I usually don't like to write critical reviews but I feel like I am obligated to in this situation, especially based on the price point they charge. We booked a party of 2 for 6:45 PM. We intended to go to Fogo de Chao but changed it in the last hour after finding out there was availability, but boy was I wrong. We arrived at 6:45 PM on the dot. Parking is limited but you can easily find street parking. There is also valet parking offered as well. Once we arrived, we checked in, expecting to be seated pretty quickly. However we ended up waiting for almost 40 minutes before we got to our seats. If we have to wait that long, why even bother making us book a reservation? The front desk lady did say there were a lot of big tables booked tonight but throughout the night I saw at least 2-3 tables that were empty. I swear some parties got seated before us, even though they arrived later.

Anyway, once we got to our table the waiter explained how the concept works. I've been to many Brazilian steakhouses before; Fogo, Texas de Brazil, Rio, even some of the local ones like Grill Hall. I wanted to see how Bullvino's compared to the rest of them. The price point for the top-shelf is pretty steep at $55 per person, almost matching how much Fogo would charge at $63. The selection of meats did live up to the price point, with some specialties including New York Strip, Tenderloin, Lamb Chops, and Beef Ribs. I'm a sucker for lamb so I was happy to pay for the top-shelf instead of the standard $45. The market table was pretty standard, it's just a single, double-sided table offering a mix of vegetables, fruits, charcuterie meats and cheese. The sautéed mushrooms threw me off, as I expected it to be served hot instead of cold, like how other Brazilian steakhouses do them. The table sides were also pretty standard, although we got cold mashed potatoes that was not very good. The cheese bread and bananas were excellent.

The meat had its ups and downs. The lamb chops, lamb steak, new york strip, and house special picanha were all delicious. Many Brazilian steakhouses, Fogo being the most notorious, oversalt their meats so it forces customers to drink a lot of water and alcohol, saving cost on meat. Based on Brazilian steakhouse standards, Bullvino's was pretty lenient on the salt which I appreciated. The saltiest meat was the house special picanha but it's tradition to serve that cut on the saltier side. My least favorites were the bottom sirloin, as it was really chewy, and the tenderloin was the toughest tenderloin I've ever had at a Brazilian steakhouse. This was a disappointment because as the most expensive cut on the menu, you would think it should be the best cut.

And then came the pineapple debacle. There's not many Brazilian steakhouses that serve pineapple but I swear it is one of the hidden gems. So you can guess I was pretty delighted to see that pineapple was being served on the menu. We got a piece at the beginning of our course... and then we never saw it again. I had to ask the waiter if he could bring over some, but we waited for over 20 minutes without being served any. I can understand if it's a new york strip, you need time to let it cook and rest. But this is just a pineapple. I didn't think it would take longer than 10 minutes to be cooked and served. The kicker is when my SO went to the bathroom, she saw pineapple being served on the other end of the restaurant. We waited another 10 minutes before giving up and asking for the check. Only after when I signed the bill, we spotted the gaucho with the pineapple and had to chase him down to get some slices.

Overall I have to give Bullvino's a 3/5. The meat selection is decent, the atmosphere is nice, but the service and lack of organization ruined it for me. The twin cities is a pretty competitive scene for Brazilian steakhouses, so with that price point I expected a pretty flawless level of service. I might come back at another time when it's not as busy, just to compare the experiences, but I was let down today.