Cafe Brazil

I’ve given this location every chance, but no more. I waited over 10 min for my check on a not very busy night. The food came out relatively quick, but that was the only thing quick about my waitress. She’d rather clean the pastry/​cake holder cover, or the nozzles on the espresso machine. Terrible. The Deep Ellum location has NEVER been an issue.
On a previous late night visit last fall, the service was also terrible. Several people at our table either received the wrong order OR never got half of what they did order (including my then girlfriend). I give places every chance possible, but this location is permanently off my list.
I also see other 2016 and 2015 reviews mentioning this, so they do not seem to be concerned about improving at all. Food was mediocre (again, DE location is ALWAYS good) and coffee was just warm at best — also mentioned in other reviews.
No more. Just go away.

My wife and I where their for the first time. We were very pleased about the food and service. It’s not the best but will tell people to go and try it.

My family loves coming. We go about every Sunday or every other. My kids love the pancakes my wife loves the French toast and hashbrown casserole. It is a must have for her. The crêpes are amazing. Full of flavor. Staff is always welcomed.

This restaurant has gone down hill. We have not been here in awhile, and decided to visit for a relaxing Sunday breakfast at 8ish in the morning. The place was not crowded, and we were seated directly in front of the bar area. Both Hubby and I went to the bottomless coffee bar and noticed that the area was dirty with coffee and cream spills all over the counter. Got a cup of Bourbon Pecan coffee, which was lukewarm at best. Sat at the table for over 15 minutes with no service, but noticed a group of kids behind the counter standing around or eating their own breakfast. Another group of 2 – 3 were around the coffee grinder trying to fix it. Since we had a clear view of the opening for the kitchen, we noticed the cooks using the microwave to «cook» the other table’s breakfast. Last straw for us. We put a couple of bucks on the table for a mug of cold coffee, walked out, and headed north to the Pancake House for an enjoyable breakfast and coffee. This dirty restaurant with lazy workers and microwaved food needs to just shut down.

Positives: Open all night. Less than positives: Pretty much everything else. I feel like I want to root for them; that there could be potential; to cast my vote-​dollars for a local (ish) non-​corporate joint; to look on the clutter as ‘quaint;’ but they sure do make it hard to like them. This was my 3^rd visit. That’s it for me.
The variety of coffee is good – but if you really do like coffee, you probably don’t like it served lukewarm, as they do, from a bank of airpots arranged on the counter.
Most recent visit, late night Friday (1AM?) I ordered french toast with fruit, then watched as the cook plated it, then placed it on the order window, where it sat for a full 5 minutes, directly under a fruit-​wilting heat lamp, until our waitress finished up her laughing and giggling with other customers/​friends and finally brought it to our table. Warm now-​mushy berries and soggy bread, with lukewarm coffee. Not good.
Previous visit, stopped by for a latte on the way to work – don’t remember the exact price, but it was more than $ 5, in a styrofoam cup. Nope.

You gotta give it to them for the bottomless flavored coffee! Mmm mmm! I love the smell of this place! It’s a funky little place that displays local art and is open all night. What’s not to like? Well… The food is alright but not amazing. But you don’t really go there for the cuisine. Get some pie and enjoy the experience. And if you’re really hungry, go ahead. Order some eggs or a salad or even the nachos. They’re not bad and in my opinion they are a better option at 2AM than the heavy, greasy food at Waffle House– plus, it’s conveniently located right off 75!

Food was delicious but service was mediocre and food took a while. Not in a hurry to go back.

It is not as quiet as I expected to study in here. I came here to study and I have been always go to Starbucks for study, I think they are both have different atmospheres and one plus for this place is they have variety of good foods.

GREAT coffee and the midges are divine. They make the best rosemary potatoes in Dallas. Hard to get a bad meal, if that is even possible.

The WORST Café Brazil I’ve ever been to. I’ve been to several other locations and the food has always been great but service is sometimes a bit slow. However, we waited about 45 minutes for our food. Granted, we had a table of 10, but the food was cold when it arrived. No apologies, no excuses, no nothing. When we finally got a manager over, he did apologize and took 50% off our bill. We overheard the waiter talking to the hostess and told her «don’t apologize» and when he realized we were listening, started speaking in Spanish. Think twice before speaking in another language because I might just speak your language!
Will NOT be back to this location for sure and maybe to any other, as it put such a bad taste in my mouth today, for lack of better terms!

Coming in around 10 pm, this was a perfect spot to sit with friends and enjoy a nice meal since it’s 24 hours. The atmosphere felt very casual, with multiple people on their laptops and waiters moving back and forth to satisfy everybody’s needs. Service was great; didn’t wait long at all for a server.
Unfortunately the food wasn’t that great. Granted, we didn’t wait that long on the food and I didn’t order a speciality item, but I was a little disappointed. I ordered the chicken fried steak with hash brown casserole, 2 eggs, and 2 pieces of toast. The chicken fried steak tasted a little rubbery, and the outside crust wasn’t as crispy as I was expecting, very bland to say the least. I ordered the eggs over medium which was good, and combined them with the toast which was a little soggy. The best I would say out of the bunch was the hash brown casserole with a nice taste of butter and cheese. Other than that, the food just didn’t seem fresh.
I would come here again just for the convenience of it being open late, but I’ll definitely order something else next time.

Friendly service and a great dessert. Love meeting here for one of my Meetup groups — free wifi and good green tea!

Smells dirty and looks it too. I can smell the restrooms and grease trap. Looks old and not maintained — dirty carpets, peeling paint, holes in walls, trash on floor.
Food is only fair — breakfast crepes came with about half the cheese melted, inside was cold in spots and warm in spots. So – meh.

The food is pretty bland. The first time I went, the waitress was very helpful but a friend of mine’s food was made wrong. It was quickly fixed and the waitress frequently checked on us.
The second time a large group of my friends came in. The same friend from the first time food was made wrong again which was a pain. I ordered an omelette and pancakes with chocolate chips. The first time the chocolate chips weren’t there, they fixed it by just going back, throwing some on the pancakes, and then serving them to me.
So after a long wait me and someone else never got the rest of our food and no on came to check on us. I paid for the pancakes and coffee while the other friend took hers to go. Won’t be coming back again.

Ok it was kinda busy night. Then after 40 minutes and lots of people being seated in front of us we get seated. We waited another 30 and I asked can someone please great us? They finally take order and now I’ve been here for 1 and 50 minutes no food yet no apology no drinks. I’m sorry but this is ridiculous. The entire staff should be ashamed of their performance. As a former service person I have its of empathy usually. This was a dinner from hell and the worst part is they could really give a flip.
I would say avoid this location at all costs.

It is a Tuesday night around 9PM and it’s not busy. This is a great thing for me since I’m a student and I sat in the back where it is nice and quiet. The server is friendly and the tables are actually CLEAN! lol. I like this one more than the one around Lower Greenville. This is your typical Café Brazil with your huge selection of food and different kinds of coffee. What I like the most is the laid back feel and the décor.
Bottomless cups of coffee, free wifi, and it’s open 24 hours 7 days a week. Need I say more?

Good food, great coffee.
Everything here is good, from breakfast to dinner and the menu is extensive, however, portions on the small end.
Restaurant is open 24 hours a day which is nice for post-​bar eating or late night study sessions.
Very consistent.

Brazilian Breakfast, Chicken Brazilian Breakfast, Brazilian Beef Sandwich, Brazilian Chicken Sandwich, and Brazilian Burger (no ground picanha?) have one thing in common: it’s not Brazilian. Even the smoothies are not Brazilian (no açai or tropical fruits)! Lol. I challenge anyone to find a piece of jalapeño or Jack cheese in Brazil. Good luck. Can’t wait for the Giraffas chain to come to Texas via Florida to teach people what Brazilian food really is about.
So you ask — what makes Café Brazil? Nothing really except for the mere fact that they do sell lots of coffee. And the largest coffee producer in the world is Brazil — bet you didn’t know that and assumed Colombia took the title. But that’s the only reason why I see the place taking up the name Brazil. Nothing more.
And the coffee — it’s mostly popular for drip coffee. And of various flavors of drip coffee. Unfortunately the overpowering smell of vanilla spiced drip coffee that permeates the entire dining area is too nauseating for me. I probably would not come back for the coffee either — flavored coffee is also not Brazilian. That’s a Starbucks invention, thank you Seattle. But at least they do have a large espresso machine here to make the typical espresso-​based coffee (café con leche, cappuccino, etc), so that’s good.
As for the food — while it’s not Brazilian, but as a Tex-​Mex influenced American diner, it’s still good even if it isn’t carefully made. I ordered the chicken crêpe, and it is as tasty as I remember it being — even though it came unrefined and may also be classified as American glop due to the very thick sauce and with shredded chicken being a bit on the rubbery side. But I oddly liked it because the overall flavor was appealing. Weird, right? The side of rosemary potatoes was also good, and I’m not a potato-​loving person (I forgot to ask to sub for a salad, especially considering the plate is a carb-​loading one with toast, potatoes, and crepes).
Yes, the atmosphere is weird and eclectic. And a bit psychedelic. The exterior of the building is no different — looking like a Flintstone house made for the hippies. The interior setup of the counter seating is also weird. From what I understood, the first location for Café Brazil is long gone — but this place looks very dated so I wouldn’t say that this place is very far behind in being the oldest existing Café Brazil. But it may just be the building.
So, would I come back? I guess, for cheap grub and talking with friends since it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ — as long as I have the guts to put up with the scented smell.

Café Brazil… your exterior always made me want to continue driving, but yesterday I decided to give you a try.
When I came in and sat down, I didn’t get any service until 10 minutes later. I was waiting for another person, but couldn’t they ask me if I wanted to drink something while waiting?
I ordered the Fruit Pancrepes. What IS a pancrepe? Well they claim it’s a cross between a pancake and a crêpe. so basically a slightly thicker crêpe. I can only describe it as «okay» meaning I will eat it, but I won’t be dreaming and salivating over it after I leave.
The pancrepes are covered with a raspberry anglaise sauce (I don’t like raspberries so I should have read the details) and with a variety of fruit. They had bananas, strawberries, pineapples, kiwi, oranges, blood orange, grapefruit, blueberries, blackberries… A lot of fruit! I think some of the fruit was canned though (pineapples probably).
All in all, it’s a very casual café with mediocre service. Pancrepes were only okay.

So this Brazil has always been spotty on service. I grew up right down the road and came here a lot in high school and beyond.
Now back in the area, we still come here. I have no idea why: out of all of the Café Brazil locations I’ve been to, this one consistently had terrible service. Last night it was reasonably busy, but they seemed to have a LOT of servers, so it shouldn’t have been a problem, right? …right?
Well apparently it was a problem because we were informed that our server went home sick with the stomach flu. Boy howdy, that’ll increase your appetite. The guy who eventually took our order was nice and apologized for long wait (three tables which seated after us had already received drinks and/​or food by the time we just placed our drink order). After that, no one seemed to come check on us. Our drinks were delivered, and ²⁄₃ of our food was delivered. my quesadillas were missing. But no one ever came over to check on us and we couldn’t get anyone’s attention, despite the fact that 6 servers and a manager were behind the counter and all saw me staring them down.
Eventually, someone came over and told them that my food was AWOL. She promptly brought it out… it had apparently been sitting under the heat lamp, waiting to go out for the past 10 minutes, but no one did it. Awesome. My fiancé and roommate were already mostly done with their food when I finally got mine.
It’s also worth noting that 2 out of 3 of us have lived in the bathroom all day today. Maybe that waiter with the stomach flu touched all of the plates before leaving. Who knows. What I do know is that the service was, as usual, terrible, the food was mediocre, and people mentioned stomach flu way too much before we ate…