Sao Paulo’s Restaurant

My office used to be within walking distance from Sao Paulo’s, and I only wish it still were! I’ve taken my husband here for dinner (we will actually make a long drive to dine in on the weekends, we love it that much), and ordered take-​out and picked it up on my lunch break. I’ve never been disappointed in the tasty entrée’s. One of the best tortilla soups around! Love the flavor. My favorite dishes are Chicken A Milanesa (super crispy!), and the Pollo Magdalena, which has a really unique flavor. Can’t complain about the service either!

So good. Fully recommeded. The only slight disappointment was the baked cheese ball m. Fogo’s is better. The deep fried appetizer sampler was otherwise perfection.
The beef Milanese was very good too.

Service — good
Food — not great
Price — good
Probably will not go back. Too many other options in dining to waste my time there.

The food was excellent as was the service! We all enjoyed everything we ordered, but the queso and fried wonton chips were by far the star of the show! They had an excellent and reasonably priced lunch menu, and even did a half order of the mozzarella and tomato salad so I could add one to my meal.

I came here with a friend after searching for a dish that I used to have at Casa de Brazil that was amazingly comforting and perfect. It was a Latin Chicken Stroganoff and at Casa de Brazil it had thin, crunchy chips on top0– a lot like a really bad for you but oh so good casserole that your Latin grandmother would make you. Anyhow, we arrived just before the end of happy so we ordered the yucca and queso. It was strange. The yucca was large and soft on the inside and fried on the outside. I was expecting chips…
Out waiter also seemed to be preoccupied and uninterested in us as guests (there were maybe three or four tables that had patrons) which got worse throughout the night.
We both ended up ordering their version on the chicken stroganoff. When it came to the table it looked like Campbells canned soup with a few things thrown in. I took a bite and it tasted like that but with lots of thickener. The chicken was also dry and rubbery. I immediately pushed it to the end of the table, making it clear to the waiter, if he ever came by that something was amiss. My companion didn’t like her either but gave up and ate it because the waiter never came by and we couldn’t catch his attention. 45 minutes later I got up and asked the bus boy (who was so much more attentive) for the waiter. I told him it was not good and it was clear I hadn’t touched it. Oh, and I’m also 7 months pregnant. The fact that he didn’t bring me a menu, offer me the house favorite that everyone loves, or even some replacement still baffles me. Who just walked away with the dish and SAYS NOTHING? to a pregnant woman??? Sigh. I left hungry and frustrated and we will not be returning. Ever.

Good price. Good food. Excellent a service. Relaxing atmosphere. Ambiance is casual. Booths are a little small. But overall the flavor of the food was fantastic.

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: 3.5÷5
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
Great Brazilian comfort food in a fairly nice setting.
For those of you that know what’s up, this place is adjacent to Taco Joint (i.e. best tacos in Austin, fight me). The restaurant itself is nice, but it doesn’t particularly stand out from what I recall. Just a simple little restaurant. The service was also pretty standard, the server was friendly and sparked up a little conversation with us, which was nice if you like your servers doing that.
The menu offered a lot of really, really good sounding food and I had difficulty choosing, as I was not particularly familiar with Brazilian food. This isn’t a churrascaria, but they do have several dishes with meat grilled in the ever popular Brazilian style. I finally chose an appetizer of Pao de Queijo (tapioca cheese balls) and an entrée of Bobo de Camarao (Shrimp and yucca with veggies in a tomato coconut cream sauce served with rice). For those of you who are familiar with churrascarias (Fogo de Chao, etc), they always serve these as a side. And they are addicting. Sadly, these aren’t as good as Fogo’s, but still enjoyable. The entrée was absolutely delicious. I’d consider it a curry because of the coconut based sauce and man, I was hit with nostalgia. It’s very similar to Indonesian curries that my mom used to make, and anything that’s able to do that is a thumbs up in my book. Apparently the dish won an Austin award too. Props.
I’d recommend it. ⁴⁄₅

I came here using a travel zoo deal.
It was pretty slow. Only about 4 other tables. It took a while for our orders to be taken. Our waitress was very informative with the menu. We ordered our food, it came out in a reasonable time.
I had the shrimp in the spaghetti squash bowl. It was so good. Perfectly seasoned. The squash was tender and not over cooked like I hear most is.
We really enjoyed our meal until we overheard our waitress. She was going on and on about how her day sucked and someone left her a $ 4 tip and it was fuckin bullshit. And people need to learn how to tip, and she’s ready to go home, blah blah blahhhh. Talk about that crap in the back not right in front of me and other customers. Besides, you’re too pretty to have a mouth like that girl! If my son was with me you would’ve definitely been hearing from me.
My bill hadn’t even came yet and she’s at my table explaining how I have to tip on the full value of the meal and not the travel zoo discount. GIRL I KNOW THIS so please move around.
She brings out my check and feels the need to explain how to tip AGAIN! I was disgusted at this point. I tipped her 25% just because and got outta there as fast as I could. I will NEVER be back.

We ordered Churrasquinho platter and the Salmon, they were really tasty. What we enjoyed the most is the band music on Saturday night. I really like the tropical style music.

The veggie lasagne (Lasanha Paulista) is cheesy, filled with vegetables & ricotta and MORE than enough to share. Served with a delicious mini cheesy roll. I also love their banana tots (served w/​honey mustard)!
Might be returning for happy hour (2−7p) $ 2.99 margaritas before I head out of town!

The service was very friendly and very nice! The food was mediocre but everything was presented really well. There is one thing that is just amazing which was the queso with the chips. I highly recommend this place for drinks and some appetizers. I think this place is the best for casual hangouts with friends and a first date restaurant. It was pretty romantic in side and definitely set the mood. The deserts were amazing pushed it to the 4 star range. I think this place is alright for some casual food and drinks. I shall return for the happy hour!

My friend told me about this place and this Saturday I went there in a group with 4 Brazilians. We ordered yuca fried and coxinha. It was really good! Delicious!
I ordered Bobo de Camarao and my friends ordered Strogonofe, Bife a Milanesa and Feijoada. Bobo de Camarão had nothing special taste, the only good thing was that it came with an enough amount of shrimps and they were great and big. My friend liked the Feijoada. But my other friends didn’t like the taste of Strogonofe and Bife a Milanesa. Even dishes were all looking great, it doesn’t work if it doesn’t have a good taste. Service was bad! Employee was trying to do everything but it’s hard, apparently only had her serving customers. Food came quickly but two dishes were with wrong sides, we asked to change it. Employee also forgot my beverage and I gave up asking again. Place is ok, no good and no bad, but I do not come back, honestly. We spent $ 20 each without tip. More employers serving customers could be great.

I have lived in Brazil for a very long time and I missed their food, so I went to check out «São Paulo’s Restaurant.» The location is great, it is very close to campus. They have an inside and outside area and even though I am not a smoker, I like that people have the freedom to smoke while they’re sitting outside. The staff is great, very nice and communicative.
The food is quite good, but it is not Brazilian at all. I do not like the concept of mixing «Tex-​Mex» and «fake”-Brazilian cuisine. There is plenty of Tex-​Mex-​places in Austin, why would you not focus on only one? I wish their food would have been more authentic. I had their «Moqueca,» which is a traditional dish from Bahia. I ate it in Bahia and now here it was so disappointing. I understand, it might be difficult to get certain ingredients in the US but it wasn’t even close. The caipirinha was good, but pretty weak for that price.
All in all, the food is good but not Brazilian authentic at all!

I am deeply saddened that I have to give Sao Paulo ristorante 3 stars because it used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I used to bring my family from out of town here all the time and loved the little cheese breads and delicious entrees. But when I went a few days ago, much had changed.
The service was still good, as was the little band they had playing at one end. But my entrée (sirloin roulade) was very very salty– to the point where I stopped eating it and just picked at it. My boyfriend’s dish (something in a pumpkin) was so cheesy he might as well have been eating craft mac and cheese. To top it off, the little cheese breads appetizer we got was dry, over salted, and stone cold.
I don’t know what happened to you Sao Paulo. I hope you feel better soon.

I was in Austin to do Tough Mudder so while I was in town, I decided to meet up with a friend who recommended to have dinner at Sao Paulo’s. He told me that this is his «go-​to» restaurant every time he had to take someone new out on a date. If that’s the case, this place had to be pretty awesome, right?
As I walked into the restaurant, there was a live band playing some music (which I would assume was Brazilian since it didn’t sound like any salsa or any typical Spanish music that I’m familiar with). The hostess was super friendly. She made conversation as she walked me and my friend to our table. She also stayed a little bit after we sat down for some more small talks and left when our waitress came to our table.
Our waitress was super duper awesome. Super friendly, all smiles, and she was cute! Yup, I’m not even embarrassed to say it. Anyway, after quickly looking through the menu, we decided to start with those traditional puffy cheese breads and to get the Churrasquinho platter for two. We also ordered some Guarana soda. I don’t usually drink soda, but this was GOOD! Try it!
The restaurant wasn’t too busy for a Saturday night, but i could see why my friend would pick this place to be his go-​to restaurant for his dates. The live music wasn’t too loud or distracting; and the ambiance of the restaurant was pretty nice. As a matter of fact, there were several couples who were here on a date.
The food didn’t take too long to come out. The platter came with some rice, potatoes, steak, chicken, pork, and sausage! So it was definitely a lot of food! And for the price? This platter was definitely a great value. Everything on the platter was pretty legit! Delicious. No, don’t expect the steak to be some high-​class steak, but for the price, it was definitely worth it. Let’s just say that after I finished my meal, I didn’t have any more room for desserts, which was a shame because I wanted some.
Anyway, if you live the Austin area and you haven’t tried this place yet, well, what are you waiting for?

After working for 6 hours from early morning, I was so hungry that I decided to find a restaurant that is close enough to my office building. Then I came here at 2:30 p.m. and there were only 3 people dining there including me. The inside decoration is warm and welcoming which I love very much.
It is hard to believe that their happy hour starts at 2 and ends at 7! I couldn’t help ordering a frozen passion fruit margarita, as it is reasonably priced (2.99). Although it doesn’t taste like passion fruit, but still it is wonderful but a little bit strong. I also had Bobo de Camarao for lunch. Amazing!!! I don’t know if it is authentic Brazilian flavor, but surely I will come here again! Sao Paulo’s is absolutely the best place that I’ve ever been to near UT campus!

Capsule review: Sao Paulo’s is a creative and reliable option in the north-​central UT area that offers good value at its price point. Full review below.
I must confess that I have been to neither Portugal nor Brazil, not have I eaten this style of food at very many other restaurants besides Fogo de Chao. But I like Sao Paulo’s a lot, particularly given the dearth of non-​bar food in the immediate area. (Competition around Duval and 30^th: sports bar, sports bar, pizza place, taco place.) Most eat spots around UT rely on a transient population of students, so given the built-​in clientele, the incentive for businesses to excel is minimal and thus quality campus-​wide is hugely hit-​and-​miss. But this one’s a keeper.
Dining is casual table service with an outdoor area (too close to the on-​street parking for my liking). Menu ranges from traditional Brazilian to Tex-​Mex, eclectic enough to suit a fairly wide variety of palates. Thematically, most of the food is heavy on meat and rich sauces with some lighter and vegetarian options.(Veg, and veg/​vegan adaptable items are helpfully listed on the menu.) Service has always been quickish and genial but not awe-​inspiring. They will help you with the pronunciations.
Some highlights: the coxinha appetizer, a lightly fried sort of pastry stuffed with pulled chicken. It’s kind of amazing. The moqueca bahiana (fish or shrimp in a tomato and coconut cream sauce) is freshly seasoned and tasty. The galinhada (Brazilian paella) is a good standby, and the estrogonofe do sul is nice if you want something rich. But just get the enchiladas if you’re not feeling adventurous; they’re solid and the chipotle sauceis grade-​A. Most entrees are $ 10-​$ 15, so no need to charge it until payday. We usually get out around $ 50-​$ 60 for two with drinks and an appetizer. I’ve paid much more for much less.
In terms of booze, there’s a full bar, a decent selection of crafts, and daily happy hour specials on drinks, beer, and appetizers. I keep meaning to stop in just for that.
On the downside, a number of the Brazilian dishes seem a little similar after a few visits, and I do wish they’d upgrade away from a few chintzy campus-​isms like plastic water glasses. If you’re driving, parking in the area will require some hunting (no lot, a few dedicated spaces out front). But these are character-​building experiences, easily worthwhile for one of the better places in walking distance of UT and Hyde Park

This place is a hidden gem!
Our bill was $ 80 with tip… let me break it down for you.
SO had the caiphirinha which was fresh and delicious and makes you feel like it will be summer forever.
I had the white sangria — highly recommend. So delicious that I am mad I didn’t ask for the recipe to mix it at home.
We started off with the appetizer sampler which (in my opinion) was a little too fried for my taste. Everything was just pretty okay — SO really liked the chicken in puff pastry. Next time I will definitely pass on this and maybe just order the stuffed jalapenos.
Our dishes
He had the rocambole which was delicious — I don’t think there was anything left on his plate!
I had the shrimp in squash dish. Unfortunately only took two bites of it because I was soo full from that monstrous appetizer. It was really good, but very cream-​heavy unfortunately. Next time I will hope for something lighter.
Dessert
Their flan type dessert was the best I have ever tasted. Could have eaten a whole pan of it. I will be back for this alone.
Great ambiance, good date spot, pretty good food — think I just chose wrong, good value for money, great drinks, excellent dessert. I will definitely be back!

NOT an all-​you-​can eat Brazilian steakhouse. And you know what? It’s OK! In fact, it’s a good thing because sometimes, you want to try the more authentic dishes that a cuisine has to offer… and Sao Paulo’s hits the spot!
Parking: Pain in the butt. You’re fighting the Crown & Anchor crowd & North Campus college kids. SO– keep this in mind if you’re planning on taking a girl out on a date here– probably not a good first date place if she’ll be wearing heels.
Ambiance– mainly casual (you’re right next to campus) but could pass as somewhat romantic (dim lighting) & we came on a Friday so there was live jazz.
Plenty of seating– there were some large group tables (I’m assuming reservations were needed) and some small tops. TIP: if you’re making a reservation, you might want to ask for a table further from the door/​band.
Service– very good. I want to say our server was Ian. He was professional & pleasant & attentive.
Appetizer:
Hubby wanted the appetizer sampler $ 11– YESSS. I wasn’t gonna say no to that.
We got 2 of the top 5 things in their appetizer section & our favorites were:
–PAO DE QUEIJO– parmesan chewy cheesy bread. NO it’s not fried cheese. It’s better. It’s salty & cheesy & got a bouncy texture that just parties in your mouth.
–Bolinhos– Fried little seasoned rice & potato balls. So delicious! Mine had an ooey-​gooey middle of some sort of cheese.
Entrees:
— Camarao Da Vo Naica– $ 16 SO SO SO good. I highly recommend this dish. It’s got great presentation– it comes out in a spaghetti squash bowl! And then you can scoop out bits of freshly baked spaghetti squash along with your shrimp cheesy sauce. Loved the taste & textures! The shrimp weren’t the biggest but they also weren’t stingy with them so it’s overall a win :)
— Rocambole Alexandra– $ 16 Breaded sirloin rolled into a wheel-​like shape and stuffed with shrimp. Cooked and cut up & served with a mushroom sauce. Comes with a side of fried plaintains & salad. Hubby liked it. I thought it was okay, but I preferred my dish 5x over this one.
Dessert:
— Choices: Tres Leches, Flan-​like-​item, or Chocolate torte cake. We got the chocolate cake. It was fudgy & pretty good. I think I would’ve liked it better if it came room temperature and not straight from the refrigerator– texture was a bit stiff.
Portions: Decent. Not too much, not too little :) We both left full & happy.
I definitely recommend this place if you’re looking to try something new and don’t mind looking for parking. Austin doesn’t have a huge Brazilian foodie scene other than the steakhouses & everything we tried here was pretty decent to delicious, so try this place out :)

We came here with a groupon. Surprise surprise. Thas wuh ah do.
Anyway, this place turned out to be one of my favorite restaurants in Austin. Strange, because I haven’t heard much about it before.
My fiancé and I had no idea what to expect, but it looked cool and after stalking the place on Unilocal we decided to try it out.
The owner *I think* was working the night we went and he was super busy but tried to give us his time without rushing us. The appetizers aren’t my favorite because most are fried, but they weren’t bad. We tried the stuffed jalapenos and they tasted exactly like stuffed jalapenos. Good sign!
What really blew me away and what I think deserves 5 stars (with the addition of very good service) is the Camarao de Vo Naica (baby shrimp mixed with cheese and tomato purée in a pumpkin bowl and rice). Holy sweet mama mia. These were flavors and textures I had never put together before. So, you’ve got this pumpkin, a quarter of a small-​ish pumpkin. And then there’s all these shrimp cooked in this delicious cheesy tomato-​y sauce. And all that is sitting in this pumpkin. Eating the shrimp, sauce, and pumpkin together is mind blowing. The pumpkin is kinda sweet, crunchy, and soft, while the shrimp has nice creamy bold flavor to it. I don’t know man, that meal blew my freakin mind. There was so much too, and it tasted just as great the next day!
Andi got Bobo de Camarao (shrimp and yucca with veggies in a coconut cream sauce). This dish had a much stronger cheesy creamy flavor to it, probably because of the coconut cream and lack of tomato. The yucca also added awesome texture. Man this place knows it’s textures! Anyway, it was also delicious and had shrimp.
And to finish it all off was the tres leches cake. Now, my friend, you cannot go wrong with creamy, milky, tres leches cake. It was delightful.
Sao Paulo’s is fantastic. Go eat the Camarao de Vo Naica.

«FAY-​YODA!!» I was so smugly ordering this dish that I remember having and loving from Sao Paulo years ago, showing off for my non-​Yelpie friend, when I noticed the waiter’s eyebrows raise and a little giggle. «Feh-​zhwada» he corrected me. Whatever, just bring me the goods I thought.
Anyway, this little hidden and somewhat forgotten gem is still a great place to go before any show at the Bass Concert Hall. Conveniently located just blocks from the San Jacinto garage (pre-​paid parking), it’s still easy to get to the show on time and get a drink, even if you’re yakking and paying the bill just 25 minutes prior.
They also have a decent happy hour with my favorite Brazilian concoction, the Capiroska (Cap-​eh-​ROSE-​ka), your traditional caiparinha but made with vodka instead of cachaca. And my friend was very pleased with her HH mexi-​mart.
The feijoada was a soul warming stew of pulled pork, sausage and black beans served with rice and fresh greens on the side. Exactly what I wanted and with plenty for lunch the next day. BUT lets talk about the Pao de Quejo. Those little doughy, yeasty cheesy rolls that make my toes curl. I believe I had enough of those to blow my belly up like a ball of dough but still would have eaten more (which is why the nice waiter slipped me one in my to-​go order :).
I am hoping that I win more tix to Broadway (AHEM, Unilocal) in the future so I can continue this brand new tradition with Sao Paulo.