Espetus Churrascaria

Everything about this restaurant is excellent. I’ve been here for both lunch and dinner and the service is superb. The meats come out quickly and the guys with the big knives are very skilled. They’ll also give you the rare pieces if you ask. Keep your tongs handy so you can snag the pieces of meat the servers cut off when they come to your table. Salad bar is stocked with amazing options, especially that guacamole. Also love the fresh sangrias. $ 30 for lunch for 7 – 8 meat options and $ 60 for dinner with 15 meat options, all you can eat. Definitely worth the price and one of my favorite restaurants in SF!

ENDLESS DELICIOUS MEAT!
we tried probably 13 or 14 out of the 15 proteins available (sorry chicken hearts, i’m not there yet to try you) and i can say they were all very tasty! ironically enough (b/​c bacon is suppose to make everything better right) my least favorite were the two wrapped in bacon (chicken and filet mignon) but that sirlon was AMAZING, and those shrimp were super flavorful too. the ribs, flap steak, trip tip, probably some other sirloin too — really enjoyed them all. me and my bff felt like queens to have such delicious meat arrive at our table so quickly and frequently. i really think monarchs and whoever back in the day would just have their underlings make all the foods and have it passed around to them over the course of several hours in order to maximize the feeling of opulence. i feel fancy when i have lots of food options, apparently.
i’m sure one server was secretly annoyed that he came to our table 3+ times and we declined, knowing our damn sign should have not been green at that moment. but the service here is absolutely amazing, so i have no actual evidence he was annoyed by us! we never needed to find a server for anything, and our server was very attentive — noticing that we barely touched our drinks for a while, asking if we wanted something else. naw dude, we are just focused on the meat.
salad bar is decent too, especially that mango salad/​salsa. lots of tasty things to choose from, and green things to kinda make u feel better about how much you’re about to inhale that night. somehow we were able to have room for dessert too, and they came to sing to us even tho im 99% sure he knew we weren’t really there for our birthdays, but our server asked and we said of course!
came with a reservation on a friday night, but it didn’t seem too crowded at 8pm to warrant one for a party of two or any other regular-​sized party — but i like to plan ahead.
i def plan to comeback, perhaps after a very long and intense workout.

I was in the city to see an exhibit at the De Young museum and afterwards I remembered a great steakhouse that I’ve been to before. Espetus! I asked my fiancé if he’s ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse and he said no. PERFECT!!! I love taking people on foodie adventures.
Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing you see is an enormous fresh purple orchid arrangement. They didn’t have these flowers last time I visited so I’m delighted to see the upgrade in décor. We showed up right at 5 o’clock when they open without a reservation and got the best table in the house! As we were seated they told us in kind of a snooty way that this usually doesn’t happen. This comment is probably the only reason why I didn’t give them five stars. It’s no secret that I’m more than happy to put up with a bit of rude service for good food. Nonetheless, the rest of the establishment was decorated with interesting Brazilian artwork and was spotless.
The beautiful aroma of perfectly cooked meat filled the restaurant so we were anxious to get started. We headed over to the buffet area and lo and behold another grand orchid arrangement! I just knew this was going to be a great meal. The buffet was full of beautiful salads, Mahi Mahi, vegetarian lasagna, spicy peppers, olives and so much more. You could easily eat from this buffet and be thrilled. It was really a challenge to keep some space open on my plate for the meets that I was about to devour.
Back at the table, the waiters with huge meat skewers started to come around and offer up all kinds of beautiful meats. First offering was fillet Mignon! Ha! I couldn’t believe that they started with fillet mignon. I mean seriously, that’s a tough act to follow. Next was tri tip then grilled garlic shrimp and chicken hearts then bacon wrapped chicken and fillet mignon, flap steak, top sirloin, pork belly, grilled pineapple and the best leg of lamb I’ve ever had. The guys who brought out the meats came at least every five minutes and were extremely polite and gave wonderful service.
The tiny red peppers went perfectly with all of the meats and even the grilled pineapple. I wish I could bring a tub of those lil beauties home. The glass of Merlot I sipped on paired very well with all of the meats I ate. We had absolutely no room for dessert. Besides the grilled pineapple was a pretty big slice and definitely sweet enough to be my dessert. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures this time mostly because I was so hungry I just wanted to eat. We had a wonderful experience and look forward to coming here again and again.

On Sunday night a group of my daughter’s friends went to Espetus to celebrate her birthday. I found street parking a block away and arrived about 15 minutes before our reservations. The restaurant was half empty and we checked in with the host and to put the birthday cake in the refrigerator. The host a short latina was cold a robotic, we were wanting to get seated since my wife has a bad knee. The host said she could not seat us until the rest of the party arrived and we could stand at the bar that has no seats and blocking the aisle way. The bartender asked if we wanted a drink and I ordered a white sangria. The bartender and the host could see that we were perturbed. My wife went to the rest room and on the way back she encountered a nice server and told him about her bad knee. He promptly cleared a two top next to the host podium for us to sit down. Both my wife and I did not want to ruin the joyous evening celebration so we let it go. The host was at the podium with the cake for the next ten minutes trying to find some one to put it into the refrigerator. I congratulate her for making the the start of the night very awkward. We did not mention it to our party.
Its been years since we’ve been back to the San Francisco location. The newer San Mateo location is much nicer and hospitable. The food and the rest of the evenings service was excellent and went off without a hitch. $ 595. Bill for the special occasion.
Its too bad nice restaurants have such bad hosts giving the face of the establishment a black eye. The host of Espetus San Francisco is now listed among worst host list.

Came to the city for the day and stopped by Espetus for lunch. This place never disappoints for food and service.
The servers are quick to bring the meat around. My server was also very attentive.
If you are in SF, I would encourage you to stop here and enjoy a very nice lunch.
Your meal gets you access to the salad bar which has a large selection of different salads as well as rice and other stuff. Too many to list.
On this trip I only had good old H2O. But on a previous visit, I did have a drink or two… Oh, did I mention they have a full bar? Well, they do!
Come hungry and leave, well, let’s just say, NOT hungry.
Quality of the different meats: outstanding!
Service: awesome!
The bad:
The hostess. The hostess at the desk on this visit was a bit detached. Her «welcome»! was As if I was bothering her by coming in. She basically signaled/​motioned me toward a table. She did not greet me as, I, as a humble consumer, think I should have been greeted and seated, by a hostess.
She did ask for my name and a phone number however. Ok… Don’t worry, she asked that of all the guests.
As the authority on words (Merriam Websters) defines the word hostess:: a woman whose job it is to greet and help people in a restaurant…
So, I guess based solely on THAT definition, she met her objective?
Apart from that point, this place is amazing!
Try it!

My friends and I came here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon. Pretty empty, to be expected on weekdays. The interior is pretty simple and classic, adorned with white tablecloths and paintings of ribs. We were seated promptly after we arrived, and stayed for about 2 hours.
Pros:
–Great deal for lunch. The total came out to about $ 36 for each of us, with including tip and tax. Considering that this is an all-​you-​can-​eat buffet with high quality meat, so worth it!
–The appetizers here are bomb. The FRIED PLANTAIN was delicious — a great combination of savory bread crust and sweet, mushy banana. And the bread… the glorious CHEESY BREAD. I wanted to save room for the protein, but once I tried the bread, I couldn’t stop eating it…
–My favorite meat was the PARMESAN CRUSTED STEAK. I know, sounds sacrilegious. But once I tried it, I loved it. The salty parm was the cherry on top of a medium-​well, juicy steak
–The PRIME RIB was a great option as well — tender and palatable, with a slight char on the outside
–Very spacious restaurant, can probably seat up to 70 people or so
Cons:
–My least favorite meat was the CHICKEN HEARTS. It was very rich and slightly grainy, almost like a pâté

My husband and I came here on a Friday evening for a graduation dinner (party of 10). They made reservations for 6pm, but got there around 6:30 and they held the table which was very nice.
This place is very meaty so vegetarians/​vegans beware. The $ 56– buffet (for dinner it’s $ 56 and lunch is $ 27) comes with a salad bar and all you can possibly meat and more. The salad bar is only a 2.5−3 stars (nothing to write home about). Standard variety of salads, eggplant, white rice, stir fry rice, and a variety of salads.
The steaks were savory and mouth– watering– my favorites were the top sirloin, sirloin steak, pork ribs, pork belly, and bacon– wrapped filet mignon. The waiters basically come by every 5 – 8 minutes and each person has their own mini tongs to pick off meat. I took one trip to the salad bar and the rest of my plate was filled with meaty goodness. The shrimp was small and dry (not a fan). They had roasted pineapple for dessert (included) and it was delicious.
To drink, I had their house cab which was standard, my husband had their margarita/​mojito combo cocktail and it was… tasty.
The ambiance is light, fun, romantic, definitely looks like an upscale restaurant. The service was acceptable. The wait service did their job, nothing above and beyond. The tip was included in our bill which they automatically separated each check for us (this is huge favor considering that we had a big group all paying separately).

Probably one of the best restaurant dining experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. At least in the US. My mouth is watering just recalling it. Go on a weekday at lunch when they first open. You will get the most, best & hottest meat action of your life. Plus lunch is cheaper. Also get a mojito to help the juiciness slide down even easier. Also enjoy the most amazing salad bar. And do not, whatever u do, do not, pass up the pork belly. I’m not usually a pork person but that was a very special moment feeling it on my tongue. «Some ppl wait a lifetime… for a moment like this…» Is the song that plays in my head as I relive tasting that pork. The service is great, the men delivering the hot meat are also hot, and not judgey of how much meat you are stuffin in your mouth hole.
The best part is the food is HIGH QUALITY & actually pretty healthy, especially if u are into Paleo or high protein. Even though I probably ate more food in one sitting than I normally do in 2 days, I left feeling full & satisfied in the good way & not in the sodium overload beached whale way. I also slept 16 hours after so make sure you don’t have much planned after.
*Pro Tip*-ingest lots of marijuanas prior to your visit

OH MY GOODNESS, I GOT THE MEAT SWEATS!
I came here with my team from work for lunch and let me tell you, all of us had terrible food coma after our lunch buffet! I haven’t been here for dinner and I feel that there was already a lot of variety for lunch. There are 7 different selections of cuts for lunch and 12 – 14 for weekend lunch and dinner daily!
First of all, the salad bar was A-​M-​A-​Z-​I-​N-​G! There were many different Brazillian inspired salads and regular salads as a well. Everything was so neatly piled and tasted fresh, crispy and delicious! I tried to be healthy and stuffed myself with more greens first before I gorged myself with beefy goodness. The sirloin steak had to be one of my favorites and the chicken heart a close second. They made a special one with loads of garlic, grilled to a perfect medium rare. All the meats were succulent and I like the middle cut as they are more tender and juicy.
The staff were all very friendly and put on a great show with their slicing skills and knife work. The grilled meats were beautifully presented and my team and I truly had an amazing time pigging out together!
I know this is hard to do, but make sure you save room for dessert! Share if you have to because the CRÈME DE PAPAYA is the perfect way to help you with digestion. Its made from a lush and refreshing cream of papaya, topped with Cassis sorbet and a dash of Cassis Liquor. The tartness cleanses your palate and papaya aids in digestion!

I really, REALLY wanted to like Espetus considering the great reviews on Unilocal along with recommendations from family. But unfortunately I can’t seem to get a bite of what the hype is about.
Driving in from Sacramento, my husband and I decided to take a special trip out to the city just to try out this restaurant. I made reservations at 6:00 on a Monday evening but arrived early around 5:30. We were the only patrons dining in at the time with one other party seated next to us. This was quite nice since we didn’t have to wait long for the meat to come around to us.
Let me start off by saying the service here was top notch and they deserve a sold 5 stars. The host was very friendly and attentive to our table. It was my husband’s first time at a Brazilian Steakhouse and the host was very thorough with how the system works. The waiters were attentive to our table and came around often to replenish our drinks. The meat-​servers were friendly and professional, no complaints about them!
The first meat served to us was the beef ribs which was absolutely phenomenal. This was the only meat that really stood out to me. I had a slice of the medium rare and the cut was pure heaven to the palate. Warm, tender, succulent and I clearly remember the meat melting in my mouth at first bite. And that was it. That was the end of our wonderful food experience. All the other meats served to us was mediocre, nothing amazing enough to leave me wanting to come back for more. My main complaint about this place is the inconsistency of the meat. I didn’t receive a medium rare cut each time. Some slices were served medium-​well and many times I was served a well done slice (refer to my photo). I didn’t want to waste any food and felt obligated to finish the slices of well done meat that was served to me and it certainly filled me up.
The salad bar on the other hand was very fresh; I certainly helped myself to seconds and thirds of the mango salad.
Unfortunately this place did not hit the spot for me. I’ve dined at other Brazilian Steakhouses before and had a better experience. For the same price, I would rather dine at an upscale steakhouse.

Gobble gobble, toil and trouble!
This is the ultimate overindulgence in the absolute best way possible. Not because the food never stops coming, but because it’s so high quality it feels shameful to decline a tasty sample.
Five stars across the board. Outstanding service, diligent meat delivery, classy interactions, nice presentation, smiles from everyone. Truly top notch. Great cocktails, too!
Most importantly, all the meat is impeccable. You can taste the quality in every bite. My body felt good after leaving. Everything is well seasoned without being salty or drenched in oils.
What Espetus nails better than any other restaurant alike is its sides. They are light and compliment the richness of the meat. After eating such succulent fatty yum yums, one needs crisp, clean sides to cut the grease. Espetus rocks it the whole way through.
Couldn’t ask for a better Monday lunch with my best girly! Can’t wait to enjoy it all again! Truly memorable.

Came here for lunch over the weekend since I knew that I wouldn’t be able to eat my money’s share of meat for dinner. Overall not a bad place but only worth it for those who love love love meat. Surprisingly, the meats that I thought were the most flavorful and would have seconds of were the chicken and pork! The beef was just OK… gamier than usual steak.
The salad bar and fried bananas that they give you are actually quite good and nice to have for those who are not big meat lovers.

I loooove meat! This place always satisfies the carnivore me! $ 56 eat all you can, totally worth it especially if you can eat a lot.
Been here twice, last night’s service was exceptional!

My primary goal with this review is to advise the eater on how to handle this place.
It’s not your typical meal. It’s more like a sport. Your own personal man (or woman) vs food.
First things first, you have to start at the salad bar to get your plate. This is a pretty smart move on their part, as the salad bar is actually pretty good but it’s likely to fill you up by itself. Be selective in what you take and plan on eating it along with your meal, not before it. When you get back to the table, you’ll also be tempted by some tasty breads (some cheesy bread thing, fried polenta, etc). Again, be mindful of that stuff. You’re not here for the bread.
There’s the little placard at the center of the table that you’ll switch to green when you’re ready. Be ready when you do, because like a pretty girl at the closing hours of a frat party, the meat will start flying at you fast and furious. Be selective and don’t be afraid to ask for small pieces. Don’t feel obliged to try everything. Also, be ready to put the brakes on intermittently, so you can actually enjoy your meal.
As for the meat, I thought they were all pretty good but I wasn’t terribly impressed by the sausage (and they were also extra fatty, which limits your intake). The garlic steak and filet were the best in my estimation. The Parmesan pork was delcious and tender the first go around and less so on our second helping. The shrimp was also popular at my table. Lastly, if you haven’t tried chicken hearts before, do your self a favor and try it here.

Review #600
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Espetus twice but this review is based solely on my most recent visit on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I made a reservation through the OpenTable app a few days beforehand as a precaution and I noted that we were celebrating a 5 year anniversary. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a hostess, who checked us in and wished us a happy anniversary. It was a great start to our lunch to have our hostess go the extra effort and wish us a happy day. I was already impressed.
After being seated, our server Luis introduced himself and explained how Espetus works. There’s an open salad bar by the bar; and meat cuts are offered as long as you want with servers coming around the dining room constantly. We served ourself a leaf or two from the salad bar and waited for the real gluttony to begin. For the next two hours, we treated ourselves to an overwhelming selection of animals fired to perfection.
So what did we have during our 2 hour lunch? I’m personally ashamed to of consumed so much, but if I remember correctly, we indulged in sirloin steak, top sirloin, filet minion, flap steak, chicken drumsticks, pork sausage, chicken sausage, chicken hearts, pork belly, beef ribs, pork loin, pork loin with parmesan cheese, lamb, bacon wrapped chicken breast, and grilled pineapple.
The food experience was pure delicacy. We each had our own favorites, but we both agreed on the top sirloin and filet minion as our top favorites. The pork belly, chicken sausage, and beef ribs were just as delicious as well. It quickly become a game of which meats are you saving room for. The meat was tender and bursting with flavor; everything came out of the churrascaria with perfection. If that weren’t enough, every table is served with fried polenta, fried bananas and a light and fluffy bread.
2 hours later and our dining experience sadly came to an end. Before we could even glance at the dessert menu, our server Luis surprised us with not only 2 shots of tequila but also a chocolate mousse. I had to pass on my tequila shot which was not wasted as my girlfriend indulged. Given my abstinence from alcohol, I decided to order a post-​lunch cappuccino that was to no surprise as great as everything else and steamed just right.
I simply can’t recommend Espetus enough; from the moment we walked through the door to the very last bite and drink, we were treated like never before: The hostess went out of her way; Luis was an amazing server who made our day all the more special; and not to forget the hardworking meat servers and bar staff. Given that we’ve paid double and triple the price at steakhouses and gotten half the service, we’ll definitely be back to Espetus to celebrate any special occasion.
Ambiance/​Décor: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Price: $$$
Overall: ⁵⁄₅
Pros:
+ Lunch and dinner menu
+ Weekend lunch is a great value at a reasonable $ 39.95
+ 12 – 14 delicious meats to choose from
+ Full salad bar and hot foods
+ Amazing waitstaff
+ Delicious dessert menu (if it fits)
+ Full bar
+ Reservations available
+ Street parking available
Cons:
— Weight gain

Great food.
Expensive! But worth every penny.
It’s all you can eat and they come to your table offering you different meat (filet mignon, shrimp, skirt steak, etc).
I always order some chimichurri to put on my meat as well which I urge everyone to at least try.
They even have a hot bar for salad and other foods.
The dessert I tried was really great as well (Peanut Butter Thing)

If you feel like stuffing yourself silly with different types of meat or you have a bottomless pit for a stomach, this is the place to go. It’s a great place to go with meat lovers since you get different variations of meat delivered to your table. During dinner time, they also serve grilled pineapple. YUM!
Meats and salads are included in the buffet price but drinks and desserts are separate.
P. S. there’s also a wide variety of salads but save your stomach for the good stuff.

Nice place to celebrate a special occasion! It’s pricey at $ 57/​person for all you can eat Brazilian BBQ dinner but it’s a great dining experience.
They have a salad bar with a pretty good variety of items like grilled vegetables, pasta, paella but don’t fill up on this since the meat is what you’re there for! You get this little block on your table to flip over for when you want the servers to come to your table. Each server walks around with a different cut of meat.
I would try everything that comes by since all the meats were good but BY FAR the standout for my boyfriend and I was the sirloin steak. The server said it’s their most popular cut. The meat is soo tender and flavorful. I also liked that they gave us a plate of fried polenta, bananas, and cheese bread which were all amazing!

I like to eat meat, but not excessively. This is a place I would go to MAYBE once a year lol because I would die if I ate it all the time. I have been wanting to try Espetus for years and years! I finally got to go last weekend. I prepped myself all day long and was superrrrr excited. It wasn’t too difficult to find parking. We literally parked around the corner. Lucky for us! I think the parking gods are with us. You do nice things, nice things happen to you.
Sooooo we had a reservation for 6:30pm, but we were quite early. We decided to check in anyway to see if they could seat us early. No issues there. There were actually quite a bit of empty tables still around that time. The waitress explained to us what the procedure was and we drove right in. We headed straight to the salad bar and grabbed a little bit of almost everything. (See photo) I literally didn’t want to fill up on the salad bar stuff so I got like one piece of asparagus, one brussel sprout, etc. lolll. I am ridiculous, I am well aware of that.
Anyway. when I got back to the table we switched the little go and stop thingy to GO! The cowboys all started coming at our table so quick. It was ruthless. One after another. All very polite. You always have the option of saying no «thank you» or «just a small piece please.» I loved it! Oh, we got seated right by the kitchen so we always got the best parts of the meat. Tehehehe what a nice perk. The night we were there, there was about 14 different meat options, we did our best to try every single one! The pork was my least favorite. Pork is hard (such a dry meat).
I forgot to talk about the bread stuff. They give you fried plantains, fried polenta, and cheesy bread rolls to start. THOSE FRIED POLENTA STICKS are soo yuummmmy. I had to refrain from eating them all. Man I just love polenta so much.
My fav meats were:
–lamb
–chicken hearts
–PORK BELLY ***
–garlic filet mignon
–shrimp
–pineapple (I know this isn’t a meat… but I had the guy cut me so many pineapples my tongue hurt. I regret NOTHING)
TL;DR-Nice place for a special occasion. Pretty pricey, can be dressy or casual-​you decide!

We capped out our wedding anniversary celebration with a dinner at Espetus Currascaria. We have been hearing great things about this Brazilian restaurant so we had to try this for our special night.
It was a weekday so we do not need to make reservations when we called. We were happily greeted and quickly seated to our table. There is a signage on each table to keep the meats coming or stop and waive the white flag.
Okay, their Picanha is on point. Delicious, properly seasoned and so delightful. I was mixing and matching the meats that were coming with their buffet selections. But in the end: Picanha, Asparagus, on point. Yum-​O.
Espetus goes beyond in their meats. I was surprised (and delighted) when they rolled a cart of beef ribs. What I observed to my delight is that as the meat is getting thinner from constant carving, they sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese, that’s a winner!
I did dock one star because of the entry price. If I kept thinking of how much I paid after, it is usually priced on the high side for the experience. Espetus is delicious, but for the same price I could have also eaten a chef’s sample course in SF bursting with a conglomerate of flavors new to my palette.

Fui tratado como um rei. pura que pariu! Bom pra caralho. Se você e brasileiro, eles te tratam 100 vezes melhor. Nota 10 nas carnes, nota 1000 no atendimento vip.

Etwas ausserhalb, $ 10 mit Taxi von Downtown. Ein Besuch lohnt sich, nur nicht fuer Vegetarier.
Das Essen wird auf Spiessen serviert, d.h. es kommen die ganze zeit neue koestlichkeiten bis man einen Bierdeckel umdreht. Wenn nicht wird man gerade zu anfang mit Fleisch ueberhaeuft. Neben Fleisch gibt es auch Spiesse mit Garnelen, Ananas und Huhn.
Die Beilagen konnte man sich vorher selbst zusammenstellen und waren auch sehr gut. Nur nicht den fehler machen und zuviel Gruenzeug nehmen :-)
Wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe kostete es nur $ 30 pro Person, plus Getraenke. Fuer die Qualitaet und Quantitaet erstaunlich guenstig.
Fazit: jederzeit wieder