Chamas

A mighty, meaty, super-masculine spot with a unique – if somewhat gimmicky – twist 32 Reviews

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At Chamas, the USP is a simple one. Keep the little green card on your table face-up and men with gigantic sticks of meat will continue to carve their glistening wares on to your plate. Flip it over and they’ll stop. It’s a slightly gimmicky experience, and not for the easily distracted – with spits of rib-eye beef and lamb chops wafting by every five seconds, you may find yourself guilty of drifting in and out of conversations mid-sentence. Certain cuts will even require you to assist your server with your personal tongs, so just pray your companions have the patience for a disjointed dinner. In terms of what’s on offer, there’s everything from chicken wings (tangy, tender and, in our opinion, the best in the city) to juicy, marinated chunks of sirloin steak, spare ribs and a succulent smoked beef that’s so good it’s been known to reduce grown men to tears of joy. Meat aside, the self-service salad bar is also extremely well stocked, fresh and varied. All in all, it’s a testosterone-charged treat.

By Time Out Abu Dhabi staff
Time Out Abu Dhabi, 27 September 2011

• Previous reviews
  • 01 November,2012- reviewed by Time Out staff
  • 09 February,2011- reviewed by Time Out Abu Dhabi staff
  • 13 December,2009- reviewed by Time Out Abu Dhabi staff
  • 30 December,2008- reviewed by Time Out Abu Dhabi staff

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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.

User reviews:

Posted by: Abeer on 17 Nov ' 12 at 06:35

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

It's quite expensive but I loved the food, definitely would visit them again.

Posted by: johny smoth on 15 Jun ' 12 at 07:47

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

whoever knows the brazilian food will be shocked with the quality and variety served. price is OUTRAGIOUS.

Posted by: loku ayoor on 25 May ' 12 at 09:39

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Dont try it , nothing deserve the cost

Posted by: Andrea on 01 Apr ' 12 at 03:42

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The initiative of the Friday brunch linked with Boccaccio and Belgium Beer Cafe was simply amazing. Great idea!
Delicious food, great atmosphere, perfect service.
We didn't tried the food in BB Cafe because it was just too much... but we all will next time!
Such a fantastic day with family, friends and the friends who work there always with a huge smile in their faces!
Thank you!

Posted by: Andrea on 30 Mar ' 12 at 02:52

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

4 years ago this would be he best restaurant in town. Now they don't have enough people to serve, and even to make a reservation is difficult! No one picks up the phone at Chamas and reservation dpt and operator are like robots... price is more than in NY City where they serve 40 kinds of meat and a buffet to die for... hope someone else opens another Churrascaria and brings some real Brazilian food and hospitality to UAE, use to be good, now it is a Arab improvisation of something that should be great and just makes us feel cheated on. That was our last visit...

Posted by: anthony on 02 Dec ' 11 at 10:40

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I went here in Nov, 2011. I was in the private area which is nice but the service does get forgotten in there. I was left looking and asking fir service. The meat offered was very nice but very limited. I have been to the same style place in Rio de janerio where the menu also includes shrimp and cuts of fish, chamas do not offer this. The meal is 255dhs and a beer (nothing Brazilian) is about 40 with a cheap bottle of water from the supermarket costing 25dhs. There was also no live band on a Sunday. Overall it was nice but highly priced and service should be better. I doubt I will go again as there is more to offer in Abu Dhabi for my money.

Posted by: david on 27 Jul ' 11 at 13:55

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

We dined a couple of weeks ago and the food was terrible. The cold buffet was so cheap with very little variety. The food quality in terms of meat has gone down terribly and its sad that none of the managment looks into the same. The service was forgetful because there was no attention .
I would definately not recommend any one to go to Chamas,.

Posted by: Tamer Ahmed on 07 Jul ' 11 at 05:48

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I have to say i always enjoy the food there and service but since they increase the prices i stopped going.

Posted by: Margaret on 23 May ' 11 at 19:58

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Vary good for take a nice time out. The meat it is great. Live miusic and the penapol is great great great..... litol expensive but fantastic

Posted by: Yannick on 16 May ' 11 at 19:18

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Chamas is extremely expensive compared with what it serves !!! The various grilled meats proposed are ok, well prepared and tasty. But the salad buffet only offers a little and cheap choice of vegetables and salads, and the desserts only exist in option ! The decor is basic, and the service is disappointing at this level of price.. I do not recommend you this restaurant !

Posted by: Joan on 04 May ' 11 at 07:30

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Took my husband on his birthday to Chamas on Friday brunch and he was sooo happy with the experience so was i .one of the best restaurants i have ever eaten in and would recommend it to every1.But just an advise ;go their with an empty stomach because you will need all the space for their food+ desserts.
For Me Chamas will be one of my top 5 restaurants i have ever eaten in and will remain.

Posted by: Greg on 07 Apr ' 11 at 08:30

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Edited by TimeOutAbuDhabi.com

My wife and I decided to try the Chamas Brazilian barbecue a couple of weeks' ago despite the mixed reviews. We immediately understood why the reviews here are mixed. A few of the cuts of beef meat are good (not great) but, unfortunately, there is no menu provided of the available cuts for that evening (that is, no way to save room for the better cuts of meat) and there is no way that this dinner for two was worth 630 dirham (that includes two miniature cokes, a bottle of still water, and a 200ml Heineken for AE35). In addition, the salad buffet is nothing to write home about. This restaurant might make be suitable for a young guy (20s to 30s) who is trying to impress a girl he really likes on the first date, i.e., he wants to show her that he is not cheap (although, if the girl is sophisticated, he could conceivably lose points for choosing a restaurant with such poor value, i.e., throwing money away). If it's a buffet with good meats you are looking for, try Tiarra's lunch buffet in the Marina Mall on Fridays and Saturdays or the Friday buffet at the Sevilla Restaurant in the Raja Beach Hotel. Both are consistently outstanding and offer far better food than you will find at Chamas's at less than half the price.

Posted by: Alreyami on 26 Mar ' 11 at 10:30

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

good for starter and tex-mix

Posted by: Nikunj on 28 Jan ' 11 at 10:59

OverallDecorService

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Nick on 26 Jan ' 11 at 11:16

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• Best for: Family friendly

I have been going to Chamas since it opened and have always enjoyed the food and great service. This year they also have the 2 for 1 coupons in the Abu Dhabi coupon book (I bought mine at Spinneys) Wish I could try the dessert, but always too full. I did have a request for a specific type of meat with cheese and they brought it to my table within 15 minutes. Always great service.

Posted by: Rita Pryke on 25 Jan ' 11 at 02:50

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

lovely restaurant but 235 per person just for the food is a bit much

Posted by: Abdulla on 25 Dec ' 10 at 00:01

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I've been going to this restaurant at least twice a week for some time, they provide the best service I have seen in Abu Dhabi, and the food is simply amazing; their meat is on par with some of the best I have had from all over the world ... Sometimes, I wish they would vary the choices a bit more, but that's for me going there twice a week, otherwise, it's an amazing experience

Posted by: Zayed on 16 Aug ' 10 at 07:01

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Edited by TimeOutAbuDhabi.com

I heard lot about this restaurant but i was shocked when I ate in it. The starters and the salad bar was great but when the real food comes its like eating in cheap low quality restaurant the meat smells and I will not 2nd guess that the meat is the cheapest in the market (in taste and smell) which is so shocking because the restaurant main dish is meat and BBQ.

Posted by: bassam ghazalah on 18 Jul ' 10 at 13:37

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Edited by TimeOutAbuDhabi.com

Amazing food. Good wine list. Very nice idea

Posted by: Mohammed on 28 Jan ' 10 at 16:08

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Simply designed for meat loverrrrrs. Honestly, it is one of few restaurants that u finish ur meal with an exclamation mark on ur face saying: "Am I awake or dreaming?!!!"
It is a bit expensive but really worth every bit of it (taking into consideration the amount of meat u can eat). My advice though is take ur time while eating, otherwise u'll get stuffed quickly :)

Posted by: 007 on 09 Dec ' 09 at 23:16

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Well, I love Chamas, but if you know meat, you will know that Chamas does not provide the best cuts of beef around. Rib Eye is the best they have in terms of steak. There is no Sirlion, no Top Sirloin, no Picanha (Brazilian rump roast), no Filet Mignon, no Lamb Chops, no ribs. I mean, come on. Real guys know their beef well and Chamas does not offer it. Chicken liver? why would that be even on the menu. I am not going to pay AED 215 for chicken liver. Give me my steaks.

Posted by: Neil on 02 Nov ' 09 at 07:18

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FoodAmbience

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The price is a bit rich but considering you can gorge on as much wonderfully prepared meat as your stomach can handle and graze on a vast selection of salad bar goodies, Chamas is a wonderful and highly recommended place to eat! I cant wait to go again!

Posted by: Elsie on 22 Oct ' 09 at 15:16

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• Best for: Brunch served
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Posted by: ameen faiez on 30 Aug ' 09 at 13:20

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: ali on 04 Aug ' 09 at 07:45

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

BEST MEAT EVER EATEN

Searously, i have tried several meat restaurants in AD but this was the best.

You need to go on an empty stomach

Posted by: Mrs. Al Kindi on 30 Jun ' 09 at 10:50

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Fun and romantic!

Posted by: Ahmed on 04 Jun ' 09 at 13:35

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

just forgot the ratings

Great resturant like i mentioned sadly they increased the price ( but we have no other option!!!

Posted by: Ahmed on 04 Jun ' 09 at 13:33

Great Resturant been going there since it opened sadly it has increased the price for no reason ( well due to the crisis and less people coming they have to compensate!!!)

Posted by: Parker on 03 Jun ' 09 at 13:51

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

wonderfull Brazilian Restaurent in Abu Dhabi. teast of the food & value is really Great. the servise is extreamly proffesional and the staff was vereyfreindly. specialy i would like to give a big thank to Dilan & Jir from the service staff and restaurent chef Alex for made our evening fantastic & memorabale.

Posted by: Mohamed Al Marzouqi on 25 May ' 09 at 16:10

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• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Great experience ,, One of the best Brazilian restaurant

Posted by: Ines Hassine on 27 Apr ' 09 at 04:22

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Amazing food and wine.

Posted by: william on 28 Mar ' 09 at 16:57

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Amazing food. Good wine list. My son loved the pumpkin soup and grilled pineapple. I loved the cuts of meat. Everything was very good and service never lacked.