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Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse
Category: Restaurants Brazilian Brazilian [Edit]
6671 Fallsview BoulevardNiagara Falls, ON L2G 7G1
(905) 354-8775
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
27 reviews for Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse
Review Highlights
"Even the grilled pineapple was delicious."
(in 5 reviews)
"...had some really good cuts of meat, including suckling pig..."
(in 4 reviews)
"...is: I've been to Rodizio-style steakhouses dozens of times."
(in 3 reviews)
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27 reviews in English
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Review from Helen S.
Scarborough, ON
10/8/2011
I enjoyed Copacabana! Amazing variety and sparkling ambience!
After seeing it highlighted on an episode of Street Eats, I convinced my partner to take me there this past summer. So, on a gorgeous weeknight in July, we walked to Copacabana from our hotel, and were immediately greeted and seated on the lovely patio. Lots of natural wood decor, a huge bar area, and inside was the salad bar & bread buffet. It wasn't jam packed, just a sprinkling of families and groups at the early dinner hour.
Our server explained how the Brazilian steakhouse works (our first time), and we were set to go! We had an extensive list of everything on the grill/over the fire - chicken, lamb, sirloin steak, fish, pineapple, you name it - and the gracious servers with the skewers begain their evening parade to our table! I will vouch for the saltiness of the meat - but tender, juicy, delicious! You must go on an empty stomach, because there is a HUGE amount of food to try.
The salad bar was great - all kinds of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, and of course salads! Nice balance to the neverending selection of meats we were enjoying.
For dessert, I had a smashing cornbread and fried plantain offering - yum!
On Saturdays, there is dancing and entertainment as other reviewers mentioned, and I hear it's very busy. But on a weeknight...so pleasant, tasty, laid back, and the perfect end to a wonderful day in Niagara Falls! -
Review from Brian W.
9/27/2011
As far as Brazilian BBQ places go, it's just average.
But that assessment is a little unfair. They've got the full variety of meats and pineapple, the buffet stuff is acceptable enough, and the only thing they're really missing is the cheese rolls.
The service is pretty good, and while not all the meat was all that good (and a few of them tasted the same!), some of the meat was indeed quite good. The flank steak, the garlic beef, even the beef ribs weren't bad. Leg of lamb, normally hard to find good, was... well... surprisingly decent. The chimichurri steak was pretty good too.The roasted pineapple, while overly sweet, was also tasty enough.
Some friends liked the cheesy meats (literally, cooked/seasoned with cheese) but I wasn't as impressed.
The place is crowded and bustling like a club, yet you get enough space to eat comfortably.
So is it really good? No. But are you in a tourist spot? Yes. Is it plenty good enough?
That it is. 3.5 stars, but I'll be generous and round up to 4. -
Review from Dave H.
Richmond Hill, ON
9/7/2011
We went on a Saturday night in August and it was packed.
The crowd: Jersey Shore meets the Russian mob! I don't know why this place attracts this crowd because the food is decent.
The place: Although the ambiance (if you can call it that) is more like a worn out night club with music pumping full blast, the food is really good.
The food: Can you say meat sweats! $50/ person and basically all of the meat you can eat. They carve the meat off of a huge skewer and they're not shy with the portions. It just kept coming. They give you card with a green light on one side and red light on the other meaning I do/don't want more meat. They pay no attention to it. You keep getting meat. Plan to do nothing else that night but DIGEST.
Great food, sketchy ambiance and sometimes sketchier crowd but still a decent affordable dinner for Niagara Falls. -
Review from Ms. J.
Toronto, ON
8/21/2011
My girlfriend and I ate here on a Thursday evening last week. Not terribly busy, and the weather was great, so we sat outdoors. From our vantage point we could clearly see the aged cover band on the stage playing a variety of forgettable tunes. When the live DJ started spinning soulful housemusic, the evening got better. As a matter of fact "Boris" the DJ (who I ended up knowing) made the experience at this place bearable.
We went for the food, and what we got $150 later (food, alcoholic drinks, and tip) was the memories of delicious slices of picanha off the skewer, and little else. The salad bar was large, but had wilted lettuce in the salads, and creamy stuff in most of the other items. When it was time for the meat, most of the cuts of meat we tried were either overdone, lacking flavor, or just weird (cheese dripping through a hunk of beef was just gross). One round of picanha steak was medium rare and tasted "off", so we left the unpalatable offender alone. The manager came to ask us about it, but she didn't do much to rectify the situation, and we never heard complaints from the other patrons with seemingly insatiable appetites.
We had a much tastier experience at Copacabana in Toronto last year. Same owner I hear, so if they are reading this, they really need to get their food act together. Torontonian's are much more demanding when it comes to gastronomic delights, and they won't hesitate to use social media to tell about sub-par experiences. Oh, and bring Boris to DJ in Toronto as well! -
Review from John A.
6/3/2011
I've only been to two Brazilian styled restaurants, where skewers of meat are brought to your table and carved onto your plate, this being the better of the two.
After being seated, access to the salad bar is granted. They have a large spread of typical salad bar which while good, you are encouraged to fill up on before they start carving meat like nice slices of parmesan encrusted filet mignon for you.
I agree with some other reviewers, occasionally the meat was a bit salty.
However for the most part, they had some really good cuts of meat, including suckling pig, lamb, chicken, and various beef cuts. In the end they finished it off with nice slices of grilled pineapple.
We went on a Saturday night, it was about $50 each for the meal, and they had an interesting dance show. It seemed like a popular place, as it filled up rather quickly. It is conveniently located directly across from the Embassy Suites. -
Review from Daniel G.
4/21/2011
We were just in Niagra Falls. The outside walkway featured a missing tile with a caution sign for the two nights we visited them. We were seated at a worn-out booth. The hostess then seated us in a wobbly table with a light out. There was no one there. We left to reduce our exposure to a likely terrible experience.
The reason I am writing is that this not a place that one should come to in the off season. They need VOLUME to provide a variety of fresh meats. This is true for many of the restaurants in Niagra Falls. Hotels and casinos might be a better bet. We fared better at The Keg at the Embassy Suite. -
Review from Andrea D.
7/19/2011
Know 2 things - this place isn't cheap and you shouldn't eat for a couple of days before you go! Know that we've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you - t his place is great! The service was fabulous. We had a great seat so my husband could get an eyeful of the dancers (LOL). The dancers were beautiful, and they interacted so well with a number of small parties that were there. They gave "lessons" a couple of times during our dinner. The food was excellent. It just keeps coming. The grilled pineapple was to die for. Just get a little bit at a time so the cute latin servers keep coming to your table ;)
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Review from Paul S.
8/8/2011
Just ok. If you've had really good Brazilian steakhouse, this is not for you. Salad bar was quite lame, all the meat was all well done, but still juicy. The place was half empty, but we were still waiting for drinks. There was a good band playing at least. Wasn't a terrible experience but not a great value either.
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Review from Shasta K.
Toronto, ON
2/16/2011
I visited the Copa on New Years Day and found the experience quite satisfying.
Having just recently visited a Brazilian Stakehouse in Orlando (Texas De Brazil) naturally my mind will compare the two using TDB as the baseline.
Personally, I found the meats to be overly salty as others noted. Nice variety and they were cooked well, but just way too much salt! (I must have had about 5 glasses if water). Salad bar was good and had a wide selection.
Service was excellent and have nothing bad to say. For those of you that like eye candy (nothing wrong with that), plenty to see and enjoy for both the men and women.
As an aside, noticed that I was charged DMF on my bill (local Niagara destination marketing fee collected on behalf of the tourism board). Asked the waitress what that was all about and she offered to remove it right away - 9 bucks.
Overall, excellent restaurant and interesting experience but feel I could get better value for money elsewhere. -
Review from Lia K.
6/30/2010
The variety of steaks, lamb, chicken and grilled pineapple was a never-ending steak consumption party. I liked some of the slaws & banana peppers from the buffet table. As for the meat: I was in a steak heaven. I had slices of flank, top round, prime, skirt, salmon, morrocan chicken & a roasted pineapple. I had 'em medium rare & medium. And, yes.. I DID put away that much food. The treadmill is DEFINITELY calling my name. I can't say we drank much in the way of liquid because some prime real estate was needed in my belly for alla that steak.
The bits I thought are worth mentioning are:
ambiance: they had a outdoor, LIVE band playing 80s, 90s music. the decor was easy on the eyes.
service: was fantastic: new set of plates (2-3), they asked if we wanted to special request cuts of meat, refills on drinks (as if....)
meats: the meats would circulate pretty quickly.
Fire up/cool down card: self explanatory....
All this for a whopping $39 per person is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. -
Review from Vanessa M.
North York, ON
2/16/2010
I am a little bit in awe by how BAD people's taste buds are after reading most of the reviews...
No offence to anyone, but are you kidding me? 5 stars? 4 stars? 3 is really pushing it for this place. The only reason for giving this place 5 stars is if you are a pure meat and potato person--no, make that a pure meat person, then I can see this place somewhat appealing to you.
First off, if you want to find out how the Brazilians do it, here is a quick explanation...
http://en.wikipedia.or...
They had an impressive selection of grilled/BBQed meat on a giant sticks available... unfortunately, the servers would not come to your table consistently. We kept on seeing the same pork guy every 3 minutes, but not the more pricier filet mignon.
Another turn off for me was the seasoning/flavour of the meats. I love the way Americans, Greeks, Koreans, Indians do their stuff... but Brazilians, no so much.
Here is the thing... the buffet costs forty dollars. Now, I don't know how big your tummy is, but I cannot finish an 8oz steak by myself. I am not a large person, but I know that even the largest men are going to be stuffed with a 12oz steak with all the fixings.
So do yourself a favour--walk past this restaurant's entrance, take the elevator up and visit the Keg at the Embassy Hotel. Better service, better view, better food and better price. And no it is not a buffet, but your steaks will be cooked to order.
Let's tally it all up: Unattentive service, expensive entrance fee, and below average food equals... two stars for Copacabana.
(oh yeah, an additional tid bit.. neither of us felt too kosher after the meal) -
Review from Rich U.
1/25/2009
What I'm about to start by saying is for REFERENCE SAKE ONLY.
I am NOT, like so many Yelpers, desperately seeking affirmation regarding my sophisticated yet whimsical culinary lifestyle OR a forum in which I can cite my "oh-so-prestigious and superior to the rest of you peasant cretins" dining credentials (because my expense account let's me dine on the company's $) OR an audience for my latest "this is where I ate today (including McDonalds?-seriously?) submission to the online chronicle of my fascinating life.
So here it is: I've been to Rodizio-style steakhouses dozens of times. I love the concept, and am a colossal fan of the MEAT ORGY that is Brazilian Churrascaria. So, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING THAT I HAVE SOME EXPERTISE ON THE SUBJECT (sorry if that sounded self-absorbed and pretentious), permit me to state that I've been to Churrascaria Plataforma in NYC (several times), Fogo di Chao (in Philly and DC), Greenfield Churrascaria in Queens, Samba N'Brasa in Westchester, and Gaucho's Village in SoCal, among others. That having been said, I respectfully submit that THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST BRAZILIAN CHURRASCARIA/RODIZIO DINING EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!!!!!!!!! EVER! Bar none! Case closed!
Great selection. Skewer after skewer after sizzling skewer of expertly grilled meats, and superb flavoring and spice variations on the beef, lamb, pork, chicken, even pineapple. Copacabana is parmesan-encrusted, garlic-infused, bacon-wrapped, cheese-supplemented, grizzle-laden paradise. These guys aren't stingy with the selection or frequency of offerings. Great and abundant sides. Solid salad bar (I'd say more than one trip is foolish unless you're a vegetarian, but the salad bar even has paella and a phenomenal seafood medley!). Great atmosphere/entertainment. Dining here was indeed a hedonistic experience and a raucous (in a good way) event. Oh, and it's a bargain (even without the exchange rate)!!! Only $39 Canadian for somewhere between 14-16 different meats.
All of the other churrascarias I mentioned are very good, but this place surpasses them all. And so close to Buffalo/WNY!!!! Hallelujah! At the risk of offending hypersensitive, pretentious, proud-travelogue-citing Buffalo Yelpers, I've long lamented the fact that Buffalo lacks some fairly common, mainstream, 21st century restaurant options that cities of comparable size and population have - no quality coal/brick oven pizza, no authentic tapas, a falafel place that doesn't offer shawarma, no authentic or non-cookie cutter Chinese, the best Mexican places got shut down,etc. (Seriously, why doesn't Buffalo have a Dinosaur BBQ when Rochester and Syracuse both do?). But no longer can I include Brazilian churrascaria on the wishlist of "must obtains." The Copacabana is a gem of a steakhouse worth the border-crossing hassles, and worth getting a passport for (come Summer 2009).
Would that I could give this place 6 stars... -
Review from Amber K.
8/6/2008
Dining here, I felt like I was on a vacation, which I was, but I felt like I was in some far off place - Brazil possibly? The atmosphere was perfect. We dined indoors then proceed out to the patio to finally see where the amazing music we had heard all throughout dinner was coming from, and there they were... this INCREDIBLE band playing live music, and beautiful Brazilian ladies performing to it. Everything I experienced that night felt authentic. It was all completely new to me, and I fell in love.
I cannot even begin to describe the sensationally seasoned, unbelievably tender cuts of meat that were brought to our table. I wanted 2, or 3, or 4 of everything! There was such variety, and the service was great, we had servers coming to our table quite frequently with the next best thing to try. I'm not a huge fan of meat, but this place certainly converted me, at least for the time I was there. Even the grilled pineapple was delicious.
Such a FUN experience. I WISH the Brazilian BBQ in San Diego was half as good. If I'm ever in Niagara Falls again, I will no doubt be stopping back at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse. -
Review from Beck N.
9/2/2008
Two words: food coma. If you have ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. This restaurant has decent decor, live music, & very cushy booths that you totally sink into. The buffet itself is about average size, but there is a list of about 15 meats that they deliver directly to your table.
When we first were seated, we were immediately greeted by our waitress to get our drink orders in. The guys bringing around the skewers of meat came by very frequently, so there was always something mouth-watering to try. They didn't seem to pay attention to the indicator when it was on the "cool it down" side, but perhaps that is because it is a tourist area & not everyone is familiar with how the indicator works. Unfortunately for us, hubby & I were already full by the time the suckling pig & salmon came around, so we did not get to try those.
A bit of a note for anyone who is going to go here... go starving... but take it slow. Hubby & I ate way too fast & it caught up to us quickly. The waitress also told us that there is a 2 hour time limit on the tables, so I guess if you're daring, you can stay awhile & get your $37 worth of meat craving. -
Review from Jesse A.
8/27/2010
I love meat so this place was awesome! We were served quickly and our glasses always full. We ate so much meat and roasted Pineapple we were about ready to burst. I only wish we would have went on a Friday or Saturday so we could have caught the dancers.
I will be looking for a Brazilian Steakhouse in my area based off our experience (first timers)!Listed in: Places Eat At
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Review from Yarilda I.
6/29/2009
I just arrived at Niagara Falls and I was absolutely starving from the 6 hr drive up. We found this rodizio place and decided to check it out.
When we first walked in, the hostess gave us a quick explanation of the rodizio style and told us 40$ a person. I was VERY turned off by the price but I figured that I'm on vacation; I should live it up this week.
It took us FOREVER to get our meats. We sat there waiting and waiting and waiting!!!! We were told they have at least 15 different selections from the grill but we kept getting the samething serve to us again and again. It was pissing me off.
The service was absolutely horrible. I felt like this place hired a bunch of skinny, fake baked, bleach blonde, women who cared about how they look in the mirror than the satisfaction of their customers.
At the end of our dinner, we had a bill of 110$ American dollars and it was not worth it. I've been to many rodizio style restaurants and this place's food is not worth the 40$ per person.
If you feel like spending the money then be my guest and eat here. But I wish I'd save the 100 bucks for shopping. -
Review from Erin C.
North York, ON
4/17/2011
Great salad bar and entertainment, but pricey $40 per person and the meats extremely salty!!! Wouldn't go back, felt I paid $40 for a salad bar. I heard the Brasa is much better and just around the corner. Been to better rodizio style restaurants.
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Review from Michael S.
5/28/2009
Ok. So, I've been to other Brazilian steakhouses before and I really did not like this place..
With tip, the bill was over $100 dollars American. I'm not a cheap person and this place is cheap compared to other places like this, however, it was just that bad of service.
The food was decent.. I've had better salad bars at other steakhouses, but we go for the meat so that's fine.. The meat was pretty good.. It didn't seem better than other places I've been to, but was about the same.. I did like the lamb there.. and the pineapple was pretty sweet..
The problem was a really bad waitress who did not properly serve us.. A lot of things you'd expect to get like the fried bananas or any sides were given out very sparingly. We had to stop our waitress to get more water on more than one occassion. How the heck does that happen when there is a waitress station right next to our booth? I ended up letting my gf have the 2 small pieces of banana when it was brought over as I just didn't want it anymore. We expected more than a piece each.. Also, my gf really likes the pineapple at other steakhouses and we ended up waiting a long time for the pineapple as we kept getting passed up..
I really wanted to give this place 0 stars, especially for the price, but there was one guy that actually earned them the star I am giving. He did ask if we got our pineapple yet each time he passed and finally grabbed some and brought it right to us before anyone else..
When it comes to dining out, it's not just the food as that didn't blow me away as something so spectacular.. it's also the service.. With the really sad service, I can say for sure I'm never going back there.. -
Review from Sage C.
7/13/2010
As a Vegetarian with a Meat eating friend, we found Copacabana a great place to satisfy both of us. The fact that this place has two buffet options - one with the meat - the $40 one and the one for salad bar only - $25 is great. The salad/veggie selection was great.
Most of all, this place has lots of eye candy. Yes, I said it. Eye Candy! The handsome men serving the meat were very pleasing to the eye. There were very beautiful dancing girls and lots of beautiful people all over. -
Review from Joe C.
5/30/2011
Great food, great environment and great service! Food was absolutely superb and you will definitely not be disappointed. There was a live band when i was there (Friday night) and it set off the night even more. Waitresses are also friendly and attractive.
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Review from Nick N.
12/16/2008
Food: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Decor & Setup: 5/5
Five stars all around! Its located in the fun and entertainment section of Niagara Falls, Ontario. Beautiful, great scenery, live band. Whatever you can think of. High class but also a fun place where anyone can enjoy. No snobs here!
Now remember, its your typical Brazilian restaurant so you'll be spending at least 45 dollars a person! All you can eat Brazilian meat. I try to eat until my stomach explodes. Then I don't eat for two days.
Atmosphere is great in that area of town! -
Review from charles S.
7/5/2009
Copacabana has dancing girls and juicy juicy meat! I didn't know the price or the set up when I walked in the door. No one bothered to explain it to me really, but once the meat skewers started showing up I was sold. How it works is there is a buffet of everything from mashed potatoes to calimari salad that you are free to visit as often as you like. The real food is circulated by beefy waiters with chunks of meat on skewers. If you want them to continue to stop by your table with more meat, you turn your card to red, if you want them to stop, you turn it to blue. You will eat too much.
The Ontario side of Niagara Falls seems to have distilled a few essential qualities of "Americans" and then magnified it. Lots of "all you can eat" signs decorate the tourist-scape. Given the other similar options I would recommend Copacobana as long as you go in informed. This place is pricy, but each different meat was cooked to perfection. It was delicious and I ate way too much. -
Review from soy y.
5/4/2009
It was like 40 bucks (canadian heh heh) for all you can eat meats and a salad bar that's basically a side-dish bar (with good and even fancy side dishes!) and did I say all you can eat meat???
They give you this card and as long as it's face up, they keep coming to your table. We tried pretty much everything, although I stopped taking portions from myself early into it because I could tell this place was going to be trouble (that didn't mean I stopped eating, roundeye kept taking portions and telling me I HAD to try this one hehe). Pretty much all of their meat concoctions were delicions. And the grilled pineapple was so good we bit their idea and grilled up pineapple this weekend (pineapple grilled with a little cinnamon and brown sugar). -
Review from Stuart G.
4/2/2011
Had a great meal and time. Would recommend this place to anyone.
We were looking for a nice place to eat but did not want to spend a fortune (things are really expensive in Niagara Falls, $40 for a steak at TGIF, give me a break)
I searched the Internet and found the Copacabana, called and asked for a reservation, directions and price. The price was $38 per person for the all you can eat meat extravaganza. The place was right across the street from our hotel (Embassy Suites).
We were promptly seated and the fun began. We started with some items from the salad buffet then the meat started arriving at our table side. They boast 17 varieties of meat and we saw them all.
About 5 minutes into our meal the salsa dance show started right next to our table. It was great entertainment.
The meat servers kept coming by nonstop, offering us slices of this and chunks of that. It was overload. They have many, polite and efficient servers.
Did I say 17 varieties of meat! It was delicious. Our favourites - The roasted pineapple, Top sirloin, rib eye, skirt steak. Plus the cornbread they served was excellent.
I'm ready to go back. -
Review from John C.
Mississauga, ON
5/11/2009 1 photo
Copacabana may be a carnivore's dream I love it a bit price at $40.00
They give you this card and as long as it's face up, they keep coming to your table. We tried pretty much everything, -
Review from Mike E.
1/25/2009
From start to finish this place deserves 6 or more stars. The minute you walk in, you are welcomed by beautiful hostesses. Upon being seated, one of the waitresses (all are beautiful) explains the simple procedure of using your "Fire it up" or "Cool it down" placard. The bountiful salad bar is worth a little taste, but don't overfill your plate as the "Party" of MEAT hasn't started yet. Then the never ending parade of meat begins....The friendly and proficient meat servers arrive with skewers of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey all seasoned to perfection. Then nice little surprises are added ...like sugar roasted pineapple (to die for), melted mozzarella patties, corn bread muffins, garlic bread, and deep-fried plantains. They actually also offer a dessert menu, but good luck on leaving enough room for any of that.
During your stay you will be entertained by beautiful Brazilian style dancers and a Marshall arts exhibition....both performances are just amazing. Well worth the trip from any western New York location. -
Review from agnes l.
1/19/2011
Absolutely tasty! If you love meat, you will love this place. I was so full at the end and our waiter recommended me to try the brown sugar grilled pinapple, that did fit into my stuffed stomach just because of how delicious it was. I wish the salad and pasta bar has better selections.
