Bolero Fire Grill

Ok... I lied. That was a longer departure than I had anticipated. My bad! I ended up spending the rest of my summer studying my ass off. That's a good enough of a reason right? To be fair, I spent so much of my time studying that I didn't get a chance to eat out (with the exception of getting fast food or take outs just so I could allocate all my available time to studying), so I'd say that's a pretty reasonable excuse for the lack of blog posts. No eating out = no restaurant to review. But alas! - I finally have time to eat (and blog) again! Now onward to the main point of this post..



I had always wanted to give the traditional Brazilian-style steakhouse a try. I finally got the chance to yesterday at Bolero Fire Grill. Their full rodízio experience during dinner is priced at a hefty $40/person. Their Sunday brunch is much more reasonable at $21.95/person. And you can bet that when I saw a deal show up on Livingsocial back in April, I jumped right on it, with the only dilemma being as to whether I should buy one or two vouchers. I ended up buying two - the deal was a  $25 voucher that could be used towards $50 worth of Food and Drink at their Sunday Brunch.

I made reservations for three people at 12:30pm. When we arrived, the restaurant was fairly quiet, and I could see that most of the patrons were finishing up. This was not surprising, as most people tend to prefer having all-you-can-eat meals during dinner rather than lunch when their appetite is larger. We were seated a table in close proximity of the buffet tables (a win in my books). And on our table was a menu that showcased the items that were served during their brunch hours.

Also located on the table was a cue that has three solid colours. The cue acts as a signal for all servers with slow-roasted skewers. The cue is to be stood with the green facing on top when you are wanting to feast on more, prompting the servers to approach your table, and turned to the red facing on top when you want to take a break. When you decide that you have had enough for that visit, you simply turn the cue sideways so that the yellow is lying on the table.

First and foremost, I must admit that although I do love my fair share of meat, I am not much of a "meat lover". However, I did my best to try almost everything on the churrasco list (with the exception of the lamb shoulder, seasoned vegetables, and the seafood glazed with citrus and herbs). I tried a piece of everything once except for the pineapple, which I took two large slices of (because their grilled pineapple is just THAT delicious). My favourite churrasco pick of the meal would have to be the pineapple (of course),the bacon wrapped chicken thigh and the ham with sweet pineapple glaze.

On top of that, I got to try their sides bar, some brunch items and their cold-served mussels and shrimp. Their brunch items did not stand out to me, but their mussels and shrimp was so fresh and delicious that I had to go back for seconds. Unfortunately, my partners-in-crime for this particular feast and I had decided to throw in the towel before we could make it to the dessert table.

First Plate: Side Bar and Brunch Items, with some Seafood picks

(Eggs benedict, mussels, shrimps, cooked asparagus, grilled zucchini)

Second Plate: More seafood please!

Skewer of Pork Ribs

Grilled Pineapple. Perfection.

Because our reservation was at a later time, we only got to go through the churassco list once. However, one of the skewer servers was attentive and asked us what skewers we would like to see come out once more before their closing. Service by our actual server was also delivered and beyond what I would have expected in a buffet setting. He explained the style of the restaurant, how it worked, returned often to check up on us and refilled our drinks before it emptied.

The bar

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Bolero. For being able to use my voucher, I feel like I got more than what I paid for. It was an extremely good deal. If I didn't have the voucher, I would have had to rethink about visiting this restaurant, as I don't think I would be able to eat $40 worth of meat and enjoy it at the same time. However, if you are a true carnivore, I'd suggest paying this restaurant a visit, because it is certain that you will get a good fix of meat, followed by its trustworthy sidekick, meat-sweat. I do also recommend trying a Brazilian-style steakhouse at least once in your lifetime because of the unique experience it offers. However if you find $40/person steep, I'd recommend going at brunch time as the price is more reasonable. I will return again! - For I still have another voucher to use! Next time I'll make sure to save some room for dessert ;)