Texas de Brazil Churrascaria (Brazilian-American Steakhouse) - Carlsbad, CA

Texas de Brazil recently opened at The Shoppes at Carlsbad and provides an upscale Brazilian eatery featuring all-you-can-eat grilled meat carved tableside & a salad bar. The only options prior were Fogo de Chao and Rei de Gado, both located in downtown San Diego. This new restaurant gives those further north an excellent option without the drive, plus the parking is easier at the mall and FREE!

After entering the restaurant, one of the first things we noticed was the kitchen area, where the meat magic happens! You can see all these tantilizing meats roasting / warming through the glass window!

The full dining experience includes this large salad bar where the chilled items can be found. To the immediate left is the hot foods section with beans, rice, etc.

There's also a casual bar area though you can always order a drink through your server.

The meat options are brought to you by the wonderful brazilian cowboy styled servers! I love this bold top and comfy gaucho pants!

Throughout your meal, they stop by when your card is flipped to the green GO side. A large knife is used to carve the meat directly at your table, then you use the tongs to collect your meaty prize.

We tried almost every meat offered. One of our favorites was the flank steak, tender fatty beef with a hint of garlic and saltedy crust. We ate filet mignon wrapped in bacon as well as its tasty bacon wrapped chicken variant! The pork ribs had a sweet tang while the beef rib were traditionally seasoned and fatty delicious. The juicy pork loin with herbs was another surprise winner for us. Even the chicken drumlettes were moist and savory! Lamb was a bit too gamey for us and had a spice taste to it, perhaps cardamon?

The tableside appetizers included Brazilian cheese bread, garlic mashed potatoes, plaintains, and sauces. We gobbled up the cheese breads and mashed potatoes within seconds. The plantains were dressed with cinnamon sugar and reminded us of churros! The green sauce was different, almost like a mint julep from Disneyland with some sweetness, adding a contrasting accent compared to the more traditional chimichurri. There was also your typical horseradish sauce for eating with your meats. This was a bit on the runnier side and not too strong. Something we haven't experienced before though was using goat cheese with meats. It actually made for a good pairing since it had a buttery smooth texture and flavor.

Here's our trove of treasure from one of our salad bar visits.

There are options galore in the chilled salad bar section including smoked salmon, charcuterie picks, fresh veggies, and more. One of my picks is the kale salad, slightly toasted which I liked.

This is the daily soup from the hot salad bar. It was a lobster bisque which was creamy and rich.

To finish off the experience, there are several dessert options. Our server brought a replica dessert plate which has the food to scale... the serving sizes are LARGE! The creme brulee and brazilian cheesecake are made in house. Dennis especially loved the carrot cake. It was soft, moist, and not too heavy on the cream layers. We ended up taking most of our desserts home since we were absolutely stuffed!

If you're thirsty, there's plenty of options from the bar menu. We opted for the Brazilian Caipirinha – a cocktail prepared using cachaça, lime juice and sugar. The drink had a nice kick of alcohol but kept a refreshing tropical profile.

I was surprised to enjoy so many different meats here, especially since my experience at other churracarias consist of only 2-3 "preferred" meats. We waddled out with a big smile on our faces and would definitely come back when we're ready for our next meat coma!

Texas de Brazil service hours include:

• Happy Hour: Mon.-Fri. 4:30-6 p.m. features special drink pricing and an appetizing bar menu.
• Dinner: Mon.-Thurs. 5 -9:30 p.m., Fri. 5-10 p.m., Sat. 3:30-10 p.m. and Sun. 3:30-9 p.m.
• Lunch: Saturdays and Sundays between 12 noon – 3:30 p.m.

Cost: Regular adult meals cost $47.99; $29.99 salad area only. During lunch service, guests receive a complimentary dessert and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages included in the price. When purchased with a full-price meal children 2 years and under dine complimentary, 3-5 years costs $5.00 and 6-12 years are 50% off adult meal price.

Disclaimer: We were invited to dine here and our meal was complimentary. We were not otherwise compensated and all opinions are our own.