I had great expectations for Churrascaria Giovanaz after reading all the reviews here (and getting a recommendation from someone at the hotel). Perhaps it was just the night we went - or a disruption in their meat supply - but I found Churrascaria Giovanaz a bit average. The sides were few and nothing special. And while the meat quality was good, there was not much variety. It was the same 5-6 options cycling around the room over and over again. I was looking forward to the picanha but it never appeared.
The restaurant itself was very comfortable - casual in the typical Brazilian sense. It was filled with mostly locals, so that reassured us when we walked in the door. People seemed to be having a good time with their families and friends. I was hoping for a couple chopes, but all they had was large bottles of beer. Cerveja did the trick but somehow doesn't go as well with rodizio as draft beer does. As mentioned above, the meat selection was limited the night we went. However, I can attest that the quality of the meat was good, albeit overcooked to me (I prefer medium rare and the options were medium and above).
I'm willing to give Churrascaria Giovanaz the benefit of the doubt and assume that evening was a fluke. Service was on the ball, I will give them credit for that. But there had to be a reason why the place was packed with so many locals. The price was great for what you got, I was just lead to believe we'd get a bit more. read more