In the glory days Rei do Gado occupied 2 store fronts and there was a samba dancer Friday and Saturdays. Now it’s smaller and quieter. The food is as good as ever.
The meats are all cooked over a mesquite grill.
There is a smoky aroma imparted from the grill I love.
I visited during dinner and there were many different meats brought out. I liked the variety of flavors and textures.
My favorite was the beef rib. The rack of ribs was huge and had an amazing amount of tender beef. I have bought racks of beef ribs from Food 4 Less and other grocery stores with tiny amounts of beef on them. Rei Do Gado beef ribs put those to shame. Bark was full of flavor from Brazilian rock salt dry rub.
Another of my favorites was the bacon wrapped filet mignon featured extremely tender beef with tender and flavorful bacon.
Lobster is included with dinner.
Staff was friendly and helpful.
Waiter recommended I try the Guarana Antarctica soda. Great tasting soda which was a bit like ginger ale with a unique flavor I’m guessing is due to the guarana. I found out gaurana is a plant that grows in the Amazon rainforest and the soda is very popular in Brazil.
I’ve tried Texas de Brazil and Fogo de Chao but Rei do Gado is my favorite Brazillian bbq joint.
Rei do Gado
939 Fourth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(619)-702-8464
The pineapple looks amazing! A meat lovers paradise.
Rei do Gado was wonderful! 🙂
Did they still have the small buffet style salads/sides?
They still have the tables with salads and sides as you enter. I didn’t want to fill up before the meat arrived.
Brings back so many memories. I don’t think I’ve visited in over 10 years. I didn’t realize their footprint had gotten smaller. My last Brazilian BBQ was Fogo de Chao and we sat there for over 3 hours slowly pacing ourselves into a food coma lol.
Sounds fun! They had to cut back on costs during the corona so they gave up the spot next door they had expanded into. You should visit Rei do Gado again. Food is as good as ever.
Lobster was included??? Omg yess!!
Get some Faye!
I’m planning a birthday dinner this weekend and Texas Brazil was an option. But we now want to try Rei because of this review. But their website says $62.95 for dinner/pp. Maybe they raised it recently (your menu photo showed a little cheaper). Do you think it’s worth that price for the food and ambiance (I think we will have like 10 people in the group). I wanna make sure the lobster is for sure on menu!
Faye,
You should call them. When I went it was $52/person for dinner and each person gets 1 lobster. This was 3 weeks ago. I love Rei do Gado food and service. They also validate parking at Horton Plaza. I wouldn’t go to Texas de Brazil unless you are getting a big discount. You are also supporting a local business here.