Fogo de Chao - Bellevue

Review summary

1. P

   Philip N.

   Seattle

   11 reviews

   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   As usual, there were not many restaurants open close to where we live Christmas Day 2024. So I turned to my trusted app -- Open Table - which I could use to narrow down the day. Fofo de Chao sounded intriguing, so I booked one of the few openings -- 4:45PM. Around 3:30PM a 7PM time had opened up, so I cancelled the 4:45PM time AFTER I booked the 7PM time. That way, I was assured we had a time and our prior time was opened up for others. Because we had a reservation, we waited about 10 minutes to be seated. There were about 40 people in line, who we had to assume did NOT have reservations. Thank you, Open Table! We were seated close to the front window in a semi-private 2-person table, which we appreciated greatly. Our wait person Marsala could not have been more personable and professional. Because we had not eaten in the restaurant before, and because there was a special holiday presentation, Marsala explained to us how the entire process worked. Everything started with a self-service salad bar (like those that existed before Coid-19), which was pleasant. Large plates were available instead of the very small ones other venues offer. Once we were at out table, my wife and I were both given 2-inch-in-diameter paper discs. One side up indicated you were not ready for meats. Flip it, and a steady stream of carvers came to us offering different meats -- carved at the table and put on our plates. The meats were not overcooked, and overall were delicious. Our check, including an 18% (voluntary) tip on food+tax was $208. So at ages 80 and 84 on fixed incomes, we will be reserving Fogo de Chao for special occasions. But we were very happy with the whole experience. You will not leave hungry!
   

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2. a

   adeline

   VIP

   Seattle

   53 reviews

   5.0

   53 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Overall our dining experience was enjoyable. I was disappointed that the ala carte meal was not offered on Christmas. We had the Churasco and Chilean Sea Bass.
   

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3. M

   Mai

   Seattle

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Nice experience, holiday value with kid dine for free
   

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4. D

   Dianne

   VIP

   Seattle

   19 reviews

   3.0

   19 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   I would not suggest going here on a holiday. We went on Christmas. The check-in process was totally chaotic and inefficient. I've never experienced such disorder at a restaurant check-in. There was a huge line spilling out of the restaurant into the mall with everyone "waiting to be seated." After 20 minutes of going nowhere, I walked to the front of the line to check what was going on. A hostess was standing by herself (on the left as you entered) and not engaged with anyone. She checked us in and said they would text us when a table was ready. We waited another 10 minutes. I saw people going to another hostess who would look up a table and seat them. No text sending going on. So I went to her and we finally got seated, 30 minutes after arriving. I suggested the hostesses communicate the check-in process to the huge line of people waiting, and the hostess with long dark hair looked annoyed. We were then seated outside the bathroom entry in the worst table in the house. The 2 tables here should be removed as they are basically in the walkway between the entrance and the bathroom. You could smell bathroom scents at the table. It's totally unappealing. Food was okay, but you couldn't order the Picanha only menu item on Christmas so not wanting to eat pounds of meat at $70, I had the salad bar only which was not a great Christmas dinner. My mom's Sea Bass was to have had asparagus, but they didn't have and didn't communicate this so she got a pile of broccoli which she didn't want.They nicely discounted her entry because of this, but it took 20 minutes waiting for someone to figure out how do this discount on the cash register. It was a totally stressful evening at every turn, which is not what you want for Christmas or when you spend $100 a person for dinner.
   

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5. W

   Walter

   Seattle

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   The front service was good. It was busy and there was a wait past our reservation time. Our server was good. The guys serving the meat seems to pass us all the time and have to flag them down to come to our table but other wise it was great. It was our daughter's bday today so it was nice to go to a restaurant that's open on christmas day.
   

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6. R

   Renee

   Seattle

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   They were out of the cheese bread and their pineapple lemonade. The service was very spotty.
   

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7. N

   Nyambura

   Denver

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The hosts very confused about the checkin welcoming process, the waiter service was poor few mistakes and food for a la carte food took very long for one of the person on the table. Options of meat extremely limited and only one sausage type for a Xmas Eve you should have been better prepared. Dessert was great only thing we liked
   

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8. K

   Kathleen

   VIP

   London

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Having dined at Fogo de Chao restaurants across the US (Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago), used it as my go-to for private business events, and celebrated Thanksgiving at their Boston location in the last year, I had high hopes for hosting my family (party of 8) for X'mas Eve dinner at Fogo de Chao in Bellevue. BIG MISTAKE! Despite having reservations, we waited 40mins for a table, and we weren't a lone. As a result, I had to tell three little kids they wouldn't get to open presents at Grandma's after because they'd get home too late. The table we were given was not set - we had to ask repeatedly for knives (at a Churrasco!) They ran out of cheese bread and the sides/mashed potatoes were served without serving utensils (by the time the utensils arrived, the sides were cold.) Their Market Table was not replenished - no bacon, bread, caprese salad, or even soup bowls! We had to ask three times to get chicken for the children and by the time it arrived, the adults had already finished. The seafood tower I ordered never arrived. We (and the table next to us), had to help ourselves to pitchers of water because the wait staff was overwhelmed. According to the hostess, the booking of reservations so closely together they resulted in long wait times, was a known issue they had complained to management about, but had fallen on deaf ears. If true, my (and other's) poor customer experience on X'mas Eve could have been prevented. Instead, I had the most disappointing dining experience I've ever had at a Fogo de Chao - by a mile! Based on this experience, I DO NOT recommend booking Fogo de Chao in Bellevue for the holidays - it's a poorly managed restaurant that was clearly unprepared for the heightened demand.
   

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9. A

   Abel

   Seattle

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 5

   Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   

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10. S

    Stephanie

    Seattle

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    They sat us an hour later than our reservation due to over booking. It was very crowded. Tables were too close. But our wait staff was amazing and made the experience better especially Miguel. He was so attentive to us.
    

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