green forest churrascaria

great. food was great...staff was great...experience was great...expensive butworthit

love. yes, it's pricey, but it'sworthit(not as pricey as the other about $60,against $42,) this is as close to brazilian food you get without actually being there... if not the exact thing. having been to other churrascarias here in us and brazil, the only diference is green forest doesn't have the same upscale decor them others churrascarias , but the food is better and have more options, they have more diferent meat and much more sea food in the salad and hot bar.

like it but with a catch. my overall experince with green forrest was mixed. like a previous reviewer i had been to a similar brazillan steakhouse in houston, tx and it was a mind blowing experience. i don't think i have eaten so well. the meat was amazing, the cold bar was amazing, the service was amazing, the sides on the table same.

again like the previous reviewer when i got back to pittsburgh sought out out green forrest. i knew it was there but it never sparked my interest until then. all in all the food was pretty good, the cold bar was ok, the hotbar was ok and the sides on the table again were ok. all in all the expereince was just ok. now my friend who had never heard of such a place was euphoric much the same i was at the place in houston.

in summary, there are much much better examples of brazillan steakhouses out there, just not in pittsburgh. green forrest is not even in the same galaxy as some, but all things being equal it's not too bad. i'm not sure it'sworth$40, but i would pay $30 and not feel too bad about it.

amazed at some of the reviews. after reading the reviews for this restaurant, i can't believe some people wrote about being served meat that was too rare. i've dined here many times, and the staff is so willing to cook to your liking, all you have to do is ask them! the price is wellworthit, i've paid more for a steak dinner elsewhere, and recently they added a deal where you can have just the salad bar items for $20, which is great because one of my daughters is a vegan. and as to those who criticized the decor? no, maybe it's not fancy, but it is tasteful, clean and welcoming. it's kind of nice not to have to don a little black dress to get a quality meal! i do agree with everyone who said "go hungry"! this is one of my favorite places in pittsburgh, my whole family gets to chose what they like (and believe me, my family is very picky). oh, and by the way, the staff is so nice, they will not rush you out the door...so if you wait a few minutes before your reservation is ready, relax! it's that kind of place! i've never waited more than 10 minutes. go..enjoy...you will not be disappointed.

not good!. after visiting a restaurant of this type in atlanta and loving it, thought we would give this one a try. not good, this place is very tired, from the decor to the service. the cold bar was average at best, and as for the star the meat it was just okay as well. some were good others not so much due under cooking. rare is one thing raw is another. notworththe price for us, much better choices around for less. 1-10 this one gets a 4.

this is a carnivore's heaven! so much meat and all so tender and mouth watering. yes, it's $40. and, yes, it'sworthevery penny.

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 isworthvisiting 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'sworthgoing 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 wasworthit 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 trulyworththat 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.

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 wellworththe 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!

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 isworththe expense.

you have to be hungrey to eat there. excellent salad/appetizers buffet followed by 18 kinds of meat. a bit pricy butworthit

horrible!. last month my husband and i went to a restaurant like this one in niagara falls called copacabana. it was so delicious that we looked to see if there was anything like it in pittsburgh. we found green forest online and were excited about trying it out, especially after reading the reviews. what a huge over-priced disappointment!

we paid $40 per person in niagara as well, but the meat there was spiced and cooked to perfection. the pineapple was served the same way as the meat, brought around to our table and freshly carved from the skewer. it was a fresh pineapple with maybe brown sugar and cinnamon spices...? what we were served last night was barely spiced fatty pieces of meat. the pineapple was like tasteless cardboard. it's a shame how much food we discarded especially for what we paid. i will say that the servers and bartender were friendly, but that was about the only good part of our experience.

we never write reviews, but we could not and cannot believe how this place got as many good reviews as it has. our guess is that there's no other place like this near pittsburgh to compare it to. pittsburghers, if you have a passport and 4 hours, the drive to canada is wellworthit instead of wasting your time and your money on this place.

amazing!. everything about the green forest is wonderful! i just couldn't wait to go back and eat again! yes, it's expensive, butworthevery penny! i'd suggest if you are not a fan of really red/rare meats, this is not the place for you. but if you're a meat lover, it's perfect! all of the food is fresh and hot! the entire buffet consist of cold seafoods and seafood salads...some people prefer hot seafood, but the cold is just as tasty. the servic was wonderful! they made sure we had everything to make our dinner enjoyable! the setting is not what i expected, but the food made up for it! this is definitallyworththe drive from greenville, pa to penn hills. i'd take this drive any day of the week!

good for a new experience. this place, i'm not so sure about. it was definitely somethingworthtrying once, but don't think we will go back. i enjoyed the cold salad bar the most. the meat was all pretty fatty. if you like your meat done well, i wouldn't suggest it. everything is very rare... yes, the hot sides were pretty gross...there was even meat in the mashed potatoes...i, personally, am not too much of a red meat eater. and it was very pricey! for two buffets, a pitcher of sangria and two mixed drinks it was $160! yikes! that did include gratuity, which the waitress failed to tell us about...i don't like this trick...good thing someone else in our group noticed it! i would have rather of went to a nicer place for this much money spent.

green forest. i ate here on new year's eve for the second new year's eve in a row. the decor of the restaurant is nice upon entering but is not nearly as nice in the seating area. regardless of that both the bar and buffet are impressive.

i started off by going up to the cold bar which had a wonderful selection of different foods. it contained everything from savory meats and fresh parmesan cheese to crab legs and even some sushi and sashimi. honestly, i could have been happy with just eating from the buffet the whole night but the best was yet to come. if you have ever been to a brazilian steakhouse before then you know the ridiculous selection of meats that they have. everything that they brought out seemed to be cooked perfectly with my favorites being the skirt steak and the parmesan encrusted filet. the meat servers were also very much on the ball and new meats were arriving at the table almost every minute that i had my card turned to green. overall it was probably the best experience i have had here and i have never had one that was not pleasurable.

the bottom line is that this is the only brazilian steakhouse in pittsburgh which is ok because it is a good one and i will definitely be back in the future. don't expect to get off cheap when eating here but it is still wellworththe price for all of the wonderful cuts of meat that they have.