green forest churrascaria

feast on meats... and many other delights!!!. green forest was amazing years ago, and it continues to be a favorite today. i have been there a couple times this past year, and each time was reliably perfect. here are some details from our most recent visit:
the owners and staff are very welcoming and attentive. they really show pride for their restaurant, and that shines through in the food.
while the meat is the star of the show, the hot bar, and to a lesser extent salad bar, are awesome. the hot bar includes feijoada, a brazilian bean and sausage stew; rice; an unmissable seafood stew in coconut sauce containing mussels, fish, shrimp, and clams; beef vegetable soup; and other rotating dishes, like lobster mashed potatoes. all were great. the salad bar is worth visiting for its selection of fine hams and cheeses, but pasta salads and cold vegetable salads are good but not great.
then...the meat. waves and waves of meat. on your first visit from the meat server, they ask how you like your meat cooked and tend to offer you the pieces that are to your liking. i like my meat pretty rare, and every piece was cooked to my liking. after my husband and i leave, we like to see if we can remember all the meat the came around, and we counted 15. plus pineapple and garlic bread. some highlights were the parmesan-crusted filet, skirt steak with chimichurri, garlic filet cooked tableside (a new addition, i think), slab bacon, flank steak, ribeye (probably the overall favorite), turkey wrapped in bacon, filet wrapped in bacon, leg of lamb, and filet in red wine mushroom sauce. so, pretty much everything. :) to be fair, we aren't wild about the brazilian sausage, and the lamb chops were a little overcooked. but seriously, everything else was fantastic.
special shout out to our main meat server, who came around when we were slowing down to ask if there was anything particular we would like. we said that we wouldn't say no to some leg of lamb, which he brought around shortly thereafter. on that high note we admitted defeat and flipped our indicator-thingy to red, but he brought around some lamb chops right after, just to make sure we didn't want them. that was so thoughtful, he won extra points from both of us.
green forest is clearly still on top of it's game--- it's worth going to more than just once a year!

i reviewed this place a few years ago and.... ...i still love it. we went here for my birthday this evening and my wife, daughter and i had a wonderful time. excellent service, and the meats were stellar. they even let me check out their rotisserie rig at the back of the restaurant and it is a stellar setup. swords of meats slowly turning over hardwood coals under the constant eye of the chef. i asked how they got some of the different cuts (many of which you really cannot find in the us stores) and interestingly enough - they butcher all their meats in house. the only other place that i know that butchers in-house is tessaro's. the meats are well seasoned (salted) and have some interesting cuts, skirt, flank, picanha (they call it a tenderloin, but it is actually a top rump steak - phenominal), filet, ribeye, top sirloin, beef rib, roasted prime rib. yes, i tried them all. my favorite is skirt and picanha. they also have a very good turkey wrapped in bacon, chicken thighs, pork loins, whole salmon, house-made sausages that were excellent and a very nice duo of lamb leg and loin chops. there is also a nice array of sauces at the cold bar. cold appetizers were excellent. nice looking sushi (didn't have it - takes away from meat space), nicely prepared roasted/grilled/marinated vegetables, smoked salmon (twist my arm!) and a nice cheese/cured meat board. they did have some hot dishes on the buffet, but that would draw the focus away from the meat (focus man!), but they did have fejouada (sp?) - the national dish of brazil with black beans and pork, but that is a true gut bomb and although delicious and for many brazilians a true taste of home - it is like eating concrete... albeit delicious concrete. after eating most of noah's ark - my daugher still managed to have a craving for dessert. we ordered a chocolate mousse that was truly outstanding - incredibly rich and had that "we used really good chocolate" taste.

overall - it was excellent. was it cheap? no, but considering that i've paid well over $100 for the 3 of us to go to what turned out to be a marginal restaurant, paying $42 per adult an $16 for a child (plus drinks and a dessert) - it was not cheap, but it was a quality meal and a very nice experience and it was worth it in the end. i would have spent close to that on a dinner (apps, entree, dessert) at the grand concourse and eaten a crap meal amongst a bunch of bluehairs on a tourbus from ypsilanti, or worse yet, gone to a red lobster.

on a constructive criticism note - the place could use a little sprucing up in the decor. it hasn't been updated since i first came there years ago.

eat here. the food is great, different, and it is truly worth that extra couple of bucks. starve yourself for a couple of days and get your meat on. you will not be disappointed.


-----24 jun, 2009-----

all hail the meat! definitely an experience as the servers wield large swords of meat fulfilling your carnal desires. my favorite cut is the skirt steak - the cut often unavailable at the local giant eagle (unless you want to head to whole foods and pay way too much). it is a little on the pricey side but the quality of the meat is well-worth it. a day of fasting prior to visiting is a good idea - clean mind = tastier meat.

not much to say but perfection! what a fun experience!! nicole, our server, was sweet and spot on with service. flavia, an owner is so sweet and helpful. the salad bar....ooh laa laa... and the variety of grilled meats. unbelievable!! can't wait to return!

cartoons. we're a family of four who have been to this restaurant twice now. the food is consistently good... some items are better than others, but everything is tasty. we go more for the experience than just the food. it is expensive, so your idea of value will depend on how much you eat. recently we took my parents for a fun meal, so there were six of us, at $40 each. not exactly pocket change. there was a family of three, parents and a young child, at a nearby table. the child was watching cartoons on an ipad with the volume high. i am the first to admit that it's frustrating for parents who want a nice dinner out and have to deal with a child at the same time. i get it, i do. mine are 11 and 13 now. but i also wasn't in the mood to pay $40 per person for a special dinner and have to listen to the looney tunes at the same time. we asked management to please ask the parents to turn it down or use headphones. instead of doing that, they moved the six of us to a back room, much farther from the buffet (which was not ideal for my father who is disabled). in order to have a non-cartoon accompanied meal, all six of us had to move our plates and glasses to another table. i was mortified that we had to do this and that i had to ask my parents to move shortly after we'd started our meal. if we'd gone to mcdonalds i wouldn't have blinked an eye at the cartoons. but at a nice restaurant and for what we paid, i don't think it was professional of them to ask us to move. asking the parents to turn it down wouldn't have been out of line. we will not be returning.

bland.

great!. great food, great service, great owner. skirt steak is soooo wonderful as well as many other things. i try to get there once a month. and go hungry!

great experience. we were early for our reservation and there were several other couples already there watiting. we went to the bar and had a drink and they sat us 15 minutes earlier than our reservation.

the buffet was excellent, there wasn't anything we put on our plates that we didn't enjoy. the real star of this place is obviously the meat. we spent almost 2 hours here and the varieties of meat offered to us were outstanding. they asked us how we wanted our meat cooked before slicing and if they were not able to accomodate with what they had, they came back. at one point the hostess came around and asked if there was anything special we were hoping to have (she did this with all of the tables) and my boyfriend told her what slice of meat he wanted and she made sure we got it.

while the meal is pricier than going to applebee's, for what you get, the price we paid was pretty reasonable. we also shared the chocolate mousse and that was delightful as well.

we are already planning our next trip back.

first time eating brazilian. this was my first time out to eat brazilian food and it was amazing! i will admit it was very hard to find, but once we were there it was well worth the slight confusion. the wait staff was very polite and helpful. i did not realize how centered the food was around meat so this is probably not the best choice if you are a vegetarian. but everything was very well cooked and clearly fresh. i would definitely recommend trying their version of sushi. the addition of fruit to something similar to a california roll was so fresh and light. it had a new flavor profile like i have never had before. i would recommend this as a great place out for a date or special night out!

where's the beef??. the beef is here! so is the lamb, pork and chicken.

i like this place. it was delicious, plentiful and clean. i have no issues with this place whatsoever. although i would suggest that if meat isn't your favorite dish, you may want to consider some place else. and yes, the beef comes rare - but i overheard others asking for well done, and they prepared it for them. the pork, chicken, ribs, etc were cooked appropriately - but i love the rare beef.

i also liked the cold food selections, the seafood, mussels, clams, shrimp and salads galore. along with the never ending parade of meats and the cold selections - they also have chaffing dishes with hot sides. they were tasty as well.

in my humble opinion it was all fresh, and the place was clean. and possibly, it's not as good as the churrascaria in texas or brazil, but this is penn hills after all, and most of us aren't heading south anyway.

i suggest waiting for the groupon, it essentially gives you a bogo.

try it, you'll like it.. even if you're not a big meat eater, you will love this place. their cold bar is extensive and includes shrimp and crab as well and some of the best sushi i've had surprisingly. and the meat is high-quality and melts in your mouth. i am not a "buffet person" but i loved this place. when you pull up to this place you might be apprehensive as the interior and exterior needs updated.

i really liked this restaurant...and my husband said he would choose green forest over ruth chris any day!!!!!

the most epic meat fest...wear comfy pants

carnivore heaven. my husband loves this place. loves it. i like it but i'm not a fan of rare meat (which is how many of the meats are cooked). there are too many types of meat to sample them all and the cold bar has a nice variety. i think the overall experience is worth the expense.

amazing dining experience!. this isn't a restaurant, it's a food experience! my friends warned me ahead of time, and i am thankful. they said, "drink lots of water all day, but don't eat anything..." they were right. i have always been the carnivore's carnivore, but i must say, i have never eaten so many delicious meats in one meal as i had at the green forest. i was ready for the meats. what i wasn't ready for was the vast array of other foods that were prepared and waiting on a monstrous ice bar and in hot chaffing dishes. bring your own beer or wine, and prepare for the food experience of a lifetime! when they ask you if you want dessert, just laugh and try to burp. (you'll probably be too full to do either!) amazingly enough, even after some of the best roasted meats i have ever tasted, my favorite part was the brown sugar-encrusted spit-roasted pineapple! wow. you might want to bring a dolly so somebody can wheel you out of there when you finally say uncle.

best meat restaurant in the pittsburgh area - period!. our first time there last night and we were blown away, totally authentic- the meats are outstanding - forget morton's or ruths chris - this is even better, and more variety. the raw bar, and hot foods are also to die for - and the service - they are all over the guests like white on rice, and very helpful, friendly courteous, but never intrusive. and the owners are contsantly viligant -tending to every detail. a culinary delight in every way - we shall go back again.!!
only one complaint - they should be located downtown pittsburgh around market square - !! please!!!!!! thank you for a fantastic experience!