Samba Brazilian Cuisine

I ordered the vegetarian croquettes the other day and they gave me chicken. Very disappointed.

I think I just found my to-​go Brazilian place!
Usually when I look for a Brazilian restaurant, it comes up as a Churrascaria or something overly expensive.
Samba has a «chipotle» serving style, in your bowl you get your rice, beans, choice of meat, two sides and salad. There was plenty of choices for sides, I got fries, broccolli and chicken strognoff. The rice was a little cold by the time I sat down and ate, but it wasn’t too cold that I could not enjoy it anymore. They give you a big portion of the meat, which is great and it was very tasty!
The girl also gave us a sample of coxinha, omg! It is delicious! We ordered a side of it which was 5pieces for $ 2, pretty cheap in my opinion. I totally recommend that you order their coxinhas! :)

Came to Samba for lunch and left with yet another place to add to the list of yummy downtown destinations I need to revisit!
They have a «Burrito» lunch special but it’s not served in a tortilla. Instead you select ingredients you’d ordinarily encounter in said burrito, and they’re served piled high onto a large plate. For 8.90 you get one «protein» (I tried the chicken stroganoff — who knew it was Brazilian?), two veggies: (got the broccoli and fried yucca), plus a mountain of beans (black or brown) and white rice. After trying the coxinhas (potatoes stuffed with chicken and cream cheese and fried), I had to add a side of several for a couple bucks. So worth it!
They have a wide assortment of tortas and other possibilities, and only another visit will help decide if I bump up to five stars. Soon, oh, so very soon!

This place is really great, all of the food is super authentic and straight out of Brazil. Gives you a really new approach to homestyle brazilian food. Brazilian cuisine is really very innovative, and Samba has some fun innovations on traditional cuisine. I just wish they were open more!!!

Love love loved the food here! Being part Brazilian and away from my mommy’s home cooked food definitely made me even happier to find Samba.
Parking wasn’t too bad to find, I suggest around 6^th Ave between E and F and there should be decent parking (I paid $ 5 for 1hr, plenty of time and not too far to walk). Employees are really friendly you can choose from Açai bowls, tapioca crepes, pastel or the regular lunch like I did.
Regular lunch consists of rice, beans, 1 vegetable, 1 protein (I got the beef and onions, really yummy!). Seasoned perfectly but you can see it may be a little greasy.
I also added the coxinhas which are miniature versions of papa rellenos, literally same exact thing for my Carribean folks. Basically they’re fried mashed potato balls filled with either chicken, beef, cheese, spinach or a combination.
The guarana (Brazilian soda) they do overcharge it a little, a little over $ 3 for a can but it does taste good, I suggest even if you’re not Brazilian try it. Everything came also with a tiny salad and cost me under $ 14 but it was really good and filling. I just wished they were open on weekends, great place for lunch and your friends will like it too.

I was very exited to introduce the appetizers-​coxinha, bolinha de queijo, kibe to my daughters baby shower. Unfortunately I was very disappointed. We could only taste the potato dough the fillings was so minimum that you couldn’t even taste, if any.
I really hope that they can improve their food and service. The appetizers, when my daughter went to pick them up, it was in a pizza box

My wife and I were very excited about this place and their Feijaoada Sunday event that was advertised on Facebook and we were throurghly disappointed once we got there. My wife is from Minas Gerais, Brazil and we have gone to two other Feijoadas in the past since we’ve been married for two years (one in Brazil, the other in Washington DC). At both events in the past, the Feijoada social gatherings were held in a bigger area because along with the music celebrations, there will be a lot of people coming to the event.
For this restaurant, that same prediction was accurate. There were many people there and unfortunately there were (a) only 3 servers to help at the counter, and (b) very few tables in the restaurant both inside and outside on the patio area. My living room in a small 2-​bedroom apartment was just about the same size as this establishment.
We waited for 10 minutes and the line going out the door barely moved. People were lined up outside and kept tripping over each other because the Bossa Nova musicians (the music was great by the way) took up the majority of the west-​side of the patio.
We looked forward to this event all week and invited 3 other people to take time out of their busy schedules to come with us. There was no place to sit or stand. We decided to leave because it would have taken too long to get our food plus there was literally no place to stand and eat because the other customers would have bumped into you coming in and out of the door.
I would give this review 1 star because there was not enough staff to handle the incoming customers and this was may be one of the smallest-​sized restauants I have ever seen. There was a restaurant next door that literally had no patrons at the same time of the Feijoada. I recommend in the future that the owners of the two restaurants form a business partnership and combine the two restaurants to open up more space for their customers.

Great authentic Brazilian dining. Coxinha and guaraná Made me feel like I was back in São Paulo. My wife is from Brazil and she approved also. They occasionally sell speciality items like authentic Brazilian Easter eggs.

Great little lunch place. Very friendly staff… Explained everything to us being it was out first time. Really great black beans and rice… The beans are cooked with a little pork so there is lots of flavor. The steak and onions were equally as good. My friend had a pastel that looks awesome and he said was great. Not a big fan of the coxinha but it’s just a texture thing with me.
Our visit was around 2:30 so we beat the lunch crowd with no waiting in line and our food came out really fast.

OMG, food here is so good and the price is awesome. Service is great and they are always smiling! They seem genuinely happy to help you with everything. I LOVE coming here.

This was my first time having Brazilian food and it was great! After my visit today I would have to say that this place instantly made my restaurant recommendations. The people who work here are very respectful and bubbly. I love it. Great music. Great food. Great atmosphere. Definately coming back!

Really enjoyed the people who work here! They were super helpful and very friendly! I loved their gluten free options. I had the tapioca crêpe with cheese and chicken and other stuff (ordered a #2) and it was good, but their cheese balls were amaze-​balls! For real, so so good. I also tried their acai bowl and it was delicious. My husband had their #3 pastel and thought it was really good compared to other pastels he’s had. They also gave me a free little chocolate thing with sprinkles. I have no idea what it was, but it was good and it was nice of them to just give me something for free :)

This place sets up a tent at the SDSU Aztec Farmers Market every Thursday. I’ve been passing by them for weeks and finally tried them today. I had the pastel that was filled steak, cheese, and olives. It was so good. The tastes went well together but I would have liked a little spice to cut through the richness of everything.
The price was really good for the amount of food that was given. They guys who run the booth at SDSU are awesome. They are super friendly and helpful even teaching me how to pronounce coxinhas.
I will definitely being going back to the booth at SDSU.

The food is delicious so many options! The staff is amazing, friendly and pacient it was my first time but they made me feel like I was a friend or a regular. Food taste good and fresh and prices are affordable. Definitely going again !!

I happened to be in downtown San Diego and decided to check this place out.
Coxinhas: Excellent! Easily beats the coxinhas I’ve had off the streets in Rio. And I’ve had many…
Bowl: They’ve got a Chipotle-​style bowl option. But they were almost out of all the fixings! I got the last bit of black beans that had to be scraped off the bottom (not even enough for a full serving) and they had run out of collards. The flavor was great. Just disappointed they ran out of so many things.
Tapioca: I think it’s clever they’re advertising it as a crêpe. The chicken is alright, though I probably wouldn’t get it again. I wish they had options that I would find in Brazil, like carne seca or sweet condensed milk with fresh coconut.
Mango juice: Yay, it’s real fruit juice! It wasn’t very sweet however, which tells me the mango wasn’t ripe. Then again, I guess mango is out of season.
Brigadeiro: One of my favorite Brazilian deserts. I was not a fan of the rainbow sprinkles used in this, and it’s not because of the nontraditional colors. The sprinkles had an off/​stale flavor, which was really distracting and truly a disservice to the fudge candy itself, which was good.
There’s a huge parking lot across that you can park in. Cool.
Now, for areas that need improvement:
1) Wait Time. It took way too long to get food here. I wouldn’t eat here if you’re limited to a 30 minute lunch (or even 1 hour for that matter). I waited roughly 30 minutes in line for lunch and decided to get it to go since it was taking so long. There were only a handful of people ahead of me. Apparently there are 2 separate lines for if you want a bowl v. anything else. This is not obvious at all, and there was no one there to inform us of this. Since I did all that waiting, I got a bowl too.
2) Having enough food. All the wait, but still no food. That makes me really sad.
Overall, they’ve got some good food here if you have the patience to wait, and if they’ve got the main goods in stock.

Let me say this. I REALLY LOVE BRAZIL. I love Brazil so much, it’s my favorite country in the world. I support the Brazilian national soccer team, I taught myself to speak Brazilian Portuguese, I listen to a lot of Brazilian music, and I do Capoeira, a beautiful Brazilian martial art.
I was very happy to learn that there’s a new Brazilian restaurant in San Diego.
Well, I finally tried this restaurant and I really enjoy the food and I love the workers. The workers here are all Brazilian so you know this restaurant is authentic. Service is top notch. Also, when I was here, most of the customers were Brazilian. That’s always a good sign.
I had the lunch special and the omangotan.
The lunch special is basically similar to Chipotle. You get a plate and you get to choose what you want to put on it such as what kind of meat, vegetable, and grain you want.
I chose steak, kale, pinto beans, rice, pico de gallo, and cheese coxinha,
Man, it was all really good. I really enjoyed my meal. I definitely enjoyed the cheese coxinha. It’s a popular street food in Brazil and I can understand why it’s so popular. It’s absolutely phenomenal. I want some right now as I’m typing this. I really recommend this one.
For dessert, I ordered an «omangotan.» This one was a little too sweet for me. It was good but just way too sweet. It’s a banana and passion fruit parfait topped with mango, strawberry, granola, and honey. If you have a strong sweet tooth, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and this restaurant has won a regular customer. 5 stars well deserved.

Excellent food, full of flavor, and easy on the wallet. Everything’s under $ 10, with options from fried empanada-​like Pastels to hot bowls of beef, chicken, or fish with amazing sides (seasoned cooked kale, black beans with pork, sautéed onions & white or brown rice.)
Highly recommend the fried pastel with sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, and queso fresco! And wash it down with a crisp Guarana :)
Great place for families, groups, tourists, and locals looking for a new take on the downtown fast casual scene!

I have eaten in this restaurant a couple of times already, I already loved their stand at the Hillcrest Farmers Market. But today it was beyond all my already high expectations — I order a delivery from Downtown to Kearny Mesa where I work, I was prepared to not have the same exact quality that a dining in provides, when you order a delivery you should expect a messy and cold food. But I did order anyways.
My order was delivered just in time and I looked exactly like it does when I order in the restaurant. I am truly impressed. If I was in love with this place before now I can’t even describe how happy I am for having this great option in San Diego! Great food, awesome service… it tastes like home!

Eu, come boa brasileira que sou, me deliciei com o pastel de carne e queijo, a tapioca de nutella, banana e morango, e a muqueca de peixe baiana. Por mais dias como esse!

So fresh and delicious, their menu is full of options, many of which can be customized. Make no mistake, this Brazilian restaurant is not a steakhouse, it’s so much better in my opinion.
Samba Brazilian Cuisine is open from 11 to 6 Monday through Thursday and 11 to 9 Friday and Saturday. You can find them on C street between 8^th and 9^th ave downtown.
I ordered the Coxinhas for a starter, it came with two pieces. They were a good size and so tasty. The potatoes were so crispy and light, perfectly cooked. The chicken inside was seasoned nicely and the cream cheese was delicious, just the right amount for me.
I also ordered a Floripa. It was a thing of beauty! You can customize this. You are able to choose your pastry: pastel, tapioca crêpe, or croissant. I chose the pastel, it was great, very crisp. The Floripa comes with seasoned spinach, roasted red bell peppers, corn, and cheese. Again you can customize by choosing your cheese. You choose from: mozzarella, cheddar, queso blanco, ricotta, or cream cheese. I got the queso blanco and it was really fresh tasting in this dish with the spinach. It also comes with a side salad.
I definitely want to try more of the dishes here. They have many sweet and savory options on the menu here. Everything sounded delicious, I had a difficult time deciding! It’s a newer restaurant, I wish them them the best of luck. I’ll be back.

Se estiver com saudades do sabor da comida brasileira é aqui que você vai encontrar e também vai encontrar a melhor coxinha do mundo…
lugar sempre limpo, comida sempre fresquinha e preparada no dia. Pastel, tapioca, suco, nice cream são preparados na hora…

Comida brasileira que estava faltando em San Diego. No último sábado a feijoada estava incrível, a coxinha perfeita e ainda tinha música ao vivo. Preço justo e atendimento especial de brasileiros.

Best Brazilian food in San Diego. Friendly environment, great prices and unbelievable food.
You won’t find anything like that in San Diego.
My husband couldn’t stop eating and in every bite you would hear a «wooow»!!
Great service as well.
Can’t wait to go back there for lunch