St. Mark’s Square at The Venetian Macao’s Grand Canal Shoppes is the rather unexpected setting for this churrascaria (Brazilian barbecue steakhouse) and the sounds of samba music. The location is one of the busiest at the hotel and the restaurant shares its bar downstairs with Café Siam. The room upstairs is spacious with a relaxing, cozy and friendly atmosphere with the waiters or meat carvers going from table to table offering a large selection of different cuts of meats, actions that add to the convivial atmosphere. 

The food here is a meat lover’s paradise, and guests who go for the rodizio, or continuous rotating service, will have a bargain with up to fifteen different choices of meats on offer. For those who like beef, there are several juicy and tasty cuts from Brazil ranging on offer, including picanha (top sirloin), as well as pork loin, ribs, chicken, lamb and chorizo sausages. If that is not enough, there is huge selection from the buffet with different salads, fresh vegetables, smoked salmon, soups, hot dishes, cheeses, fruits and desserts. All the barbecued meats are brought to each table hot by the entertaining waiters or cortadors and sliced to order. For desserts, we enjoyed the abacaxi, the pineapple skewer, seasoned with brown sugar and cinnamon. 

People flock over to Fogo Samba for their famous caipirinha, a refreshing and delightful cocktail made from fresh limes, Brazilian rum, or cachaca, muddled with sugar. There is also a large selection of Portuguese wines on the menu, but the house selection of three whites and reds could have been more exciting.

The service was friendly, attentive and efficient with all the cortadors doing the rounds in the restaurant with charm, which makes for a pleasant atmosphere. 

The rodizio, which includes the salad bar and buffet, and up to 15 cuts of meatm for MOP368 per person at dinner is a real bargain.