Samba Brazilian Steakhouse Reviews

Had a date night at City Walk and figured my wife and I would have dinner here since there was no wait line. Always was curious about this place. This place definitely caters to tourists. The prices for the all you can eat was just way ridiculous. You're better off ordering a la carte and picking 2-3 meats and a couple of sides. Food was good, but not that great. Service was so-so. We ordered a salad for 2 and the waiter dropped off the salad plate with no individual plates. There was also a small dance routine done by some of girls that work there. Dance was more about showing skin than actually dancing. Had a bit of a sleazy feel to it. Better places to eat at City Walk.

Samba Brazilian Steakhouse serves brazilian churrasco and buffet salad in Universal Citywalk. The choices of meats are quite decent but not as numerous with other Brazilian Steakhouses we've tried in the past such as Carnivore in Singapore or Brasa in Canada. Menu can be found in http://sambabraziliansteakhouse.com/ If you are very hungry, and can eat a lot, and fine with so-so food, this is a good deal for you. The taste were decent, the atmosphere is fine and the servers were quite ok. But nothing out of ordinary. I didn't crave any of their food afterwards but it is not that bad. If I want meat, id probably go to Pampa's Grill in the Grove instead.

I've been here before and it was OK but in this visit a received the worse service. 1) server took 15 min to pick up the dirty plates and 45 sec to give me the bill. 2) Part of the buffet tray took 15 min to be refilled, 3) took 15 min for the next meet to be offered. I complain to to manager because she probably didn't know a about the bad service everyone received today. I hope the manager do something to improve the service because 60 dls per person is expansive for the service we received.

Bad show, even worse food... We had to laugh our time through the whole evening until we finished the dinner and we left the place with complete regret...

We went two couples with a Groupon on a Sunday night to this smallish City Walk restaurant. I would not have paid $50.00 a person for the all you can eat option, and neither should you. It is simply overpriced for the value offered. It is just fine at a discount at around 1/2 off. They do not accept reservations for parties smaller than six. If you are a fan of Fogo de Chao, this is truly a step down. The salad bar is limited, bland, poorly serviced and the taste is just fair. This is not a place to eat the salad bar instead of the meat options. The meat, once serviced, was actually very good. The NY steak, tri tip and garlic steak were excellent, though if you like your meat rare you are likely out of luck. All the meat was between medium rare and medium. Asking for more rare was not helpful. The hostess was incredibly friendly as was the waitress. There were only two people slicing beef, one of whom was incredibly rude and disinterested. Actually nasty. There simply were not enough meat servers, so the wait time in between meat offerings was very long. With an all you can eat option, rushing through the meal is probably not a good idea, but the wait was not acceptable. There are multiple options in City Walk, as well as inside Universal (Three Broomsticks is awesome). i simply think the full price overstates the value, and while the food is good, the overall dining experience left us wishing we had eaten elsewhere.

Enjoyed our visit. Food was good and service was very attentive. Manager came around to see if everything was ok also. Nice to see. Didn't expect entertainment, but 2 beautiful ladies danced while we dined. Fun place.

This is probably not authentic Brazilian food, but I gather that at least the meat is Brazilian? At first glance this is a super-over-prized buffet style place at fifty bucks a head, but my husband and I opted for some a la carte meat with a couple of sides to share, and got good and ample food at a much more reasonable price. Personally I'll recommend the garlic meat, potato mash and stroganoff. Regarding the samba dancing, it was really just rather embarrassing...

We went for lunch and the place was not crowded. The price was $21.00 per person for all you can eat meat and salad bar. The salad bar had some tasty quinoa salads, cucumbers, rice, watermelon with a few strawberries, bow tie pasta salads and a few others. When we arrived, there were no breadsticks... The waiter was kind and knowledgable, but for the most part we had to wait, a lot, before we were fed. In between each selection of meat, we were waiting about 15 minutes. We were hungry and wanted to go to the park, but were stuck in the restaurant waiting for the meat carver. When he did come, we got our small portions, but they repeated after the third piece. Finally, someone from our party spoke up and they did change. We received our food more quickly and thought we would be on our way soon. Unfortunately, their internet went down and they could not take our card, so we had to wait again. I probably would not go there again because it wasn't crowded, which made the wait harder to understand.

We mead a reservation through open table for 7pm but arrived an hour earlier and are glad we did as most very table was fulll by 7pm . Be aware the only real options are the all inclusive salad buffet or the unlimited meat feast with salad bar for $42. We did the meat feast and paced ourselves over 90 mins to enjoy and not feel stuffed. The trip is to use the green / red go /no go signs for the servers to pace yourself after a couple of meat dishes or you become too full too fast. Also you must try the local ciaparenhia cocktails from Brasil . They are authentic and taste great . Service was not super fast but it does give you a chance to digest the food across multiple servings.

Well this place was like a place called gauchos i visited before in my home state, and same concept of churrasco meats on a spit! Love all meats provided and their house specialty is butter soft and prepared with care. There is also an amazing buffet of cold and hot side items too. I went in the early evening and price was $21 for endless eating. Service was great and eager to please patrons. Will eat there again if ever in LA.

My wife and I ate dinner here on January 27, 2020, after our visit to Universal. Delicious. We shared the picanha & fries platter, and the raspberry cheesecake for dessert. She enjoyed her Samba Raspberry cocktail, and my caipirinha was tasty. Our server, Julie B, was nice.

We fell in love with this style of Brazilian food in Brazil, while it is close it is not nearly as good, and neither is their version of the Brazil's national drink, caipirinha. The atmosphere was nice, the food was good and there was an endless supply. I have heard people talk about the dancers - we were there before 8 pm and there was no dancers and it was a Saturday night so it must happen later.

Brazilian BBQ style food is great because you get to try lots of things. I like this style and the flavors. Try a little bit of everything for the best result rather than lots of one thing.

Contrary to other reviewers, service was continuously prompt, with greetings and thank you's, food was pretty good quality, albeit not top notch beef, and they didnt have Filet like last time. But everything else was offered. Other similar style Brazilian Restaurants are a bit better, like in Las Vegas, but it was pretty good!

We tried this on a lark and were pleasantly surprised. While it may be a little pricey, you definitely wont leave hungry.

You go to Samba for meat: quality cuts prepared well. This is precisely what you don't get here. The salad bar was good. But that is not the raison d'etre. Impeccable service by Tiana. The quality was terrible. Lean, tough beef. The pork had no flavor. Their best cut, the New York, was cooked so well done it was like beef super balls. When I asked for the New York again it had not been incinerated, but was still gray and very well done. When I showed the carver all he could reply was that it was still juicy. Not!! How sad is it that the best served meat was turkey wrapped in bacon and the second best was a little chicken drumette. The fish was said to be sole. The soul of the fish had long departed. Crust on the outside with sawdust filler. Disgusting. Stay far away unless you are content to gorge yourself on horribly cooked poor quality foodstuffs.

My kids were amazed that the meat just kept coming and coming. It was all so tasty. This is a very expensive restaurant but totally worth the price.

I am a meat lover. I have been in almost all famous steakhouses around the globe and in all major "Churrascarias" in Brazil. As we are in LA, I can clearly say that this place is just a taste of what a real Brazilian Steakhouse is. If you are a Brazilian and you're far from Brazil it is an option to taste something similar of what you're used to. It's not a Brazilian typical restaurant, it's just an idea of.

Went after a full day at the theme park. Food was good not great. Service though was excellent. If you have ever been to a Brazilian steak house then this place is no surprise but just wasn't anything that stood out.

Please don't be discouraged by some of the reviews on here. We had a Groupon for the all you can eat dinner (included a bottle of wine) with salad bar; after reading some of the reviews, we had doubts... I was here with my friend Jess on Friday night, May 13th. The service was impeccable. Our waiter, Juan, was SUPER nice. He gets an A+ for service and personality! (if you act nice, you'll be treated the same). The food was good... lots of choices of meats to pick from. Overall, we were very impressed with it and the treatment of our waiter, Juan. We even met the manager who was very nice, too.

Having lived in Brazil for 10 years, we were looking forward to having Brazilian food and drinks at Samba. Big mistake! We called ahead to see if we needed to make reservations and were told it wasn't necessary. When we arrived at 6 pm, very few people were seated, although other restaurants we passed by were crowded and busy. That should have been our first clue! Things didn't start out well when one of our party found that his chair was slimey with food from a previous diner. He just changed chairs, but mentioned it to the waitress. She acknowledged it, but we never saw her go over and clean that chair while we were there. Next we ordered caipirinhas, a great Brazilian drink. What arrived looked like a caipirinha, but it tasted more like a watered down (with seltzer water!) limeade. Yeck! We also ordered pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread). The waitress brought that quickly and it was warm and pretty good! It was nice that they allow ala carte ordering and not just the "buffet" type of Brazilian steak meal, which is a lot of food. However, the only food we ordered that came out okay were the French fries. The bacon-wrapped steak arrived with practially raw bacon surrounding the steak. We sent it back. The beans--a mainstay of Brazilian cooking--tasted like they were warmed up from a can. When three waiters brought out our dishes, they forgot to bring plates. So we had to go get some off the cart. We did mention our disappointment to several staff members. They said they were sorry and sauntered off. Needless to say, we won't be back. If you want to get a good Brazilian meal, go to Fogo de Chao. It's expensive, but worth it. The food and drinks are authentic and the service outstanding!

There was only one decent piece of meat; I had to spit out the rest -- chewy, hard, tasteless meat. The salad bar had really nothing decent to offer. After our waitress sat us down, since we were not ordering alcohol, we did not see her for an entire hour. We had to go to the manager in order to pay the check. Do not go here. It is horrible food. The place was empty when we went. Paint is peeling from the walls and there are stains on the seats and small tears.

We visited Samba on recommendation by a friend who knows how much we enjoy other Brazilian steakhouses. This restaurant did not disappoint. The service was very good. The waitress was attentive and the meat server was as well. The meat was very good, but one thing that was missing is that the server never asked our preference of doneness for the meat. It seemed nearly all of the pieces were medium well or in a couple of cases, well done. This wasn't a huge issue for us, but in the case of the well done meats, there was some dryness which did negatively affect the taste for us. Also, the salad bar was very limited. There was actually only 1 type of salad: caesar. You could not add your own dressing, as it was already dressed on the bar, and no additional dressing was available on the bar. There were other, non-salad options available though, so my fiancé and I took advantage of those. Everything we had from the salad bar was very good. Back to the meat: there was a nice variety of meats brought to the table, but not nearly as much as other Brazilian restaurants we've visited. However, this is reflected in the price. This restaurant was cheaper than any other Brazilian steakhouse we've visited, and there are Groupons available to make that price even cheaper. I would definitely recommend Samba to any meat lover.

While sightseeing the local shore cities in LA county, our friends and us (4 people) decided to put our name in the waiting list and experience what others were doing, the place was full. The wait was not for too long, besides with a pager we could wonder around the pier, time went fast. The salad bar had a good selection and the preparation seemed excellent, the flavors were just right for the various vegetables and fruits. The ability to choose what meat cuts to eat, and how much to eat is a great idea, the service was prompt and courteous. The showgirls dancing samba was an excellent entertainment addition.

Two things I never thought I'd see together. Given how much I like veggies, and given how good and flavorful the salads, this place had a real shot at 4-dots or maybe even 5. It's about $20 for an all-you-can-eat salad bar. Meat from the grill is extra - which I'll get to. For the adventuresome who like fresh vegetables and strong flavors, it's a very good salad bar at theme-park prices. Kale, marinated corn, green beams with peppers, tabbouleh salad. Maybe there are a dozen items to choose from. There are even nice bread rolls with cheese inside each one and some meat choices (they called one "stroganoff" although it was like peppers and boiled beef - not creamy noodly stroganoff.) For someone hoping for an Old Town Buffet experience, you'd better just go somewhere else, Now to the meat. Right in the middle of the eating area there is an open slow roaster where they keep spits of beef, sausages, chicken, and marinated fish. Outside of Samba the vented smoke smells very good. Inside of samba, the smell is like the smell of cooking raw beef and fish with a tinge of vinegar from the salads. That's not a bad thing, but it's not a typical touristy City-Walk restaurant experience. The meat portions are big. We ordered beef and fish for about $15 each, but one order would have been enough for 3. So for some salad, beef, and fish, our total per person with a soft drink and tip approached $40. They could get away with Souplantation prices, maybe. Then at some point Samba music began blaring outside, and I could tell there was some commotion out there, somehow. That was fine with me, especially if the commotion stayed outside. No such luck. In came the blaring music and in came live Samba dancers in Samba outfits who danced right in front of the Salad bar. I think it would be better (like some belly-dancer middle-eastern places do) to make it clear when the dancers will be there so patrons can choose to either target or avoid the experience. A real shot at 4 dots - if not for the dancers and the size of the bill.

Hot food is served cold. Fatty and grisly meats that taste like salt. Stale standing foods in the salad bar. Terrible service. Management that is rude. $12 parking. They call two dancers for five minutes a Brazilian Carnival "show". They promise birthday desert but instead make excuses and do not give it to you. Five calls to the owner and I am still waiting for a reply. Samba is the worst of all Brazilian places I have ever been.

Our daughter wanted to stay in the park longer so we decided to go just outside and have a nice dinner. We had gracious service but the food just wasn't good. They also didn't seem to have enough staff bringing around the meats. I would not recommend this restaurant with so many better options everywhere around it.

Pricey for a large family but if you like meats, all sorts of BBQ and other types of meat, this is the place to go. Waited with skewers of tasty meats walk around and serve you at your table. My son and I were pretty stuffed by the time we had try them all.

A delightful Brazilian experience with delicious food, drinks, and dancers! This restaurant is in busy Universal City Walk. Reservations are definitely suggested but they will welcome walk ins. Be prepared to wait with no reservation. There is a bar and outside seating. The center of the restaurant has the all you can eat side dish and salad bar. Once seated, there are several servers who come around the tables to offer several different types of cooked skewered meat. Another all you can eat addition and cooked to perfection! Fantastic beautiful dancers come through the restaurant at different times to entertain you while you eat. Just a taste of Rio during Carnival! A must try!

nie place to have a good meal when your really hungry. you can eat all the meat you can get for a fair price. samba dansers bring a good vibe through the restaurant , and friendly staff bring you the nice baked meat .

After trying several Brazilian churrascaria style steakhouses around the country, we thought we would visit Samba. We were seated quickly (it was a Wednesday night and we had no reservation), the service was excellent. Our waiter was attentive, but not annoying. The food servers came by often with different cuts of meat, all delicious. The salad bar is very good, the black beans and mashed potatoes especially. However, although promised by the menu, there were no grilled vegetables available and the fish was never offered. Finally, one of our favorites, the grilled pineapple, is not offered on the dinner menu at Samba. To get your money's worth, go there hungry.

I had never experienced a Brazilian steakhouse until a friend brought me to this one. We came during lunch and it was excellent. The meats were flavorful and the service was attentive. The cold and hot side dishes were also very good, including the mashed potatoes and excellent cheesy bread. Wonderful. I highly recommend.

The staff is generally nice. The salad buffet was skimpy, but the selection of meats varied and plentiful. The samba dancers were super cute. Its located inside the universal city walk, so make sure you have reservations for peak times. You need to pay for parking at night [$10]. If we are in the area and crave AYCE meat, we may return.

We purchased a Groupon offer and made the reservation for a Saturday evening before a Christmas show at the Gibson Amphitheatre. I was not sure what to expect and we had a party of 5 (4 hungry males)! Immediately, the hostess had our table ready and our waiter explained how the restaurant operated. Food comes by on big skewers from steak, ribs, chicken, pork etc. As soon as we got comfortable, the food came and kept coming. The boys were so excited and everything was delicious! Anytime we were looking for seconds, they immediately brought that meat over to the table. The rolls and salad bar were great additions. We were so impressed by their prompt and friendly service and overall the food was very tasty and delicious. Some meats we enjoyed more than others ie the pork tenderloin, the steak and the specialty meat (can't remember what its called). Very happy and would love to come back!

I bumped into this place by chance while I was looking for a place to eat drink and rest for awhile . I stepped in around 3:15 pm and the lady who was supposed to welcome customers gave me the menu . I immediately noticed that the price after 3 pm doubled from 21 Dollars to 42 Dollars . I decided to stay anyway because I was starving . Well the food is not worthy for the price you pay .I suggest to find more restaurants in the surroundings . Around there you have a lot of choices . And I add that the staff was pretty rude .

Warning do not go here! Extremely over price for what you get! You can go to a very nice steakhouse for half the price!

Went to Samba Brazilian steakhouse with family and friends last week. What a huge disappointment! I was expecting an experience like Fogo de Chao, but it was terrible. The meats were cold and totally flavorless. The servers were obviously not trained to cut the meats like a real Brazilian steakhouse does. The pieces of meat were cut too thick. I wish I had looked at the reviews before paying $60 per person for such an awful experience. The staff was very nice and friendly, but unfortunately, the food was a huge disappointment...

My wife and I got a Groupon ticket from our daughter for this restaurant and we were really disappointed with the whole experience. Man, even with the Groupon discount this brunch is not worth going; we have had better food for the same money. The only Brazilian thing about this restaurant is the name; there is no real Brazilian stuff here, not even black beans, and food in general is awful. Most meats are seasoned but way overcooked (very dry) and side entrees are comparable to a low quality Chinese or Mexican buffet, really bad. Building is falling apart, carpets are filthy, dining tables and chairs are very old and appear to have been repainted a million times; there are no Brazilian decorations anywhere, not even a picture of Brazil or a Brazilian girl. I saw holes on walls and tissue papers on the floor. Service is very poor and many times we had to wait for long periods of time to get a paper thin piece of meat. There are better churrascarias in Los Angeles; do not waste your money in this want-to-be one. And if you want real good meat go to the Brazilian churrascaria in Tijuana; great buffet for $25 bucks. To the owners: Please close doors, remodel and get some real Brazilian food. Your Brunch is not worth $45 dollars; no way.

We bought a groupon voucher for two people before so the food was nearly half the price, for somewhere like city walk with unlimited buffet and meat was great value. Also advise to go early if possible as the service is much nicer as it is quieter. The meat topping is always on top and salad taste great! Better than most of the Brazilian steakhouse.

We never been here before and our experience was very good, the servers were constantly stopping by our table, the meat was freshly cooked and warm. The atmosphere was nice with the background music at the correct level. Our only complaint was that the front door was left open making us feel the cold draft at the table where we were sitting.

The dancers were first class, the food was what you would expect but the service was lacking. This is due to the fact that there were 4 huge parties there that night and no where near enough staff. I would check to make sure they do not have any huge parties before visiting!

We had a great time at Samba....the food just keeps coming! The dancers were a surprise and fun! The salad bar has plenty to choose from. We didn't get to try all the meat they had to offer, we were so full! The wait staff was great too!

A man's paradise! unlimited delicious, delectable, scrumptuous meats, and not to mention the lovely samba dancers! I could live here!!!!!1

The service was poor. We were told we would have to wait 30 mins for a table and it was over an hour. The staff at the front were very rude when we asked when our table would be ready. After we finally got to our table, we were waiting over 30 mins for the servers to give us our meat. After waiting this long, we realized they never gave us the green/red piece as well as utensils for the meat. Even when we finally had all of our stuff, the meat servers came very infrequently. The only reason I didn't give this place 1 star was because the food was decent.

Let me begin with the fact that I made a reservation asking to be seated in the balcony, but they took us to a corner. The server was taking too long to come and give us the menu ( more than 10 minutes and the restaurant was not busy ) So, we started with the brunch and that`s when he showed up offering us something to drink. The Gaucho Feast is $45 and it says it includes fish but we never got a little piece of it. Instead, we got 2 thin slices of roasted beef, a small piece of chicken breast and lots of pork sausages. To be honest with you, this place is probably worth paying half $22. Yes, it is located in the nice Universal City Walk. Yes, it is called a Brazilian Steakhouse "Samba", but there is nothing compared to the real Brazilian Churrasquerias. My advice is for you to check other restaurants in the area, I bet you will get a better value for your money. And if you want to try a real Brazilian Steakhouse, go somewhere else. Samba is an American version of a Brazilian steakhouse.

Salad bar was horrible! Very few choices and those offered were not very good. No "dinner rolls' and no grilled pineapple!!! The meat was very good but for $50 a plate we expected a lot more. Not a good choice for a Brazilian style grill.

if you love meat must go. salad buffet ok, not too much selection. too loud. great for youngsters, group. a bit too expensive for me.

Ate here with family and friends on Christmas Eve, was alot of food and alot of fun. I enjoyed everything except for the Fillet Mignon, but it was worth the almost $60 per person we paid. Not cheap, but was fun for a vacation /special occasion. Bring an appetite.

I went with some friends to this great restaurant where we had a blast, great, tasty food and a lot of fun. The only one thing I didnt like, we waited a lot just to be seated (around an hour), we didnt have any reservation though, however it worth. I suggest you to be seated outside in the balcony since you can enjoy your meal at the same time you can look at people passing by and the great environment.

I had an excellent dinner after a lazy happy hour afternoon on their patio. It's nice to people watch at Citywalk. Afterwards, proceeded to enjoy a long dinner, followed by some very energetic Sambarinas performing for the restaurant. (Loved the salad bar and the brazilian cheese bread. Had to remember to save space for the very delicious lamb) A very cool experience and worth the money. I would definitely go for a party, the dancers are a nice send off after dessert!

My husband, son and I enjoyed a great dinner here on March 2. We had the all you can eat buffet and thoroughly enjoyed the meat selection. The salad bar was good, I particularly liked the feiojada, calamari and crab salads, mashed potatoes and mushrooms. My picky son had a hard time finding something to eat in the salad bar but he more than made up for it with the rodizio options. Service was great, everyone was very nice and we even caught a little Samba show!

We were at the Universal City California Samba we were disappointed. The beef was chewy not tender as you would expect at a Brazilian steak place. I ordered the Brazilian bread and in all fairness the waitress did describe it to me exactly how it was and I made the decision to order it anyway. She was wonderful enough to bring us garlic bread with chimichurri which she had initially suggested I get. We did not come to the restaurant for entertainment but that was also mediocre.

Decided to give this place a shot, didn’t know anything about it but said why not. The service was great and very nice multiple people had came up and made sure we were ok. The setting was nice and they have a bubba hump style service with a little wooden “thing”, if you needed more me flip it to green if not leave it on red. That brings me to the food and the meat, there’s tons of it and a variety and it was amazing and just kept coming. They have a buffet for salads and small sides as well. Overall this place was pretty awesome.

If you have never been you should try this. Went with friends and we had a great time. Way to much food but it was great quality.. The staff were amazing and I completely enjoyed the experience.

We went to Samba for the first time last night and were so impressed by the excellent service by our waiter, Chris. He could not have been more attentive. The guys who came around with a wide variety of meats and fish were also very nice and made for a fun experience. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed by most of the meat they served. We found a lot of it to be overcooked, tough and even the rarest slices were dry and often overly salty. However, their specialty meat Piccanha was amazing, as was the chicken breast wrapped in bacon. If I had made my meal out of just those two offerings, it would have been perfect! Their salad bar is huge and delectable, with a wide variety of salads and salad toppings. As far as drinks go, three of us tried the Caipirinhas, which is the national drink of Brazil. One of our friends had the pineapple one and it was pretty good - tasted more like a Mojito. The other two of us had the Mixed Berry and Mango ones, and didn't care for them. I don't think they were badly made - it's just a personal preference thing. The desserts were VERY good! We had the apple cinnamon tart, the chocolate peanut butter tart and the tiramisu. Yum!! The Samba dancers who came out a couple of times during the meal were really fun! They just dance in between the tables as there is no actual stage, but they were beautiful and talented. After they put on a short show, they invited guests to come up and dance with them and to do a conga line. It was really fun! Price-wise, with drinks, dinner and dessert, the cost came to $60pp. So overall the experience was wonderful, and I give it an "average" rating only because we found the meat and drinks to be not quite to our liking, but if you stick to a couple of really good offerings, the great salad bar and those incredible desserts, you will have a fabulous time!

Fast and tasty food and very good entertainment. 5 persons dinner at 100 USD is fine and they did fill our sodas up fast all in all a good place to eat

Though there is no entertainment during the churrascaria lunch, you still experience great service, choices of meat and a buffet filled with gourmet salads, seafood and Brazilian side dishes. Citywalk offers an array of restaurants, however in my opinion Samba is the best choice to dine.

WOW! We had never been to a place like this before. An array of different meats and salads. Turn your paddle to green and they would bring different meat, chicken, sausages to your table and serve you. Most of the meat was very tasty there was 1 we weren't all that keen on. They have Brazilian dancers that come out every now and then. The gorgeous little Blonde one took our 3 year old for a dance which was awesome to see. Great service would definitely recommend

Samba....what happened? You used to be an elite Brazilian Churrascaria, but on our recent visit I was very disappointed. On Saturday December 29, 2018, my girlfriend, myself and our two close friends, who just flew in from Chicago, decided to spend my birthday dinner at Samba. We made reservations for 7:00 and arrived on time. We appreciated that our table was ready when we arrived and the welcoming staff was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was vibrant, the dancers entertaining, and the restaurant was clean. Our waiter Francisco introduced himself to us and seemed friendly and knowledgeable as well. We ordered, and greatly appreciated, the free bottle of champagne for my birthday. My girlfriend and our two friends ordered the Steak and fries and I ordered the buffet. My fiends enjoyed their meals immensely and I tried their Steak, which was great, and their fries which were really quite wonderful. Unfortunately I can't same the same for the buffet. While the salad buffet itself was fine,I cannot say the same for the waiters who were supposed to come by our table regularly. During the 1 1/2 hour course of my meal, our table was only visited five times by the waiters carrying the meats! Two had steak options, two had sausage options and one had pineapple. I had to ask the staff, multiple times, if they are going to bring around the fish, chicken and rib options. I was told "No problem." Long story short, they never showed up at our table and my girlfriend and our friends even had to ask on my behalf. Over an hour into our dinner our waiter had to track down the "fish" guy who gave him an argument before finally, and reluctantly, coming over to our table along with the "chicken" guy...and unfortunately the chicken leg was pink and undercooked on the inside. I finally gave up on dinner and we agreed to order dessert. We ordered two desserts, the chocolate cake and the cheesecake. They took well over 30 minutes to arrive and Francisco sincerely apologized for the delay by including an extra dessert cheesecake. The desserts were delicious, and we really appreciated that Francisco tried to make the best out of a difficult service, however I have to say that I was quite disappointed with my experience. I have been to Samba before in the past and always had a great meal, which is why I chose to go here for my birthday. This time I felt the experience was lacking. Considering the price I paid for the buffet, I was quite disappointed. We have a multitude of restaurant choices in LA, and at Citywalk, I am not sure if and when I will come back considering other Brazilian restaurants offer a better experience.

I love Brazillian food, but it took so long for service, way too much red meat, not enough chicken so for me it wasn't a good choice , but my friends really liked the food, salad was good, so is the bread

The trip to this restaurant is only worth if you have a Groupon. Otherwise it's not worth the full price. The level and quality of meat isn't as good as Fogo de Chao, for instance. This place is for tourist crowd and obviously they don't try hard to get you the best pieces of meat as other Brazilian steakhouses strive to. Gauchos were rather slow. There were only 4 or 5 types of meat.

We went before lunch so the place was empty. Which could be a great thing because we didn't have to wait long. My husband had the unlimited meat but I decided on the salad bar. The salad bar could use some fruit and regular salad but besides that everything was fine.

I enjoy Brazilian Churrascaria restaurants and have visited many on many continents. The point is the meat, so the meat better be good. Unfortunately, here it was not. To be fair, we were here on a slow Monday night, but we were charged full price for poor quality meats and light selection. The filet was just terrible quality. The chicken was dark meat drumsticks that tasted old. One bite and wanted no more of that. The top sirloin was the only cut that was somewhat good, but I would not rate it stellar. The buffet portion was passable, but not extraordinary. The bottle of wine was good and reasonably priced. It is a pity that it was not better as I have a season pass to Universal now and would have likely come in regularly.

Very disappointed. The cold bar salad was extremely bland. The Hot bar had 5 items.. The mash potatoes was soup, (no it was not supposed to be potato soup). Rice was very plain. The meat was okay. New York strip and the Brazilian meat where the best. The fish was not good at all. Sausage was good . Never tasted the chicken cause they never brought it around.. Only 2 guys were serving meat. It took a very long time for meat. I have been to a few different one of these kinds restaurant. This place is not worth the money.. Pick a different place.

First time at a Brazilian Steakhouse and it was so much fun! The buffet of side dishes was so yummy, especially the potatoes & the chicken salad! They came around often with various types of meats to try. I kind of wish I knew ahead of time what types were coming out so that I knew whether to wait on something different or not because by the time they came around with some other stuff I hadn't tried yet, I was too full to try them. About halfway through our meal, the Vegas Showgirl type dancers (3 or 4 of them) came out and did a dance and then tried to get some of the customers to dance with them. That was very entertaining! I would definitely go back again.

Recently decided to eat here as I've eaten at several Brazilian Steakhouses worldwide. Found the meat to be bland, and without seasoning. I did like the chicken breast! The variety is ridiculously awesome, and the sangria is lush! The bar area has a happy hour with good drink specials. The salad bar didn't quite excite me, but most don't. I doubt I will come back for the food, but I will be back for drinks. Special Shout to my server Tijana, she was a joy! The guys bringing the meats were well nice.

This is the first review where I have nothing positive to say :( The food was literally uneatable; I had the chicken appetizer my friend had the steak appetizer. The chicken was nothing but tendons, I had to expurgate the two pieces of chicken after that I did not bother to try eating any more. My friend's steak was just as bad. The service was atrocious. Our bar tender/server Graham could not have been ruder; we were a nuisance to him. Please save yourself money and indigestion and don't bother eating here. Maybe the buffet...but after the food I was served I'd be afraid to try it

They have a nice salads bar with a variety of options and the waiters come with meat on the skewers and they cut the slices for you and ask if you want to try other types of cooked meat. This was an interesting and different way of being served but it also got a bit annoying when we kept on being interrupted by the waiter asking if we want to try more meats.

The steakhouse was good a little on the high end of price maybe they justify it with a small show but in my opinion we would not repeat.Food was average and not worthy of dropping a couple hundred bucks on dinner and drinks.I would not even think about returning to that place when I come back to Cali.

My server was very attentive, but slow. The meat came even at a slower rate and they kept sending the same cheap stuff - sausage or chicken legs. Being a Brazilian myself, I asked for “vinagrete” which the waiter promptly brought me vinegar. After I explained what I wanted, he said they only had chimichurri which is Argentinian. There was not even one single Brazilian working in there. The salad bar was below average and there were no Brazilian appetizers except for the pão de queijo. And to top to insult, we paid $25 for parking. For that price, go to Fogo de Chão in Beverly Hills or Downtown LA. The only reason I say average is because I had a Groupon, otherwise I would have been fuming about it. Don’t waste your money. Expensive and not what it’s supposed to be. Tourist trap.

I thought the variety of meat available was good. Also had chicken, pork, and lamb. The night we had dinner, everything was good, except the lamb, which was gamey. The reason I rated Samba's as good instead of excellent was, not the meat, but the "salad bar." It could be better.

Bought the Groupon. This is a decent Brazilian steakhouse, but there are so many that do it better. There was nothing bad about the meal, but (with the groupon) we got what we paid for.

We were with friend walking around Universal and saw the sign. One of our group suggested it as we had all been to a Texas de Brazil in Palm Beach, FL earlier in the year. We were seated outside , the tables were so close together , you could barely move and the table top were so flimsy that you could not set a wine glass without it sliding. The salad bar was mediocre at best!! Very limited and not the least bit appealing for $20. If you wanted the meat, which 2 of us did, the price was $50.. The service was terrible, slow and the meat very low quality and pretty tasteless. I spoke to a manager, as our waitress seemed to disappear, and the servers did show up a bit more frequently, but still a total disaster. DO NOT go to this place!

Excellent meat .. not many salads compared to others I've been to we were a rather large group so maybe that was the difference

The choices were ok and the staff were nice but it was almost a bother to service you sometimes. The salads and amenities were not the best. I have been to several Brazilian Steakhouses and I don’t think I will be back to this one.

Had experience my first Brazillian Steak House in South Carolina and LOVED it! This one paled in comparison but was still a great and fun experience for my kids who LOVE meat! Lunch is the ticket as it is half price of dinner time, but we didn't realize there was Sunday Brunch (full price, of course)! Also, the kids started ordering drinks that we thought were included with the Brunch as Champagne, Mimosa's, and Sangria's were all included in the Brunch price, but only fountain drinks are included...not a Shirley Temple, for example (that grenadine must be VERY pricey in LA) and not the Samba Lemonades even if they were virgin they were still $10!!! CRAZY! We realized before we accepted the drinks, thankfully! The "Gaucho's" who serve up the meat were fun and friendly.

My lady and I went here for dinner one night. We enjoyed the experience. The food was mostly good. All of the meats that came to our table were good, but I think the best cut that came our way was the Tri-tip, it was awesome! They even put on a little show with two beautiful dancers. I think it was a little on the expensive side. $38 for the all you can eat, most nice high quality buffets with prime rib and crab legs are cheaper. Our waitress was very nice and helpful, but she seemed to be the only one working for the entire restaurant, so we did not see her as much as we would have liked (by no means her fault). The menu also said the all you can eat portion included seafood items, however non came our way. All in all it was an enjoyable and delicious experience.

Just went there last night for my birthday, terrible service, first went to the salad bar and got the caesar and there was no dressing on it,so i asked for dressing and they told me it was upstairs, but there was no upstairs , then they had little balls of cheese bread, so i asked if they had any other bread and they said no,so at the end of our meal they came by the table with garlic toast,( YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME) so basically everyone that works there has no idea what they're doing,i will never go back,good luck, they won't last long

I was hungry and a "all-you-can-eat" restaurant was the logic choice... Wrong choice in this one: Price: $48 each person is no cheap but I said to me: Why not? Probably good meat could make me forget... Quality: Meat was super market standard quality, not soft, just normal, only one swing was good but it never came back. They served the worst chicken legs I've tried. Service: This critic is not for the guys who served but for restaurant serving policy, they drop two small pieces of meat in your plate and then 10-12 minutes later they come with another two mini-pieces! At the end in one hour you just eat less than 300g of meat!. Summary: Skip this restaurant

We took a break in the day from universal studios to have lunch. For a heavy meal, it's better to come early and then walk and digest. Believe me, you get a heavy meal! I had 4 kinds of meat: pepper steak, tri tip, NY steak, swordfish, and chicken wing. The salad and hot food bar is also plentiful, with mashed potatoes, potato salad, veggies and beans with rice. All delicious. Even if you opt for meatless you will have plenty to eat and some meat in the hot bar's stroganoff or beans.

The restaurant is very modern looking and has a very polite friendly staff. You begin with a salad bar that has interesting selections, and for someone who loves vegetables it was delicious. They also had meat and seafood at he salad bar. They start coming around with meats and don't stop until your card is flipped to red. The meats are full of flavor and tender. The servers constantly come by with skewers of meat to serve. The servers are friendly and polite. A great experience!!

It was my first time in this kind of buffet and it was absolutely something to try. they had some all you can eat salad bar and rice and stew but the meat served as it was cooked freshly in front of us. and they had so many types of beef and different kind of meat like chicken, lamb,pork and fish. True that we had to pause and wait for the new meat to arrive and if you didn't want that type of meat, your wait would be longer but you did have a chance to sample so many different cuts of beef and different type of other meats. the wait was also causing us to feel full but they had dances and made people to participate in dances and they offered free photography. In General it was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it a lot and will try to take rest of my family with me.

We went to try this place out because for the first time since all the trips we've made to Universal. The waiter was nice, service was fast but, the food on the warm side. Sadly too many flies in the restaurant. We checked to see if they had any kind of fly removal system, nothing. A young man, with a British or Irish accent, took a picture of us but wasn't very polite trying to almost force us to buy all the pictures. We only liked two that we bought. The Universal site stated you would get a 10% discount when presenting your year pass for this restaurant. We asked the waiter said he didn't have a clue. When husband showed him his cell with the webpage he left, then returned taking the 10 % off.

So, I took my friend who traveled internationally to Universal Studios, and by the look of this restaurant's website, it looked fun, so I gave it a shot. Service was fine, not that great, but not that bad... it was everything else. On the website, it appear as though the inside of the restaurant is rather intimate looking, food appears a lot more appealing. I walked in, this was around 7 pm, the restaurant was very empty. The option for food is either $50-60 (can't remember exact price) buffet or order whatever entree individually with steep price, so we did the buffet. I'm not that knowledgeable on Brazilian cuisine, but I'm pretty certain, there's more to be offered than what I saw. The salad bar-ish situation was mainly tomatoes and olive with other ingredients, soup was unmarked and looked slightly questionable. Meat that came around was nothing special, it's the typical lower end kind of meat, like flank, chicken breast, etc. In my opinion, meats were over done and dry. I was actually looking forward to the Samba dancers. There were 3..... just 3. There was no sense of party whatsoever, which is funny because isn't the whole carnival thing supposed to be lively? I was actually kinda let down overall. All I can tell you definitely, is that the buffet is absolutely not worth the price tag. None, whatsoever. I'm 99% sure that I won't return here. There's much better option in the city walk.

We went after going to the one located in redondo beach. Actually, here was the same system and we paid for a groupon (less than 40 dollars for 2 - rodizio and salad bar). The food was cold because they have a balcony and the servers go from inside to outside all the time. Also was not tasty as the meat that they serve in the other restaurant in Redondo. If i decide to go again, i will go to Redondo. I do not recommend going to Universal City.

We were a party of three and the place was not busy at all, I would say no more then 25 people in the entire restaurant. While we were seated fast the service was slow, almost 7 minutes for a waiter to come and then 10 minutes for the drinks to come, unacceptable when the place is dead. We opted to take the All you Can Eat Meat, Salad and Hot Bar for $49. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY! The buffet bar was pitiful, some basic salads, some mashed potatoes, carrots, and few other things that weren't worth my time. Smallest hot table and salad bar I've seen EVER! The dessert table comprised of a tray of basic goods, that's right a tray...The only saving grace for the place was the meat itself. It was actually served fast, hot and the selections were plentiful and very tasty. Overall we felt completely ripped off at $49 a person and I know there has to be better Churrasco in LA.

The pork ribs were very good but I had to wait 15 minutes before they brought out some more. And then they asked us if we were finished so they can seat another party. There was some live entertainment by 3 samba dancers that livened up the atmosphere. The service was so-so but the food was worth going there for.

It offers great food. It's not top notch but above average. The beef was great. And the best was the spicy beef. The grilled fish was great too The dancer was excellent and entertaining. Pricing is actually good with what it offers. The waiter could be better. We were missing silverware and had to ask for water refill

Disappointing is an understatement. On arrival we received a warm welcome and shown to our table. Our host explained how it all worked took our drink order. We then sat there for 20 minutes waiting for the meat to arrive. Servers went to the the table in front of us, next to us and kept missing us. When our host asked how things were going I mentioned we had salad but no meat, she apologised and said the servers take a break during the show (which was 30 minutes after we got there.) When the meat started to arrive we we offered the same types of meat over and over. Really not what I expected. To add insult to injury this meal (for 2 adults and 2 kids) plus a pepsi came to an eye watering $198 USD (with a tip of over $25) - which comes to approx $275 AUD. This place is not worth anything near that. Save your money and go elsewhere.

Got a Groupon - 2 for 1, with this it is overpriced! Definitely treated differently to other diners who maybe didnt have this deal. Initially given a menu of meats/choices but this was taken from us and we were told you didnt get this with a Groupon deal. Service was slow, selection of salads were old and uninspiring. Asked for a drinks menu, none available, dont like places were you cant see prices before ordering. There were 3 of us, 2 used the Groupon deal, and a further paid separately, but were charged taxes on 3 full priced meals. No atmosphere, only 4 other tables in use and other restaurants nearby were very busy - says it all! Wouldn't recommend. Wont be back. Avoid!

My partner has been to one of the famous Brazilian steakhouses in Dallas, so I wanted to give this one a try after her raved about the experience. The wine was painfully average, and of all the food, the mashed potatoes were the best part (not a good thing in a steakhouse). Meats were cooked without exception to well done. Most items were extremely salty but lacking other flavors- the sausage was practically inedible due to saltiness. Plus, the cuts of steak were quite chewy. The service was decent but not great. According to my partner, this chain is a pale imitation of a real Brazilian steakhouse.

If you like tender meats served directly to you, Samba is your place..With a variety of meats to try and accompanying appetizers,it makes for a very filling meal. We visited in the evening after visiting Universal n I don't regret it..We sat outside as the weather was cool and tucked into our meals..Nicely done except for a few pieces which are alittle red..Oh it I forget, you hve entertainment as well..Hd way to round off the day..

Went there with my 2 teenaged boys. Great service and even better food. It was like a competition for my two boys and the food was incredible. You definitely do not leave hungry! I would definitely go back again.

We received a groupon gift voucher to eat at Samba's. It was Friday at 5 and the place was nearly empty. Made us wonder. I ordered the special Brazilian rum drink, strawberry basil. It was super yummy. My husband ordered a wine, they were out. He oredered again. they were out. Finally he found a wine they had. The salad bar is very good with a decent number of selections. My favorite was the kale salad.. The meat was tasty especially the Brazilian specialty cut (?). The lamb and lime steak was also very good. The filet mignon was so dry we couldn't eat it. We were a little disappointed because we were the first table to be served each time they brought out the meat so I got the outside each time. Our server, Francisco, was fantastic. Always ready to help and was also so cheerful. He gave my husband a free dessert for his birthday. I would probably return if I used a groupon voucher but I would not pay full price.

Loved the variety! Food was tastey with a great variety and selection. It was not cheap but worth the price!

We ate here Sunday, December 21st @ 4:30 pm First I'm going to say we used a Groupon... so instead of $42 per person, we paid $22.50 per person, which was still too much to pay. The service was LOUSY, 2 waitresses (one her first day) for the entire restaurant.... It took forever to get my glass of wine, and the second glass of wine, I had to go to the bar and get myself. Not Acceptable. We were never asked if we wanted dessert (which was extra, as were the drinks)! In comparison to the two other Brazilian steakhouses I eat at; the salad bar was limited... The carrots were delicious, however the hardboiled eggs were whole (ugh) and the Caesar Salad was nothing except iceberg lettuce cut into pieces (no dressing, croutons, cheese). The "sides"? Two sides: white rice or "Gaucho" rice (colored rice w/ bits of leftover meat).... No vegetables, no beans..... ONLY Rice! The meat was good, the "gauchos" were attentive. The fish was mealy & smelled, so we know it was not fresh. The chicken "Breast" was LEG, I'm not so stupid that I do not know the difference between a breast & a leg... So, Do Not Lie! The Bathroom.... Paper overflowing from the trash bin to the floor.... No toilet paper in the stalls...... This place is not worth even the discounted price we paid..... The staff is too young and although they try their best, it isn't the standard of service one expects for such a highly overpriced dinner. NO, We Are NEVER Going Back!

I went last week with a groupon (35 dollars for 2). The service was good and helpful, we asked for more picanha and they came immediately with that type of steak. I tried almost all the types and the picanha was the best, some types were salty and no so tasty. You can also enjoy a brasilean show. I recommend to buy a groupon, it is still available for redondos beach spot.

Samba was very nice, good atmosphere and great food. Go Hungry theres lots to eat. Check out Groupon for two for one coupons. Entertain was very good. The Dalys from Toronto Canada

The meats were all super high quality. The sides were good, but lacking. And I really missed the pineapple desserts that I have had at other Brazilian Grills.

The food was average, but the music was so loud during the dance times that we opted to sit outside.

I've been here an couple of times and I have to say I don't think I'll be back. I've been to better Brazilian style restaurants with a lot more choices on the sides. They have a few selections of veggies and some bread decent but not much choice the meat is just ok I like the chicken and sausage it was well seasoned but I don't care for any of the beef ad that's bad for a steakhouse I love the samba dancers that's always fun but the service is atrocious the first time we came it was thanksgiving and dead so the service was ok but this time it took forever to get refills it took forever to get the meat they were supposed to be circling with and when the bill came because we had a coupon the waiter began to explain to me how to tip and how much of a tip I should give him. I took math idiot and a tip is optional so if you want a good one be available to me fill my glass ask me if I need something once in a blue moon. Don't wait til I have to flag you down and then tell me how much my tip is going to be. I think I can figure it out on my own. Ok that being said the food was ok but not worth 38 dollars each and not worth the pain of having to wave people down to get anything.

Samba is good but not great. I went here because I found a Groupon for 35% off. I’ve been to several different Brazilian BBQ’s in the past. Samba uses cheaper cuts of meat. While other Brazilian BBQ’s serve you bacon wrapped beef tenderloin, lamb chops, & halibut, Samba substitutes those cuts with bacon wrapped turkey, leg of lamb, & Swai fish which is a very cheap disgusting farmed raised fish from SE Asia! It was worth the $69 Groupon price but I would never pay the full $100+ for two to dine here! The salad bar was good and well stocked and The giant prawn shrimp gumbo was excellent. With the good also comes the bad. The salad bar was lacking in the selections and the lamb was extremely over cooked almost to the point of being burnt! The night we were there they also didn’t serve any type of sausage! The one thing I really like that they didn’t also have was the grilled pineapple at the end of the meal.

Good food, great service, and the food just keeps on coming until you are about to burst. Make sure you stop them from coming before you're full.

$2 beers & $5 Mexican cocktails until 7pm make this attractive, but it's backed up by quality. The cocktails are really tasty & not too strong. We had some appetizers which turned out to be huge! The beef & chicken skewers were juicy & delicious & came with a great selection if dips. The location isn't great, it's next to a lot of noisy attractions.

It was just OKAY because of the service. The food was yummy. Our waiter was awful. We asked him if they served beer. he said no, so we ordered soda. In about 5 minutes, we noticed the table next to us drinking a Brazilian beer. Then another table, drinking a corona. We spoke to a manager and got that situated. Then when we were done eating our first late and got up to get another plate and asked our waiter to have the plates removed, he acted like it wasn't his job. Granted, they do have bussers, but just say okay and get your busser! My father was visiting from Boston, and he was not happy.

Enjoyed this place for both the food and entertainment. Don't fill up too much at the salad bar because there is plenty of meats to enjoy.

The meat is really good (and plenty), however the salad and sides bar is not overly convincing... The samba show was nice and bravely executed, in the absurd plastic world of the universal studios showwalk this place fits in perfectly...

What a crappy place!! So over the top expensive it's insulting!! $45.00 plus an 18% gratuity auto on top! They are so slow at bringing meat around it's pathetic!! Waited over an hour in our reservations too!! Wouldn't split the bills for the group either until we had to raise hell about it! The price tag was $1200.00!!!! How the hell do you expect just one person to pay all that!? We told you it was a group of us traveling and then you pull the "we can't take a card" bullcrap!! NEVER EAT HERE!!

DO NOT EAT AT SAMBA's! They refused to seat our party of 4 anywhere near our other friends (who were a party of 4 on a groupon) because we didn't want to pay 18% gratuity on a $50 self-service breakfast buffet. I told them we could wait to ensure a fair rotation for the servers - they said NO. I asked to speak to the manager and a waitress came out and said there was no manager there. She also refused to give me her name when i asked. Please go to Greenfield's or Silvio's if you want Brazilian BBQ they are both $15 cheaper and they know how to treat ppl

My son and I visited Samba after a long day at Universal Studios Hollwood (it's in the City Walk just outside the gates). The food is good and the value is what I expect from a restaurant in a tourist location such as this. This is an all you can eat Brazilian Steakhouse and their meat vendors are not stingy and will continue to fill your plate faster than you can eat. I would recommend this for meat lovers!

They have an open buffet for salad and soup buffet. Waiters come around with different cuts of beef, lamp, chicken and fish. The best cut they have is the Picanha (sirloin cap) On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays they have a 10 mins dancing show every hour or so among the dinning hall. The meat is delicious and the overall atmosphere is good. A little bit pricey though, but I can see people on the internet speaking about available coupons that makes it reasonable. Will look for that next time I go there.

Had lunch here after spending morning at Universal. Was fairly quiet, which was great. Lunch is half price of dinner so we were worried choice and service may suffer, but we were extremely happy with experience. Were told lunch was same as dinner minus lamb and ribs, which was no problem as we had at least 7 other choices. Salad bar had great selection - whipped potatoes were fantastic. Quality and taste of meat was fantastic, although got the impression that once you'd had each type of meat once, server was well versed to stay away unless called over. This was no problem as meat was very filling and server was more than happy to get seconds of a particular steak that my son loved. I've been to other Brazilian steakhouses in USA and found Samba to be far less formal and more enjoyable than others. Would definitely recommend, especially for lunch.

Worst experience ever. They lured me into coming stating they would honor a promotion then charged full price for sub par food. There's a reason they're discounting. Empty restaurant with horrible food.

This is the first time I have dined at a Brazilian Steakhouse and I was not disappointed. Samba is located on the far east end of Universal Citywalk and you can smell the restaurant and it's smoky goodness minutes before you even get there. The place is not cheap, noting the usual price of $39.00 per person for unlimited various meats and a large salad bar (drinks, dessert are extra). Usually, this would be out of my price range except for special occasions, but I was able to score a Groupon on-line for a Saturday evening meal for two for $42.00. What an awesome deal it turned out to be. We feasted on various cuts of beef, bacon-wrapped chicken, Brazilian sausages, fish, pork, and lamb for close to two hours. The salad bar and its many selections made this a feast that won't soon be forgotten. All you do is turn your marker on your table to green and the waiters/servers will stop by with large skewers of various meats/fish on a rotating basis. Turn it to red to take a break. It was quite the experience. This place comes highly recommended!

Me and my friend had a such great experience here. We're very well treated by everyone. Don't forget to ask for FAROFA to them, it's really good. Loved all the steak options, specially the Picanha. And for drinks, don't miss the opportunity to taste Blueberry caipirinha.

I've gone to a few other Brazilian-style steakhouses (I believe the correct term is "churrascaria"), where they cook the meat on long skewers and bring the whole thing right to your table, skewer and all, and slice pieces onto your plate until you ask them to stop. Samba is the best one I have gone to, so far. The meat was plentiful, the waiters who brought them to your table were attentive and refined. They even accommodated requests for specific parts that various members of our party wanted - some liked the crusty, well-seasoned outer part of the meat, some liked the rare, tender parts in the interior. They indulged each and every one of us as well as they could. After an initial wait, skewer after skewer arrived with different meats - chicken, turkey wrapped in bacon, pork, sausages, all kinds of steak - new york strip, top sirloin, tri-tip, etc. Go easy on the first few skewers that arrive, so you don't get full too fast, and that way you can sample everything, then you will know which ones to get more of (and yes, the same type of meat comes back to your table two or three times). The salad bar had a good variety of interesting and flavorful side dishes, veggies and relishes. They even had some hot side dishes like mashed potatoes, delightful cheese rolls, and a nice tender stroganoff. The atmosphere is bright and lively. Every 30 minutes a group of 3 girls in elaborate (and fairly skimpy) costumes danced a festive number to loud brazilian music. It was a family atmosphere - women and children joined in the audience participation, dancing with the girls who were quite decent-looking. It's quite a pricey place, but if you are a family of carnivores, and can only do a special dinner once a year or so at this level, or if you are celebrating a special occasion, this fits the bill. I would do it again if I had the chance.

we saw some bad reviews, but we didn't have many options because we wanted to be at City walk. We went early purposefully so we would beat the crowds. Still didn't help. Serving was sooooo slow, meats were slow to come out. They always stopped at a table where there was more than 12, so our party of 8 go maybe 2 pieces of meat on a skewer. We finally had to ask, if they could bring us a full skewer of meat. Our drinks literally came toward the end of the meal. Food was just so so NOT GOOD

I've been to other Brazilian steakhouses and this would easily compare. We came with a party of 3, and chose outdoor seating. Wait time was to be expected (about 20 minutes on a Sunday night) We came with an appetite and they kept the food coming (even when our marker was on Red!) haha. great friendly staff. laughed and joked with them. Great dinner for my birthday weekend!

This brasillian restaurant"DO NOT"have all the items theyre showing on there website.we walk in to this restaurant at 6pm to have and early dinner and hoping to have a wonderful time with our friends. i always tell them how good brasillian steakhouse are in new york.but upon walking to buffet area i see unreplenish salads and rice looks like its been on food warmer leftover from lunch,stewed beans are dried out!!!i mean really!!beans to be dried out is plain horrible!!!i said ok this is embarrassing.maybe they will have great meat and a whole variety to make up on buffet disaster... but oh nooo!!!meats came 15 mins after sitting down from buffet. First meat came and its raw rare,then came with another kind of rare meat,no flavor,then herb beef came which is ok.chicken was dry..there is no bacon wrap item whatsoever.no ribs!!for $50 per guest!!!they should be banned for ripping of people.i am a restaurateur and i feel so bad when people or a company takes advantage of customers Because you are in a tourist location and thinks everybody can afford it and maybe people that save money just to have a great Dinner experience.☹i cant say enough but definitely not going back to this restaurant or recomend it..

We had a party of eleven. Reservations were taken by phone, and the hostess was most helpful and polite. The table was ready when we arrived. None of us had ever been to a Brazilian style steak house before, but the staff was very helpful in explaining everything to us. We decided to go with the barbecue buffet, which includes a salad/side dish bar and all the meat you can eat. You help yourself to the salads and sides, and then the staff starts bring swords with chunks of meat on them. They slice off portions as requested. There was sausage, beef steak marinated in several different ways, pork ribs, lamb, roast pork, maui maui, and several others. You could order a sword full of big shrimp for an extra charge. Their special cocktail is the Caipirinha which is similar to a Mojito, but made with Brazilian Rum. It was very festive, and everybody enjoyed trying all the different meats. They had Brazilian dancers that came out to put on a show once an hour or so. The desserts were very good too - they brought out a tray so you could pick which one you wanted. A little pricey, but so is most everything in LA from what I can see!

ok, it´s my mistake I came here right after a trip to Brazil, but that´s no excuse for a horrible buffet which has nothing to do with a real brazilian steakhouse and terribly cooked tasteless meat they try to pass off as steaks. Not only that but it was so overpriced! over $250 for 3 people and we only had 2 glasses of wine... never again will I come here. There are at two 300% better, fairly priced according to their quality, and true to the original concept of the Brazilian steakhouse within a 5 mile radius. One in Glendale y and one in Burbank, so don´t your time here.

Was impressed with the cut of meat served at this all you can eat Brazilean Steakhouse. Too bad it all had the same taste. The buffet was ok. Enjoyed the cheese rolls. The dancers provided added flair!

We had the dinner all you can eat meat and it was absolutely wonderful! Food was great, service was wonderful! Waiter came to our table multiple times to make sure everything was good. It is a little on the pricey side. If get dessert definitely should get the chocolate cake with ice cream, it was delicious! Definitely would come here again!

Came here on a Thursday night with a Groupon that I purchased for $65 for a "gaucho dinner for two". Overall, service was slow and the food underwhelming and incredibly salty. If we had paid the full price of $49 per person, I would have given this place a one star. Meat selection include beef (Tri-tip, some kind of sirloin, and Brazilian steak), pork (pork tenderloin and sausage), chicken (bacon wrapped), and fish (swordfish). We saw lamb on the menu and it took two requests and about a 20-min wait to get a plate of lamb that was burnt because the cooks had reheated some scraps from earlier in the evening. The lamb was not edible and quite disgusting. We ended up leaving most of the lamb on the plate and when the waiter came by to pick up the plate, there were no questions on why we left the lamb uneaten. The salad bar was average, but the fried plantains and the rice and beans were good. Service was spotty, with a long wait to get our drinks ordered and a long and inconsistent delivery of meat skewers at the table. I would suggest not getting to the restaurant late or close to the early close time of 9 pm as they run out of the meat skewers. We left the restaurant around 8:30 pm and saw staff already getting ready to close up already. Combine this with an annoying parking charge of $10 for parking at Universal Studios, it makes for an expensive and not so nice dining experience, even with a Groupon. Give this place a pass and go to other Churasscos like Fogo du Chao for a better dining experience and better quality food. A dinner for two at this restaurant will easily set you back over of $165 with the meal, drinks, tip and parking. This can get you a far better and value dining experience in Los Angeles, for example, Bossa Nova in WeHo or Hollywood.

For the price of our dinner I wish we had eaten elsewhere. We had a great server, but the food is not worth it unless you are into all you can eat. The meat that comes around is unseasoned and the portion you are given really varies. We will not be returning.

Went here for a lunch for a fairly large group. The lunch started with a salad buffet, which offered a fairly limited selection. While, tasty, the salad fare was just average. Moving on to the lunch itself, we were provided with garlic rolls that were, again, tasty, but nothing remarkable or above average. The sides on the table included rice, mashed potatoes, and black beans, all of which were tasty, but nothing remarkable. The meat skewers that were brought around and freshly carved included two tasty beef selections and bacon wrapped chicken. The chicken was very tasty and tender, and I'm not that big of a chicken fan. I personally wasn't so thrilled with the bacon wrapping as I like my bacon well done and crispy and the bacon seemed undercooked for my taste. That aside, most of my fellow diners had seconds and thirds of the chicken. The beef was more to my liking, but I had to eat outer pieces as the mean was very rare once one or two slices were carved, and I prefer my meat more medium well. Overall, the food was tasty. If you haven't had a meal at a Brazilian steakhouse and are in the area, especially here as a "destination," this is definitely worth the experience. On the other hand, if you've had Brazilian churasco before or live in the area, there are honestly places that are a bit better.

Had a great time with my fiancée and friends. Waiters were great. The meat was cooked properly and was tasty. Needs more sides, was expecting more variety. Definitely will go back.

This Brazilian steakhouse is smaller than others, but it offers a big value for the money... Looking at other reviewers, we got lucky and had a really nice time for not alot of money. The salad bar was fine and the selections fresh, the meats were done sizzling although fewer selections than the other big restaurants, but overall, it was a good deal... We came for a lunch during the week, so that might have had something to do with it... Worth a try..

Went here before going to a night event at Universal Studios and the moment we sat down, we had bad service and were ignored pretty heavily by the waitress even though the restaurant was only a quarter full. Looking at the menu we noticed the cheapest thing was the buffet for $30.00 and after some complaints of the lack of service we just got up and left without ordering. If you love Brazilian food, maybe this place is ok, but the impression we got was the high prices and slow service wasn't worth the wait.

All you can eat meats and a salad bar. Samba dancers every half hour are very entertaining. Meats were decent but lacked flavor for a Brazilian restaurant. Have been to other Brazilian restaurants and the food was better. Great atmosphere.

If you have been to Fogo de Chao and like their food, don't go here. The grilled meats here are not worth serving in McDonald's. Service was good, but overall, I would never go back to this restaurant.

Our entrie family loved the food, the service and the atmosphere. The "meats" kept on coming on the skewers in a timely fashion, with lots of variety. The salad bar was also great, and very well equiped. Would definately go there again.

As a Brazilian costumer, I can say that the food (meet as well) was very badly done and it is really pricey for quality of this food. Usually Brazilian food is much better than that. However, the waiter was nice, but the ones that was serving the meet were very impolite.

I have a great service here people here were so nice as soon as we walked in. I was a little disappointed with the salad bar it is really poor, they don't have so many options. The mojito it wasn't the good, the picanha was delicious the rest of the meats were ok

I have been to many Brazilian Steakhouses so I know what to expect and not too. This place was so bad! We went around lunch time and the hostess was also the waitress and the cook was also the server. They were a bit understaff but working hard. Usually, mini banana fosters are brought to the table with cheese bread. They said they were out of cheese bread and were going to make some for us. We got the bread literally 30 minutes later. The bananas fosters were "plantains" on the salad bar. The salad bar and meats were pretty decent, nothing amazing. The menu said they offered fish and lamb, they didn't have any made until we asked. So pretty much no one before us was getting the full menu which they all paid 35$ of until we requested it. And to top it all off, the waitress had terrible B.O. which killed our appetite. Avoid this place!

Variety of meat, 10 - 14 probably. USD 28 per person all you can eat. Samba dance show.

It was one of the best meals I have ever had in a long time. Enjoyed the variety meats cut at our table. Aaron was outstanding at his service for my picky eating daughter. Making for great atmosphere.

The salads were pretty good, but save the room for the meats. As the meats are brought over to you remember there is beef, chicken, lamb, ribs,sausage,and others that I was to full to eat. The desserts are terrific too.

Not anything special. EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE! Ran out of bread...no grilled pineapple like other places. Slow service

Unexpected Brazilian restaurant in Universal Studios at Los Angeles. Great brazilian food buffet with champagne. The staff were friendly and curious as the Brazilians correctly say the names of the foods that are served there.

My family came here for a nice family meal. We waited 15-20 minutes in between meat skewers. When the bill came, we asked to split the bill into two checks, 3 people on one bill and 2 people on the second bill. We were told this was TOO DIFFICULT! We were then charged 8 different times between two cards.... 3 charges for $250+ one one card! We received a bill for the wrong table and were charged for their meal and drinks, then told, "oh I was confused, let me charge your card again for your meal!" I wish I could have the 45 minute bill arguing time back! What a waste of vacation! The manager Elias was rude and cut us off mid sentence to make sure we knew he was "the general manager!" But no offer to make things right. He said, "you got to talk, now let me talk!" Worst customer service EVER!! DO NOT GO HERE! WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY FOR SUBPAR FOOD AND HORRIBLE SERVICE!

This review is difficult because of the Living Social deal we got. For 39 dollars total, my wife and each got the gaucho feast. The salad bar was okay, nothing great but mostly good. The meats brought to the table came often and were plentiful. Seemed like they were trying to overload us on pepper steak though. The different meats were all just okay, nothing spectacular but nothing bad either. Service was very good. So, for 39 dollars for 2, I would recommend. 39 each, not close to worth it.

We went here for lunch. So glad we did. The lunch prices were value for money. The meat we had was to die for and the staff were fantastic- very attentive.

Not recommended. Too expensive for what it is. Food is not worthy. Salads and side Dishes are mediocre to bad; beef is so so but buffet at $60 per person is a highway robbery; just obscene. Better to go to Outback

Happy Hour is the best tine to go. Lots of delicious small plates to try and the meat dishes are very flavorful. They make a great Sangria and all kinds of yummy fancy cocktails

Used Groupon and they didn't want to serve us. We only ate salad and one serving of chicken. Drink took forever to come. No utensils, even after we told the waitress multiple times. After the meal, the waiter gave us a $400 bill for 4 people. We told him our Groupon already redeemed before seating and he didn't believe. The manager came and basically said we haven't paid. We pointed to the host that redeemed it but manager refused to talk to her. Kept saying we haven't paid. Told her to check their camera or call Groupon to verify. She came back after ten minutes and said Groupon said it was redeemed an hour ago, but manager insisted that we weren't the customers that used it. Told her to call a cop, she refused and said everything is settled. They attempted to cheat us. Terrible people. Charged us 20% tip. Horrible management, servers and foods. Nightmare place. Don't ever go here.

Place is awesome. Great employees treating you like a king all the time. Servers coming you ur table putting different types of meats every 5 min or so. They have from lamb Pork chicken steaks and salmon. Everything was delicious and expected it to be with the way the restaurant is carried itself as u walk in. I would go again with an empty Stomach tho. Lol. Gotta try! Enjoy

I have dined here many times over the years and have come to expect good food---this trip (late July) was FAR from the excellent food I'm used to here...The service by Guierrmo was GREAT - the first couple of trips w/ the skewers were quite good...then the meats coming to the table were becoming drier and drier...and tough...considering the cost to eat here, I truly felt a bit cheated...I may be considering other dining options in the future...Another note: they no longer serve iced tea OR offer free-refills on anything...the drink glasses were 60-70% ice, too...I stayed with water...My dining time was 11A - the time they open and I was alone in the place for about 20 minutes until other customers came in....

We sat here out on their patio and ordered a couple of family style plates to share. All of the meat was dry. Our service was one of the worst we have had. They were slow (There were only two other tables with people at them), no plates/silverware, the kids meal came out after the rest of us were done eating and they charged us after they said they wouldn't. I didn't dispute the bill because I didn't want to wait another 30 mins for a new one. In fairness, I will add that one of the tables was ordering fresh cabobs and getting to choose their cut of meat; that may be the way to go.

Who doesn't love a place with all you can eat meat?! Lol Came for the meat and salad bar buffer dinner and ate until we almost burst! 12 different meats came around non stop and they were all delicious! Loved that you can request a specific meat again without having to wait for it to come back around. Salad bar selections were fresh and yumm. A great way to balance out all the meat. Signature drinks were delicious. We just with we would've been able to enjoy happy hour in the dining room. Instead we had to have our drinks at the bar then sit for dinner. Dancers that came out mid-meal were a delightful surprise. All in all this place was a meat lover's dream!

The worst nigthmare Expensive, the meat overcooked, not all meats Of the menu, terrible service, salads bar unclean... terrible... sorry samba brazilian universal it’s one the Worst nightmare!!!