Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue

This is not an easy review.

I had mixed feelings about our experience at Gaucho. At one side the $60 dinner only per person did not deliver in freshness and quality, at another side they need grace considering the challenges and restrictions around COVID and managing such variety of meats with significantly less demand. This has been a hard season for them to stay afloat for sure.

The have a beautiful place very well located in Canmore. The service was truly grate. I do believe they are very aware of the points I’m making here.

A rodizio demands fresh meat, sizzling and freshly cut in your plate. The meat has to be super fresh. Most of the meat was dry and sitting in the skewers for way to long. I understand there are less people eating and they are trying their very best by still making it possible or feasible to serve.

As a client it just does not seem fair to pay the same price for lower quality. As a Brazilian we are already making compromises in how other dishes like feijoada and salpicao are made to a western taste. Items like chicken hearts are certainly more exotic but if it was served fresh it would keep it’s natural taste and remain moist - we understand not everyone would like it or appreciate it. But to serve frozen chicken hearts overcooked, probably best to stop serving instead of giving people a chance to really appreciate it when it’s fresh and properly done.

The feeling is that we would probably wait for things to get better around the pandemic before going again.

We wish them the very best and we will be back some time in the future. I will reconsider this review.

Really loved Gaucho! Lots of choice for salads and sides, all of which were delicious. We tried the beets, boccacini (cheese, tomato and olive salad), chickpea salad, and a couple of more. The meat came around one by one and each one was good in its own way. The rib and Parmesan beef were my two favourites. The grilled pineapple was also exceptionally good. Wine was also pretty good price by the bottle. Service was really attentive as well!

Come hungry! This place will give you the meat sweats but it's worth it if you're a big eater. The servers are so energetic and seem so happy to be doing what they do.

I wouldn't waste my time on the fancy drinks or the appetizers, just go directly for all the meat! The two fancy drinks we got were a bit boring and the appies just take up previous stomach real estate.

Must eat: the roasted pineapple! So good!
Must drink: the mate latte

A great meal! While the meats were what one would expect from a Brazilian BBQ, I was really impressed with some of the sides! And the cheese buns are amazing!

Alex was amazing! She took fantastic care of us . The servers with the meat skewers kept us stuffed. Martin even had us try food we thought we never would. Highly recommend!!

I highly recommend this Brazilian Restuarant.
They are only open for dinner. Food is first class.
Waiters are knowledgeable and very friendly.
Cocktails and mock tails available on the menu and are very tasty.

When I say wowza I mean it. It was so good. The chiefs and wait staff were amazing. We have dietary restrictions which they accommodated with ease. Highly recommend if you love great food, drinks and the view.

Great food and lots of variety for meat! Everything was very fresh and tasty and the menu had numerous options for salads, drinks, rice plates and so on. The service was also good but not great. We were there close to 2 hours before closing time but they pretty much took forever to bring each round of meat out and stopped serving before they were even closed. It's still worth the try and the vibes of the restaurant are great too.