is not as great as some other Churrascaria restaurant's I have been to in the city (Churrascaria Plataforma or Plataforma Tribeca), in other cities or outside of the country.

Churrascaria places is especially good if the there is big crowd so the fresh meat is going to and coming from the grill consistently. The lack of a big crowd for a place like this in Astoria is a reason for the quality - not the fault of the restaurant's cooking style or capability.

The price, however, makes up for the difference. At Samba Grill, you can expect to spend half or one third of what you'd spend in one of the other places and still get food that's almost as good.

I always look forward to my next visit.

It does not get any better then this. The meat is cooked and seasoned to perfection, the buffet offerings are fresh and interesting; and the service is wonderful. I live in the Upper West Side and make the trek to Astoria at least once a month for my Rodizio fix.

Would it be wrong to name my first-born Rodizio?

I don't see how anyone can say anything bad about Samba Grill. We decided to give it a try b/c it's in our nabe and they were featured on the news that morning. The wait staff was super friendly and let us BYOB b/c they didnt' have a liquor license yet. We just had to provide a receipt for them. The rodizio was amazing and ridiculously cheap compared to places like Plataforma and Porcao. Obviously Samba Grill is a small space and doesn't have the same kind of atmosphere but most days I don't feel like spending an extra $30 just for that when I'm going to gorge myself silly anyway.

Side note: If you have some sense of self-preservation and dont' want to do endless rounds of meat swords you can also order by the pound. Wallet friendly and helps with portion control.

This place rocks! All you can eat for $29 of the finest meats I've had in NYC in that price range. This place blows Plataforma in Manhattan out of the water. As I understand it, the chef used to work there, and the manager used to be at Greenfield (another hyped Rodizio place that's not as good as this one).

They've combined their talents to create an amazing place. It's sometimes not that busy so I worry about the business. It's not the kind of place you can go often because you have to expect to be completely stuffed in every orifice with hot piping meat. Ok that sounded bad but this place is great!~!!!!

I am confused about our friend Joe C's comment coz you say that they put too much salt and it's unflavored....I just wanted to know what flavor does salt fall categorically according to your discerning taste???...
I think Susy B's experience is more credible coz she's got all the details of the food and even the place... I doubt if Joe C has ever been here... I'm just being factual....peace bro!

Love, love this place. Only eaten in once, but did it by the pound and found it very reasonably priced. The skirt steak, chicken, and sausage were by far the stars of this place. Have gone a few times now to do take out and its super convenient and soo good.

I really like this place. It's all you can eat meat, (with buffet) and it's REALLY good. They give you a two sided wood thing, one side red and the other side green. You put it on green and more meat keeps coming to your table. You put it on red and it stops. Trust me: you won't want to put it on red for a long time!

We found this little AYCE Rodizio yesterday ^ were happy we did. All the meats were excllent, the staff very friendly, & the price mch better for a Rodizio than other places we have been to. It is a little more cozy than many Rodizios, but I found that nice & the staff even encouraged me to switch over to a larger table than I picked, when they saw that I like to "multi plate it." The salad bar had several great hot food items that were a meal all on their own. The lamb was the best I have had in awhile, the steak wonderful & even the Flan was excelent. Everything had a home cooked taste & feel to it as if I was lucky enough to have a Brazilian grandmother who grills & cooks for me my whole life. Go before 4pm, & the price grts even better while you still get mostly all the same large meat & salad bar entree selection.

While by no means the best Rodizio in the city, the meat is fabulous and the buffet well-stocked. Home made Sangria is decent while the range of beers is fair. The take-out option is particularly good as it makes eating in cheap and easy when you grab some a pound of meat to add to rice and salad at home. Only downside is that it's a little pokey - beware of taking more than 6 people.