Recently opened Texas de Brazil has joined the rapid influx of St John’s Town Center dining options. Celebrating 20 years in October, Texas de Brazil is arguably the most recognizable of the Brazilian churrasco steak houses. Blended with what they deem Texas Hospitality, the chain brings the authentic churrasco experience with flame kissed meats, chef curated vegetables, and carefully selected charcuterie and cheeses.
Texas de Brazil – Salad Bar Offerings
The set up will be familiar to connoisseurs of Brazilian steakhouses. Unlimited table side meat carving awaits you in addition to the self serve salad bar. You’ll receive a card with a green side that means “Bring on the Meat “and a red side that means “Stay away for a sec, I have the meat sweats and need a breather.” When you arrive you’ll be escorted to your table where you can put down your things and go salad barring. As with most Brazilian steakhouses, the layout is impressive and full of appetizer and side item treats. We piled up a few plates to sample the offerings. We greatly enjoyed the potato salad (which tasted like all heavy mayonnaise and was so creamy), the fresh tabouli, the pinto bean salad, and the creamy balsamic dressing. The cheese and charcuterie offerings had some great meat pairings. I particularly liked the fresh cut parmesan in the parmesan wheel and the smoked provolone. The winner of the salad bar was the rich and decadent lobster bisque which I could have dined on as a meal. Complemented with the hot cheese rolls left on the table, it was an unexpected treat! It’s also notable that they have sushi and smoked salmon available so you can really dine off the salad bar alone ($24.99) if you want a less expensive option or aren’t hungry enough for the full meat experience.
Texas de Brazil – Salad Bar Offerings
However, most people go to Texas de Brazil for the meats, so onward we go my friends. For those who haven’t been to a Brazilian steakhouse before, once you sit and you’re ready to be served meat straight from the skewers from the roaming expert meat carvers, flip your card to green. You’ll be given plates, silverware, and a pair of meat tongs to pull off shaved meat from the skewer. You can request your beef and lamb at your preferred temperature. Our first bites of meat were thick cuts of filet mignon, smoke kissed and juicy. I ate two of those unapologetically. Shortly after we went from empty plates to plates full of meat that warranted a quick flip of our card to red. The carvers are nothing but generous and are frequent visitors to your table if your card is green. By far our best bites were of the lamb, served as a leg of lamb and as a lamb chop. The leg of lamb is coated in Arabic seasonings and is absolutely melt in your mouth delicious and the definition of savory. The lamb chop follows suit, with less seasoning and more smoky flavors. We also enjoyed the Brazilian Sausage, which was plump and juicy, the fiery bacon wrapped fresh jalapenos, and the parmesan crusted pork loin. Make sure to have a bowl of chimichurri on the bar to drizzle over your favorite meats for the full experience.
Texas de Brazil – Cheesy Popovers
It doesn’t end there though– you can’t leave without bites of the signature Brazilian picanha, which is a delicious traditional steak preparation. There is also filet mignon wrapped in bacon if you so prefer, braised beef ribs, garlic picanha, and flank steak. I don’t remember seeing the garlic picanha in circulation the night we visited, but thankfully fresh roasted garlic is available on the salad bar and I was able to eat it with everything. If you’re not a beef eater, then you have plenty of pork and chicken choices in rotation as well. The herb marinated pork loin is just about the best presentation of pork loin one can ask for. They also serve chicken breast wrapped in bacon, parmesan crusted pork loin, which was a highlight for me because cheese, barbecued pork ribs, and parmesan drumettes.
Texas de Brazil – Caipirinha and Meats
We very carefully paced ourselves to allow room for dessert, which in true Texas de Brazil style was presented to us on an oversized tray with multiple options. From carrot cake to pecan pie, papaya cream to cheesecake, there are options to suit any sweet tooth. We chose the Brazilian Cheesecake and the Flan as our indulgences. The Brazilian Cheesecake will be a favorite of any cheesecake lover, with dense filling and a sinful drizzle of caramel running down to kiss the chocolate center. The Flan was the winner for us though, with a tender and delicate texture swimming in smooth caramel sauce. It was a perfect complement to a heavy dinner.
Texas de Brazil – Brazilian Cheesecake
I would be remiss to not mention the incredible service throughout the evening from the host stand, to our dedicated staff of waiters and waitresses, to the hard working carvers carrying around the treasures of the evening. They were attentive, polite, and clearly have been trained thoroughly in the Texas de Brazil brand. It completes the experience beautifully, and makes the $42.99 price feel like a $200 per person experience. It’s rare to find service so exceptional these days, but Texas de Brazil is doing it right. If you find yourself in need of a great special occasion restaurant, an indulgent dinner option, or even a great Happy Hour spot, we highly recommend Texas de Brazil for your traditional churrascaria experience.
Note: From time to time we’re invited out to try a restaurant or to taste new menu items. This meal is usually comped, as this one was. We’re under no obligation to write a positive review or any review at all when we’re invited out to try a place. Every review you see on our site will be an honest review of the place whether or not the restaurant provided us with the meal at their cost.