Last Summer I made a trip over to Orlando with a group of friends to watch the Bucs training camp. One of the highlights of the trip was a meal at Texas de Brazil (TDB), a Brazilian steakhouse that was absolutely off the hook. The food was so incredibly good that we gorged ourselves into extreme discomfort. Since then a few of our friends have made the trek back but the rest of us have been biding our time for a return visit when we hit Bucs training camp again this summer.

Then about a month ago someone mentioned a new Brazilian steakhouse opening in Tampa. We had our doubts that it could be as good as TDB, especially after a disastrous visit some of the group made to a horrible Brazilian place in Tampa with a very loud karaoke room in the back. A few weeks ago my friends went on a night when I couldn’t get a sitter, yay me! They told me that overall it compared well with TDB, except for the salad bar, which at TDB was insanely good. So last Sunday my family took me for Father’s Day and it was another meal to remember.

The Restaurant

Boizao Steakhouse is located at 4606 Boy Scout Blvd in Tampa, across from International Plaza in the strip of high end restaurants that includes Roy’s and Fleming’s. The standalone building in which the restaurant is located for some reason doesn’t look like a restaurant to me. It reminds me more of one of those strip malls you see lining International Drive in Orlando. The kind of places that have a restaurant or two and a few gift shops selling overpriced theme park knockoff t-shirts. It’s not unattractive mind you, quite the opposite. It just doesn’t look like a restaurant. It is a large building for one, and the only sign I could see from the road was Boizao’s bull logo on a piece of recessed façade.

Once you pull into the parking lot and let the complimentary valet attendant park your car it becomes more evident that this is not only a restaurant, but a nice one at that. Something that I thought was extremely cool was an open fire rotisserie located behind glass next to the entrance. What a cool piece of advertising to see several skewers of meats sizzling as they slowly rotated around the fire. The aroma they gave off was wonderful as well.

We arrived for an early 5:30PM seating due to my 5 year old. When we arrived the dimly lit dining room was only a quarter full. As you enter the restaurant the hostess station is immediately in front with the very large dining room directly behind it. The overall atmosphere is what I would describe as minimalistic cool. There were some funky art deco touches like a few large red pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. Much of the ceiling was covered in very nice looking dark wood that almost reminded me of high end wood flooring. The tables are thoughtfully spaced well apart, I’m sure to give the gaucho chefs clear lanes of traffic and also to make dining more relaxed. Certainly the dim lighting gives a calming effect to the dining room.

Atmosphere Rating: 8/10

The Food

The basic concept of dining at a Brazilian steakhouse like Boizao is taken directly from the Brazilian churrascaria or steakhouse where meats are roasted or grilled on a churrasco rotisserie. Ever since I had my first taste of churrasco grilled meats at a Brazilian steakhouse in Cambridge Massachusetts some 15 years ago I knew instantly that Brazilians are masters at grilling meat. Boizao did not disappoint in the least.

Dining at Boizao is a two step process, the first of which involves a trip to their salad bar. Now my friends had described the salad bar as worse than Ruby Tuesdays, based on the outrageous salad bar at TDB. Approaching it with low expectations I must say I was reasonably impressed with the selection. The set up is very different from TDB’s mass quantities of everything approach. At Boizao it is more a series of build your own salads where each section has a selection of greens to serve as a base and then a half dozen items to put on top and a dressing specific to that style of salad. Along with these there was a selection of cheeses and some sliced Serrano-like ham. Next to this were several hearty looking breads and at another point there was smoked salmon and artichoke hearts. I thought everything was very fresh and delicious and even if it wasn’t as extensive as TDB it was still very good.

The second part of the dining process begins when you are done with your salad. Each place setting has a token and a brochure. The token has a red side and a green side. When the green side is up it means ‘bring it on!’ and the flood of gaucho chefs with the various meats begins. When you need to say the Portuguese equivalent of ‘no mas’ you simply turn the red side up and like kids playing red light, gren light, the gauchos stop coming. The brochure is a very cool idea and lists all the various meats available including pictures and descriptions. This is something they have that TDB does not.

Along with your meats they serve some warm cheese bread, fried bananas, and seasoned mashed potatoes. My son loved the bread and none of us tried the potatoes because starch is a waste of valuable stomach space in this home of carnivorous gluttony. Unfortunately I tried the bananas. I say unfortunately because they were simply evil. They didn’t look like much, just a dish with some crusty looking bananas. When I put the first bight in my mouth I knew it was a mistake. These things were incredibly yummy. If you have ever had good bananas Foster, picture a whole cooked banana with a thin caramelized crust that taste like the best bananas Foster you’ve ever had sans alcohol. I ended up eating most of the dish full and wasting valuable stomach space that could have been filled with garlic sirloin or filet mignon.

Which brings me to the meats. They have fourteen different varieties of meat from which to choose, all brought to your table on long sword-like rotisserie skewers. The gaucho chef carves off as much as you want and you keep going, meat after meat, until you end up in a protein induced coma. Of the fourteen choices I tried the ’Cordeiro’ or Leg of Lamb, ’ Costela de Cordeiro’ or Lamb Chops, Filet Mignon, ’Picanha con Alho’ or Garlic Sirloin, ’Alcatra’ or Top Sirloin, ’Fraldinha’ or Bottom Sirloin, Linguica Sausage and ’Picanha’ the House Special Sirloin. All the meats were cooked beautifully and the flavor was incredible. Most of the meat is simply rubbed with salt prior to grilling while others like the lamb are marinated. My two favorites were the delicious garlic sirloin and the succulent house special sirloin. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the lamb chop I had which was a little overcooked.

Besides the items I tried they also have pork tenderloin, ribs, and a couple chicken dishes. One beef dish I didn’t try was the bacon wrapped filet mignon which someone else at our table tried and said was overcooked. Overall I was very impressed with everything I ate. I still like a nice fire grilled aged USDA Prime sirloin, but I’d have to say Brazilian grilled meats are right up there on a par. If you like grilled meats you really owe it to yourself to give one of these places a try.

Food Rating: 9.5/10 (I have to give the .5 to TDB)

Adult Beverages

With my meal I had a Brahma, a fairly unremarkable Brazilian lager. It served its purpose and I like to drink the beer of the country whose food I’m eating if available. Aside from my uninspiring beer they seem to have a pretty decent beverage selection featuring Cachaca, Brazil’s version of rum. One drink that would definitely be worth trying if you are a fan of rum drinks is the Caipirinha, which is kind of like a Brazilian mojito with lime.

The Price

Boizao operates under a fixed price all you can eat premise with dinner priced at $38.90/person and lunch priced at $18.90/person. Given the quality and variety of the food this is really a wonderful bargain for a high end meal. My five year old even ate for free as do all kids less than 7. Children between 7 and 10 are charged half the normal rate. They do offer an unlimited salad bar only option at dinner for $25.00/person, but given the limited choices on the salad bar that choice isn’t a great a value.

Value Rating: 9/10

The Service

Rather than being assigned one waiter who takes care of your table from start to finish Boizao has a cadre of service people who work as a team. The gauchos chefs deliver the various meats to your table as soon as they see the green side of your token. A group of busboys ensures that any unwanted plates are immediately whisked away. And several roaming waiters keep an eye out for empty glasses. All were very friendly and were quick to respond to any requests. Throughout the meal we all felt the service was some of the best we have experienced recently.

Service Rating: 9/10

The Hours

Boizao is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11AM to 2:30PM and for dinner Sunday through Thursday from 5PM until 10PM and Friday & Saturday from 5PM until 11PM.

Even though it wasn’t busy when we arrived early on a Sunday, it filled up fairly quickly around 6:30PM. Now granted this was Father’s Day, but I would still recommend making reservations, especially on weekend nights.

The Parking

With Boizao’s complimentary valet parking there is absolutely no need to ever worry about the parking lot. Their attendants were better than many I’ve seen in recent years and descended on our car opening all the doors almost immediately after I put the car in park. When we were leaving they retrieved the vehicle in record time. If I were to rate valet services I’d give these guys a 10/10.


Recommended: Yes

Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd