Samba Brazilian Steakhouse and Lounge

Samba is a decent Brazilian all you can eat steak house. The price isn’t cheap for an all-​you-​can-​eat Brazilian steak house. Here’s what I mean, if you compare Samba to a ritzy restaurant such as «Fogo de Chao» that essentially serves similar food in Beverly Hills or in Los Angeles, then Samba is $ 8 to $ 10 cheaper but the quality you get at «Fogo» is a 10 times better. I’m not saying Samba is bad quality but for a $ 48 or $ 50 dollars all you can eat experience, half the meat is decent and the other half good.
For Samba’s quality of meat and experience, I wouldn’t pay more than $ 35 dollars honestly. As a restaurant and food connoisseur that knows meat, I would rather pay $ 58 dollars are Fogo De Chao that close to $ 50 at Samba. The appetizers and salad bar is also tastier at Fogo.
The waiters and waitresses at Samba were absolutely amazing, they were sweet, personable and attentive to my needs. They took real good care of me. It’s a decent place over all, just a bit over priced. Not to mention that you have to pay anywhere from $ 10 to $ 17 for parking.
Hope this Unilocal you… hehe

We tried this during our visit to Universal. It was Ok. As long as you are not expecting that much meat it was alright.
To get your food they come by with the meat on a stick and they ask if you want that. If you do, you use prongs to put it on your plate. They had a lot of lamb and chicken but not a lot of cow meat. When I visited, there was no ribs or any other cow meat than thigh and loin.
It was disappointing for 35 $ per person and I will most not likely not come here again.

It is by far the worst Brazilian restaurant I’ve ever been to. Their salad bar is very limited, the meat does not have much flavor and the only meat that was actually tender was the tri-​tip.
The price is on the high end for all you can eat Brazilian, and it’s certainly not worth it. I’ve had better meat and sides at a fast food Brazilian place than what they serve here! On top of everything you have to pay$ 18– for parking, because they don’t validate. If the food and the service had been good it would have been worth it! My advice… find another restaurant!

After spending yesterday at Universal we decided to eat dinner at Samba & it was WORST food ever! My son ordered all you can eat & hot station & salads were tasteless & the meats served in SLOW pace were bland, so bad in taste that my meat lover son never asked for seconds! I ordered fish and it was THE WORST fish ever, it was rock hard & chewy from outside & inside had raw garlic taste! I told the waiters few times that it’s the worst fish but they did not give me another option or refund instead said «This is not my fav fish too» I’ll never go back there again!!! If you want to watch dance only might be a good place but if you have eating good food on your agenda —- DON’T VISIT SAMBA

Wasn’t impressed at all, but I should’ve expected it with what other reviewers had to say. I was hoping to prove other reviewers wrong, but I couldn’t agree more with what most had to write. The service here was mediocre. Even though it wasn’t busy at all the service was lacking. One of the guys bringing over the meat practically almost tossed the meat off my plate as if he was rushing to service the 15 other people dining there. The buffet choice was, well, let’s just say there wasn’t much of a choice. Our waitress was nice, but moved so slow. The meat was ok. I’ve tried many other Brazilian restaurants and this definitely was the worst one, sorry to say.

The only reasons to come here is because you have groupon deal.
the deal that we got was a 5 course dinner set that includes all sides and two skewers worth of meat of your choosing.
I was excited for all the meat but Some of it was overcooked but for the most part, it was pretty tasty. However, the next day I had some of the nastiest diarrhea and it still hurts. Maybe the meat is old, i’m not sure. I don’t like to point fingers, but I’m writing the review on the toilet as we speak and the only thing i ate was Samba from last night.
As we took whatever we could not finish to go, I noticed that they were eager to box it up for us and its not until the next day that I know why… We barely touched any of the beans or beef stroganoff but it was packed into these tiny tiny cups. Wonder where the rest went… I hoped they dumped it and not put in back in the pot to serve back to other customers.
They also have a photographer to take a photo of your party for a free collage of pics for you to take home. That was nice of Samba… but our photographer seemed like he was expecting a tip after we declined to buy the premium photos. Sorry bud, I didn’t feel like I have to take out my wallet before I even got to my meal but i left a decent tip that’s added to the bill at the end. Hope you guys evenly share the tip jar.
Another thing that ruined the experience, was that Samba allowed non patrons come in to sell roses. I feel like i’m being hustled before I even get a bite of steak.
2 stars cause of friendly service and hot Latinas dancing and who have hips that don’t lie.

This is a great online deal, I would suggest you take your groupon to the next level and pay the extra for the all you can eat option. I did not like the cost for parking and forgot to ask if they validate

My boyfriend and I have been wanted to try this place out for quite some time.
We went on a sunday late afternoon so it wasnt busy at all. All the waiters are really attentive and served quickly. Because there were only a fee customers there, we were able to eat all the meat we can without waiting a long time.
We chose the AYCE Brazilian Bbq which is $ 49 per person. They also have an open salad bar which exceeds the salad bars from other AYCE places. I really enjoyed everything I tried there especially their mashed potatoes, cheese balls, and potato salad.
If you chose to order from the A La Carte part of the menu, you can order dishes to share with a group. But if you chose the AYCE bbq, they have waiters walking around with various meats and dishes ranging from bacon wrapped chicken, pork ribs, Brazilian and New York steak, garlic bread, lamb, and sea bass. ALL OF THEM WERE SOO AMAZING. It may seem pricey but it’s definitely worth trying at least once.
Don’t turn down their offer for the garlic bread. It is literally the best I’ve ever had.

one of the few good reasons to come here is because you have an online deal. basically it was a buy one get one free. by doing so, we saved money and it is always about saving any penny where you can.
the deal that we got came with the Sunday all you can eat brunch and all you can drink red/​white sangria and mimosa.
this is my first experience at samba and it wasn’t too bad. I was excited for all the meat I was going to put in my belly. too bad, a lot of it was over cooked.
I think the perfect meat is one that is pink and a touch of bloody. a perfect medium rare. two minutes go by and a meat comes to the table. «would you like a piece of meat?» says the waiter. «sure, I would love to» I responded with my eyes entice into the meat on a stick.
as I take a bite into the meat as my jaw starts to hurt after a few bites.
another minute or so, another piece of meat comes to the table. yet again
I complain, but I still eat until I get of meat. I want to make sure we get our money’s worth even if we got a coupon for a free person.
one thing to watch out for is that you may need to fight off the flies while you eat. I guess it’s a trick for you to eat faster. if you leave you food alone, they get eaten by flies.

Beware of this place when paying with credit card I was here and they charged my total bill as tip.
I emailed the restaurant and Magdalena Kosik offered to put the money back to credit card but didn’t want to offer me anything else for my trouble
Magdalena Kosik thanks to you I will never return
Outcome I didn’t get my money back… beware shady place

Came here for dinner with my husband, father in law, and 7 year old daughter. It not even mediocre. Ordered my kiddo chicken breast and French fries for $ 7, figured that’s not bad for a kids meal… it only came with one small chicken breast strip. Extra dry. Needless to say, she didn’t eat it.
Hub and I both got the all you can eat buffet. Father in law got garlic steak a-​la-​cart. All of it was shy of mediocre. The only meat they had that was tasty was the chicken wrapped in bacon, tri tip, and sirloin. The others were not flavorful in the slightest.
Definitely didn’t get $ 50 worth of good food… with which is how much the buffet is. Won’t be going back. Don’t suggest it either.

Will not recommend it nor will I ever go here.
I went for a friend’s birthday. She had 10 guests. The reservation was for 8pm, we forced our way in and sat at the table anyways at 8:20pm although it was still being readied.
When the girl working there shouted and said no wait, my respond was nicely put but in a serious manner. I said, it’s her birthday, she is pregnant and you made us all stand here for 20 minutes. She responded with okay, okay, okay in a very rude way!
Most of the meat they brought out was raw and or difficult to chew. So I mainly ate from the salad bar and stayed away from the red meat.
At the salad bar, the paper from one of the trays had teared and mixed with the green salad. We had to point it out to their many staff standing and chattering behind the salad bar to actually put an effort to change it! I will attach pictures so you’ll get an idea of how untidy and dirty the service was.
I asked the waitress for the wine menu. She came 15 minutes late with the drinks menu. I had walked to the bar and asked the bar tender for the wine menu my self after waiting for her for 10 minutes.
When the same waitress would put stuff like a glass of water or my wine glass on the table she wouldn’t consider the fact that if i’m talking to the person next to me and suddenly turn around without having the knowledge that she is stretching her hand by my ear. I avoided accident of her spilling the wine and hitting me with the glass in the face, obviously.
The music and the dancers are nothing special. If you sit outside, which most people tend to, people from the side walk will stop by your table and start filming the dancers with their flash on! It’s very annoying. people are becoming more ignorant and less tolerable.
Don’t waist your time and money to go there. Plus the parking is too expensive already and they don’t validate it for you and you end up paying 17 dollars or more.

Service was excellent! Great food! Lots of meat! They get 4 stars because of these darn flies flying around. I love the fact that the servers & hostesses would come by and check on us & make sure we are getting enough meet!

I came here for a date night with my boyfriend during the WEEKEND be should’ve known better when I noticed that it was DEAD.
I have realized once we were sat WHY it was dead.
1. The restaurant wasn’t spacious enough for ample seating.
2. The buffet bar didn’t have a good selection of food, and was quite small (or maybe I got spoiled with other Brazilian bbq places) most of the items were tasteless or just not good at all.
3. The meats. They just didn’t have the ones I wanted. All the ones I requested they told me it was still cooking and they’ll bring it out to me when it is ready. Which they never did.
4. The cocktails were horrible.
5. They didn’t come around to our table with the meats enough.

Sheila, Thank You For Taking Me There!!!
I honestly could Not decide where to go for dinner and so I suggested to Sheila that we go to the Universal City Walk since they have so many Nice Restaurants To Choose From.
It was Not Easy to choose a restaurant, however, we went into one restaurant and I did Not like the long line that we had to wait in and so I suggested that we walk around some more and find another one with a much shorter line and then we found it!
In Fact, I am glad that we chose this restaurant because I Love Brasilian Food!
They have Great Churrascaria by the way if You are into Brasilian Bbq that is Cut Up Right In Front Of You!
They also have Very Large Delicious Full Salad Bars, Excellent Caipirinhas and Great Desserts too by the way!
Before I let you go, they will also come around and take Your Very Own Souvenir Picture Postcard and if You want, You can Pay for a much larger one in a frame, but if Not, then the Postcard Picture is Yours To Keep For Free!
Enclosed, in the attachments, please find several pictures that I took of our Fantastic Restaurant Experience for your review.
Sheila, Thank You so much for Taking Me There!
Howard Paul Shore

Samba was the second brazilian bbq restaurant I’ve ever been to, the first being Rei Do Gado in San Diego’s Gaslamp district. Upon comparison of the two, Samba fell short, and perfectly aligns with it’s 3 star rating on Unilocal.While Samba had some good choices of meat, (my favorites being: tri-​tip, garlic steak, and pork tenderloin), overall it was a pretty average experience. The salad bar was comparable to a sizzler or souplantation salad bar. Tacking on $ 10 for endless champagne/​mimosas sounded intriguing, however $ 35 in itself was too high for the quality of the meat here. The service wasn’t bad, very attentive to drinks. Took a while to get specific meats that we wanted despite asking for it 3 times. I’ll save my brazlian bbq cravings for RDG in SD or Greenfield in Long Beach.
ps. be sure to park away from citywalk so you can avoid the $ 17 parking fee.
3 stars.

This place is great! And if you can find a Groupon deal for this, snatch it up quick!
I enjoyed the Sunday brunch so much I told more of my friends about it so I can return. Service is good, meat very flavorful, and they bring the meats to you whenever you want them? C’mon, what can be better? Ah, the bottomless mimosas, champagne, and sangrias! I recommend it and it’ll definitely make your experience even more enjoyable.

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!! I LOVE the concept. Basically you get some food from the salad bar which is very cool. They have many different choices of international salad foods.
After you get back to the table there is something that looks like an hour glass. One side is green the other is red. Green means bring more meat. Red means stop. They have ssooo many different kinds of meat selections they bring. We had new york steak, pork sausage, and many more that we havent even heard of before but were AMAZING! This is definitely a bucket list place to try!

I saw a very good deal in groupon and happend to go to Universal Studio. Therefore I purchased the deal and try this place. I was little bit worry since the rating look pretty average.
Samba located in the main entrance of the City Walk (the drop off zone). Parking is $ 17 but if you come in Sunday. I suggest you just park in the street and walk 5−10minutes. Burn some calories while also save some money.
Nearly half of the restaurant seating is outdoor. I suggest you make reservation if you plan to dine here after 7pm. This is the same time when the Samba dander will show up, Their time is 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm I believe. I like the fact that their will take your number and text you when the table is ready. That’s the way to go not writing in paper or need a flashing device.
The samba dancer were just two of them. They dress different each time, I get to see twice and both time they dress differently. There’s no stage, they just basically dance around the restaurant. Loud samba music is also turn on to make it more live experience.
Service is hit and miss, our waitress does pretty good job getting our request. But the meat cutter often miss the request. The meat selection is not good, too less to choose from. No lamb… They seem keep bringing the cheap cut meat over and over again. The beef doesn’t look like is prime quality. The salad bar is quite small, smallest one I been too. The strange part is they had too many spicy thing in the salad bar. I think I try all their meal which only like handful (Chicken legs, pork ribs, pork loins, bacon turkey wrap, white fish, brazilian sausages, top sirloin, and of course Picanha)
Chicken Leg — Not bad, not something I would order since this is after the cheapest cut meat.
Pork Ribs — Lack of flavors and weak sauce, not fatty.
Pork Loins — Delicious and one of best pork loins I had for a while.
Bacon Turkey Wrap — Nice presentation, but I find them too crispy and salty.
White Fish — First time I see this in churrasco, wish it was salmon instead. The fish flavor is weak.
Brazilian Sausage — Tasty and just like what I like.
Top Sirloin — Tasted a lot like Picanha but more well cooked.,
Picanha — This one take forever to come out, the meat are cook too raw. However is pretty good.
The salad bar overall is good but too few selection, I didn’t like that the pineapple and the corn were heavy spicy. It doesn’t make any sense. The cheese bread is too small.
Their regular price is overpriced for the AYCE, not worth $ 40 for dinner. There’s are so many other better churasco in L.A. for that price. However groupon make it a lot more affordable. Just aware tax isn’t included in groupon, but still good deal. They got happy hour here, and something I don’t come over when I in the area.

We got a Groupon gift to this place, and although this isn’t our favorite rodicio in LA ($ 10 parking boo) we did enjoy our experience thanks to the really great service.
Some tips: go to the bar for your drinks during happy hour (everyday until 7pm). They technically don’t do happy hour drinks at the tables, but they will look the other way and let you go get your drink at the bar.
Be nice to the guys with the meat sticks! You can throw a joke about how you can eat picanha (the best cut) all day and they suddenly have waves of it come your way ;)
So parking sucks, you’ll need to pay either the full $ 10 or a discounted rate if you also go catch a movie. Not the restaurant’s fault but it’s park of being at the Universal Citywalk.