02/02/09

Every Mans Food Fantasy - A non-stop Parade of Roasted Meat

by DinnerDate69

Went for my birthday back in August. All I can say is "WOW"... This place is the epitome of EXCESS. First they have you dig in to the salad bar, which is loaded with all kinds of fancy stuff, in addition to salad. Being the meat-iterian I am, I wisely passed on this distraction and flipped my disc to the green side, while my wife decided she would have a plate or two from the salad bar. Within moments, crazed cowboys that spoke little english began galivanting about, carving off slices of roasted meats at a frantic pace. Tempting sides and rolls were also brought to our table and constantly refreshed, even if we only took a little spoonful. Wife saw that I was in too deep and bailed on her salad to get into the action. I can honestly say she enjoyed herself, and once we figured out which meats we liked and which ones to pass on, we continued to gorge ourselves until pain set in. Wife backed off after a few rounds and flipped her disc over to the red side, as she is much smaller than I. I however, continued to eat through the pain, reaching the point of perspiration - a phenomena I call "the meat sweats". It was only then I reluctantly flipped my disc over to the red side. After such a feast, there was certainly no room for dessert, and if you do have room for dessert, you are cheating yourself.

Now, this is one of the costliest dinners we have embarked on, however, you can really get your money's worth if you FOCUS. At $48/person, its not for the faint of heart, so be smart and pass (or go light) on the salad bar, and instead focus on the prime cuts of meats. At first, they will try to tempt you with tasty little sausages and chicken pieces. You must be strong and hold out for the filet, top sirloin, and the ancho, which is kinda like prime rib. Dont be afraid to ask for more and for God's sake, if your favorite cut of meat hasnt come around in 3 minutes, ask for it, dont fill up on sides! Also, bring a bottle of water for the walk/ride home... Its alot of sodium!

• Pros: Excellent Food, Non-stop service, Eat till you drop!
• Cons: Costly, tempting salad bar and side dishes

12/04/08

Great selection of meat!

by carolfromphila

We went here with a huge group of friends and none of us was disappointed. The food is very good, meat selection is endless. Yes it is not cheap and kind of noisy. We were noisy ourselves. And we had fun and enjoyed the food and the company. Recommend it for large groups or family outing.

• Pros: Meat, holiday atmosphere
• Cons: Parking

12/03/08

TONS of MEAT, greatest service and class. But get ready spend $$$$$

by Philacupcake

Pricey great Funnnn!!! Classy so dress to impress...i wore a dress and i fit in perfectly.

Food was delicious, salads were amazing and wine was great too.

I swear the servers were magical. Running everywhere to serve you. If your wine glass was low, it was filled, if you wanted meat prepared more they remember and come back in a few.

Worth every penny. We came to celebrate a big event and for 5 people and about 2 bottles of semi-sweet wine i think bill was in the 400s.

• Pros: Fantastic Experience
• Cons: Waited for our table for about 30 min even with made reservations and hard to find parking

08/31/08

excellent place

by fantacia8519

Excellent place for meat lover !! All the meat are cooked very well.

There is a salad bar for ppl who dun like to eat meat that much. The smoked salmon is good. dun forget to give it a try. Even tho it's expensive, but it's worth it considering the amount and quality of food.

• Pros: everything!

06/16/08

Loved it...and I hardly like meat

by qweenie0828

This place has a lot to offer. I went with my parents who had been before so I was warned about the amount of meat one can consume there. So I opted for the salad bar. The salad bar was the best salad bar I have come a crossed. It more than just your average salad bar, it features high end fresh ingredients. And for those who don't love huge hunks of beef but are not quite vegetarian the salad bar offers smoked salmon, salami, and chicken salad with large chunks of chicken. It was wonderful and the staff was great, but you are constantly being interrupted, which I didn't mind as much but can be a problem. even if you order the salad bar you will still be bought out hot sides, like mash potatoes, fried plantains, and polentta.

• Pros: clean bathrooms, excellent service, beautiful resturant
• Cons: parking

03/20/08

GREAT EVERYTHING!

by QUEENSONIA

On Wednesday, March 19th, 2008... I had the pleasure of meeting a friend for lunch and I chose Fogo de Chao. My friend loves meat and I love veggies. We were both excited about trying someplace new. Upon arrival, we were immediately seated and told of the ordering process. Everything was deliciious and in abundance. The wine was great and you can't get better service and not be royalty. We felt truly catered to and spoiled.. treated like Queens for the afternoon. We decided to come back again for dinner to really enjoy the beautiful decor. I recommend this place for family dinners, dates, business meetings or any group that loves to EAT!!

• Pros: fast immediate service, deicious food and great variety in salad bar, beautifully decorated
• Cons: No room for dessert, no parking (use garage), no women waitresses

03/18/08

4 out of 5 stars, and 3 just for the salad bar alone

by oxjinixo

Dear Patron below who has commented on the lack of vegetarian options -

I would like to remind you politely the salad bar they have at Fogo.

Might I add that I am a meat eater.

But that was the most grandiose, beautiful, closest-to-being- the-size-of- a-football-field salad bar I have ever seen in my life.

Just the sheer size of it is intimidating, yet inviting - the omnivorous may complain that it's a scam by the management to offer up a salad bar so wonderful and not passable so that the people would eat less meat (but knowingly still eat the salads because they are that good).

Seriously, Philadelphia Fogo de Chao has the best salad bar ever, and while I loved their meat too, it is their salad bar that brings me back more often. During lunch, yes, but still. And it's not just lettuce and tomatoes - they have hearts of palm (those things are expensive these days), artichoke, beet, etc. - generally more "upscale" salad selections - along with the likes of different pasta and potato salads.

That salad bar alone could have fed an elephant.

And you say there wasn't enough?

• Pros: huge/fresh salad bar, great meat in copious amounts
• Cons: no room in my tummy for dessert :(

02/20/08

best place to go when you want great food and are real hungry

by co0929

this location allows a great atmosphere for business and personal dinners. the 18 selections of meat paired with the large salad bar allows you to indulge freely in what ever you choose. I have been to 6 other brazilian steak houses in other cities and fogo always outperforms. I recommend making reservations.

• Pros: Geat selection and no such thing as tiny portion
• Cons: all you can eat if that's a bad thing

02/19/08

Interesting Brazilian steak house

by nickphilly

Interesting concept, it?s an upscale Brazilian steak house buffet. I figured that we can?t go wrong for picking something on Chestnut Street in center city. That was a mistake. We had the worst services from our two waiter/waitress. They acted as if they had something better to do than being there. Both didn?t even bother to look at us when we are talking to them. They would ask how we are doing and before I could answer, they would start walking away and I?m talking to their back. Why even bother asking? Their timing is completely off. Both would interrupt us constantly when we don?t need anything, but when we needed them, we sat there forever waiting for them. Beside our waiter/waitress, the other staffs are terrific. The salad bar was great and the steaks weren?t bad depending on your taste. I personally like the lamb chop, pork rib and house sirloin.

Our mistake was going on a Monday night. As the old saying goes, the best waiters/waitresses usually work on the weekend. The rookies get Monday nights. For $180 including tips, we were expecting better services. We should have taken our money down the street to Brasserie Perrier or Morimoto for a better dining experience.

• Pros: salad bar, the steaks
• Cons: service

01/30/08

MEAT, MEAT, and more MEAT!

by moonchyldcrab82

I wasn't sure how to dress but almost anything is fine. People were dressed in everything from jeans to little black dresses. The waiters are EXCELLENT! They pulled out our chairs and were very attentive. I took my boyfriend here for his birthday because he loves steak and this was perfect. You can't get more manly than steaks on giant skewers. And they try to cook each skewer so that you have every "doneness" on each skewer. From bloody to well. And if they don't have what you want on their skewer they'll go get it! I was a little scared of the salad bar because things weren't labeled and I am pretty picky. But overall a wonderful experience and we will definitely go again!

Me and my boyfriend had the "buffet", and one drink each and I think our bill was about $140.

• Pros: Steak is cooked and seasoned well.
• Cons: Pricey. (But if you can afford it go for it!)