"Having visited this restaurant years ago I decided to give it another try for a Valentines Day dinner. Normally closed on Monday and Tuesday, Samba wisely was open on Valentine’s Day to cater to the spillover crowds from other restaurants. One’s experience there may largely depend on expectations. The serving style is no longer typical of most Brazilian Churrascarias. Gone are the endless parade of servers, armed with espetos (Brazilian skewers), laden with succulent meat to be carved off onto your plate fresh from the grill. Instead the meat menu offers the traditional pichaha cut along with many others. The diner makes his/her selections, specifies the desired doneness and then the waiter puts the order into the kitchen. About 20 minutes later, a plate arrives with the selections arranged on a bed of salad greens. This process may be repeated as the “feast” option is all-you-can-eat for just south of $60. This disadvantage of this style of serving is trying to figure out which meat is which. The waiter did not explain this and I neglected to ask. Ordering an additional portion of a favorite thus became problematic. Most of the meats were good but most cooked far more than the medium-rare I requested. Apparently the meat is sliced before grilling which makes cooking to order hit or miss. I was served bacon wrapped chicken even though I didn’t order it. The chicken was dry as the Sahara so I would advise my fellow diners to avoid this selection as you would rattlesnakes and earthquakes! While waiting for your meat to arrive, unlimited visits to the soup, salad and vegetable bar pass the time and help ensure you will likely not request seconds on meat. The good news is that there were many tasty offerings. And if you ordered any of the many Brazilian libations, the wait for your entree passes quickly. The menu also offers a host of “a la carte” dinners, including seafood. The restaurant boasts an oceanfront location giving you a sweeping panorama if it is light outside. Sadly at night this advantage disappears in the blackness. By the entrance is a well stocked bar with a small dance floor. A disk jockey provided background music when we were there. The color scheme is largely black with a few tasteful decorations. All in all, Samba by the Sea is a reasonable choice for dinner especially if you know which meats to order and which to avoid. Dining early enough to catch the sunset would be a plus. Our waiter was fairly prompt and attentive, as was the hostess. But they didn’t seem particularly knowledgeable. Make sure you get your waiter to explain the meat choices and point out which is which on your plate."
