Monday, February 11, 2008

Tento Churrascaria - Brazilian Steakhouse

Mark - The News Room Chief paid a visit to the sort-of-new (it's been around for maybe a year?) Tento Churrascaria - Brazilian Steakhouse out at the beach (528 North First Street) over the weekend and reported back that it was fantastic! We plan on doing a full-fledged review of the venue real soon, but in the meantime you can check out a review from Taste Memory and another from Jacksonville Magazine. Below is a pretty thorough description of the steakhouse:

Churrasco is the open-flame cooking style developed by the Gauchos (South American cowboys) of the southern plains of Brazil. Traditionally, various types of meat are slow roasted on huge swordlike skewers. The skewers are then brought to each table and carved for our guests.

Unlike at most restaurants, you are not presented with a dinner menu at Tento. Here, aside from drinks and dessert, this is a one-price meal - $39 adults, $33 seniors (before 6pm), $18 children 5-12. Included is a trip to the central buffet table, which offers a selection of soup, salad, starters, and vegetables such as beautiful haricots verts alongside tender hearts of palm, mixed olives, broccoli, asparagus, potato salad, couscous, a side of salmon that finished with a slight spice of pepper, Caesar salad and mixed green salad. Warm sides are also available to accompany your dinner, such as creamy rich Parmesan mashed potatoes and the ubiquitous South American white rice and beans.

We also have a couple of (blurry) pictures.

The Red & Green Paddles in the last picture are used to alert your server as to whether or not you need assistance.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Took forever to be seated despite having reservations. Apparently our table was given to another party. Get ready to feel like a carnivore. Made me not ever want to eat any meat other than fish or seafood again. Pricing should be more flexible for folks who can't eat an entire cow!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous place!
We had reservations and were seated very promptly even though it was a busy busy night!
The staff was polite and well educated and the food was out of this world!
We felt like we wouldn't be able to eat ever again!!!!!
The drinks in this place are soooo good! Best Mojitos in town!

Anonymous said...

It's definitely not Texas De Brazil, but it is a good compromise when I can't make it down to orlando. Service was pretty good, but we had to ask for the cheese puff pastries twice. They usually just bring them out. Also, location and atmosphere are a plus. If you see the gaucho guy carrying bacon wrapped fillet migon, you should definitely grab one...or two, hahah. Worth the money, but bring your appetite. Jon.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I were impressed with the food. However, we were not impressed with the service. The guys who served us meat skipped our table twice. Our server was no where to be found. We wanted a refill on our drinks. I had to go to the bar to get it myself. I'm not a lazy person at all. However, for the amount of money we paid, we deserve excellent customer service. We left very displeased and don't have plans on returning.

Anonymous said...

Our experience here was marvelous. I found if you asked the server for something specific, in my case, Lamb, the "gauchos" specifically came to our table with that item first. They have a set order in which they serve we discovered from the waitress. THIS is by no means a quick meal, you should plan to stay there a few hours and eat several small portions of everything! Don't miss the grilled pineapple!

Anonymous said...

Great, a restaurant with my name!!!

Greetings Tento
Netherlands / Europe

Anonymous said...

I would go here if their logo wasn't set in Papyrus.

Anonymous said...

i think this restaurant is amazing! The hoestess and bartender were very friendly and polite. They showed interest in us when they spoke to us and most deffinately can hold a conversation. The service while seated at the table was outstanding. Our server was very caring and made sure we have what we needed. The gauchos served us all meats and came back to check on what specifics we wold like again. My husband and i were very pleased and can honestly say this was an amazing opportunity to enrich ourselves in brasilian food! You would be very surprised at how amazingly tasteful the food is. I most deffinately recommend this restaurant if your going for a new experience!

Anonymous said...

Why are these Personal reviews so "HOT and COLD? (Love/Hate) No one had just an Average experience? Oh the Drama..

Anonymous said...

I went for a special dinner-It has closed its door-completely empty building - although signs remain.disappointing to say the least..