Texas de Brazil - Dallas — Restaurant in Dallas

So disappointed. My love for Texas de Brazil started at this exact restaurant a long long time ago. When we would visit family in Dallas it was a staple. It made us search out other TdB in the country since we do not have 1 in Phoenix. It was amazing back then. When you first walk in, the slamming metal door sends an audible message that this is no longer a high end eating establishment. The staff was nowhere to be found for a few minutes when we walked in and as we looked around we saw the bartender looking at us but he never said a word. Not, "someone will be right with you," or "welcome in." Finally we were approached by the hostess and shown to our table which was all beat up and looked more like it should be in an old dive bar. It was all chipped up and scratched. Nothing a nice white table cloth would not bring back to life if they cared about their curb appeal. She was nice but not much dialog. The restaurant was quiet with only 5 of the tables occupied but lots of staff. The salad bar was half the side it used to be and some of what I thought were key offerings were not there any more. The biggest reason we used to love the soup/salad bar was the famous Lobster Bisque and it used to be the best I had ever had and was always consistent. This time, albeit our late dining hour, it was separated and nothing but oil and the heavy sediment of the soup. It was not a nice color and was only slightly a reminder of a once great offering. We were shocked when the normal sides, mashed potatoes and bananas for cleansing the palate were joined by a plate of tired French fries. WHAT?!? Ok, that's new. The cheese rolls were a little tired as well. The meat was decent quality (about what I had remembered) but the seasonings were very inconsistent. I love heavy seasonings on my steak but these were either too little or too much. They have added some new offerings on the meat skewers like shrimp and more chicken offerings. No thanks, I came for the steak. A very disappointing reunion with an old friend. Not the high class joint I remembered and the corporate head quarters are just down the street. I hope Las Vegas and the rest stay nice or we will not be returning to the brand. As expensive as this place is, it should be a better...

My mother was going to celebrate my brothers and birthday here at this location. We all showed up separately due to us coming from three different directions. I, unfortunately showed up 5 minutes late, walked in the door and asked where my party was and the hostess, instead of taking me to my table which was in the back corner, just pointed an said right there. Ok cool, so this is how the meal is going to go. Got the table and noticed my brother brought his almost 1 year old daughter with him and his wife, they have us shoved in the corner table by the kitchen. The restaurant is damn near empty and our reservation is at 430 on a Sunday. Why they chose this table is ridiculous. My brother had to get up every time the baby or his wife needed to move.

The salad bar was complete and full of fresh food but very small, I’m not here for the salad I’m here for the meat so I was ok that.

The meat carvers were non existent for the most part tonight. Had to ask them to come to our table, back in the day we used to be swarmed on like vultures with them.

Now let’s talk about the meats. Not very many options. No chicken or pork options, all steak, lamb and sausage but it seemed like it was the same five carvers with the same meat Back in the day you used to be able to cut your steak with a spoon and it would melt in your mouth with flavor and deliciousness. Today the meats were close to being beef jerky with no flavor. The knives were not able to cut into it you needed a chain saw. I’m still picking grit out of my teeth typing this at home. A lot of meats left on the plates and my brother and I are carnivorous. Very disappointing. I looked around the other tables and noticed the same thing.

Server noticed and asked if we wanted the manager. We said yes . She came over and was very sweet. We explained we are getting charged $75 a plate and are not happy with it. Explained everything I typed above to her and she said she was going to buy our desserts. So we all ordered desserts and noticed on the bill she only bought my brothers and I.

Oh and also their floors were dirty with trash and food. Staff members just standing around.

Very upset. Won’t be back for a while and definitely not to...

Pros: great complementary valet parking, good bar, service was doing their best under the circumstances, great meat (when we got any).

Cons: we made a 15-person reservation for a young professionals meetup 2 days in advance, and strictly adhered to our timeline without missing anybody in the party. In exchange for the timely notice and $70/person after tax & 20% tip, we were disappointed by:

1. How little meat there actually was (again, maybe 1 oz. per person whenever any was brought around; a bit more if they brought the filets or chicken or pork. 3 oz. is the size of a deck of playing cards, for reference). It's weird that I'm measuring this, but I did so because I thought I'd make the most and have some fun with the experience.

2. How infrequently we actually got any meat brought around (every 10 minutes maybe?). This sounds like a severe staffing issue, we weren't the only table with this issue and the wait staff worked as fast a possible.

3. How much pressure the wait staff put on us to give up our plates when we were barely an hour in (we left at about 8:30 and stopped getting meat brought around 8, when our reservation was at 6:45). I think there was pressure from management to turn over the table and get rid of us even though we had barely eaten.

For $30 you can get much better Korean BBQ options, and for $40 you can get much better local Brazilian BBQ options.

Ultimately, this was super disappointing and it looks like this location cares a lot more about impressing dates flexing their wallets than actually providing the great experience I've seen in other areas like Fort Lauderdale and Pittsburgh. You'd think with 2 days' notice, they'd properly staff and stock for the crowd. With how close they are to TDB corporate, though, maybe corporate just expects them to be stingy/unwelcoming to groups of well-behaved young patrons. For future reference I'll be sure to avoid booking this particular location if I organize any local...