Estancia Churrascaria: A Great Family Dinner

Our family enjoys eating out.  I think I may have mentioned it before, but this momma is not exactly the best cook.  Oh, I can cook, but really, I don’t like the planning, the shopping, the preparing, the mess….pretty much all of it.  And with so many great choices of places to eat in Austin, why bother? 😉

Over the holiday break, our family wanted to try somewhere nice for a change (normally we do burgers and pizza weekly).  We were invited to try Estancia Churrascaria in the Aboreatum area of Austin, so we put on our fancy clothes and attempted to make it a fun, family evening.

Now truth be told, my family doesn’t do fancy.  We typically leave that to the hubby & I for date night.  We thought it would be fun take the 5, 12, & 13 year old out to a Brazilian Steakhouse.  And it was.  Here’s why:

The Ambiance

Estancia Churrascaria has a big room with many large tables to accommodate families.  The lighting was perfect – not too dark for a hushed, private meal, but enough to make you relax.  We sat a a big circular table, which was nice to see everyone at. And we were introduced to our waiter. With the exception of a serve-yourself salad bar, the food is brought directly to your table and some dishes are served family style.

The Food

Dinner begins with a trip to the salad bar.   This salad bar is amazing – with a variety of greens,  cheeses, smoked salmon, asparagus, veggies, and much more – everyone can build their perfect salad.

When you are ready for meat, turn your cards over to the green side and professional chefs will personally serve you with your cut of meat.  My children loved this part, as the chefs showed them how to use their tongs to pull the meat onto their plates.  You can have as much as you want, but I will warn you to try a little of everything to decide what you really like.

They offer 14 different cuts of meat, so there really is a lot to try and you can fill up fast.  My favorite was the bacon-wrapped filet, my husband liked the Fraldinha (top sirloin) and my daughter loved the Picana (sirloin).  Both my boys ate their fill of the grilled chicken.  The pork sausage was amazing too.

The table also gets garlic mashed potatoes, polenta, fried bananas, and cheese rolls (that were amazing!)  I loved that everyone can have their own unique meal at Estancia Churrascaria.

The Service

Now remember what I said about thinking it would be fun to take a 5 year old to a Brazilian Steakhouse for the first time??  He was ancy, and he only wanted cheese from the salad bar and the amazing cheese rolls, and he drank 3 cokes and visited the bathroom twice……he was real fun. I was nervous about his behavior but I didn’t need to be.  All the waiters took his age in stride and had fun with him.  No one made me feel as if I shouldn’t have him there. In fact, all my children felt welcome.

It’s nice to find an upscale restaurant that will be so inclusive for a whole family to enjoy a meal at.  Once we realized this, we were able to relax and really enjoy our time together.

And at the end of the meal, we ordered 3 different desserts and passed them around the table, we laughed and realized how fun we are together as a family.  We can try new things and new foods and enjoy ourselves, making for a memorable evening.

Estancia Churrascaria is located in the Aboreatum area off Hwy 183.  They are open for both lunch & dinner and kids under 6 eat free, kids 7-12 are half-price.

Giveaway

Want to try Estancia Churrascaria?  We are giving away a $20 gift card good towards dinner at Estancia Churrascaria.  Please use the below Rafflecopter to enter to win.

Giveaway begins on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 and lasts through Wednesday, January 14, 2015.  Winner will be randomly chosen by Rafflecopter and emailed on Thursday, January 15, 2015.  Winner will have 24 hours to accept their prize or we will select another winner. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: My family & I were invited to dine at Estancia Churrascaria and part of our meal was covered. I was not paid for this article.  All opinions are my own.