Fogo de Chão — Restaurant in Mexico City

Meat, meat and more meat!

I am going to caveat the 3 stars that I have given FdC, by saying I wish there was an option for 3 and a half stars. This rating seems harsh but I hope to explain why.

First of all, this restaurant has a decent layout, with a nice atmosphere, if a little cluttered around the festive period. There are televisions showing music videos which kind of takes away some of the ambience, but still it doesn't feel too imposing.

The main food option here is meat, which is brought around on large skewers and sliced off for you to collect. It is pretty common for this type of restaurant as far as I can tell, but still different from your usual buffet. There are a couple of well stocked buffet islands, that have all of your healthy salad favourites, with some fruit to boot. They do have a menu that you can choose from as well.

Let's start with the meat that comes to your table. They only offer you meat when your personal 'beer mat' is showing the green side so they won't bother you when you have eater 4 kilos of sausage.

The meat is good quality and that is evident, but the issue I have is that they over salt the meat, and after only a short while your mouth starts to feel the pain. This is a problem because you cannot keep tucking into the meat with reckless abandon, instead you need to keep pausing to drink before eventually succumbing to the inevitable... dry mouth.

In addition, a lot of the meat is quite samey (I know it is not a word, but it is used frequently), so you feel like you haven't really got the variety that a buffet might offer.

I have eaten from the menu, which was a tad disappointing. The (5) garlic prawns came with overly spicy asparagus and dry rice, and sadly not with much garlic... That said, they were still very nice and the tails were crisp enough to eat.

No one really comes here for the salad bar, but it is really good, with plenty of variety. Enough of that healthy stuff.

The cost is a tad expensive, mostly because you cannot really eat that much due to the high salt content, but you can really take your time, so if you are with friends for a night out, it can be a great option.

Finally, the staff are very good, constantly bringing fresh meat around, and are very attentive and polite. They provide an efficient service and do something that is rare in CDMX... they get the drinks to you quickly, even if they need to be...

I’ve been visiting this place for 4 years. The service has always been decent—but only when I’m accompanied by male friends. When I dine alone, it’s consistently dismissive.

Today, after exactly 1 hour, service practically stopped. No more meat came my way, and all the waiters who were previously polite began avoiding eye contact. If there’s a time limit on service, it should be clearly stated—and not enforced selectively.

I deliberately waited 35 minutes to see if anyone would check in, offer more cuts, or simply ask if everything was okay. During that time, I was completely ignored. The tables around me were being served consistently. The only time someone approached was when they assumed I wanted the bill.

I also asked several times for rare cuts, and kept receiving medium rare instead. I have no interest to eat what I do not desire, so I cut off most of the meat and throw them away.

If a solo diner tipping 15% isn’t “worth” your attention, then just say so.

I’ve genuinely loved this place in the past, but this kind of selective service is...

Went here for a birthday celebration of a close friend and was absolutely amazed by the experience! From the moment we sat down the staff was attentive to what the table wanted, and began the onslaught of perfectly curated meats. Everything was crazy good, the chicken and ribeye certainly stood out to me personally however. The staff was so attentive there was basically never a moment food wasn’t be offered to me, or they weren’t standing by to fetch whatever condiment or thing our table needed. Everyone was very friendly and quick to make good jokes when the birthday boy messed with them a little. Fernando the manager runs that place like the army! And his Meat Marines like Kevin the waiter and Roberto the busboy met our every need often before we even thought of it, and when asked to take a group picture it was quick and seamless. For that matter Kevin is really quite the photographer as well haha! Overall it was just a mind- blowingly smooth experience and is certainly the best food/service I’ve experienced thus far in...