Cafe do Brasil

LOCATION: Right in the heart of Market St with all the bums and drug-dealers. Don't dress up to get to this place unless you arrive via taxi. AMBIANCE: The restaurant was freezing cold. We requested for them to turn on the heater several time but the heater was apparently non-functional. The website boast live entertainment; there wasn't jack. The restaurant was pretty empty and for reasons I now understand. Despite the fact that the restaurant was pretty empty, they seated us very tight on our table. FOOD: We tried the Churrasco for $18.25 per person and it's all you can eat meats. You start out with salad at the bar. Selection is slim and unattractive. Then the cook come around with meat on a skewer. It was a lot of work on the customer's end to get a damn piece of meat. I don't know why another waiter did not assist in this procedure. The meat quality was poor. I can seriously cook better meat myself at home. SERVICE: They were attentive, but were never able to accommodate our requests. CONCLUSION: Our experience was quite disappointing to say the least. Pros: None, unfortunately Cons: Everything you can imagine more

Saw the menu, wanted to try the bolinhas de bacalho as I had them before in Portugal. What I got was lumpy, dry, starchy and overfried croquettes. Nothing like they should be. My date and I should have left there and then. Stuck it out, she ordered the bananas and rice and bean vegie plate. Two fried regular bananas, not plantains, were served. The rice tasted like stale Uncle Bens and the beans were salty. I ordered the bacalho (codfish). It was dry, overcooked and gave me indigestion. There was really nothing good about this place. I spent $40 and got crappy rice and lame dishes. Service was ok. No ambience, floor is dirty. Place is in a sketchy neighborhood, which I wouldnt mind if food was good, but NO WAY!!! Save your money and go elsewehere. This was THE WORST FOOD EXPERIENCE I have had in years in SF. Pros: nothing Cons: bad food, bad food, bad food more

Have been meaning to try Brazilian food for a while and my expectations were not met at all. The buffet that they provide is absolutely terrible - mashed potatoes, massively overcooked chicken dish etc. The grilled food was very basic and did not appear to be freshly cooked. The Tri-tip however was good. Finally the ambience / lighting - well let's just say it's like having dinner in Burger King..... Pros: Fairly Cheap, Tri-tip Cons: , The Buffet, lighting more

I went there based on cityserach rating, I ordered the red snapper filet and my friend got a steak, they took a long time to get the food which was cold and the fish was burnt, the waitress acknowledged that and offered us free desert which she picked on her own!!! Overall very bad and dissapointing experience. more

The food is very good. The meat (Churrascaria) is really incredible! The prices are decent and the staff was hit or miss. One good, one not so good at our table. Definitely go and check it out at least once! We will visit once again and try new items and hopefully get better staff to help us. Pros: Great Food, Meat, Meat, Meat Cons: , Dodgy Neighborhood more

We decided to do the churrascaria meal (an assortment of grilled meats), and were pleasantly satiated. The meat was pretty good (a bit salty), the salad bar was kind of sparse, and the caipirinha (sp?) was a bit sour. Though we had a pleasant dining experience, getting there was quite scary... the walk to the restaurant along Market St past the Nordstrom and from the restaurant to the Civic Street BART left MUCH to be desired. Pros: good food, great service more

Dropped in for dinner w friends visiting from Rio and while the service was fantastic, the food was just awful! Only reason I gave it a 3 was bcs the sweet plantains and the beans were the only thing I enjoyed. I've had Brazilian food many times before and I can't understand how this place manages to stay open! Don't bother. Go to Terra Brazilis - while it's not all authentic, your taste buds will be happy! Pros: Friendly Service Cons: Bad food, Not worth the tab, Shady location more

It was my first time to eat Brazillian food and was pleasantly suprised. The combo of appetizers was wonderful and the Xian Xian (sp?) was darn good. It was not crowded at all (ate Friday night before show at Orpheum). A band was setting up, but we left at 7:45 and didn't hear them play. The place didn't look great (old tile floors, share bathroom with pool hall), but we went for the food. Pros: Good Food, Good Price Cons: Low brow decor more

My rating of 7 was being generous. Averaging all the 4 rating fields, they actually got a 6 from me. I have only been to one other Brazilian place in California and that was Rei De Gado in San Diego. I was hoping for a similar dining experience considering San Francisco's reputation for fine dining. Cafe Do Bazil lef me very disappointed. Very low scale and cafeteria like in appearance, cut /grade of meats, and presentation. Rei De Gado in San Diego has 12 courses of meat. Cafe Do Brazil only had about 5 to 6 different course of meat. Pros: caiparina (sp?) Cons: higher grade of meat, more choices of cuts, more buffet choices more

I love to go to Cafe do brazil at least once a week. Lunch is the best time, and I like to sit in the sunny window on Market Street. Unfortunately they don't serve the Churasco barbecue for lunch. But once in a while I take friends there for a weekend feast, the meats are so tasty! My favorites are the desserts: Passionfruit mousse and the flan... Delicious! Better: Heavenly! Pros: Quality, Friendlyness, good price Cons: no Churasco for lunch, Desserts heavy on cal, No parking more

As a person who do not get into SF that often I find when I do I want to stop by the resturant and have dinner, lunch or just a cup of coffee. Elvia and her staff makes you feel like you a member of the family and makes you feel you are at home. Have eaten at this resturant at both location on the orignal resturant on 7th and now the new location. Elvis has done a lots to bring a taste of Brazil to the US and San Francisco in both the food she makes and the entertainment she has at here resturant. Keep the good work up and I hope more people goes to here resturant and try the food and then enjoy the ambience of this resturant. Pros: Great Staff, Great Music, Great Food Cons: Hard to find Parking, Local Homeless, So So Neighborhood more

Cafe do Brazil deserves to be rated as one of the best of the bay resturants. The food is the best. Service is excellent. On certain days, at night, A band plays while guest dine on the best Brazilian food in town. The bar'b'que all you can eat is the top choice. A variety of meats are savoring with flavor, which makes your mouth water, wanting for more. Deserts is also delicious - - coconut flan, coconut ice cream. more

Sorry but I wanted to finish the rest of my review. I didn't notice the 150 words or less but figured it out after posting . . . My favorite item at the restaurant is the Brazilian BBQ. It's only offered for dinner on specific days of the week (thurs-sun). I think it's worth a trip just for it and it's all-you-can-eat as well. Chicken, Sausage, Top Sirloin and Tri-Tip (they also have some other stuff but that's what I like). . . . makes me really want the weekend to hurry up and get here. I've read some of the other reviews about staff issues and I haven't had those problems but maybe I've been lucky. I especially enjoy the service of the older waitress (maybe the owner? - I'll have to ask) and the BBQ guy (he cuts the meat at the table dressed like a ""brazillian"" cowboy?). Pros: buffet, inexpensive, good food more

Cafe do Brasil is by far the most authentic Brazilian Restaurant in the bay area. Excelent ""Feijoada"" and excelent Brazilian Barbecue ""Churrasco""! Its a great place to dine with your family because they welcome kids. Pleasant atmosphere and friendly wait staff. Pros: Inexpensive, Good Food, Welcome Kids more

We went to the Café do Brasil on a Friday night, after making a reservation as recommended by friends who had been there for a Churrasco. The Brazilian barebecue they are serving is outstanding! Excellent meats, tasty and as much as you can eat, with a good choice of vegetables and salads at the buffet. The waitress was very friendly and helpful... (she is the owner, we later found out), she even explained to us where this special BBQ (Churrasco rodizio) comes from. Pros: Inexpensive, Excellent Quality, Friendly Cons: Cafeteria-like, Location, No parking more