For as long as there have been all-you-can-eat restaurants, there have been people testing the limits of that claim.
Over the years, there have been numerous cases of people launching disputes with all-you-can-eat restaurants after being cut off or told they have to leave. Most of these disputes are resolved in favor of the restaurant, as restaurants advertising “all-you-can-eat food” don’t really have to keep feeding you until you say “stop.”
But what if you pay for an all-you-can-eat meal but are cut off before you get your fill? Even worse, what if the servers don’t pay any attention to you at all?
What Happened At This Brazilian Steakhouse?
In a video with over 154,000 views, TikTok user Natalia (@n.nmatalia) shows herself and a group of friends sitting at a Fogo de Chão location in California.
“When we go to all u can eat fogo de chao but the waiters keep passing our table without giving us any food,” she writes in the text overlaying the video.
The rest of the video shows just that. Natalia and her friends have the green card signaling they would like to be served prominently displayed. Despite this, waiters continue to pass by them.
Eventually, it appears that her table was served.
“Finally got full after an hour and a half,” she concludes at the end of the video.
In the caption, she adds that she and her friends were forgiving as it was Valentine’s Day.
Is This Common?
For context, Fogo de Chão is a chain restaurant. Its concept involves having servers walk around with skewers of meat. When they spot a green table marker, they are to approach that table and provide meat. If the table flips the marker to red, they are to be left alone.
That said, frequent guests of the restaurant say that a little communication with servers is appreciated. For example, if you would like more of a particular cut of meat or simply have another request, you should not expect that the green table marker alone is enough to get a server’s attention. Instead, you have to actually get their attention and speak to them in order to get what you need.
Still, Natalia isn’t the only one to claim that Fogo de Chão has a tendency to skip tables. Several TripAdvisor reviews note this specifically, though many say that the issue was resolved once they informed staff of their concern.
Other common complaints include slow service, too much of a focus on add-ons rather than the meat itself, and low-quality meat.
Commenters Say She Should Demand More
In the comments section, users said that Natalia should push to get more from the restaurant.
“That’s when you call the manager and ask for a refund,” wrote a user.
“We don’t speak up enough when we are unsatisfied,” stated another.
“We just had this happen but once we spoke up an started waving at servers it got better,” noted a third.
Others claimed to have similar experiences.
“This happened to me and my boyfriend at the santa monica location! I was so disappointed,” recalled a user. “we never got the appetizers that they were handing out. and we never got a refill on my mans drink until a manager walked by. and we only got served 6 times if that.”
“Happened to my family when it was my 21 birthday dinner in Seattle. they skipped my brother and his gf, forgot our drinks and dessert,” added a second.
@n.nmatalia Will give them benefit of doubt since it is Valentine’s Day #valentinesday #fogodechão #restaurant #bestfriends @l3xi_r.b @💚🖤Aliyah.Laufeyson🖤💚
BroBible reached out to Fogo de Chão via email and Natalia via TikTok direct message and comment.