Reviews & Ratings for Chamas Churrascaria

08/11/11

The Best Brazilian Around

by arm5280 at Citysearch

I have eaten at 15 or more Brazilian Steathouses all over the country this by a nose is the best I've had. The only thing better than the meat and app bar was the pristine and polished service. I could almost think the fact I needed a new plate and there was one in front of me. The place itself was gorgeous, and parking was easy to find. we finished it off with Gelato from the business next door which only added to a perfect evening.

04/19/09

Nice location, bad food.

by jpcacosta at Citysearch

I lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil for two years and I know what a Brazilian Steakhouse should be. The meat at Chamas has an unpleasant strong flavor. Meats are overcooked and the salad bar has a poor selection of items. Thirty five dollars per person for full rodizio is the same price that I paid at Fogo do Chao in Brazil (amazing restaurant!). Don't get fooled by this nice looking restaurant. If you are a serious Brazilian Steakhouse fan, go somewhere else. Brasa at Brier Creek is another dissapointment.

• Pros: Good service, nice location in Durham.
• Cons: The meat.

03/28/09

Great Brazilian food restaurant

by Saldanica at Citysearch

My husband and I are regular customers at Chamas and it's always a good experience. We're from Brazil and know well the Brazilian way of cooking and Chamas easily bring us back home every time. We've been to other Brazilian steakhouses in and out of the area, but Chamas is so far one of the best. Prime quality meat, awesome buffet and the service is always great. We only have good things to say about Chamas. If you haven't tried it yet, you don't know what you're missing out !!

• Pros: Food, Service, Ambience
• Cons: Still looking for something bad to say.

03/18/09

Awesome place and amazing food

by Steladecor at Citysearch

Wow! I went to Chamas with a big group of American friends on Carnaval. Everybody, without exception, LOVED the food, the service, and the owners' hospitality. I recommend Chamas Steakhouse not only to Brazilians, but also to those that know how to appreciate a good Brazilian food.

I don't eat red meat, but Chamas has a wide variety of greens; an option of salmon; fresh rice and delicious beans (the Brazilian typical dish, "feijoada"); and of course, warm and fresh "pao-de-queijos"! Can't forget to mention the delicious "Caipirinha" they make...

Keep up with the good service! We'll be back soon...

• Pros: Food, service, atmosphere
• Cons: None

03/18/09

Better than Plataforma in NYC

by francullen at Citysearch

We dined there for the first time last night and thought the atmosphere, quality of food, and salad bar were exceptional for this type of food and restaurant. Not every one of the meat dishes was perfect, but I do expect when you vare serving hunks of meat on a sword that some will be more over cooked and some less cooked, I mean these are not being cooked to order, but the flavor and texture of each was very good. The wait staff was excellent also, very friendly and attentive.

03/18/09

BEST BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE IN THE AREA!

by baileywick at Citysearch

I have dined at Chamas many, many times over the past 3-4 years & I have NEVER been disappointed! I have no idea where 'tagage' ate(review on March 9), but it was certainly was not @ Chamas. I was also there on March 9 and the meal and service were excellent! The filet mignon was outstanding as were the other meats, salad bar, & desserts! The atmoshere is fantastic and so is the wine list! Caipirina is to die for!This is by far the BEST steakhouse in the triangle area!

• Pros: Best steak, wine, desserts & atmosphere
• Cons: Absolutely none!

03/17/09

Best time ver

by primebeefonly at Citysearch

This place has the best seasoned meats I have ever had. period. I once liked angus barn years ago but the meat there has no flavor now. This place is great. All of the meats are seasoned well and cooked perfect. They usually come medium to medium rare but one of my guest liked medium well and they were quick to offer. The garlic steak and top sirloin were out of this world. Most steakhouses serve bland meats in my opinion but everything was bursting with flavor. The sausage was homemade and it was the best sausage I have ever had. They have almost every kind of meat you can think of. Great ribeye and beef and pork ribs. I have never had such a wide variety of meats in one evening. Not to mention the salad bar with grilled salmon with a passionfruit cream sauce and the beans and rice are great. The server told me it was the most popular dish in brazil. The wine list was great with a large selection of wines from around the world and my date had the caipirina which is a brazilian drink made of limes and sugar and a brazilian sugar liquor. She said it was one of the most refreshing drinks ever. Great place and I can't wait to go back. This is the ultimate steakhouse.

• Pros: Best meats in town
• Cons: none

03/09/09

Worst Meal in a Year. Overpriced, Overcooked, Overrated!

by tgage at Citysearch

Overall: Save your money.

Environment: Pleasant

Service: Slightly above average for a buffet.

Salad bar: Above average, with seafood selection. Not worth $25.

Ribs: Not charred, but as dry and crisp as possible with turning to ash. Inedible.

Garlic Steak: Moist, but slightly tough, the only edible meat served.

Flank Steak: Tough, unpleasant flavor.

Filet Mignon: Overcooked, grayish-black. I have had better stew meat.

Lamb: Fatty, tough, inconsistently cooked. Inedible.

Price: $25 (salad)/$35 (meat) per person (excluding drinks/tips). Outrageous given the quality!

• Pros: The only positive was the atmosphere.
• Cons: Horribly prepared meat. Worst (grayish-black) filet mignon I have ever seen/tasted.

12/29/08

YUK!!

by Karendiamond at Citysearch

Although they succeeded in imitating the original Fogo de Chao in atmosphere, they were WAY off the mark in the qulity of the food. The meats were tough and often gizzley with little to no seasoning and the side dishes were awful.The only similarity to Fogo was the bill!

• Cons: overpriced, poor food quality

09/04/08

Ok churrascaria, had better

by pithlydawn at Citysearch

We took my parents to Chamas on a Tuesday night. Our reservation was at 7 pm, but wasn't needed - there was only one other party at the time we arrived (by the time we left, there were 7 - 8 tables filled). We have been to several churrascarias in the past, the best being Fogo de Chao - we've visited the locations in Austin and Dallas. So we may have been expecting too much, because Fogo de Chao is absolutely amazing, although more expensive than Chamas, which is $35/person.

The salad bar was ok, but not wonderful. The salad itself had very green lettuce selections and the salad dressing was good. The cheeses were ok, not wonderful. The manchego cheese was probably only aged 3 months (much better 6 months - 1 year) and was sweating; the parmesan was quite hard, and the mozzarella fairly tasteless. The vegetables were good, but not as many options as I expected.

The service was fairly good, except that the passador once or twice reached across a person to offer meat to another - a big no-no at most churrascarias. The meat that was offered for the 1st half of the time we were there was extremely well-done and a bit tough. The meat during the second half was more suited to our tastes, ranging from rare to medium. The passador never offer any information on how well done the items were that he was offering nor asked how well-done we wanted our slices before carving into the meats.

There was some variety to the meat offerings, though again, not as much as I would have expected. The garlic steak was great and the best thing we were offered that night. The side dishes were also good - mashed potatoes and fried bananas.

Chamas was ok, but we would not return. We've been too spoiled by better churrascarias in the past. Although a good churrascaria is expensive, it's worth the extra $10/person.

• Pros: fun experience, good wine list
• Cons: not worth the price