Show de Carnes Brazilian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Full rodizio experiences are always fun at a Brazilian Steakhouse. I might come back after a few months.

Service was a bit shaky. The server took a while to attend our table. We were served the bread appetizer and sweet caramelized bananas. I saw another table had been served mashed potatoes, but we did not get any. It was already the end of dining for us, so there was no point in asking for the missing mashed potatoes. The staff making rounds with the food were a hit or miss. Many were attentive to the green card being in view, but the pineapple guy skipped past and I had to call him over, which wasn't pleasant. Another minor inconvenience was that some of the food-serving staff only spoke Spanish, or had a heavy accent, so it was difficult to know or hear what piece of meat they were offering to serve.

Here is my review on the food: Cheese Bread appetizer - We were lucky to get it served hot out of the oven, and it was soo good! 9/10 Sweet Caramelized Bananas - I ate this at the end of dinner, and this was a delectable treat of a dessert. 10/10

Dark Orange Sauce - Tasted like a spicy salsa, but no flavor otherwise. Just spicy. 6/10 Chimichuri sauce - I love Chimichuri sauce, but this was salty so I didn't use it with the steak. Total bummer. 3/10

Grilled Salmon - Seasoning was salty, but the salmon was perfectly cooked 7/10 Strawberry Salad - I wish there were more strawberries. The greens and cheese were delicious! 8/10 Mushrooms - I love mushrooms, but these were super salty and a fail. 4/10 Mozzarella slices with Tomatoes - I grabbed one slice of slightly pestoed mozzarella. The flavor was mild, but worked fine as a side to the meat. 6/10 Cous Cous (Quinoa?) salad - The millet salad with tomatoes were fine and bland. Worked as a nice carb side for the meat. 6/10 Mozzarella balls - These were an absolute hit! The marination really sunk in and gave it a wonderful flavor. 8/10 Bread - I love bread. I saw they had fig jam, which was exciting! I spread some fig jam, a piece of brie, and topped the slice of bread with the middle piece of meat from the charcuterie section. 8/10 Large Shrimp Salad - I'm used to having shrimp salad with tiny shrimp, so this was a nice change. It was mildly dressed, which was perfect because I don't like the shrimp salad drenched in mayonnaise. 7/10

Picanha - The star of the experience, it was really good. 8/10 Garlic Picanha - This was absolutely amazing! The garlic flavor really adds a depth to the meat. 10/10 Bottom Sirloin - This cut of beef was okay. It tasted plain. The spicy salsa sauce made this edible. It was also very chewy and better to skip. 5/10 Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon - This was good, but the bacon was super salty. If it wasn't for the salty bacon, I'd rate this higher. 7/10 Spicy Top Sirloin - This was my favorite! The spiciness gave a good kick and the meat was extremely tender! I felt like I was cutting into butter. The only ding was that the meat had a fatty side to it, which I'd leave out, but the fat couldn't always be set aside when integrated in the meat. 9/10 Grilled Shrimp - I love shrimp so I got this when it came around. The shrimp had no flavor and tasted bland, but compared to some of the salty food they had, plain is better. 6/10 Grilled Cheese with Honey - It's so fun to eat a grilled cheese rectangle, topped with a generous pour of honey. The cheese actually tasted plain, similar to string cheese, but the honey made it all the more lovely. 7/10 Grilled Pineapple - This is a nice palette cleanser during dinner in between meat servings. The cinnamon gives it a nice touch...

I've been meaning to try Show De Carnes ever since I'd seen short vids on IG from various folks, and then looked it to some rave reviews. I just never made it over the bridge to Sausalito. YUP...that's right this is their second location, which I was very ecstatic to learn about. I didn't even know this was happening. My buddy got an email and told me about it. So... of course I had to check it out.

BRILLIANT!!

This is now my other favorite Churrascaria in the Bay Area. It's on par with Fogo de Chão in Cupertino for me. We came for lunch on the opening weekend. We were one of the first to show up on Saturday afternoon, so lines weren't an issue. Parking...well that's going to be an issue here. The parking lot is tiny, and it's not all that clear where additional parking is...good luck with that! The venue is good size with a good amount of seating. Everything was laid out very elegantly and the service was excellent. I was a bit scared or rather skeptical, since this was the opening weekend. Looks like the staff leaned on the experiences form running the original location. Everything went smoothly. I do like the fact they have a small sushi station with some limited offerings near the salad bar.

All the meats were amazing; tender, juicy, flavorful and not too salty. Learn from my mistakes; make sure to pace yourself instead of scarfing down everything. My favourites were the Beef Ribs, Pork Ribs and Shrimp, which came around a few times. One usually needs to request for those at other Rodizios. We thoroughly enjoyed the side dishes as well:

Cheese Bread - 5/5 Mashed Potatoes - 5/5 Sweet Caramelized Bananas - 4.5/5 Chimichurri Sauce - 4.5/5 (made in house)

We waddled out stuffed and satisfied... Can't wait to return with a...

Let's talk about Gluttony. I know, I know it's sin. But Let's also talk about how I went to two different Brazilian steakhouses two days in a row starting off with Show de Carnes and that's why you guys deserve 10/10 stars. If I could give more stars I would. As a big back, I know a thing or two about Brazilian steakhouses, and when I tell you the sides itself can make or break the experience , man. The rice, the SUSHI (which was SURPRISINGLY good), the salmon, the rice and beans, the mussels, the shrimp ???! . Um no need to go to Vegas to have a grand buffet experience just come to Palo Alto. I would go just for the salad bar. But then when you add the quality of meat on top ! Oh my God. So good. Thank God I don't have high blood pressure (yet) but if I did, I would've had to take an extra "water pill" cause it was a little more "flavorful" than the other Brazilian steakhouses I've been to, but in a good way. The Sangria (which is surprisingly hard to find nowadays) was also superb. I could've drank 16 of them. Thank God there's a happy hour too!

Special special shoutout to Felipe, who made our experience personable and memorable. All the staff was super kind and just very personable. I do think that is an element of overall South American, Brazilian, Hispanic/Latino culture that I miss dearly having lived in Florida and New York. I know it's just a steak house but living in the Bay, that warmth is very hard to find. Thank you for bringing the warmth and FLAVOR to Palo Alto. I'm ashamed to say it's walking distance from our condo and you will see us...