Sponsored by Monument Inn Reviews     Profile     Menus     Website

Emporio Brazilian Cafe

MY REVIEW: I was so happy that I finally visited this restaurant! I had heard good things about it, so I was intrigued. If you add to the mix that I'm studying Portuguese, I was more than ready to try it and I was not disappointed. The restaurant is cosy, super clean and neat, so my first impression was excellent. Everyone was friendly and helpful and the food was delicious! I had the pastel, the chicken croquette, the shrimp with yucca and rice and the flan. Scrumptious! And I got to practice Portuguese to boot! I was told they have music on Saturdays, so I'm planning on coming back for sure.

NAME: Millie
SUBMITTED: 3/14/2013   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/14/2013
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I guess once a restaurant establishes itself and has regular clientele the reviews stop coming. Well this place is still there, still serving excellent brazilian food by the plate (not all you can eat meat like at other "Brazilian steakhouses"). Service is great and friendly. We will continue going there.

NAME: kud
SUBMITTED: 9/28/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/2012
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I've been going to Emporio since the very begining (not sure if all know my name). The food is always excelent and I can always get my Brazilian fix (o "jeito") when I'm home sick.

Great atmosphere and always great service.

I highly recommend Emporio to anyone wanting to try authentic Brazilian food. They have a good selection from different parts of Brazil. A must.

NAME: LLeigh
SUBMITTED: 4/20/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: Feb 2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: We have had two company functions at this amazing restaurant. Our first event consisted of 18 people and our second event consisted of 50 people. Both times we visited this restaurant; the food was wonderful, the service was excellent and the wait staff was very friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating and they went out of their way to assure we were satisfied. We were particularly impressed with the fish stew and passion fruit soufflé. We were definitely satisfied and we strongly recommend your restaurant for large events.

NAME: Nick Wolk; NKW and Cobore, Inc
SUBMITTED: 12/21/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: My family loves this restaurant. It is the only real Brazilian restaurant with none of the fanfare of churrasqueria etc. (the all you can eat meat places) but rather honest Brazilian food. As an almost vegetarian I love the Vegetarian plate and my family loves the churrasco plates too. The service can be spotty at times, but the food is good and the prices are right. We come back very often, and have introduced many people to this restaurant.

NAME: Always Looking
SUBMITTED: 3/14/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: February, 2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I know Zero about Brazilian food except that at this Cafe it is wonderful! I have a mixed grill and beef dishes... They were excellent! Coffee and desserts are worth a trip!

Returned to this place because I am on a mission to try everthing on the menu. Based on a review I saw here today I had the crab in the shell. This not a crab cake but more a pate baked in the shell with cheese, Also had the garlic shrimp, with a side of collard greens. Just wonderful! Great service and nicely priced!

NAME: J. C.
SUBMITTED: 1/2/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 1/2/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I am an all-american southern girl, so my experiance with food from countries is very limited. My co-workers and I have decided that once a month we would go to a different restaurant and today it was Emporio. I absolutely love this restaurant. The wait staff was very courteous (even when giving directions to lost out-of-towners).

The food was delicious... We had an assortment of Empanadas for an appetizer. The shrimp one tasted like canned shrimp... was not happy with that one. Main course: churrasco gaucho -grilled sirloin, chicken, pork and sausage with bell peppers and onions. Served with white rice, black beans, vinagrete. Fantastic. Ambiance was very relaxing.. unfortunately no time for dessert. Be I will be going again very soon.

NAME: no_time_2_cook
SUBMITTED: 10/9/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I live in Dallas and I and my mom came to Houston for the day to take care of some issues for her at the Brazilian consulate. After we were done we wanted to try some local Brazilian food. The people at the consulate recommended the usual churascarias as well as Emporio. The churascarias were a bit $$$$$ for lunch so we decided to try Emporio.

. it had been a long time since I had tasted “casquinha de ciri” a crab cake of sorts brazilian style. We took a change and ordered a portion; it comes in a half shell, two in a portion. We each grabbed one and it was out of this world. We immediately called the waiter and ordered 2 more portions. At this time we decided to stick with appetizers and tried the “shrimp in garlic”, then “the crispy chicken” and finally we tried “assorted empanandas”. The empanadas are. We couldn’t take it anymore. The water came over and asked if we were ready for our entrees, I think he was joking. He knew how much food we had consumed. He then suggested dessert, which we happily and thankfully accepted. He explained that all desserts are made by the restaurant, so we tried the coconut flan and the passion fruit mousse. These are 2 very Brazilian desserts and yes they were excellent.

The food was great, the service was good. The atmosphere is simple and casual. We will definitely be back

NAME: HOUSVRG
SUBMITTED: 8/29/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/15/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Well, we were going to the other Brazilian place in this area based on the single review which said that they were open until 6 on Sundays...But it was 4. By now, me and the family were rather fed up with each other, but it turned out to be all worth it when we tried Emporio instead.

While the appetizer basket of pao de queijo wasn't all that great (not much "queijo"), it was solid enough to hold interest until we finally decided on our food. Mom ordered the vegetarian platter, Dad got the beef steak, and...I took the feijoada. The waiter we had had a rather thick Portuguese accent, and he was very pleased at this order. :)

The food didn't take very long to arrive, and the portions were massively large! The feijoada wasn't big for $13, but with everything else you get with it (greens, rice, bananas, orange, farofa, "vinaigrette") it became at least worth it. And that was before I tasted everything: The quality is superb! The feijoada is so robust it needs no seasoning other than farofa for thickener. Everything else, including the greens, is so fresh you wouldn't believe they are going to close in 45 minutes!

The one thing that confuses me is the interchangability of "farofa" and "mandioca". On the Portuguese menu, they use mandioca to mean yucca, but it is also used to mean manioc meal, which is what this restaurant calls "farofa". However, I have read in the Brazilian cookbooks that farofa is actually a polenta-like concoction. Whatever you call it, it kicks butt. You wouldn't think this flour would work, but it does.

Other points:

The atmosphere is rather dark for this kind of restaurant, but it is due to remodeling at this point.

There is Brazilian futebol playing on the TVs, and it only adds to the feel of this restaurant.

The waiters seem to be actual Brazilians, and they are in the business of good food, not just filling you up.

They will light up when you know anything about their cuisine in advance, not just feijoada. I segued to my love for guarana and our waiter was rather happy about that as well. You might also get "special treatment" if you are a fan of Sepultura - though I didn't try that out here. :)

The condiment wall by the register is another treasure that you don't want to miss.

Even at $13 for a plate of food, we have a deal. But I'll have to try the buffet on Synott before I pass ultimate judgment.

NAME: Andrew
SUBMITTED: 8/25/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: August 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The food was pretty good, but not good enough to make up for the terrible service. Two things we ordered never showed up at the table. Ever. And we were left sitting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Won't be going there again.

NAME: RikkiM
SUBMITTED: 4/4/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We live around the corner from this place and this was our first time here. Not sure why we waited so long to go try this little jewel but we will definitely be going back. The basket of pao de queijo was sooooo tasty. They were fresh and warm. My boyfriend got the franco com camaro axe - the shrimp and yucca was deeelish and the chicken was juicy and tender. I got the bife a brasileira - the beef was tender, moist and very flavorful. My only (very minor) complaint for that dish was that the French fries weren't very crispy but I didn't go there to eat fries so that didn't really bother me. Overall, we really enjoyed our meal and the service was excellent. The wait staff was very attentive and helpful.

NAME: laotianfoodie77
SUBMITTED: 12/7/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: December/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I go to Emporio Brazilian Cafe when I want to experience some real homecooking. I was born in Europe, lived in Brazil and so I am familiar with the tastes of Brazilian cuisine, which are close to my country's cooking. I have been going to EBC since it opened and love a number of dishes there, especially the feijoada, milaneza style steak, peixada (fish stew), the picanha (tritip); and the desserts... try the chocolate mousse, the creme brulee or a number of other great tasting desserts. I love the atmosphere, the wines and the staff. In short, a great experience whenever I visit, I highly recommend it.

NAME: Maria A
SUBMITTED: 10/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: September/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I was born in Brazil and lived in Rio de Janeiro until I was 13. I am avid conaisseur of Brazilian cuisine, and was excited to try out Emporio Brazilian Cafe after reading good reviews about it. Unfortunately, my experience was very much lacking. I had peichada (fish stew) and my girlfriend had feijoada (black bean stew). The peichada was good, but the feijoada lacked the usual flavors that I fondly remember from my childhood days. The meats in the feijoada tasted dry and crumbly. Instead of linguica, the restaurant used American sausage. Unfortunately, the lowpoint of the experience was the poor service. After being kindly greeted by the hostess, no one came to take drink orders from us until I finally made hand gestures to a waiter, a waitress, and the hostess, who were standing 20 feet away from our table chit chatting for about 10 minutes after we first sat down. During the 10 minutes of waiting, one of the wait staff cleared a table next to us, and then went back to the little corner of the restaurant to chit chat without saying a word to us. After our food arrived, we never heard from any of the wait staff again until it was time to pay for the bill. No one asked us how the food was. No one offered to give us refills on the drinks. What bothered me even more about the service was how the wait staff treated customers differently. It was obvious that if the wait staff knew the customer, the customer was given the red carpet treatment. We saw two other tables where the customers had to wait for a long time before the wait staff tended to them. I spoke in Portuguese to the wait staff, which I thought would have given me some connection with them. Apparently, it didn't matter given that my girlfriend and I had one of the worst restaurant service we have ever experienced anywhere. Very disappointed.

NAME: Armanius
SUBMITTED: 8/4/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I had been wanting to try this place because it is so close to my house and looked cool. I finally got food to go and the girl who took my order was very friendly. When I went to pick it up I was impressed by the restraunt, wine selection, and Brasilian products for sale. I could smell the food when she brought it out to me and it smelled terrific! We had Tropical Chicken and also got an order of fried bananas. Everything was so delicious, especially the bananas! We will definitely go back.

NAME: Jessica J
SUBMITTED: 2/25/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My employees beg me to take them here for our weekly lunches; my only complaint is the lack of variety or specials, but I do only go for lunch, so perhaps dinner does provide some variety. Bear in mind, I ate here every Friday for about 6 months straight... and I still like going there, even with the small menu. Short menu, done to perfection. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I only wish other restaurants learned the same.

Salgadinhos are my favorite part of the menu. Coxinhas and pasteis are excellent, as is the pao de queijo. I usually pick up a bag of frozen pao de queijo and some guarana while I'm there to take home. For an average of $10 a head and $30 out the door stuffed for a couple, you really can't beat it. Go to the other places for $120 a couple when you feel you just HAVE to have every cut of meat under the sun in one sitting. Otherwise, be sane, pace yourself and get it in 4 sittings for the price of one at Emporio.

NAME: Faminto Pensando de Picanha
SUBMITTED: 12/11/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: November 2006
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments,
click here to Add Your Review.