Three Ways To Do Brazilian Steakhouse In Orlando: Fogo de Chão vs. Chima vs. Texas de Brazil

You’ve got a hungry crew, a birthday to celebrate, and a hotel off International Drive. The question is not whether to go rodízio. It’s which one. In Orlando, three names carry the torch for the all-you-can-eat, gaucho-carved experience: Fogo de Chão, Chima Steakhouse, and Texas de Brazil. I’ve rotated among all three with family, coworkers, and out-of-town friends enough times to have a routine at each. Here’s how they stack up for an Orlando night out where plates keep filling and the red-green card does all the talking.

Where they sit, and why that matters for your night

Fogo de Chão sits right in the thick of International Drive at 8282 International Dr, 32819, a straight shot from the Orange County Convention Center and the ICON Park area. If you’re convention-hopping or staying near Universal’s north I‑Drive hotels, it’s a painless hop. Fogo’s posted hours make it one of the easier spots to time around the day. Lunch runs Monday–Friday 11:30 am–3:00 pm, dinner starts as early as 3:00 pm on weekdays, and weekend brunch kicks off at 11:30 am. The other local perk is on-site convenience: Fogo lists complimentary valet and self-parking, which can be the difference between walking right in or circling a garage after a long day at the convention center.

Chima Steakhouse anchors Restaurant Row at 7830 W. Sand Lake Rd, 32819 in Dr. Phillips. That address matters because this stretch serves locals all week long, not just visitors. If you’re hosting clients staying in the Bay Hill or Dr. Phillips area, or you want to avoid I‑Drive’s event traffic, Chima’s your easy-in, easy-out option. Chima also posts clear service windows: lunch Monday–Friday 12:00–3:00 pm and Saturday–Sunday 12:30–3:00 pm, dinner most nights from 5:30 pm (earlier on weekends). Valet at Chima is explicitly complimentary, and the bar opens when service starts, so it’s painless to settle in early with a drink if your whole party hasn’t arrived yet.

Texas de Brazil lives at the Orlando Outlet Marketplace on International Drive, by the Orlando International Premium Outlets. If you’ve shopped that complex, you’ve walked past the building. The practical read: you get free surface parking across a huge lot, and it’s a breeze to rally a big group that’s been split between outlet stores. Texas de Brazil also leans into pre-dinner drinks with a weekday happy hour window that’s useful if you’re trying to wait out rush-hour traffic before sitting down.

What does dinner actually cost at each place?

All three run a fixed-price format for the full experience: continuous service of skewered meats plus access to the salad area and hot sides, with beverages and desserts extra. Where they diverge is how many ways you can tailor that price and what mid-day deals look like.

At Chima, you can choose how deep to go and what you’ll pay before you ever turn your card to green. At lunch, the Gourmet Salad Bar is $20, and the Complete Rodizio is $52. At dinner, you can stick to the Gourmet Salad Bar for $36, go Select Rodizio at $50 for a trimmed selection of cuts, or splurge for the Complete Rodizio at $72. Chima’s posted children’s pricing is straightforward too: ages 7–11 half off, and 6 & under complimentary. That set of choices makes Chima the most flexible for mixed appetites or someone in the group who wants a lighter plate without paying for every meat cut.

At Fogo de Chão, the company doesn’t post a static dollar figure on the Orlando page for the Full Churrasco Experience, but two concrete money-savers are listed. One, All Day Happy Hour Monday–Thursday at Bar Fogo, with $6 beers, $8 South American wines, and $10 Brazilian-inspired cocktails. Two, Fogo’s national kids policy applies here: children 6 and under dine complimentary and ages 7–12 are half-price for the Full Churrasco Experience. If you’re trying to keep spend tight without giving up the experience, a late afternoon Bar Fogo round before an early dinner can make a dent in the tab.

Texas de Brazil also keeps adult pricing location-specific online, but publishes a weekday bar deal that regulars use as a warm-up. Monday–Friday from 4:30–6:00 pm, happy hour brings $4 domestic beers, $6 caipirinhas and house cocktails, $7 glasses of the brand’s private-label wine, and $8 house martinis. Their posted kids policy is consistent across locations and clearly spelled out: 2 and under complimentary, ages 3–5 at $5 with a paying adult, and ages 6–12 half-price. If your table includes a couple of small kids and a teen, those numbers can add up to a meaningful difference compared with an a la carte steakhouse.

How the experience plays out when you order like a local

There’s a rhythm to rodízio, and after a few rounds around Orlando’s big three, you learn where to steer your appetite. I start with one lap at the salad area to lay a base and get the sauces I like, then I lock in on the cuts I actually want rather than accepting every skewer that stops by.

At Chima, the salad bar goes beyond greens. Their own menu calls out items like beef carpaccio, smoked salmon, Prosciutto di Parma, and Parmigiano Reggiano. That’s a cue to treat the salad course like a proper antipasto rather than a throwaway. If you pick the Select Rodizio at dinner for $50, your value lives in being picky about the meats you do say yes to, not letting every lighter cut crowd out what you came for. Chima’s complimentary valet also makes it easy to linger over dessert and coffee without worrying about meters.

At Fogo de Chão, the logistics help you time a smoother meal. With lunch posted Monday–Friday 11:30 am–3:00 pm and weekend brunch 11:30 am–2:00 pm, you can often beat the standard 7 pm dinner rush entirely by booking a late lunch or early dinner. If you’re meeting a group that appreciates cocktails, Bar Fogo’s All Day Happy Hour Monday–Thursday means early arrivals aren’t stuck nursing full-price drinks while they wait. The location lists complimentary valet and self-parking, which takes one complication off the table on heavy event nights on I‑Drive.

At Texas de Brazil, the play is the 4:30–6:00 pm happy hour Monday through Friday, especially if you’ve been at Orlando International Premium Outlets nearby and need a cooldown before dinner. The Outlet Marketplace setting gives you free lot parking in abundance, so corralling a multicar party is easier than the garage juggle on denser parts of I‑Drive. Texas de Brazil’s kids policy is also the most specific on the lower end. If you have a couple of little ones, the $5 bracket for ages 3–5 can trim your total without any special request to the server.

Which one handles big groups or picky eaters best?

If you’re planning a birthday, team dinner, or a pre-wedding family meet-up, you want two things: space and predictability. Fogo de Chão publicly notes that its Orlando dining room seats over 400 guests and that it supports everything from groups of 15 to full buyouts through its group-dining team. That scale matters if you’re wrangling a large convention group or mixed ages. You’ll also appreciate that dinner begins at 3:00 pm Monday–Thursday and as early as 2:00 pm on Saturday, which creates more reservation slots in those high-demand windows.

Chima is the one I book when I know the table’s appetites differ. Their menu structure creates room for a guest to pick the $36 Gourmet Salad Bar at dinner and still feel included while the carnivores go full rodízio. The $20 lunch salad bar is a legit power-lunch move on Restaurant Row if you have a meeting at 2:00 pm. On weeknights, Chima’s posted dinner start at 5:30 pm aligns nicely with the Dr. Phillips workday. Pair that with the weekday 5:00–7:00 pm appetizer specials in the bar and you can keep a two-stop evening confined to one building.

Texas de Brazil runs a little more single-track in the dining room than Chima when it comes to menu pathways, but it makes up for it in logistics. The Outlet Marketplace location means free self-parking and no elevator-wait situation for folks who don’t love garages. If you’ve got teens who eat like adults and younger siblings on smaller appetites, the published kids brackets at 2 and under free, 3–5 at $5, and 6–12 half-price make your planning cleaner than guessing what a picky eater might touch from a traditional steakhouse a la carte menu. And if you want a quick toast without committing to the full service yet, that 4:30–6:00 pm happy hour Monday–Friday is built for it.

What should you actually order first?

Resist the urge to fill every inch of your plate on the first pass. Start with the one or two cold items you truly love, then go heavy on the cuts you traveled for. At Chima, lean into the premium items you won’t see at a typical salad bar, like the beef carpaccio and Prosciutto di Parma, then say yes to your favorite meats and leave space for a bite of grilled sausage to reset your palate. If you chose the Select Rodizio, think of it as licensing you to be even more selective, not to make up the difference with a mountain of sides.

At Fogo, I like to use the bar program as my pace car. The $8 glass of South American wine during the All Day Happy Hour Monday–Thursday gives you time to wait for the next pass of the exact cut you want rather than defaulting to the first one that stops. Families should know the children 6 and under complimentary and 7–12 half-price policy is honored here, so your server will know to apply it even if you don’t ask.

At Texas de Brazil, I time the arrival for that 4:30–6:00 pm happy hour on weekdays if we’re coming from the outlets. A $6 caipirinha or house cocktail buys the table fifteen relaxed minutes to plan the order of attack, and because parking is free and right outside, late arrivals can slide in without playing text-message traffic cop. If you’ve got very young kids, remember the posted bracket at $5 for ages 3–5. It’s one of the few places in town where the economics favor a family of mixed ages at a steak-focused dinner.

Which one should I book for Friday at 7 pm?

This is the most common Orlando question I get, and the answer depends on your starting point and how much structure your group needs. If you’re based on I‑Drive and want the easiest logistics during prime time, Fogo de Chão wins for that specific slot thanks to complimentary valet and a dense block of dining hours that let you nudge earlier or later based on traffic. If your group includes a couple of light eaters or someone who really just wants a composed plate without the meat parade, Chima wins on menu flexibility every time, with published tiers from the $36 dinner salad bar to the $72 full spread. If your day ends at the outlets and you’re trying to dodge rush hour, Texas de Brazil plus a 4:30–6:00 pm happy hour drink is the move. Your table can relax with a $6 caipirinha while you wait for everyone to land, and no one is paying for parking while delays stack up.

Quick takeaways for choosing between Fogo, Chima, and Texas de Brazil

• Starting near the convention center or ICON Park and want zero parking drama. Choose Fogo de Chão for complimentary valet and self-parking plus wide service hours, including lunch Monday–Friday 11:30 am–3:00 pm and brunch on weekends.
• Need flexible pricing in the same dining room. Chima posts clear tiers from a $20 lunch salad bar to a $72 dinner rodízio, with complimentary valet on Restaurant Row.
• Want a pre-dinner buffer to beat traffic or shop-time overlap. Texas de Brazil runs weekday happy hour 4:30–6:00 pm with drinks from $4–$8 and has free outlet-lot parking, which makes wrangling a big group easier.
• Bringing kids. The generous brackets matter. Fogo: 6 & under free, 7–12 half-price. Chima: 6 & under complimentary, 7–11 half off. Texas de Brazil: 2 & under free, 3–5 $5, 6–12 half-price.
• Drink strategy. Fogo’s Bar Fogo runs All Day Monday–Thursday with $6 beers, $8 wines, $10 cocktails. Texas de Brazil focuses the value into 4:30–6:00 pm Monday–Friday with $4 beers and similar-tier specials.

Reader Q&A

Is there a budget-friendly way to try Fogo on I‑Drive without committing to full dinner prices?

Yes. Fogo lists All Day Happy Hour Monday–Thursday at Bar Fogo with $6 beers, $8 South American wines, and $10 cocktails. You can meet early, share a couple of bar plates, then roll into an earlier dinner seating. The Orlando location also offers complimentary valet and self-parking, so you are not paying to park while you stretch the evening.

Does Chima really offer lunch every day, and what’s the least expensive way to eat there?

Chima posts lunch Monday–Friday 12:00–3:00 pm and Saturday–Sunday 12:30–3:00 pm. The most affordable published option is the $20 Gourmet Salad Bar at lunch, which still includes premium cold items. Dinner gives you a similar salad bar for $36 or a $50 Select Rodizio if you want a lighter meat lineup.

Where exactly is Texas de Brazil, and is parking free?

Texas de Brazil is on International Drive at the Orlando Outlet Marketplace, beside Orlando International Premium Outlets. Parking is in the outlet’s surface lots and is free. If you arrive on a weekday, the restaurant runs a happy hour from 4:30–6:00 pm with drinks in the $4–$8 range, which is handy if you’re waiting out traffic.

If you want a one-line rule of thumb, use geography and group mix. Coming from the convention center or ICON Park and want the broadest schedule plus valet. Fogo. Need menu flexibility for a mixed-appetite table. Chima. Rallying a shopping-heavy group where free lot parking and a set happy hour help you sync up. Texas de Brazil.

Published: September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Visit Orlando editorial team