Matuto Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Newark

I heard very good things about this place so I was excited to try it especially because I love Brazilian food. At first sight the atmosphere was very inviting; modern decor, clean, and a set up for live music.

We ordered drinks and appetizers. Drinks tasted great, a bit weak, but fresh and well made overall.

Our appetizers then came, queijo coalho and mandioca frita, both were excellent. Again I thought great, experience is on the money so far.

About 50 minutes after ordering and 2 drinks in, we’re still waiting for our entrees. Finally the entrees come and I’m excited. The table got the picanha, ribeye and risotto, skirt steaks, and the salmon.

First thing is first. The ribeye was requested medium. It was grey, not an ounce of pink in sight. Also the ribeye was pre sliced. This rendered it dry once it arrived at the table. Overall, very poorly executed imo.

Second the risotto was salty and it was returned. a replacement risotto arrived. The “chef” stayed at the table to watch us retry it. The person trying it was shy and said it was good. We then all tasted it. Also salty, inedible after 3-4 bites.

Next was the salmon. A good salmon is nice and opaque in the middle rendering it moist and tender within. To achieve the same result the “chef” thought it would be a good idea to cook only one side of the 3 strips provided. What this resulted in was a cooked side and a completely raw side. If it’s a tataki, I’ll take it (then again all sides would be seared). This was not tataki and was I was really confused at how they could let this escape the kitchen. The person ordering didn’t even want to bring this up and left all the salmon on the edge of the pasta dish.

Besides this, the people who ordered the skirts ate most of them and didn’t complain, although these also came pre cut and looked dry.

Lastly was the picanha. I asked for medium rare. 2 pieces came medium well, and one piece was medium. The medium piece was great and the medium well pieces forgiving since there was a lot of run off juice from the picanha, leaving it moist. Again this was presliced, which allowed all the juices to run.

Ultimately people work hard for their money, and I will not be coming back here. The place clearly prioritizes ambiance vs the dining component of a restaurant, which to me is the most important on top of service.

My recommendations to this place would be. Don’t pre slice people’s steaks as soon as you take them off heat. This is a sure way to get a dry steak. Perfect the cook, let it rest and ppl will cut it at their table. Review the way salmon is cooked. Ensure food is not overly salted Review the temperatures of steaks vs how they are requested.

I do want to add that the wait staff were very friendly and accommodating, so that was certainly a plus, and the live music...

I was looking to try a new place in Newark while I was driving. When I did my search this place came out. It took few minutes to find parking, However, I wanted to try. The place looked beautiful. There was live music when I came it. Other than that, service was so slow. I sat at the bar, I asked the bartender for a classic caipirinha.

She brought it in few minutes. I guess she completely forgot I was sitting at the bar. I think she was making drinks for the whole restaurant too. I had to ask another server to get me a guinness and a quick bite which also took forever. I decided to ask for the check even before the food came. No sense of urgency. Service is everything in this industry. I ordered the fish strips which were not...

I've been here many times and it's only as good as your last visit right. Well my last visit, the server kinda pushed me to get this $32 drink. I really didn't want it but she insisted. Then every sip I took she would come to the table and ask me if I want another one. Calma. Relax. Let me enjoy it. It's because it wasn't busy so she was bored and kept interrupting the tables conversation to ask if we want more drinks. Anyways. The atmosphere is excellent. Good music. Good food. Friendly people. Pretty crowd. It's just the one server was tooooo much on top of us. 3 of us ended up spending $150 on drinks and $90 on food. But I like it....