Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue
• 100 - 5920 Macleod Trail SW | Calgary, AB | T2H 0K2
Average User Rating:
7.83/10
7.83/10
Recommended by:
70%
70%
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"Got to try Gaucho's!"
Nicole
January 2012 — "If you have never been to Gaucho’s there is only one thing you need to know. Wear stretchy pants. This is a great place to go if you love meat. They serve Brazilian BBQ. The waiters come around with different types of meat on the skewers they were barbequed on, and cut pieces off for you. They had at least a dozen different meats making the rounds, everything from bacon wrapped chicken, to filet mignon, leg of lamb, pork ribs and even chicken hearts! You can have as much as you want, and if you are nice to your waiter he will make sure they come around with your favorite selection a few extra times. They also have a really great salad bar and a number of delicious hot items. They had a number of fresh fish items and an awesome curry, it’s hard not to not to fill up too much! The restaurant has a classy rancher feel. It’s a great place to go for a night out with friends that won’t break the bank. They have a really fun drink menu, and their dessert menu looks incredible – but good luck trying to save enough room! "
User Rating
9.33/10
9.33/10
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"It used to be better..."
Shawn
July 2010 — "We purchased a GroupClick Daily Deal Voucher, whereby we received 2 $60 vouchers for the price of $25/ each. That was wonderful, and having been there before at the old humbling location, we were anxious to try it out again!
Our waitress was new, and in training. There was nothing wrong with that part; she was decent, not exceptional, but decent. The new location is larger so you aren't squished as much, a bit more "upscale" (which is nice), and there is a salad bar, which was decent as well. There were a lot of different and tasty options available. That was good too. AND, of course the company I was with made the experience really good.
A few things that were a bit troublesome:
-Gaucho charges for fountain drink refills (i.e. Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, etc). The fountain drinks were $3.00 each - a huge mark-up on how much it costs to serve these drinks... That seemed a bit out-of-touch with reality; I was disappointed to see that. I'm unsure if it was written in the menu or not, but the server never mentioned refill charges.
-The old location offered grilled pineapple as part of the smorg. That was a wonderful conclusion to the meal. We weren't prepared to pay an extra amount for grilled pineapple (especially since we fondly remembered it was included in the $35.00 smorg-price at the old location); we went home and grilled some ourselves!
-The salad bar was buffet-style, which was completely acceptable and expected. However, the use of plates wasn't "buffet-style". It was expected you were to take your dirty plate up to the buffet for more food. I recall that might be a health violation, though I could be wrong. It just encourages germs at the buffet.
The final "irk" of the evening was around the server. While friendly, we were a bit surprised to see there was mandatory tipping for a table of 7; I'm used to seeing it for a table of 8+ at other restaurants. That being said, we saw the final tally (tip inclusive) and paid cash for the full amount of the bill. The cash was inserted into the billfold, and the server walked away. We waited 5 minutes, and didn't hear from the server. We decided to leave (assuming all was fine). About 15 minutes passed, and the server called my CellPhone (acquired from the reservation). She called to inform us we were $2.00 short on the tip-included total sum. I apologized. She asked me if I was able to turn around to square up the bill out of principal! I confirmed with my party I was in the car with that we left the toonie in the billfold (7 sets of eyes to confirm this), but she said it wasn't there. We are guessing it fell out of the billfold between the table and the register. Alas, by that time it would have cost an extra $2.00 to drive back and "square up the bill out of principal". I was hearing the guilt-trip of the tip coming out of her living expenses, and how that wasn't fair. The server still did get a $45.00 tip for filling up water & fountain drink refills for an hour. In the end, I didn't turn around; I thought "the nerve" - if it was really a big deal to the restaurant, the Manager/ Restauranteur would be calling, not some "server in training". It would be interesting to see if Management was aware of her actions... you can't even take the bus for $2.00 this day in age!
I can empathize to a certain degree, but after an experience like that, I may just find it more rewarding to go to the competition down the street... Gaucho was my favourite of the two, but this latest experience has left me a bit disappointed. Thank god we had the 120.00 vouchers to apply towards our meal. To sum up, the experience was decent, but it leaves much to be desired compared to the old location... Thank you."
User Rating
4.83/10
4.83/10
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Management Response:
"Dear Shawn, I truly apologize for your experience at Gaucho. I assure you that the actions taken by your waiter under the supervision of our FHM were truly regrettable. There is no excuse for calling you to ask for $2! I am extremely embarrassed and assure you that both individuals have been spoken to and that our FHM will be contacting you in person to apologize. I hope that you will return to my restaurant and that you accept my sincerest apologies. Please feel free to contact me directly in the future by accessing my website: www.brazilianbbq.ca. Best regards, Ede Rodrigues "
"Dear Shawn, I truly apologize for your experience at Gaucho. I assure you that the actions taken by your waiter under the supervision of our FHM were truly regrettable. There is no excuse for calling you to ask for $2! I am extremely embarrassed and assure you that both individuals have been spoken to and that our FHM will be contacting you in person to apologize. I hope that you will return to my restaurant and that you accept my sincerest apologies. Please feel free to contact me directly in the future by accessing my website: www.brazilianbbq.ca. Best regards, Ede Rodrigues "
"Meat Galore"
Jenny
June 2010 — "I jumped at the opportunity to try Gauchos for a friend's birthday after discovering brazilian grill. We had made reservations and upon arriving to the new location, several people of my party commented on how different the entire restaurant and atmosphere had become from it's previous establishment. It may not be as cozy as before but regardless this was a new experience for me. The salad bar had a good variety of dishes although nothing particularly outstanding. The meal is set at $50/person which left some expectations to be fulfilled when compared to Gaucho's competitor's pricing. Settling down, the servers made their rounds with the skewers of meat and I can truly say that there is nothing bad to say about the quality, flavor and cuts of meats. I tried a little bit of everything plus some encores of bacon wrapped chicken and in a matter of time was fully stuffed. I recently discovered bbq pineapples at other grills and was happy to find that Gauchos also had these pineapples although to my dismay found that this was only included on the dessert menu and not a part of the dinner menu, which several people also commented was another "used to be". Disappointed about having to order an entire large dessert just for a couple slices of pineapples. Overall the restaurant has good food but the value of my money is better proportionate with other brazilian grills. "
User Rating
9.17/10
9.17/10
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"Brazilian Barbeque"Rhonda
May 2010 — "Visited Brazilian BBQ located on McLeod Trail near Chinook shopping centre and Glenmore Trail. Apparently they used to have a smaller location quite a bit east of their new location which was also on McLeod Trail and was apparently a little bit better at the old location as it included a few more things than you get today in your meal price, i.e. dessert. It was a friend of ours birthday and since it is one of their favourite restaurants that is where we went. He is a frequent visitor and the owner not only recognized him but came over to wish him a happy birthday and provided a free Brazilian drink in honour of his special day. To go along with the copious amounts of meats that are on offer, some of which are mouth watering and some are just okay in my opinion, is a small salad bar which also had soup and bread and was very fresh tasting. It is a nice family atmosphere, although a little on the pricey side. It seems to have a very small parking lot for the size of the restaurant. If you love meat I'm sure you will enjoy Gaucho!"
User Rating
8.83/10
8.83/10
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"For Rich Meatlovers!"
Mary
December 2009 — "Apparently, this new Gaucho is unlike the old one. What I do know of this newly relocated Brazilian BBQ restaurant is good food, nice location (across from Chinook centre), and borderline fancy dining. It may have been easier and less confusing with a small group of epode, but the more people, the more time to let your stomachs settle. The side dishes and appetizers were laid out DIY style and buffet, keeping to the theme of all you can eat. The service was good and the severs that came along with the heaping amounts of meat were very polite, but difficult to understand. Most of the time what I was eating was a surprise until if touched my lips, so I think you have to keep an open mind.Thank god for the side salads. Don't get me wrong. I love my beef and chicken just as much as the next person, but you can only eat so much. Our biggest problem was at the end of the meal. Who has ever heard of having to pay for how many people you reserve even if they don't show up? I mean, I can understand 50 out of 100, but one person $50 worth for an extra chair. After much debate, we were able to settle the bill, but when you book your party, make sure to get all the facts straight. Otherwise, you will be forking out money for an empty chair. "
User Rating
6.33/10
6.33/10
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"What used to be..."
Keith
December 2009 — "...a quaint, well-run and welcoming restaurant has gone by the wayside as Gaucho has moved to a new location and decided they'll now charge people through the roof, and won't think twice when you complain about it.
When this restaurant was at its original location, my friends loved it as the family-owned and operated "blue collar" alternative to the more pompous Brazilian restaurant in Calgary. We heard they moved locations so a dinner party of 18 of us decided to try out what was our favourite Brazilian bbq stop.
Almost immediately we were taken aback by the new digs. The small dinner area right next to the sweltering barbecue spits was replaced with a sprawling dinning area that looks straight out of a five-star restaurant in Vegas. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just not what we were accustomed to.
It was all down hill from there. As we waited for the rest of our party to arrive, our server was on us like a bat, and pushed just about every liquor possible on us. Just to see what it was like, I ordered a "traditional Brazilian drink" -for the life of my I cannot remember what it was called- that the waiter seemed overly passionate about. In any case it was delivered in a tiny high-ball glass and tasted like nothing more than sugar water, ice and rum, with the ice probably constituting more than three-quarters of the glass. Almost immediately he asked if we would like another round. Done with it, I asked for a drink menu instead. To my astonishment, I found that tiny drink cost ten dollars! Shame on me for not checking the price to begin with, but honestly, I still cannot understand its pricing.
When it came to the actual meal, there is and was very little to complain about. The meat sampled (lamb, pork loin, rib eye, chicken breast) was all barbecued to perfection and as good here as at Gaucho's old location. The problem with the meal, came near the end. One of the staples of the old Gaucho's was the dessert that would come near the end of dinner service -either sweet grilled pineapple or bananas-. As such many of us, halted our consumption of meat in preparation for dessert. Unfortunately, and to our surprise, said dessert was no longer part of the dinner service and is now served ala carte for the exorbitant amount of seven dollars. That's seven dollars for a barbecued banana! Now if I hadn't known that dessert used to be included, I might not be outraged, but with that knowledge, I was and still am.
Well by this point I had already decided that this was the last time I'd be coming to Gauchos. Then management further made my decision clear when we received the bill and noticed that we had been charged dinner service for 20 people, not 18 (not to mention one of our party members was charged full price for her meal when we had already negotiated a discount because she's a vegetarian). When we brought it up to our waiter, he immediately went into a spiel about how we had originally reserved a section for 20 people and although only 18 ate, the restaurant had to charge us for our original reservation.
OUTRAGEOUS.
In any case, after some needless negotiating with the manager on duty, the extra two seats were deleted from the bill. However if someone had not looked at why the bill was so much, the restaurant would have happily taken our money.
Not much more to say, other than, what was once a nice restaurant, has turned into a money-grubbing price gouger."
User Rating
4.50/10
4.50/10
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Management Response:
"Dear Keith, Let me begin by saying that I am truly sorry that you did not have a positive experience at our restaurant. However, Gaucho is still a family-owned business and we take great pride in the accomplishments that we have made over the past several years. We have worked very diligently and have finally realized one of our life-long dreams in the opening of our new restaurant. I can assure you that we are emphatically not motivated by “money-grubbing price gouger” sentiments and frankly take great offense to that comment! We are and have always been motivated by a passion for our food and our culture. We take great pride and pleasure in sharing this passion with our customers. We have not changed any of the prices and policies that you speak of in your email from our original location. The caipirinha or “traditional Brazilian drink” is and was priced at $10 for quit some time before our move. We admit that the drink is pricey however, it is not made from rum as you suggest, but rather Cachaca, a sugar cane alcohol imported from Brazil. You cannot buy the quality and brand that we use commonly in Calgary. In addition to that, each drink is made exactly as you would find in Brazil, by hand muddling a fresh lime with sugar and shaking it with ice. The drink is both costly and time consuming to make. As you ordered a second round, there is no doubt in my mind that you appreciated the drink that no Brazilian would begin a barbecue meal without. Let me also point out that we do not charge $7 for barbecued fruit!!!! Rather, we offer a dessert comprised of Alberta’s own McKay’s ice cream, barbecued fruit and toppings that are made from imported ingredients. You will also find that the portion is so generous that it is certainly a dessert to be shared. In regards to the server charging you for two extra people, that was an unfortunate mistake on the part of your server. That is not a policy at Gaucho! I am certainly glad that you did not pay for your server’s mistake. We have had a discussion with the server that we think served your table. However, we are not sure whom you spoke to in “management” as you did not speak to me, my husband or Chef Montes. To conclude Keith, I wish that you had contacted us directly with your complaints instead of posting them on-line. We have become what we are today thanks to the loyalty and continued patronage of our customers. We certainly appreciate any kind of feed-back from our customers and are, as always, committed to providing superior food and service. Sincerely, Rosina Rodrigues "
"Dear Keith, Let me begin by saying that I am truly sorry that you did not have a positive experience at our restaurant. However, Gaucho is still a family-owned business and we take great pride in the accomplishments that we have made over the past several years. We have worked very diligently and have finally realized one of our life-long dreams in the opening of our new restaurant. I can assure you that we are emphatically not motivated by “money-grubbing price gouger” sentiments and frankly take great offense to that comment! We are and have always been motivated by a passion for our food and our culture. We take great pride and pleasure in sharing this passion with our customers. We have not changed any of the prices and policies that you speak of in your email from our original location. The caipirinha or “traditional Brazilian drink” is and was priced at $10 for quit some time before our move. We admit that the drink is pricey however, it is not made from rum as you suggest, but rather Cachaca, a sugar cane alcohol imported from Brazil. You cannot buy the quality and brand that we use commonly in Calgary. In addition to that, each drink is made exactly as you would find in Brazil, by hand muddling a fresh lime with sugar and shaking it with ice. The drink is both costly and time consuming to make. As you ordered a second round, there is no doubt in my mind that you appreciated the drink that no Brazilian would begin a barbecue meal without. Let me also point out that we do not charge $7 for barbecued fruit!!!! Rather, we offer a dessert comprised of Alberta’s own McKay’s ice cream, barbecued fruit and toppings that are made from imported ingredients. You will also find that the portion is so generous that it is certainly a dessert to be shared. In regards to the server charging you for two extra people, that was an unfortunate mistake on the part of your server. That is not a policy at Gaucho! I am certainly glad that you did not pay for your server’s mistake. We have had a discussion with the server that we think served your table. However, we are not sure whom you spoke to in “management” as you did not speak to me, my husband or Chef Montes. To conclude Keith, I wish that you had contacted us directly with your complaints instead of posting them on-line. We have become what we are today thanks to the loyalty and continued patronage of our customers. We certainly appreciate any kind of feed-back from our customers and are, as always, committed to providing superior food and service. Sincerely, Rosina Rodrigues "
"One of the greatest food experiences I’ve ever had"
Susan
December 2009 — "I've heard a ton of great things about this restaurant from friends and had an opportunity to try it out for a friend's birthday party. The cost comes to around $50 a person, so it's not something you would eat too often. I must say that Gaucho is definitely one of my best dining experiences to date. I can truly see why it would costs as much as it does. The dining experience was truly unique for me, since I've never tried Brazillian BBQ before. The servers come to your table and will slice off or portion a piece of meat of your choosing using these great big pieces of metal serving sticks that I can only remember as swords. Anyway, it was fun and the food was absolutely delicious!! I could not stop eating and enjoyed the food so much. The only negative thing about this restaurant was the pushy waiter. I'm not sure how he could manage to never fill up our water even though he was responsible for only two tables. We had to keep asking him and he took forever but he still found time to push us to order drinks so often. We had already gotten mango juice and we don't drink. It was just annoying, but the food, excellent. I'm not sure I would go back though."
User Rating
7.83/10
7.83/10
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"Unique Dining Experience, All you can eat meats"Jason
September 2009 — "Two questions you need to answer before coming here: Do you like meat and do you like Barbecue? If yes, you will love this restaurant. Independently run by a chef who owns the restaurant, you wont find a level of service and quality anywhere else. If you’ve never heard of Brazilian bbq before, its basically a large selection of bbq’d meats that are freshly cooked and served right at your table. Large skewers of meats, like pork ribs, beef ribs, filet minion, lamb, sirloin steak, bacon wrapped chicken…etc are cut and placed directly onto your plate until you’ve say you had enough. The price tag of $35 is a little on the high side, but for the amounts of food you get I’d say its definitely worth it. Any other steak house would be about the same price, but here you get the variety and excitement of this dining format. It is a great atmosphere as the chefs walk from table to table offering you delicious cuts of meat. They also start you off with a wonderful spread of appetizers including a potato salad that is fantastic. After the meal is over, they serve either grilled bananas or pineapples which is a really great way to end the meal. We were told that they would be switching locations soon, and at the time of this writing I believe the new location has opened but I can comment on the new location as I have not been there since they moved recently. However, as long as they keep their level of service and quality the same I am sure it will be a success!"
User Rating
9.33/10
9.33/10
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"Bring your Appetite!"Melissa
September 2009 — "I had heard many good things about the Brazilian BBQ concept, and decided to give it a try. A friend recommended Gaucho as being a great option, so I decided to take my boyfriend there for his birthday dinner.
The restaurant has recently moved to a new location, so I won’t give details on atmosphere as it will have changed.
For drinks, we started with the Caipirinha. It is a sweet Brazilian cocktail with some punch! Fresh, and muddled by hand, it tastes fairly similar to a Mojito.
The service is called Rodizio Dining. It begins with an assortment of unlimited side dishes brought to your table. This includes rice, salad, a bean stew, the millionaire’s salad, and a few other. From there, the meat starts. Servers walk to each table with a large skewer of BBQ’d meat. And they keep coming with hot meat until you indicate you want them to stop! The food was delicious, and the assortment of meat was endless, including beef, sausage, pork, chicken, and lamb. Our favorites were the top sirloin, beef ribs, and bacon wrapped chicken. All of the meats were hot and perfectly cooked. They were both flavorful and juicy. And the highlight for me was defiantly the BBQ’d banana. Warm and delicious, make sure you ask the server for more then one.
We had a great experience at Gaucho and will defiantly go back. Although the price tag is somewhat high ($35 per person, plus drinks and tip), you absolutely get your money’s worth. Make sure you take your time, and go on an empty stomach. You will defiantly need it!"
User Rating
9.17/10
9.17/10
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"Meat Lovers Welcome!"Mary
May 2009 — "This restaurant is an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ Rodizio concept. The atmosphere is friendly, relaxed, and just plain fun! The music and conversation is loud, reminiscent of large familiar gatherings. The servers are funny, and everyone that's there seems to be ready for a rowdy night of digging into some good meat. The food is really amazing! Skewers of meat of varying types are cut directly from the roast and onto your plates. When I say varying types, I mean it! The meats are succulent and juicy and included everything from beef ribs to bacon wrapped chicken to lamb. The best part of the meal is the fruit. They serve grilled bananas and pineapple, who would have thought that would have tasted so good? The servers have a lot of character, often urging you to take more. I'll be honest, it's really hard to say no, so be sure to bring your appetites. It is a bit pricey but when compared to the price of a steak house, its in the same ball park and well worth it. The location is a bit hidden in a out of the way location, but it's a great place to bring friends with big appetites and appreciation for barbeque. The head chef is also the owner, and the pride of ownership really shows. I can’t stop telling my friends about this place. This is truly a hidden gem."
User Rating
9/10
9/10
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DescriptionA seemingly endless stream of meat served on swords arrives at dining tables at Gaucho's. Traditionally Brazilian, several types of meat are served in different cuts and marinades. Customers pay a set price for all-you-can-eat meats.
Location Information100 - 5920 Macleod Trail SW
Calgary
AB
T2H 0K2
