New Brazilian Steakhouse Brings All the Meats to North Dallas

A new churrascaria style restaurant has debuted in North Dallas with all of the meat you could ever desire. 12 Cuts Brazilian Steakhouse is now open at 18010 Dallas Parkway and if you go in thinking, hey this is pretty much like a new version of Fogo de Chão, there’s a good reason for that.

Husband and wife owners Juarez DeConto and Alda Boiani initially moved to the United States in 1997 to help debut the first American Fogo de Chão location in Addison. After 20 years at the restaurant, they decided to create their own version of an authentic Brazilian steakhouse with South American flair.

I arrived at 12 Cuts with a nearly empty stomach in preparation for feasting. The traditional churrascaria experience is offered as a flat fee for $46.85 for dinner and $31.85 for lunch. I was invited for dinner and its unlimited portions. Although the concept is almost exactly the same as Fogo, the ambiance and decor is more casual.

Light brown wooden chairs sit around white cloth covered tables on a generic carpet floor. A few interesting ribbon-shaped chandelier lights hang above the salad bar.

But when it comes to a Brazilian steakhouse, the main focus is on the meat. When you’re being offered pincanha, costela, file mignon and cordeiro every which way, it’s hard to look at anything else. Like at Fogo, you flip a card, green and red, to signal go or stop for the meat-offering.

To start off, I ordered the 12 Cuts Caipirinhas with cachaça (rum), sugar and lime. Delightful. Then I surveyed the salad bar and hot specialty bar to find items worth trying that wouldn’t hinder my ability to eat all of the meat. A few of my favorites were the salmon, capri salad and yucca soup.

I was then ready to flip my little round card to green. First up was the rack lamb (cordeiro), then top sirloin (picancha), and bife ancho (ribeye). All were good, but it was the filet mignon and bacon-wrapped chicken that really got my attention. We were also provided with fried plantains and yucca fries to munch on in between meats. I blame these on my inability to try all 12 meats.

When I was almost ready to give up, the servers brought around a warm pineapple with cinnamon that they’d cut slivers off like a rack of meat. This was definitely the most unexpected and favorite of the night. That was until we got a slice of the tres leches cake that came in as a close second.