Hey guys! If you've never been to Chima Brazilian Steakhouse then I recommend going at least once while you're in Charlotte. Especially during January.
I went to Chima Brazilian Steakhouse back on January 25, 2018. This was during Charlotte’s annual Queen's Feast: Charlotte Restaurant Week - something I’ll discuss later. Right now I want to tell you guys about my experiences at Chima and what it is overall.
As of today I have only ever been to Chima 3 times within the past three years. The first time was in 2014 for their Valentine’s Day special. This was a magical experience. It was fancy fine dining and I didn’t know what to expect seeing as I was told to get dressed in my best sexy outfit, and that my boyfriend was taking me to dinner. During this occasion we parked at a nearby parking lot, walked up to the front, and found out that they have Complimentary valet parking; in layman's terms = free parking.
Sidebar: As of this most recent trip, the complimentary valet parking is of course on a first come first serve basis so if their deck is full then they will turn you away, and you will have to go find paid parking nearby.
The next two times I ate at Chima were both during Queen's Feast: Charlotte Restaurant Week for 2017 & this year in 2018.
The only difference between my Valentines Day special and Chima’s Restaurant Week special is the menu and a couple of bonus items. On the V-Day menu my boyfriend paid for us to have the full course of all the meats. (I can’t tell you that price seeing as I wasn’t allowed to know it. Let’s just say it was VERY PRICEY.) In addition, since it was a Valentine's Day special we got our picture taken in front of their V-Day backdrop and were emailed the photos after dinner. Along with a dessert included of our choice. The dessert options were between cheesecake, tiramisu, and chocolate toffee cake. I went with the toffee cake.
On the Restaurant Week menu, which is $35.00, the menu is limited. This just means that only certain meats are available; granted if you want to dish out a whole $51.65 be my guest - that opens up the rest of the menu for the rest of the meats available. It really just depends on what you’re willing to eat.
Here’s the deal about Chima:
Chima is a Brazilian Steakhouse where servers come to the table with knives and a skewer of meat. The meat options vary but you can expect to find an assortment of steaks such as Sirloin cooked a couple of different ways, Chicken wrapped in bacon, Flank Steak, Leg of Lamb, BBQ ribs, Salmon, and much more.
The layout of Chima is that it’s split up into a lower and upper level. The lower level seats the majority of the guests. The upper level has bathrooms, a lounge area with bar, and then more seating past the lounge section. Both levels include a full service salad bar.
The logistics of the night is simple:
When your table is ready they text you, and then you head back to the host stand to be escorted to your table.
They fill your cups with water.
They bring out the first course of the meal which is mashed potatoes, croquettes, cheese bread, plantains and one other item.
The main course is the meats. You are each handed a little circle cut out that you place beside you on the table. One side indicates that you would like for the meat servers to come by your table and the other side indicates that you do not want any meat service at that time. You turn it over whenever you want or like me you just leave it on the “come serve me!” side.
Oh, and did I mention it's all you can eat?
As far as the meat goes - the servers circle around the tables coming back and forth with the same options. They will either come to your table, or you have to stop them in their tracks, or you can just request a specific meat if you haven’t seen it in awhile. The whole experience is for you.
Well that’s basically it folks! You eat until you're full/when you’ve been there a little too long and clearly the people who started with you during your “time-slot” have already gone and left.
Look, just make sure to tip these people.
What have you done to go #BeyondYourWindow recently? Share on social media with the hashtag, comment below, or send me a private message!