Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse - Irvine Spectrum

My family and I wanted to try the food at Fogo de Chao since it recently opened in Irvine, and celebra our daughter’s birthday. We’ve dined at other churrascarias (Texas de Brazil and Agora in Irvine) and we all agreed that Fogo de Chao ranks 3rd. The marketplace selection was less varied, compared to its competitors. Soup and regular bread were out and I had to inform a server about it so they would replenish. Meats were good, but didn’t impress. Server was nice and attentive, and replenished the cheese breads several times (which also had a nice taste, but the competition’s taste better.) Overall, we had a good time and were satisfied, but don’t believe we’ll be back as often as we initially thought.

I'm going to echo some of the other reviews regarding this Irvine Spectrum location. Apparently they've been open less than a month and it shows. At the same time, some of the kinks are things that shouldn't matter how soon you are opened if you: (a) are a chain with a system down and (b) hire truly experienced servers.

The Good: The meat-cut staff were perfect. Some were even excited about what they were serving which we enjoyed. Ambiance is nice. Salad bar is well-kept, fresh as I remember from 7 or 8 years ago at the Beverly Hills location. Most of the meats were flavorful. Wine prices seemed fair compared to other steakhouses.

The Bad: 5 pm reservation for 6 and we still had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. We actually ended up with 5 of us and we felt jammed into a 4-top. When you're cutting meat elbows out, we probably should have been at a round table. It felt like our server was on her first day. She had low energy, soft-spoken, didn't explain much to us, didn't know the wines, didn't leave or offer a wine list. Too long between visits, particularly in the beginning. My view of this type of place is that it should be an "experience." Tell me what the sauces are and suggest which meats to use them with. Something about her felt like she was doing the bare minimum pleasantly. The Tomahawk steak was not the best dry-aged steak and it took at least 45 minutes to arrive.

The dining area was probably 90% full but it seemed that there was enough staff. I'm used to the pace taking approximately 2 hours at a steakhouse. This one took 2:45 and it wasn't your typical drinks first, take your time pace.

Definitely felt like the prices should have been 20 to 30% less than the charges, especially the "Market Table Dinner."

The salad bar was just okay, simple, nothing exciting
The warm dishes like, rice, beans, polenta were tasteless
The cheese bread was tasty but greasy
The meats were not tender, not savory, not exciting at all
Food presentation was average, service was average
Some nice waitresses, but several unfriendly meat servers.
Not going back, unless if I hear they have improved

Waited half an hour after my reservation time to be seated and that’s only because I walked up to the hostess 3 different times to remind her we were still waiting to be seated. Over crowded and noisy. The food was mediocre all of the meats had the same taste. Won’t be going back. Our server was an older gentleman who made the experience bearable and provided great service.

They’ve been open for a few weeks now so didn’t expect it to be this bad. Our drinks we delivered to the table 20 minutes into our meal and half of them were wrong. Our appetizers came to the table 30-40 minutes in when we were already finished and asking for the check. We asked for a manager but no one ever showed up. We paid about $500 for 4 people so this level of service is completely unacceptable.

This was our first time at the Irvine Fogo, though we had been to other Fogos in the past (so we knew what to expect). The restaurant itself is beautiful, with both indoor and outdoor dining options. The meat, along with the service of the Gauchos, was fantastic. You will never go hungry at Fogo--the meat comes often and is very good. Nice and hot--with your choice of temperature depending on how your meat is cut for you. However, I'm not sure the Irvine location is ready for a busy Saturday night. The Gauchos were great, but we had to wait 10-15 minutes to get our drinks, including our second round. Also, it felt like we were being rushed by our primary server. I recognize in an all-you-can-eat restaurant, they make their money on table turns, but the customer shouldn't feel like they are being rushed, especially when you have to wait for your drinks. Hopefully, their service will improve with time.

Service was very slow. We had tons of food way before the water and drinks. Quality of food was good, but value for money was poor. Probably would not visit again. I would rather spend my money at maestros for the price.

The meats were average in taste and pricey. They were out of several items at the hot/cold bar. My husband asked for 20 minutes to try the dark meat chicken and it never came to the table.

We were really looking forward to trying fogo since we’ve had it in Mexico and Brasil. Probably one of the better charrasco meats around. However for the price not including seafood and then “running out of meats” $300 for 3 people when we had to almost beg to get some cuts is completely out of this world. For the value I’ll go to Texas de Brasil or agorra again next time.

Steven’s 14th Birthday!

I’m going to start off with saying that my husband is actually Brazilian...so we are a little more picky than your average guest. That being said, we have been to plenty of Brazilian bbq restaurants including fogo de chao in LA and in Portland, OR. This place definitely has some kinks to work out. The picanha was super bland...like zero flavor. The whole thing with picanha is the way it is salted. If you don’t salt it, it is not good. Pretty much the best thing about the restaurant was the pao de queso. Oh the wine was pretty good as well. Definitely a good recommendation by one of the staff...not our server.
The server explained she was a vegetarian..which is fine...but why even tell us that...her whole demeanor was way off and just not the best service we have had. Seemed like she was making fun of me...like when we asked for a fresh batch of picanha she walked over and very sarcastically asked if it was cooked in her words “seasoned to perfection”...normally that would be nice...except the way she said it was very off putting
We seriously feel like we wasted our time and $$.
I hope this place works out their issues because right now I don’t see is returning.

Shhh... it’s a secret! 😳

My party of three came on a Sunday night. This place really didn’t meet my expectations. We had to wait a long time to put in our food and drink orders and meats were hardly coming out of the kitchen. Drinks and sides took a long time to arrive. Had to complain a few times to managers and waiters that our table was getting missed and not everything on the menu like the filet mignon and ribeye were being offered. Some things were overcooked and too salty. This is a new location. I’d give it a few months to work out the kinks before trying it out. A manager did come by and made sure we received all the meats we wanted to try. We also ordered the tomahawk and it was cooked perfectly.

Very well decorated restaurant. Good ambience (5/5). Great drinks (5/5). Food (5/5). Favorite meat was Picante (Top sirloin), least favorite meat was bacon wrapped chicken (too salty). Service (4/5) because we never received our grilled cheese. We asked for like every time our waitress come see us. And every time she assured us it was coming and it never did. Dessert (3/5) we got the papaya cream. It was ok. Overall (4/5)

First of all I would like to say that I decided to take my girlfriend there for her birthday. I had only visit this restaurant once before and it was the location in Las Vegas. I had a very memorable moment and I even viewed it as an upscale restaurant.

My girlfriend had never experienced this restaurant so I knew that she would enjoy for her birthday. Nonetheless, after she ordered wine it took almost 20 minutes to get the wine and that was because we Motion for the manager to come over. After explaining to him what we were experiencing he immediately took action and came back with the wine within five minutes.

The waiter said that he would get our beverages and it took more than 10 minutes. Another young lady came over we shared with her what was happening and she never returned. After speaking to the waiter again we noticed that he interacted with the young lady and they still never brought the wine. The young lady came over to check on us and she said can I take your plate and I will bring you another one and she never returned. Several minutes later a motion for her to come over and explain to her what happened and she just conked her self in the head with her hand and says oh I forgot I knew and it’s so busy. Unacceptable!

I also like to add that being that it was after 7 PM I thought people would dress really nice to go out for dinner but there’s a lot of people they came there dressed in very casual clothing, from jerseys to flip-flops and shorts. I’ve learned a valuable lesson and that is not a place I would go for a special occasion.

Meat too salty

Everything was so wonderful! The staff made the occasion very memorable. We will surely return for more!

Great for a special occasion but be prepared to pay the price for the "full experience." Being our first time there, all four of us went for it and were completely happy. Everything (and we ate everything) was terrific. Don't miss out on the beef ribs -- they carve slices, although I wanted a bone -- and it was the best meat as far as I was concerned, along with the lamb. The bacon wrapped sirloin was another favorite along with the pork ribs (I would have liked some barbecue sauce for those). They do provide a pesto and another sauce that I didn't get to try. The bread puffs filled with cheese were another hit and the salad and side buffet could easily be a meal in itself. They do have other entrees that come with the "Market Table" (salads and sides) that are less pricey and I'll definitely go again and do that. Table served so it would be hot: crispy polenta was a little bland need cheese instead of salt, wonderful mashed potatoes and sweet fried bananas. My only suggestion to the kitchen would be to go a little lighter on the salt on the meats -- it can be added but not taken away. And after all that we shared a dessert and it was great -- a chocolate mousse cake that my non-dessert eating adult son polished off after the other 3 of us declared we were in a food coma!

We always love Fogo 🤤 definitely not somewhere to go when you’re trying to save a buck but it’s definitely a great Date night spot.

Delicious food and drinks, perfect attentive service, and beautiful decor. GM Jimena always has a welcoming smile and ensures our time there is the best it can possibly be. Loved the experience and would definitely recommend to friends.

The live music was way too loud but it was a great place to eat.

This was my 1st time dining here & everything was great. We just needed to ask for the sides that came with our meal but other then that everything was as great!

It was great!!

We took a friend who had never experienced a Brazilian steak house. We have eaten an Fogo de Chao in Chicago many times. We also like Texas de Brazil.
The staff was very attentive but .....
As soon as we ordered the sparkling water I told our waitress exactly the cuts of meat we like and how we like the meat prepared. Many, many times the servers, managers, gauchos would stop by and ask how they were doing and did we have any special requests. I am not kidding when I say that at least TEN times I requested our preferences. Finally we started eating other cuts of meat and poultry. After one hour they finally brought the steak requested saying they made it especially for us! Really? After one hour! We were done eating by then. As a courtesy to them, we did take two small slivers of meat.
We will not go back to this location.

Not yet ready for prime time. This location has been open for only a week and it shows. And while it’s certainly understandable that there would be some initial growing pains, the staff made no effort to rectify those pains. For example, one of our guests didn’t receive his meal for 45 min. Initially because they came back saying what he ordered (a server recommended special) was still frozen. Secondly, we ordered desert and it took well over 30 min to come out. When it finally did, it was missing a key ingredient, yet they still decided to charge us as normal desert. There was never a management effort to address these shortcomings considering they were items we were charged full price for a subpar product. I will give them another try in a couple months in hopes that they have addressed these growing pains, but for now would not recommend dining here until they figure things out.

They just opened this week, and I think they are getting their bearings still. The meats took a long time to come around. We did not see lamb nor short rib until after 1.5-2 hours of us being there. It seemed like some waiters just went past our table also. Selection was limited. For the first hour, it seemed like we just got sirloin. I used to love the Beverly Hills location. I don't remember if the salad bar here is the same as there, but it was less impressive. Staff was a bit too chatty and interactive and felt slightly overbearing, making for many awkward moments. I'd rather they be more reserved and let me enjoy my meal with my party. We were celebrating my husband's birthday and were excited for weeks but sat there disappointed for 2 hours. May try them again one day in the distant future, but right now, prefer Texas De Brazil for our Orange County Brazilian meats fix.

Last night’s dinner was superb! My wife and I are avid fan of Fogo de Chao since 1997 (from Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Scottsdale, San Diego, Beverly Hills and now in OC/Irvine). Impeccable service by Eric, Lizette and the restaurant managers and supervisors. All our guests who were all “first timers” at Fogo were impressed with the quality of food (all the meat were tender and juicy), Eric was attentive in frequently offering to change our plates. Lizette kept the kitchen and gauchos informed of food/steak requests (more plantains, cheese bread, Pichanna, beef ribs, tenderloin, and many more). We will definitely be back with friends and family.

food and service was great...

The food was wonderful, and the service was extremely attentive. Couldn’t have asked for a better meal.

It started off a bit slow but they picked up and had a team of people making sure we were taken care of, unfortunately we had tapped out before they started bringing around the better meats like ribeye and NY strip but everything else tasted amazing! It was our anniversary and we enjoyed it.

Fogo Irvine does not disappoint. The only thing I wish was that the meat came around faster and we could get a second round of everything.

I’ve been to the Fogo in LA and other states, a lot has changed since the last time I went (a few years ago). The salad bar was enhanced and fantastic, meat was the same, however I’m not sure if it was just super busy but service was not that great the day I went. Though the folks were nice, simple things took extremely long and we had to ask for it a few times..

No going back way loud and good so salty

Went with a friend to see what the new location was like. Customer service and food were great. Will definitely by coming back

Absolutely the best Brazilian BBQ I have ever went too. This was on opening night. Best Meats and Service!