Fogo de Chão

Steak, meat, pork, meat, meat, meat. Darn good restaurant I would highly recommend trying if in the area. If you’re lucky you can get a table with a window over looking the lagoon. Beautiful view. The food is delicious and the method by which they serve you (continuously) is awesome! Food was great as was the atmosphere!

The best Brazilian Steakhouse in Rio. If you are debating on going to this place or others in the area, come here. You won’t regret it.
Yes, this is an international chain (Brazil, Mexico, USA). Yes, the headquarters are in the United States (moved there in 2015).
BUT
The quality of the food, service, drinks, ambiance, and view are unbeatable. Some other steakhouses try to push lots of fish or chicken on you — not here. The cuts of meat are unbeatable, the waiters are extremely attentive, and the views of Botafogo and Pão de Açúcar are incredible.
If you have someone coming from out of town and want to impress them, or maybe you’re just hungry, skip the other places and go here.

Even if you have been to other locations, you MUST come to this one! Absolutely epic even if knowing others throughout the world. The staff is exceptionally attentive (and charming). The meat is better than anywhere else somehow. Amazing everything especially the service. It’s just absolute Brazilian perfection.

Very good meat. They also had a great buffet. And the price is really ok. The staff is very friendly. We had a great time. They have also a very nice balcony and a good view. The only thing i was a little disappointed about was that they didnt had a dessert buffet. But to be honest; after that amazing meat you are just to full to have desert

It was super yummy. Amazing how much beef can taste in different ways from cut to cut.

I can not remember the last time I’ve had exceptional food and service simultaneously. The abundance of food and options was overwhelming but very much wanted. I had to stop myself seven times from over doing it. I will definitely be happy to have a heart track eating the lamb served here. I hope the NYC location is the same or better. Overall I highly recommend this location. However, drinks are borderline awful but that’s seems to be all of Rio. Stick to beer as craft beer is huge and worthwhile in Rio.

Excelentes cortes de carne e carta de vinhos.
Linda vista para a baia e com área externa, com certeza uma das melhores que já frequentei.
É para repetir.

We had to have some Brazilian BBQ while in Brazil. Despite having more locations in the US than Brazil, we decided to check out Fogo de Chao in Botafogo based on recommendations from native Brazilians and expat Americans alike.
My wife and I arrived sans-​reservations at ~730pm since we heard they aren’t big on reservations in Brazil. 730pm, by the way, is extremely early for dinner time by Brazilian standards. As such, we were seated immediately. We were also served with a place setting, menus, drink orders, and french fries/​other potatoes extremely quickly. It was so fast that I forgot, for a moment, that we were in Brazil, where things happen at much more of a relaxed pace.
I did a quick lap of the salad bar and grabbed a few items, making sure that I didn’t fill up too much on the items here. I got a small sampling of prosciutto, cheese, beat and caesar salad. All of this was fine, but it’s really secondary for what was to come.
It was now time for the main event! I flipped my disk from red to green, and it was go time! Within minutes, I got hit up with roasted banana, sausage, and chicken hearts. Then, the beef arrived. So. Many. Cuts. Honestly, it was all a blur since the cuts came and went so quickly, and I couldn’t understand the Portuguese terms for Rib Eye, Top Sirloin, Bottom Sirloin, etc. Ultimately, It didn’t matter. If it came to me, I ate it! It was yummy.
I took a few breaks by flipping to red. But then, a new cut would show up, and I’d have to ask coach to put me back into the game by flipping back to green! Soon, my desire for value and deliciousness came into conflict with the comfortableness of my pants around my waist. So, what did I do? I ate more, obviously! So dang good.
Apart from the food, there’s a great view of Pão de Açúcar on the terrace outside. My wife and I would have loved to sit here, but it was pouring rain the night we went. Nevertheless, we stood outside after dinner to check it out.
Post-​visit, I learned that Fogo de Chao is a NASDAQ listed public company based in the US. No wonder the service was so fast and efficient. I felt as part of a case study on operations!

Une churrascaria chic avec vue sur le pão de açucar. Une churrascaria est un restaurant qui propose de la viande à volonté. Le principe: des serveurs vont de table en table avec d’énormes morceaux de viande et vous en serve une tranche si le morceau vous plait. Si on souhaite faire une pause, il suffit de retourner un petit badge «não por favor» remis à l’entrée. Résultat: la viande est absolument succulente (bon, pour un montant de 126 reais par personne, on est content de né pas s’être fait arnaqués) et le buffet, proposant des légumes frais (asperges, tomates mozza…) est très copieux. Le restau en lui même est très spacieux et la vue sur la plage de Botafogo et le pão de açucar est à couper le soufflé ! Ayant également testé Porcão, je trouve Fogo de Chao nettement plus sympa.

The menu says you get many choices of beef but in reality they give you the cheapest cuts of meat. Sat waiting for filet mignon for about an hour and never came. Finally asked the waiter for the filet and still waited for about another 30 minutes. Ridiculous!!! For the price, I would rather go to a regular restaurant and just order exactly what I want.

PICANTE CUT ALL DAY, ERRDAY. I can literally eat 20 slices of just this meat the entire sitting. The chimichurri sauce that came alongside our meal was amazing. The service was superb. The buffet offering was a Class A act. A high-​quality, well-​rounded meal for just a fraction of the cost compared to what you’d pay in NYC.
I would not change a thing.

Why the four stars???
I’m from the U.S. and have eaten at several of their locations but wanted to try this one in Rio.
Ambiance — Spacious with lots of natural light and a great waterside location. I subtract a star because the stench from the water on the patio was horrible. Like a shit-​house door on an old tuna boat.
Food — Quality as you’d expect in Rio with plenty of the better cuts offered during dinner. The salad bar was not quite top notch but worthy and besides you’re not going for salad. The meat was well prepared although it lacked a little hint of smoke I’ve enjoyed at there other locations.
Service — Good. Just what you’d expect

Absolutely wonderful service. The cuts were spectacular, by far some of the best I’ve ever had. It helped to go with Brazilians who knew to ask for cuts that weren’t normally brought around unless you ask. They have this grilled or fried banana that is an absolute must. The place was packed with tourists, and the staff is clearly used to accommodating a variety of folks who speak different languages. My big complaint is that the back patio, which should have been lovely, smelled like sewage. It actually smelled like you were sitting in a toilet. The view was beautiful, but the smell was so terrible it was intolerable.

Meu dever elogiar novamente sobre a qualidade das carnes e do atendimento! Sempre me sinto satisfeito e com vontade de voltar!

Churrascaria de alma Gaucha, todos os colaboradores da casa se vestem a caráter e o costelão honra o nome da casa é feito no fogo de chão mesmo.
A carne é de primeira, e servem cortes especiais como a costela premium e o assado de tira, que são cortes super saborosos, e não estão disponíveis em qualquer churrascaria.
o Buffet é muito bem servido, as saladas sempre fresquissimas. o serviço é muito atencioso
A vista da varanda é para o Pão de Açucar, e dispensa comentarios.

This place was recommended by our hotel. The atmosphere is nice. You may have a beautiful Lake view. However I didn’t feel comfortable at that restaurant. The waiters are kinda arrogant. I’ve never experienced such an behavior before in any other churrascaria. At some point they stopped serving us any more meat and ignored our table. They also tried to charge us more drinks than we had. Also expect to pay a lot for their buffet. It’s not really worth the money.
A place I wouldn’t come back.

Beautiful view but I was disappointed with the food. Maybe because I had such high expectations. Great service and drinks though. I prefer porcao.

Preço não é dos melhores mas recomendo. Atendimento de primeira vista espetacular e certeza de comer uma boa carne. Tem que ter paciência com a espera no final de semana, principalmente quando for feriado que foi o meu caso.

Tough meat and the rudest waiter I’ve ever met… other than that, it’s the same old same old Fugo.
I have never been hustled so bad for a tip ANY WHERE! We applied the usual 5% but he refused to accept it and kept pushing, pushing for more. Ended up telling us f*** you, though, I must admit, with some slight provocation from this very disgruntled customer. I am happy to tip 20%+ for good service in the US, but do not believe in practicing the same regardless of locale, especially not for over salted and tough meat such as we were served. That it for Fugo and me, there’s WAY better local churrascaria than this over priced, over hyped chain.

Filho de gaúcho sabe comer carne: assim, minha segunda experiência com a famosa rede de churrascarias salvou-​se pelo «bife ancho», a morzilla e o esplêndido bufê, onde não faltaram iguarias caras e em fartas porções! No que pese a qualidade apenas regular de uma linguiça ou uma alcatra, carros-​chefe de qualquer churrascaria, não faltou sabor, do suco natural ao shiitake, do presunto ao salmão defumado. E agora, uma revelação: paguei menos de 150,00 por isso, por uma vista maravilhosa da enseada de Botafogo e pelo conforto das instalações.Certamente, Fogo de Chão é um nome a ser degustado.

The best in Rio. Bar none. I was impressed by the view, premium meats and service here.

Essa tem sido uma semana especial!!! tirando proveito de uma licença médica que me tirou da labuta aproveito para colocar em dia as minhas avaliações. Agora, de volta a fogo de chão. Já fui várias vezes em razão de ter sido eleita no meu apurado julgamento a melhor churrascaria do RJ e de Brasília também. Mas, hoje vou falar da minha estréia na churrascaria. Cheguei, ponto fácil, estacionamento amplo, táxi na porta! Recepção perfeita, barzinho mega legal para esperar degustando uma tacinha de chandon! Vcs prestaram atenção no pé direito da casa??? que sensação de amplitude!!! Entre uma tacinha e outra fomos chamados ao salao principal onde nos esperava uma mesa, com toalhas brancas e limpas, talheres corretamente alinhados, copos, guardanapos, enfim, aparência perfeita!!! Uma levantada a mais dos olhos e o encontro com uma paisagem de tirar o fôlego, e a conclusão de que por trás da porta de vidro existe um mundo e ele é maravilhoso! Me posicionei de frente a aquela exuberante pintura (mais uma assinada pelo grande Criador que essa cidade consegue abrigar sem necessitar museu para protegê-​la). Bem, mas paisagem por paisagem, poderia ter subido o pão de açúcar. Não foi isso que me trouxe aqui! Carta de vinhos, por favor. Excelentes opções só que tenho o defeito de criar memórias degustativas e sempre associo um vinho ao local. O escolhido para a fogo de chão é o alma negra, sem restrição a mudanças se um dia estiver afim! Eu gosto do que acho certo até mudar de opinao! Vamos olhar a mesa de frios, uauuuu mais uma santa devota da gula. O que é isso!!! Quanta variedade, organização e apresentação dos pratos, haja cometimento para não satisfazer-​se por ali mesmo, tipo ficar somente nas preliminares. Contudo, o cheiro de carne que paira no ar garante a vontade de partir pros finalmente. O couvert é muito bom e eu gosto de comer o pão de queijo quentinho ao final, com o café! O prato principal começa a despir-​se vagarosamente na minha frente, ora jogando as peças de picanha, contra filé, etc etc, sugiro que mantenha o controle e teste seu limite, vá devagar e aprecie o maior número possível! Dedique-​se ao shouder e a costela! Pode pular o frango, filé com queijo, picanha com alho, mantenha o foco somente no que for principal. Está satisfeito? Não peça a conta. Sente-​se na varanda, inspire e expire vagarosamente enquanto toma um licor, um chimarrão e o seu café, não esqueça os pães de queijo do couvert. Rsrs verdade, comigo acontece assim também, na maioria das vezes tenho que abrir mão do pão de queijo! Da mais uma olhada pra paisagem! Peça a conta, essa parte não é tão agradável pelo preço praticado, caro! Mas vale cada centavo!!! Agora, vá pra casa e fique jiboiando até o outro dia!!!

YUMMY!!! But expect to pay for your experience.
First if all, don’t expect to be fooled by the exterior of the building. It doesn’t look like much and getting in and out of the facility is a little tricky/​scary, BUT, once inside this place is absolutely stunning. The design of the restaurant is modern and the view of the bay and sugarloaf mountain is spectacular
A expected, Fogo De Chao totally met my expectations. The quality of the food was first rate and the service was impeccable. The salad bar had a wide array of options and everything I tried was fresh and tasty. As for the meat, well I have never enjoyed being a carnivore more. Once you flip your card to green, the onslaught of servers begins. No sooner have you finished your first bite and three more options appear. And then the sides start showing up: home made potato chips, fried bananas, and other tasty accompaniments.
After 45 minutes of devouring beef, chicken, pork, lamb it was time to surrender with no room for desert, and for that matter no room for dinner either.
Fogo de Chao was great and if you have one restaurant for which you have set aside a higher budget you will not be disappointed with this choice.

Make a reservation! We went for an early dinner on a Sunday, ~4:30 so our hotel concierge told us no reservation necessary. We waited 30 – 40 min for our table for 2. The following day, we ate at Porcao (the one near Sugarloaf) which had a nice view, but didn’t seem as clean & hip as Fogo which is newer.
I don’t remember what we paid, but it was reasonable for unlimited beef. Buffet had a good variety, but of course, keep the buffet items to a minimum. They brought out multiple cuts of beef, some pork & chicken. Nothing really exotic, which was what I was hoping for in Brazil. They give you a card which shows which cuts they can give. Contrary to some reviewers, we found the waitstaff quite attentive.
The table next to us had a serious-​looking chubby dad and his family… he looked pretty experienced and turned away a lot of stuff. The waiters reacted quickly by bringing the good cuts much earlier than they did for us.
So reserve a table, bring your appetite, an unimpressed disposition and you’ll have a good time.

Nann… Com certeza, já tive experiências muito melhores. Infelizmente, a unidade do rio não segue o padrão de SP e exterior. Estive 3 vezes na unidade de Botafogo e o atendimento foi sofrível todas as vezes.
Sempre esperamos um século até começarem a servir as carnes nobres… Na primeira vez, minha caipivodka de abacaxi veio com um pedaço de kiwi. Na última vez em que estive, 25/​09, sequer vi a cara da picanha… Lamentável!
Foram 3 oportunidades, com certeza, não farei indicações. Porcão, Oasis e Rio Brasa são muito superiores.

Churrascaria não é muito minha praia, mas indico a Fogo de Chão de olhos fechados!
O atendimento é simplesmente impecável, os garçons praticamente leem nossos pensamentos. rsrs
O buffet é muito gostoso. Tem legumes grelhados, saladas, salmão defumado, carpaccio e etc, mas não tem japonês como em outras churrascarias, o que acho muito adequado. Afinal, quem quer comer japonês deve ir ao japonês.
Eles também não servem peixes quentes. O foco é carne de muita qualidade.
As carnes tem uma textura inigualável, desmancham na boca. Amo muito o cordeiro e o molhinho que eles servem para acompanhar.
A única coisa que não recomendo é a ambrosia, pq acho um pouco seca. Fora isso, tudo perfeito!
Para os gaúchos ou fãs do chimarrão, podem pedir que eles tem. Aproveitem para tomar na varanda esparramados nos gostosos sofás com vista para o pão de açúcar.
Ahhh, muito importante: eles tem pão de queijo quentinho que vc pode pedir para acompanhar o cafezinho ou mesmo de entrada.

if you’ve been to fogo in the states then there is absolutely no need to go to fogo in brazil. why? because fogo is actually much better in the states (considering hq is in texas). now onto the food…
the only item worth raving about is the pao de queijo, other than that, the meat was ok (i found some to be flavorless and tough), the salad bar was actually quite disappointing. not much variety and there are even some empty slots at the salad bar that could’e been filled. usually fogo has a grandiose salad bar display, but not here.
there are other better churrascaria in town, don’t waste your stomach on fogo de chao. i found most people dining at the restaurant to be tourists, just like me! shocking, i know ;)

Loved it.
Come here with a big appetite (and big wallet). Yes, it’s expensive, but you’re not going to eat for two days afterward. I tried to skip the «filler» stuff, like bread and veggies, so focus on the filet and picanha… you’re going to get your money’s worth. Save some room for the chicken hearts — they’re excellent!
But don’t come here in shorts, flip flops and a tshirt. This is a classy restaurant. People do business here. Don’t show up looking like you walked in off the beach.

Good enough food (meat, obviously), but service is both over the top (costumes) and not particularly attentive. Hard pressed to find a reason to go back.

wide selection of cuts of meat, however service is not the most attentive

This has got to be one of the best restaurant chains in the world. I first experienced the restaurant in Brasilia and now had the pleasure of dining at the one in Rio. This is five-​star plus. The service is impeccable. The view is breathtaking over a yacht harbor. The food is of the very highest quality. A nice treat in Rio is that they have their own taxi fleet so you are very safe returning home. We are going back again tonight and are excited.

Com vista para a Baía da Guanabara, a churrascaria Fogo de Chão é uma das melhores churrascarias da cidade do Rio. Suas carnes de primeira e o buffet com japonês fresquinho são ótimas opções.
A churrascaria é uma das melhores e um ótimo lugar para ir com a família.

A churrascaria Fogo de Chão é uma das melhores churrascarias da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. O preço é mais elevado, mas o serviço que é prestado e a carne servida são de primeiríssima qualidade. O local é grande e possui buffet com japonês.
A vista para a Baía de Guanabara é muito bonita.

A churrascaria fica localizada bem na orla de Botafogo, com uma excelente vista para a Baía de Guanabara, já que possui paredes envidraçadas e uma varanda, que dá pra praia, com sofás, tipo lounges, que dá para os clientes apreciarem o visual. O buffet não tem uma variedade tão grande, mas o que tem não deixa a desejar. O forte mesmo são as carnes, que são bem variadas e saborosas.

Quite a disapointing experience. Quality of food and serve wasn’t better than average.
Also not enough choices for meat. There are definitely better churrascarias.

A rede de churrascarias mais famosa de São Paulo chegou ao Rio prometendo desbancar a Porcão, churrascaria queridinha dos cariocas. Não por acaso escolheu um endereço estrategicamente próximo a unidade mais famosa da concorrente: Aterro do Flamengo. Com uma bela vista panorâmica da Baia de Guanabara, um ambiente elegante e um atendimento primoroso, a Fogo de Chão impressiona o cliente já na entrada. A variedade das carnes é um dos pontos positivos, assim como os molhos servidos (o de hortelã merece ser degustado muitas e muitas vezes!!). Considerei o buffet e as opções de acompanhamentos um dos pontos fracos Mas isso é uma impressão pessoal. No geral, vale o passeio pela comida e pela bela paisagem da cidade maravilhosa Mas ainda falta muito para conseguir desbancar a churrascaria que mora no coração dos cariocas.