iD Brazil Catering — Restaurant in West Haven

My wife and I were there for their 2020 NYE party. $30 per adult ticket, so the price was pretty low compared to other restaurants that night. The event was advertised to include a buffet (no barbeque, which they could have advertised better), fruit table, desserts, coffee, DJ music and dancing. To be honest, our expectations were high.

The food was great. The desserts were amazing. The coffee and fruit were nice-to-haves. Outside of that, the rest of the atmosphere for the evening fell far short of expectations. They overbooked the restaurant, so they had tables set up everywhere. Literally, everywhere. It was nearly impossible to move about since it was beyond packed. Thankfully, there was no emergency or else it would have been impossible for everyone to vacate the building safely.

Tables were set up directly in front of the bar, making it difficult to order drinks. And, tables were set up all over the dance floor. Well, maybe as people finished dining, the staff would move the tables off the dance floor, inviting people to dance? Nope. No such luck. The result? Everywhere I looked, it seems like people were just sitting at mostly empty tables with their heads in their hands, waiting for the party to start!

The bar was a disappointment. They clearly had staff who had no clue how to make drinks behind the bar. I ordered a whisky sour. Pretty plain, basic cocktail, or so I thought. What I got was a plastic cup full of Jack Daniel's, ice, and sour-flavored seltzer on top of it. Little effort, no garnish, $7. I couldn't finish it. I refused to order another drink. Took a while to check out too because they were having difficulty finding my bar tab. It seems like the bar itself was haphazardly constructed. I could literally move the bar by shaking it effortlessly with one hand. Thankfully, no one leaned up against it.

And the DJ? One would think that, as a so-called "Brazilian" restaurant, they would play real, actual Brazilian music. Again, nope. All Spanish/Latin music. Absolutely no Brazilian music during the hours we were there. It seems that, although it calls itself a churrascaria, it caters strictly to West Haven's Hispanic population.

We left by 11:15 PM. Home before midnight. Happy I didn't usher in the New Year while I was still there. Beside the food, it would not have been a pleasant way to ring in 2020.

We will not...

I was there about 45 minutes before closing which may have affected service. I was there for takeout and you pay on the basis of weight. I was limited in what I could afford but they didn't know that. I wanted to sample a variety of items to get a feel for what their food is like. I felt very confused. Although there were few customers, no staff seemed to be aware I had walked in. The entrance led me right into the bar and I had to ask where the buffet was served. I wish a staff member had approached me to see if I needed help and to explain how their system works. Instead I had to look for someone to ask and when she explained, the price by weight went up as she was telling me. This gave me the impression that she thought I wasn't going to take much so let's charge her more for what she does take.

The meat was very tasty, hot, and freshly cooked. However, I was disappointed with the salad bar and hot side bar. There were adequate amounts of selections in enough volume, but I was disappointed in them because they were the same as what you would get in an inexpensive diner. There was nothing about the flavors to indicate they were brazilian. I expected them to be at least a little exotic but they weren't. I had visited a Brazilian Restaurant once while out of state and all the foods, including side dishes and salads were unique and Brazilian.

The pictures of the desserts on the review pages on the internet look wonderful. However, I never saw any desserts on display nor was I given a menu, so I didn't even know they had desserts.

A menu that listed the usual meat choices and what is usually on the salad bar and hot side bar along with the prices by the pound for each, along with a dessert and drinks listing would have been very helpful. Instead I was left thinking that they don't have menus or chose not to give me one so they could vary their prices to however they felt like charging at the time.

It could be that if I had gone earlier, there would have been clearer information presented, either on a menu or by a server.

While I thought the meat was delicious, I thought the other foods were very routine and was disappointed with them. I plan to go back for the meat and to see if the things I found objectionable are better when you eat in and at...

We went on a weekend during normal dinner hours and despite this, it wasn't very busy. Normally that would mean pretty good service. The server appeared to be very new and fumbled over some things - don't get me wrong, it's ok to be new, but this person needed some more training. They didn't refill drinks with any urgency and glasses sat empty for a while. We were going to order alcohol but were never asked about it and by the time the server finally came back, the meal was nearly done and we were so annoyed it was a moot point.

We were offered most meats that were cooked "well done", and by "well done", I mean I've had beef jerky with less chew. We asked the server for cuts of steak that were medium rare, which has never been an issue at any other Brazilian steak house we've ever been to. The server said they'd get us what we requested and brought out the same skewer as before (which was still well done) but they told us this time it was medium rare. Astonishingly, simply saying it's medium rare does not undo the cooking process. Nor does lying to the customer. The picanha was so tough the Smithsonian could display it in their fossil exhibit. Ruining picanha is a crime against the poor animal that died to provide that meat. A cut of "brisket" would have had a better life as a doorstop than as food. I think it was pork(?) - but who could tell at that point! It was inedible. The chicken wrapped in bacon probably finished cooking some time last week but stayed on the spit until it was served to us anyway. I didn't need my food to compete with the Sahara for moisture content. The only good meat was sausage, by virtue of being sausage.

I can say without a doubt, this is the worst experience I've ever had at a Brazilian steakhouse. I've been here a few times prior and had decent experiences (which is the only reason it's getting 2 stars), but today it really went downhill. Very disappointed. Save a cow the embarrassment of being turned into that sad excuse for a meal you served us and don't cook it in the first place if you can't do it justice. I'm hoping this is a...