Fogao Gaucho - Downtown (Reported Closed)

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GaSouthpaw

Joined 5 years ago

Great food- but.... ...the place has been closed for more than a year now. It's going to be a noodle restaurant or something next (if it's not already).

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papahawk

Joined 7 years ago

Brazilian Meat Paradise. Well first I must say that Downtown Atl seems to be a dead spot after 6pm. Went about 7:30 on a thur and had the place to ourselves. That being said it was an enjoyable experience.

The service was very good and part of the experience. The salad bar to start is a nice mix of treats to wet your appetite for the main course to come. Once you are ready turn the wheel to green and let the meat start coming.

It was a mixed bag some are excellent cuts, come a littled over cooked and dried out. I do wish that some of the better cuts from early on would come back in rotation earlier. Also dissapointed seemed to be no lamb that night. Also, the sides that go with the meat might seem incidental, but are very good in their own right. Loved the cheese puff and meat pie.

Overall a good experience

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markadams30067

Joined 6 years ago

Surprised and impressed. It was hard to find, but I'm glad we did... I was a little worried when we walked in and saw that it was smaller than expected and it wasn't very busy (that's usually not a good sign), but my worries disappeared after we were seated. The server quickly greeted us and made us feel like we were guests in her home. She was a little green, but her attitude was terrific, which overcomes experience in my book. The salad bar was small, and very well presented. I am impressed to see what they did with what they had.

On to the meats... The guys with the spikes (gauchos) were excellent! They were very personable, and not like trained robots that I have seen elsewhere. Each had their own personality, and they made it clear that they were there to serve me, continually asking if our meats were cooked to our liking (which I'm not used to seeing). Overall, a great experience... hard to find, but well worth the effort!

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tomriddle30308

Joined 7 years ago

My hat's off to you, fellas!. My wife and I just got back from one of the most fun times we have had for dinner (although we ate too much to even think about sitting through a movie afterward). The service we received here was the most attentive that I can remember having in a long time... it reminded me of the way restaurants USED to be. I remember that when I asked for anoher piece of the best swordfish I have ever put in my mouth, the server said that I was his boss tonight, and that his job was to get me anything that he could get for me. That surprised me, because most restaurants treat you like you are just another person coming in to eat. The food was good, but the service was great!

Doesn't Recommend

mike66

Joined 7 years ago

BAD BAD BAD.....don't even think about trying this place. Every meat was dry and over cooked! The salade bar was far from being any close to the word fresh. For $43 easy to get better food in Atlanta! This was a very very bad experience.....

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brandonsmith30067

Joined 7 years ago

Two Words: YEAH, BABY!. Okay, maybe I need to curb my enthusiasm, but I just got engaged at this gem! There is an old bank vault downstairs - I found the dimmer switch, brought the lights down low and took care of business right there!

Food: GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! (salmon was a little dry the first time, but GREAT the next go-around)

Service: Top notch. They took good care of us... seemed like the whole staff was our waiter!

Price: $50 a person, including a couple soft drinks. Wines averaged about $25-30 a bottle (we skipped the wine). It's not a cheap night, but it's not like we're spending a hundred bucks per plate, either!

Downside: No sweet tea... actually, no brewed tea whatsoever... they sell pre-bottled tea. It's really good, but this is Georgia, and we want our tea, doggone-it!

We will be back... oh yes... we will be back.

Doesn't Recommend

alay

Joined 7 years ago

Not worth it!. This restaurant did not offer a five star dining experience. At the price of almost $100 per person the dining experience was disappointing. The salad bar was just ok. The various meats which we expected to be the finest cuts , were instead tough and dry. Additionally the staff neglected to serve us fish and the complimentary bread was also never brought to our table. There was not a menu to review, so we had no idea what we were suppose to receive with our meal until we had already paid.

There are many wonderful dining experiences in Atlanta to choose from if you want to pay a premium price, this should not be one of them.

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_frosty

Joined 7 years ago

awesome services, great salad bar, good meat, interesting valut. Exceptional services: i'd say this is one of the BEST services I've received in any of the restaurants i've been to. All the staff were extremely friendly with a great smile. Manager David was extremely knowledgable and approachable. together they make the whole dining experience tremandously fantastic.

Great salad bar: had a few plates before the meat started coming.

Good meat: overall not bad. Fish (sword fish + salmon) were well prepared. some of the steaks were a bit dry & hard to chew. good flavor nonetheless.

The money / safty box vault downstairs was interesting :)

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viperchuck

Joined 7 years ago

Built for comfort, not built for speed - and I LIKE that!. The first thing I noticed when I walked into this place is that it wasn't some freak show like you'd exepct to see at Disneyland. No giant archways, grand halls or castles... simply a nice spot to go and eat.

The service, albeit not super-fast, was very attentive. This is not the place to go for a quick bite and run... you go here to relax and feast. Speaking of relaxing, it was very very comfortable.

The meat service was refreshingly different. You aren't swarmed by a bunch of guys with knives flashing. They have a couple of guys who bring the food to you in waves... not so much to overbear you with food and leave you with a plate full of meat. The pace was just right. I never felt hurried at all.

They have it right where so many other places miss... it's a Brazilian steakhouse where you can enjoy yourself and have a conversation with someone. Never mind all the smoke and mirrors and pomp and circumstance... give me good food and a laidback atmosphere, and I'm a happy guy!

GREAT job, guys!

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sarahrussell

Joined 7 years ago

What a neat experience!. This was so much fun! We wanted to do something special for my boyfriend's birthday, and this place totally delivered! The wait staff made sure we were well taken care of... it was different... we had a "main" waiter (Great job, Hugo!) and the rest of the staff also kept their eyes out for us and took care of us as well.

Food-wise... WOW! It was great, and they took care of ALL of us. One of the guys liked well-done meat, and the gauchos went out of their way to serve him first (well-doner on the outside, rarer as they worked inside) and then served the rest of us the rarer stuff. That is major league customer service and attention to detail.

On the down side, at times it seemed like they could use a few more staff. They didn't drop the ball or anything, we were taken care of, but you could see that they were all going about as fast as they could to take care of everyone. They kept their cool and composure, but you could feel like they were rushing.

I was a little worried when I read some of the reviews for this place... half claimed this was right out of heaven, and the other half claimed it was out of hell, so we"said "why not, let's try it out."

OK, it's not right out of heaven, but it IS a place I will go to over and over again... even if just to see how they grow! I Great food + Great Service + Great Personalities = Great Time!

Thanks Guys!