Fogo de Chão — Restaurant in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

So me and one friend arrive and we were greeted very nicely and felt like the service given was wonderful. Very attentive and ‘honest’ but boy, were we wrong. The buffet seemed very nice and well presented with lots of choices, so we started with this. At this point we weren’t given any prices until I asked before we gotten any food, so then we could see which set we wanted. Kind of misleading as foreigners to just make sure we were gonna pay for the biggest set without informing us.

Anyway we are somewhat enjoying our food, the meats came around and they were somewhat ok also. A bit salty but I’m finding this a common factor in Brazil. We were also given a shot each of some type of chocolate amaretto liquor by our main waiter who said it was good for digestion. We did not ask for this, the glasses were just given and the drink was poured. We thought this was a kind gesture for us to try as tourists as this waiter was friendly from the beginning who wanted to practice his English.

The main issue is when the bill arrived (I’m seeing this with other reviews now!!!), we were charged an extra large bottle of water and then 60 real for the two shots. That’s like £5 each??? For one shot? Which we didn’t even ask for. and then to top it off, I was potentially scammed a whole R$200 extra when trying to pay for my half of the meal, however this was luckily declined with insufficient funds as I used my travel card that had only the correct amount for my half of the meal. We met some English-speaking Brazilians earlier and we could get a translation of what was wrong from the waiter. Apparently he was avoiding the question and just shrugging it off (but this is happening with so many other people supposedly according to Google reviews) and was obviously trying to scam us. After the bill was changed to the correct amount and we paid feeling awful with distrust and disappointment. LUCKILY I was refunded by my bank as this was definitely a scam from the start and with all of the mistakes.

Avoid avoid avoid especially...

The food? Surprisingly solid — definitely one of the better Brazilian BBQ spots in Rio. The view? Gorgeous. The majority of the staff? Friendly, helpful, attentive — honestly, doing a great job.

And then… there was her.

For context, we dined between 7 and 9 pm on August 3rd. This particular staff member wore glasses and had long curly hair pulled into a ponytail. From the moment we arrived, she opted for the silent treatment. No greetings, no words — just vague finger-pointing, like we were playing charades. At first, we assumed she might not speak English. But then we saw her chatting effortlessly — and smiling — with other tables. So… clearly, selective language barriers were in play.

Throughout our meal, she radiated visible annoyance whenever she came near our table. It was awkward, to say the least. But the real showstopper was when we got the check. We handed over our card — and without asking, she chose the currency for us. Because our bank didn’t require a password, the charge went through in the currency she picked. No consent, no confirmation — just her unilateral decision, which conveniently happened to cost us more.

When I asked her, “Did you just choose the currency for us without asking?” she suddenly forgot how to speak English again. A full performance, really.

I don’t know what her issue was — but whatever it was, it shouldn’t show up in a hospitality setting. Especially not with undertones that felt… well, let’s say uncomfortably familiar to anyone who’s ever experienced being treated differently for how they look.

This isn’t about one bad apple ruining the bunch — it’s about accountability. If your staff is great (and most of them are), then why tolerate behavior like this? Management, I truly hope you take this seriously. Because no amount of grilled meat or scenic views can cover up that kind...

Shame I can't give zero stars really... When Michelin guide goes really wrong or we had a bad experience. As we arrived no one explained anything or provided a menu. It would have been good to know the different cuts - even if you had to translate yourself. Waiters don't speak English. There was one waiter who spoke some English. The head waiter didn't even know "water" or "beer" in any other languages other than Portuguese. We picked the key words up within a couple of days - not sure why he couldn't. The decor is okay but definitely not a great atmosphere. The three huge TV on the wall that's playing football probably describe the atmosphere better than I can. And half way through they turned on the volume and we sat right there. The buffet for the sides is nice. Meet typically arrived cold. Maybe we just had a bad evening/ experience there. If you are looking for a nice, romantic place it's not for you. The meat is okay but I wouldn't write home about. It's a great business idea though - kind of printing money for the owner as with the concept you can cater for a lot of people and it is a BIG restaurant. The head waiter topped it off in the end when we got the bill. He entered less than the full amount in the hope he gets cash for the remaining amount. Unlucky for him he couldn't explain himself at all why he was entering less and not the full amount, although I had zero intention paying the service charge (I think I have refused to pay this a handful of times in my life). Just bad experience from arrival to the end. Just go to any steak places, you will have...