Grimpa Steakhouse

My spouse and I made the mistake of visiting Grimpa Steakhouse today to celebrate a milestone in our lives.\r We made a reservation for 4PM on Open Table and I guess, lucky for us, we arrived 10 minutes early and were seated immediately. We had not eaten anything at all in preparation for the overindulgent meal that supposedly awaited us. We are from Chicago and have visited many other Brazilian format steakhouses. They are always fun but provide waaaaayyy too much food. So, when we walked by and saw the advertisement that we could get 9 courses instead of 15 we were very excited. Upon ordering wine, I immediately inquired about the giant advertisement of less courses posted on the side of the restaurant. The waiter told me this was only for lunch time on the week days. This was disappointing but we decided to stay and have the normal $50 per person ridiculously indulgent course after course of meat.\r I started with a caphrinia which was $10 (not bad) and yummy. The salad bar was fine if not a bit lackluster. It was not up to snuff with the Chicago restaurants but that's fine, it's not really the reason you visit. After my salad course the waiter didn't even offer a clean fork and just took mine off the dirty salad plate and put it on the table. Oh, he did. Obviously, I snagged one from the next table and tried to pretend I was having a great time. Everything seemed a little rushed but we were determined to have a leisurely meal enjoying each others' company and the bottle of wine. It's about 4:45PM at this point. We tried three kinds of meat (two I'm certain were duplicates) they were tasty. Then, our waiter came over and the rest of the meal took on a new flavor: bad customer service. He told us the kitchen closed at 5PM but it would stay open until 5:20PM for us. Wow. 15 meats in 30 minutes. If I'd wanted this, I'd at least go to a restaurant that offered a tee shirt for such a foul feat. He asked us what we wanted so they could put it on the grill. Well, in a restaurant with no menu, it's difficult to say what you want. My husband chose a couple of things after a lengthy discussion and we tasted them but it's hard to enjoy when you're fuming. Again, do I need to remind you that I asked for less courses in the beginning but was served 3 and then told they were closing. No? I didn't think so. \r That's when the flies started in on us. Circling our bottle of wine so much I had to cover it with a napkin. After landing on my husband's food, I couldn't even look in the plate's direction. Utter disgust. The waiter then rolled over the dessert card. I love dessert but they told us they were closing/closed. Why would I order dessert?? At this point, the the manager finally came over. He brought the house dessert. Apologies for the flies. He said that! Mmmm what could be more appetizing. I don't know what it was. I was trying to explain, nicely and constructively, that a restaurant of this format should not take a 4PM reservation, expect guests to eat upwards of 20 courses (salad bar, 15 meats, dessert etc) and close at 5PM. It's not fair to guests splurging on food and not the staff who was obviously so ready to leave. I didn't try the dessert because in the few minutes I was chatting with the manager, the flies had gotten to it first. Ew ew ew.\r Just before this dessert fiasco, the staff put up a "closed" sign in four languages so you wouldn't try to eat any more. Don't worry, I knew you were closed because of the rude waiter and the lights being turned off around us. Then, the tear down began. Such an extensive salad bar being ripped up and wheeled away as we were trying to eat our meal. The whole experience was so disappointing.\r I have never been so compelled to spread a review to so many sites (TA, OpenTable, Yelp, Blog) before this experience. My husband and I eat out all the time. He is a consultant constantly taking clients out. We will definitely take Grimpa off of the list. more

As soon as greeted by the host he said the restaurant was about to close and they could not serve us (15 minutes to close). totaly disapointed we were outside when the manager aknowledged the situation and invited us in. the food was good besides one of the steaks were under cooked. service was good too. more

Best meal in Miami!! Expensive but worth it!! more

The best rodizio in Miami by far more

Outstanding! more

I definitely consider myself a meat eater and that is exactly what you need to be to visit this restaurant. It is all about the beef! It was my first time going to a Braizilian steakhouse and it is definitely and experience. We were there on a Saturday for lunch and they were full staffed and you knew it. People were coming around to your table constantly with all kinds of delicious cuts of meat. I was glad I went in hungry because I felt like I didn't want to miss anything. I am not sure if I got all 17 cuts of meat they serve but I did try to fit it all. The cold bar was good - salads of all kinds and some soups too. They also had dessert but I didn't make it to that course. more

I was looking for a not so ordinary place to eat and have a romantic night out and found Grimpa. This restaurant is exquisite and the service is wonderful. The food is delicious and just non-stop delectable cuts of meat not to mention delicious salad bar. I would visit this place at least once a week. Pros: Delicious meat and salad bar more

Grimpa was a spark in downtown Miami-was being the key word. A slow variety of meat, some dry some ok. When the salad bar is better than the meat in a steakhouse you can't help wondering what happened? Only seven table full @ prime lunch time...,,., a cook who was not to careful with his nose.....,,for your me last visit...... Hated it!! more

This place has been the worst restaurant I have seen in years. They bring in people in by the busload. I'm not exaggerating. We went with a couple friends of ours, and we were so embarrassed to be there. You could not get to the front valet because they had two buses parked on the front. They took us upstairs, which looked like a wake room. Fluorescent ceiling lights, a small table with food (all you can eat?), and the faces of the guests were so grim! When we tried to ask the Manager Gabriel for a nicer table, the guy did not speak English and basically said we should have known they bring buses with tourists?! WE LEFT! NEVER AGAIN. WASTE OF TIME. We crossed the street to the Oceanaire Seafood which was great time. DO NOT EVEN BOTHER! Pros: We left! Cons: Cheap and lousy service. They unload buses of tourists more

Their buffet is ok, but the meats are delicous. Wish they had more traditional brazilian plates to go along with the food. more

I went to Grimpa on April 2009 to celebrate the ending of my Portuguese Language class and let me tell you, I saw more than I expected. The waiters were very courteous and although we had just learned Portuguese, they spoke so clearly and slowly for us to understand. Not to worry, they also speak English. I opted not to have the steak and only have the salad bar. The salad bar was huge! It had a wide array of cheeses, meats, rice, potatoes, seafood, asparagus, etc. It definitely had more than your average salad bar. Some of my classmates had the steak as well, and man was it a lot of steak. Not ever did we feel rushed while we were eating. The atmosphere was great. There was even a girl there singing Bossa Nova music, live, for us to hear her. A wonderful experience. more

Lunch was pleasant with an extensive cold buffet. The warm buffet is not as extensive. Service was very attentive without bring over bearing. more

Not all 17 cuts did reach our table, that's for sure, but the quality of the meat is great, the salad bar is long and fresh and the polenta... ah the polenta. Pros: Good quality on meat, salad and sides Cons: Didn't get all cuts, not a huge variety of meats more

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