Estabulo Rodizio Bar & Grill - Wakefield — Restaurant in Wakefield

I really didn't know how this one would go, the concept appealed to me massively and it's something I've wanted to try for ages but just never got the opportunity, I'm pleased to say this changed last Saturday.

Elasticated trousers at the ready we embarked on a trip over from Leeds and parked nearby (for free, bravo Wakefield!) and wandered the short distance to the restaurant which was already busy at 6pm. The welcome was incredibly friendly and we were soon seated and receiving an introduction to how things worked and ordering drinks.

The first step is to visit the salad bar, I'm not scared of salad by any means but what a pleasant surprise to see one stocked with blocks of cheese, salami, pork scratchings (spicy and normal), garlic mushrooms and lots of salads that were both fresh and incredibly tasty. There some rice, potato and pasta too but I wasn't born yesterday and wanted to concentrate on the meaty stuff ;) A special mention to the chaps looking after the salads, very good and keeping it all topped up and the patience of saints wiping up all the mess people constantly made :)

On the topic or meat, table marker set to green, the long skewers of meat appeared quickly and continued to flow all evening. To the point where I, a glutton with no self control, actually had to switch to red now and again to keep up. While being plentiful the flavours were a real surprise, I hadn't anticipated such well-cooked and flavourful items and it was awesome. Stand-out items for me were the chilli beef and lamb but it was all really good. I missed out on the belly pork and chicken hearts as they went in another direction but that just means I have to return right?

On the subject of "missing" things another shock was one of the excellent waiters coming over and asking if there was anything in particular we wanted to try or have more of so I didn't miss anything, I could have asked for it had I been really keen.... I was stuffed though.

We didn't drink a lot and it came to about £45 a head which I considered great value for the quantity and quality of items consumed with the level of service received and I'll most definitely return again. I would note that the total included an optional service charge but when it came to pay we were asked if we'd like to remove this (we didn't, it was worth every penny) and there was zero pressure felt had we wanted to say yes.

Not being local I was also incredibly impressed by the range of people dining there, some dressed like they'd come from playing sports, others like they were about to get married or attend a prom, Wakefield never ceases to open my eyes.

A great experience all...

We made the bold (and clearly misguided) decision to drive three hours for Estabulo's "Brazilian churrasco experience," but what we got was more of a Brazilian churrasco nightmare. Arriving a few days before Christmas, we were seated immediately—not because of stellar service, but because the place was eerily empty. Three other diners? In December? A red flag we foolishly ignored.

The initial server greeted us with all the enthusiasm of a flat tire, asking if we'd been before. We explained we'd tried similar places but not Estabulo, assuming this would cue an explanation of their process. Nope. No rundown, no guidance—just a blank stare and a menu priced at over £50 each. That’s right, £100+ for two people, and no onsite parking to soften the blow.

The meat? Oh, where do we begin? It was old, stale, and tough—like they'd grilled it last Christmas and forgot to serve it until now. The server seemed to think we wanted bricks of meat, carving slices so thick they could double as doorstops. To add insult to injury, there was no pacing between servings. It was a conveyor belt of subpar protein, and we were trapped.

The salad bar was no better—a depressing selection of wilted greens and uninspired sides. To top it off, we witnessed a server drop salad into the ice below, then casually scoop it back into the serving bowl like it was no big deal. Hygiene, apparently, is optional at Estabulo.

By the end, we left with more than just regrets. Both my wife and I ended up with upset stomachs—a perfect ending to this culinary catastrophe. If I could give zero stars, I would. Heck, I’d even drive three hours again just to hand-deliver them a negative star rating.

Save your money, your time, and your digestive health. Estabulo may claim to offer a Brazilian experience, but the only thing authentic about it was our shared sense of...

Really shocked by our experience at Estabulo Wakefield today. We've been countless times over the years, celebrated occasions here but will never return after today's appalling treatment. Service was slow, it took a while to get any steak, the meat was extremely bland, chewy and frankly not edible at times. We did not receive any gammon or pineapple, our table must have been missed as we saw it go around. We asked for steak to 1x staff member after 30 mins having received none, we mentioned to 2x staff members that the steak was bland and not tasty or up the usual standards. We tried it after this had been fed back and no change so we turned our cards red. This was after we had been missed for gammon and pineapple. When asking for the bill we requested a discount as the experience wasn't good at all, we weren't happy to pay full price especially after mentioning at least twice the steak wasn't good. So this is the part we are shocked about, a male server spoke to myself and my friend about the bill, said he was unable to offer any discount for the substandard meal, he said we should have communicated to them if there was a problem with the steak, he said we had turned our cards red and this is why we received no gammon which is a lie, he said he wouldn't offer a discount as "who's to say you won't go to head office to complain after for another discount". What are you insinuating here exactly? As mentioned above we highlighted the quality issues at least twice to two different staff members. We all experience a poor meal from time to time however the confrontational, argumentative, extremely unpleasant and unprofessional attitude we were faced with was shocking. Still cannot believe how we were spoken to. We ended up paying for one of the meals but this didn't compensate for the nasty...