Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse — Restaurant in San Antonio

I’m not quite sure where to start. This has been by far the worst experience I’ve had at such a prestige establishment.

Too long don’t read: save your money and go to Brasao, way better service and quality.

First of all, husband and I had reservations. Then we were told that we didn’t by the hostess. But I had a confirmation. That was red flag number 1. We arrived on time but had to wait 30 minutes to be seated. We finally get seated and they sit us in the corner, In a window where the sun is absolutely blaring on us. My husband had to wear his hat and sunglasses at dinner because of the amount of sweat and sun because of the lack of shades on the windows.

We opted for the full steakhouse experience which should have included more than 8 cuts, and the salad bar. The salad at bar was empty. The bread was empty. The tomatoes were old. Just overall terrible quality at the salad bar. After we ate what little we got at the salad bar, we had to ask for new plates. Our plates were empty, and we were just sitting there like a bump on a log.

I ordered a cocktail. It tasted like cough syrup. And it was supposed to be strawberry.

We had to ask 3 or 4 times to get water refills. Bc we were in the sun, the ice melted and left us with warm water to drink.

The meat was overcooked, at times burnt.a few pieces were burnt to the point of almost a jerky. We ended up only getting about 5 cuts because the servers never came around to our table. Sometimes, they’d even go to the table next to us look straight at us and walk away without offering. And even then on 2-3 of those cuts, we got the very last pieces filled with fat because all the servers were focusing on the areas near the grill rather than where we were seated. My plate was half full with fat by the time I was done for the night. And we didn’t get that many cuts to choose from.

Not to mention we were there for almost two hours and our plates were empty.

At the beginning, there is no waiting area. There’s four seats for people to sit while waiting for their table. You’re either forced to wait outside in 100 degree heat, or stand in the way of people trying to get in and out of the building.

it was so unorganized that we were asked for our drink and food order twice by different servers. No one knew which servers had which tables. Which that’s not a big deal, but when you add that in to the rest of the experience, it was very clear that they were not prepared.

We paid $200 for this experience, and we left hungry.

I understand that this location is new. But there were just too many kinks, the quality was too bad for the price we paid. For the price, and brasao being just across the highway, we expected so much more. We will stick with Brasao.

We...

6/4/25: My wife and I have been to nearly all of the available Brazilian Steakhouses in San Antonio from Texas de Brazil to Fogo De Chao to Chama Gaucha to Galpao Gaucho to Brasao. Brasao is very near our home. When we found out Fogo De Chao was coming to Loop1604 and I10, we got excited as previous visit to Fogo's downtown location were always great. Not so much this time. This is a new location and it is a beautiful place, but you have to know your way to get to it. The hostesses were gracious and having a reservation, we were seated immediately. Nice table in the center of the dining area. My wife's Caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail was wonderful. Immediately, we found that the salad, fresh food bar seemed smaller than other places. Everything was fresh and that is important. Little things like no cream cheese for the Lox; an annoyance. There was a 3 item hot soup/bean selection from which we did not partake. The Gauchos serving the meats were busy bees and very friendly, one in particular, went out of his way to help us know and get our cuts of meat. I opted for the addition of a lobster tail/desert combo at extra cost. The lobster tail, at most, was about 3oz, broiled, and actually a bit tough with not much sweetness a good lobster tail usually has. Unfortunately, neither my wife not I felt that the cuts of meat were of the same quality and taste as, for example, Brasao's, down the road. The leg of lamb and the lamb chops were the best items; perfectly seasoned and cooked, just wonderful. The chicken legs were dry. Only one type of sausage, dry and crumbly like breakfast sausage. As we watched the Gaucho's, we also noticed that some of the meats seemed to have some burned areas or crusts. Overall, we tried Picanha, bottom sirloin, skirt or flank steak, and rib eye. Whether medium or medium rare, the meats did not have the taste we have come to expect from a high end steakhouse. Something was missing? Maybe, a bit more salt? Finally, one thing really irked us. Our waitresses, multiple people came to our table, discussed three sauces for dipping our meats. A Chimichurri, a hot sauce, and a horseradish sauce. Well, we were patient but after 15 minutes, no sauces. To make a long story short, after over 45 minutes asking about six people and being told, "they will be out shortly," they came out as were finishing up. LOL, Oh, well. By the way, the total cost of the meal with drinks, extra desert, and tip was $251.00. Since this was a brand spanking new Fogo, my wife and I will probably give it another go in the future. Right now, though, Brasao is our first choice for Brazilian Steakhouses in...

I have enjoyed dining at many Fogo de Chao. The food, service and atmosphere has been stellar across the board so it is my go to when I want amazing Brazilian cuisine. Every great once in awhile you will get a one off at a restaurant but the rest of the experience generally more then makes up. So yesterday when I wanted a predictable dinner for my birthday I chose this restaurant. Plus, who doesn’t want a complementary dessert with none of the annoying signing from the other chain restaurants. We go in, just the two of us, and I know on a Saturday night we will have a wait. But waiting almost 10 minutes for a host to come to the host stand was not what I had in mind. I know there were several large groups in, but all three hosts abandoned the host stand. After a 45 minute wait we got our table. Our first server was spectacular. But I say first. Our table got handed off at least four times….I lost count of how many servers came by. Two things happen when you get passed on by servers. They don’t check on you enough and something like a birthday doesn’t get passed down. So we normally have a couple of drinks a piece during dinner but when your glass is empty and no one checks on you you just drink water because the water guy is on point. So you lost a couple of more alcoholic beverage sales. Then there’s the salad bar. When multiple items are out all night that was just another disappointment. Now, this is Texas. Who eats meats that are medium well to well done. Because eighty percent of what came around had a brown center. I’m a rare to medium rare guy and I had to pass on eighty percent of the skewers because they were over cooked. It wasn’t just beef. The bacon wrapped chicken was so over done it could pass for rubber. So, as our first servers said when my partner announced it was my birthday she said leave room for dessert. That was no problem given I really was limited on the meats that were cooked right and only one beer. But guess what happens when you get four, many five servers through the night? They forget a guest is there for a special occasion. So, no birthday dessert. Then there’s guy clearing tables asked if we were done and promptly told the last server to get our check and turn the table. Both my partner and I have worked in restaurants. We know what turn means. So get us out to set for the next group. He said that in front of us. There weren’t a couple of one offs. There was an entire dinner experience that was just horrible. If this was my first trip to Fogo it would have been my last. Thanks for making my special night...