Fogo de Chão

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Rooted in the Serra Gaúcha

Fogo de Chão's story begins in the mountainous countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, where the founding brothers grew up on a traditional farm and learned the churrasco grilling tradition that would define everything that followed. After formal churrasqueiro training in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, they opened their first restaurant in Porto Alegre — a wood-structure churrascaria built on an obsessive dedication to quality and deep respect for family heritage. Word spread quickly among politicians, businessmen, and celebrities who traveled from across Brazil to experience it. Since 1979, that original fire has never gone out.

The Emeryville location, situated on Bay Street just across from Oakland, carries that same tradition to the East Bay.

The Churrasco Experience

The heart of the meal is the full churrasco service — gauchos circulating the dining room with skewers of fire-roasted cuts, carving tableside to order. Signature Brazilian cuts like Picanha (prime top sirloin) and Fraldinha (bottom sirloin) anchor the menu, alongside Wagyu New York Strip, Lamb Chops, Costela, and Linguiça. The freshly curated Market Table rounds out the experience with seasonal accompaniments and vibrant sides — the kind of spread that makes the meal as much about abundance as it is about the quality of any single cut.

Bar Fogo adds another dimension: Brazilian-inspired small plates, cocktails including the iconic Caipirinha, and a wine program serious enough to earn Fogo de Chão a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2024.

The Wine List and Special Events

The Founders Tribute Wine Collection reflects the same care applied to the food — bottles named for figures in the restaurant's history, sourced from Mendoza, Chile's Cachapoal Valley, and California's Alexander Valley, each matched to specific cuts on the menu. The Emeryville location also participates in chef-curated wine dinners that pair multi-course churrasco menus with premium South American producers.

For groups, the restaurant offers private dining rooms, catering, and flexible event formats — making it one of the more capable venues in the East Bay for large gatherings that call for something beyond the ordinary Brazilian steakhouse.