Bolero or Gauchos?

[aaronck]

Booked a babysitter and am heading out for a grown up meal and some drinks-I can't decide between these 2 places-

Bolero has some good feedback, but some bad as well, would like to try the Brazilian experience-

Gauchos seems more authentic, but seems to have platters (with chicken wings?) without the variety that Bolero has.

Any recent feedback on these places?

[Isaiah]

Been to both.

Bolero has a nicer ambience, more variety in terms of both cold and hot buffets, and in my opinion better service and value for the dollar.

We weren't overly impressed with Gaucho, although I understand that they've recently changed locations and I haven't been to the new one. The old one was very small and cramped.

From our experience, Bolero won in food, variety, quality, service, and ambience categories. Gaucho was a few dollars cheaper but not worth it.

EDIT:

Reference thread #1 (http://forums.beyond.ca/st/246518/brazilian-bbq-in-calgary/)

Reference thread #2 (http://forums.beyond.ca/st/196118/bolero-on-macleod/)

[aaronck]

Thanks, I did see the older threads, but nothing was that recent, I think I'll give Bolero's a shot

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I really enjoy Bolero, more so than Guachos because of the food and ambience.

[QuasarCav]

The layout and food delivery for Bolero was much better than Gauchos and that's important when you have no other way to get food. I was not impressed with the server at Gaucho and the whole setup looked like it was a catering company that had setup a store front to make extra money when they weren't catering.

Bolero was a better price as well and had a larger selection of drinks.

[ExtraSlow]

I haven't been to either, but my brazilian buddy claims that Gaucho is more authentic.
I'm hoping to get out for a meal there soon.

[The Winger]

While Bolero isn't the best Churrascaria I have had, it is the best in Calgary, hands down better than Gauchos. I took my wife here for our anniversary last year and it was very dissapointing, terrible service, bad food. I usually have a 2 visit rule before blowing a place off but the waitress we had put us off this place for good.

Bolero on the other hand is pretty consistent, but not as good as many of my favorites south of the border.

[aaronck]

Thanks for the feedback all-word of advice though, if you want to eat there on a Saturday night, book a week or so in advance!

I know it's totally different, but I bypassed Gauchos and reserved at Els in Marda Loop...Fancy rolls here I come!

[ExtraSlow]

Watch out for some of the huge rolls at Els. Tasty as hell, but pretty near impossible to eat.
I really prefer my rolls to be single bite sized.
Also, skip that deep fried roll. I wasn't impressed with it.

[trieuth]

I've been to both, and prefer Gauchos. So much better.

[Jeremiah]

I'll be going to Boleros on Sunday Night, I'm excited to see how it is, will post results afterwards

[coventyhills]

I was at Gaucho in Dec. and have nothing but good things to say. Great food, service, and a real intimate place. Although it is in an industrial area it is not to be missed. After we filled our stomachs, we heard about Bolero. We decided to head over and get a table and see how it is. We continued to eat the food, which was phenomenal. Great restaurant. After the girl came by with some lamb, I cut up some and began to chew it. It wouldn't go down, and I proceeded to vomit all over the table, floor, and myself. It was everywhere. The staff were very accommodating, although one of the staff also threw up. I was told that the area we were in still smells like vomit.

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by coventyhills
...full of shit...I'm a fucking idiot...
Still early in 2010 but still gets my vote for banning of the year :thumbsup:

[Davetronz]

I enjoy Boleros. Definitely a place to go on an empty stomach.

If you like your meat cooked a certain way, it might not be the place for you. You won't always get a "medium" cut of beef or lamb, depending on where they are on the roast, leg, or sword, you will get a different cut of meat. Some will also say that the meat is bland or not seasoned well. I think they try to keep it pretty neutral with their seasonings and spices.

The warm and cold bars are nothing special, but they are merely there for some starch and foliage to help the meat move through your system.

Don't plan on going anywhere or doing anything after dinner there. You'll have the meat sweats and proceed into a meat coma for a few hours where you'll be too tired to do much else. LOL

[boarderfatty]

I have been to used to come down to Calgary 3 times a month for Brazilian BBQ and would alternate between Bolero's and Gaucho's. I like Bolero's for the ambience, drink selection and salad bar. But I prefered Gaucho's when I go for Brazilian BBQ I go there for loads of red meat, not that extra filler stuff. I found that Gaucho's quality of meat was consistently better quality. I also found that even though I liked the service at Bolero's better, The cowboys cutting my meat at Gaucho's were much more skilled in their craft than the randoms cutting it off in chunks rather than thin strips like at Gaucho's. The sides at Gauchos are unlimited, and decent quality, but the only hot dish is the beans which are awesome.

I have tried Brazilian BBQ in vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. My favorite has to be Le Milsa in Montreal, cant wait to hit it up this summer at the Grand Prix. Still nothing compared to the places in the states though. Fogo de Chao is on of my favorite chain places in the States.

[The Winger]

Originally posted by boarderfatty Still nothing compared to the places in the states though. Fogo de Chao is on of my favorite chain places in the States. [/B]

Try Texas De Brazil down south, amazing!

[tobslau]

I prefer Bolero, but this is on the basis on that you get a seat near the kitchen. I've found that when you are further in the restaurant (like near the bar in the back) you rarely get any of the meat and it's sort of cold when it arrives.

But otherwise, a great experience so far for me.

[elusiv]

I prefer Bolero's... Gaucho's was ok, but we had to wait an hour for a table (thats with a reservation). The restaurant is tiny and we were sitting shoulder to shoulder. There's very little space in the aisles for people to walk too and the servers like to wave their knives dangerously close to your face. Service was ok, I'm sure it would have been better if they werent so busy that night. Food was terrific though and I wouldn't mind going back TBH.

Bolero's is a bit more expensive, but you get great food, service and space to sit :P

[flipstah]

I found Gaucho>Bolero in terms of service and quality. Since it was smaller, we got our meats faster and service was easier to get.

I do however, did not like their pork dishes as it was too fatty and not seasoned well.

For both places, I think they need a 'palate cleanser' item (ginger, vinegar, anything...) because after a while, it all tastes the same and ruins the experience.

[Neil4Speed]

Both are really great, I prefer Bolaros slightly more though.

[BokCh0y]

Like them both, but I find Bolero has a better Ambiance.

[GOnSHO]

i really liked gauchos when i had it a couple months back,

[Weapon_R]

Definitely Boleros, but you pay for it. At Gauchos, they tend to come out less and less as time goes on. It's like they want you to get up and leave.

[SigmaRacing]

Bolero is a better spot overall IMO. I agree that the food may be more authentic at Gaucho but you'll have a better time at Bolero and the food is still excellent. Especially if they have pineapple that night.

[1barA4]

Originally posted by SigmaRacing
Bolero is a better spot overall IMO. I agree that the food may be more authentic at Gaucho but you'll have a better time at Bolero and the food is still excellent. Especially if they have pineapple that night.

Agreed! The pineapple is to kill for.

Having been to both, I prefer Bolero's hands down (and my first Rodizio experience was at Fogo de Chao in Houston when it was a new craze in 2001).

[Isaiah]

I've been to the new Gaucho several times since originally posting in this thread last year and would say that the experience was exponentially better than at their old location. I'm still a fan of Bolero but can't say it's really any better than Gaucho by any metric.

Given that Bolero usually requires a reservation up to a week in advance and I've always just walked-in to Gaucho, I may give the edge to the latter in terms of convenience if nothing else.

[BananaFob]

Anyone else find the meat consistently overcooked and dry at either of these places? It's just not rare enough for me I guess. :dunno:

[Disoblige]

Gauchos sucks. Salad bar is pitiful and most of the meats are very salty. Never ate so little at an AYCE restaurant before in my life.

Bolero all the way.

[Guillermo]

i've been to Gaucho 2 times - had the groupon thing, not sure I would pay full price. I find that all of the meat has the same (ultra-salty) flavor, and it becomes quite overbearing after a while. Because I start getting sick of the salt flavor on every meat, I eat way less than I would if they used different rubs on the different meats. Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

[SigmaRacing]

Agreed that the meat is overcooked, at least for my tastes. Still good though, its a restaurant focused on meat for petes sake.

[boarderfatty]

I am guessing the reason you found it so salty is because traditional brazilian rodizio uses only salt for seasoning, anything else would not be authentic.

[jsn]

gauchos was pretty decent but I had one of those groupon coupons. I'm not sure its worth it at full price though. Like someone mentioned, a lot of the meat ends up pretty salty.

[dino_martini]

Ive only been to Bolero, but damn that grilled pineapple is so good. And the bacon wrapped...well anything is freaking delicious at bolero. The side dish buffet thing is pretty decent too