3 Stars 1 for the decor 2 for the service 3 for the grilled pineapple just ok all you can eat meat + salad bar (the portobello is pretty good) most of the meat are overcooked... the rib eye is the meat that i had more than one piece... everything else is really really average... not recommended... i came to Calgary for Alberta beef not this... read more

I've been to Bolero about 5-8 times now and it is a nice place to go about one or two times a year. The food is always delicious and given it's all you can eat, most big eaters will get their money's worth. The reason I'm giving it 3/5 is for a few reasons: 1) They changed their menu over the past year and no longer include some of the best items that are difficult to find elsewhere (garlic parmesan picahna, for example). This was one of the items that I would think about before going and when I realized it was no longer on the menu (and there was nothing to replace it), I was very disappointed. 2) The meat is usually done medium-rare. For someone who likes their food to not be alive by the time they eat it, it can be a little offputting to have raw meat oozing blood on your plate. They usually have portions that are a little bit more well-done, but they are either a) charred or b) medium at best c) very small. 3) Overpriced. As I said before, if you're a big eater, you'll get your money's worth. However, if you're a regular, healthy-sized meal eater who doesn't starve themselves before they go, you will most certainly not get your money's worth. Their prices have also gone up now and are about $39 for the whole she-bang (meat+hot and cold bar). It used to be $32. This is why I only go twice a year at most. 4) They always seem to come with the same meats which you don't like and never serve the really good stuff you want. Can't tell you how many times all I want is a piece of filet mignon and all that comes around is ribs. Seriously. However, the waiters are pretty good and if they notice that you keep saying no, they'll ask you if there is something you want specifically and will bring it to you. Overall, if you love meat and plan on having an absolutely huge meal, this could be a good place to go once a year. If you are a vegetarian, small eater, or anyone who doesn't make over 60K a year, it's not worth your time and money. read more

Have always had a great experience, great restaurant to take the family. I love the selection of the salad bar, and the BBQ is delicious. They are fast at arriving and serving you, who can resist all you can eat meat and salad bar. The deserts are yummy, especially the Tres Leche(a traditional cake) so good, and don't forget the grilled pineapple is something I never get tired of. Enjoy your experience. read more

Love love love Bolero! This is a once a year, special occasion dinner for us. Usually for a birthday or special night out with friends. I've been here multiple times and the food never ceases to amaze me! Make sure to wear your stretchy pants! Skewers of meat come by as often as 3-15 minutes. Sometimes it's nice to get that break in between so you get a chance to digest otherwise you leave feeling like you are going to explode! Make sure to save room for the pineapple. We usually have to skip a few rounds but well worth the wait. Ask for extra pineapple. You will thank me later. Also, skip the carbs at the side buffet. Or just skip the sides altogether. I usually just get a small salad to start so I don't feel like I only ate 3 lbs of meat. The ambiance is fun, romantic, and energetic. It's dimly lit and a great place for parties or a date! I once even made an ex take me here on a break up date! It's a fun place to dress up and for $40, come hungry! Not a place for vegetarians. read more

So according to my previous review, my last visit to Bolero was about 3 years ago....and I didn't seem to enjoy it. Michelle's birthday was coming and she wanted MEAT, so Bolero seemed like a place that would suit her needs and we decided to head there. We had reservations made for 4:30PM on a Saturday for a party of 8. We were quickly greeted and our drink orders were taken. We then had a refresher on how Bolero worked. There is an unlimited buffet of Brazilian food items: coconut rice (MMMM), beef stew, vegetables, salads, mussels, cheese...etc and then you have a cue (red, green) at one end of your table, red signifying you are stuffed and you do not want meat/pineapple to come by, green signifying you want your belly to be stuffed with meat and you want the table side service to continue. With Bolero, its not nonstop meat coming by. The meat comes in cycles....they come by, cut your meat and then I find that you're waiting a bit before the next skewer comes by. I mean with a group of 8, we were chatting so we weren't bored but we did stop a few times wondering where the meat was! My favorite meat was the bacon wrapped filet mignon as well as the parmesan crusted pork, super tasty. The meats were all nice and tender and of course the grilled pineapple hits home run all the time. It's super sweet but I enjoy that. The service was good, always alert and filling our drinks. And it was a sweet surprise that they brought out a tres leche cake for the birthday girl...traditional sponge cake soaked in condensed milk, whipping cream and evaporated milk it was super tasty! The whipping cream and evaporated milk was kind of an ice cream texture...yum! Bolero is a once a year or once every two year type of deal. I'd say, come super hungry and patient to get your moneys worth but I don't seem to feel I get my moneys worth. The lighting is super dark too. read more

An amazing place to just let loose, relax, and eat your body weight in meat. Seriously, you need to have a plan or you'll slip into a meat coma. Very beautiful decor; extremely affable servers, and despite the fact that's it's not exactly cheap to eat there, all things considered, it's an excellent value for the quality and the sheer amount of food which comes your way. My advice to the uninitiated? Come hungry. Pace yourself. Don't make the newbie mistake by helping yourself to too many side dishes. And don't feel obligated to say "yes" to every server who comes by with a skewer -- it's totally OK to "pass". In fact, you *need* to say "no" to some of it if you hope to avert the meat sweats at least until you get to the parking lot. A perfect place to bring out-of-towners, clients, or anyone you know who's in a "Roman Gladiator" cuisine mood. read more

Been back again, just as good as the first time. Ok, I've returned here another 4 times. I'm still as enamoured with the food, service and atmosphere as I was first time around. Highly recommend read more

It really depends on if you are a big meat lover or not. This place is not cheap, you will end up paying 50-60$ per person, but you will be stuffed ! They have a good selection of wine, and some of the meat varieties they will bring is really nice and unique to this place. read more

Mmmm... Roasted pineapple, you make the world go round. As noted in all reviews below, there are 17 different roasted items available. After consuming all 17 in one sitting, I can safely say they are all good or better. Caveat: the lamb is gamey, so if you prefer the taste of your lamb to be hidden under a tonne of seasoning and spices, please avoid. Other than that, prepare for meat-sweats. Also, book ahead as it can get quite busy and the restaurant has set times to start dinner. I am guessing this is to ensure that each time get a full rotation of all 17 items. read more

I've been to Bolero twice and as a picky meat eater, I only had to try the full skewer selection/Rodizio once. The second time I just had the Teaser Platter, being the Fresco Bar, Hot Bar with a choice of two meats. I nearly fell off of my chair when the two meat portions (I chose chicken legs and Linguica, my favorite) arrived. It is an insane amount of meat and I had leftovers for days. I had to share it because I'm sure I would have had the meat sweats and been turned off. There are some pretty good Hot Bar dishes but the Fresco bar is just okay. The vegetable skewer is good too. I do think it's a cool experience that everyone should try once, but I'd only go back if I was invited by someone. If you are a hardcore meat eater, you likely would give Bolero more stars. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants I love the Brazilian dining the food is always excellent and the staff friendly and helpful

I was here with my friends and we really liked the this place. Excellent food! Recommend to all meat lovers. And I will be back fo sure

I finally had a chance to go to Bolero for a meal as part of an office Christmas party, and it was an all round good time! Friendly attentive service, and the variety of skewers of meat that kept coming around beat me into a near carnivorous stupor. A parade of very tasty and flavourful beef (filet mignon, ribeye, top sirloin), seafood, pineapple, a couple of amazing pork skewers... VERY good. I will definitely be returning, and would recommend Bolero in a heartbeat for anything from a small intimate date to a large party. And bring an appetite. A *big* appetite. read more

There's been a big craze for a while now on this Brazilian barbecue thing. There's a few different places that do it there's this place there's Gauchos Brazilian barbecue and there's a place downtown as well.. I went here cuz I thought okay I might as well give it a try and I had heard good things about this place. I am a fan of the whole concept of it I like the fact you can help yourself to Soup Salad side dishes in between the meat dishes but really you have to be careful you don't fill yourself up on the because the meat is where it's at. The way they have it set you just sit at your table and they bring out various cuts of meats and you take what you want and say no to what you don't want and it will just keep coming until you are full is a great concept. It would be nice if sometimes they changed up their menu and had different cuts of meat but it's usually the same Fair. All in all the food is great amazing there's some things that I'm not a fan of but that's just a personal preference like the lamb and the sausage. But other than that it's a great place to take your significant other or on a date or even just for something new. I would definitely be going here again I've already been a couple times so it's definitely not an all-the-time thing more of a special occasion place. The one thing I would definitely suggest Saving Room for and it's great in mid-course or as an afterthought is the barbecued pineapple it is so sweet and so yummy it is definitely great for cleaning your palate between a bunch of meat before you decide to start again it is just so yummy read more

I have to admit that if you're going to there to eat be prepared not to eat for a day cause wow as the food is top notch and serving as much as you want.. the service from the gauchos where a 10/10 and they know how to serve you. You will not regret going there.. the pineapple omg to die for lol... by the way the marketing on Facebook and Instagram is always wanting to go there and the other restaurants.. read more

I have dined here several times in the past--probably about eight or nine times--and my experience has been so completely exceptional that I've always made a point to show the restaurant to others. I'm not sure if I'll dine here again after last night. What a terrible experience we had last night. We were a party of seven (1 child & 6 adults) having a send-off dinner. With everyone driving, nobody ordered alcohol ...and I think that was the kiss of death for our service. I think the first 45 minutes to an hour went as usual (which means everything was excellent); and then ....we watched as our table was actively ignored by all the Gauchos, and there was no sign of our server either. What's worse: as far as I can tell, the restaurant was maybe half full (we were dining on a Tuesday evening, after all). (I suspect we were treated this way because we all stuck with water and didn't think to order anything else during the first rounds of Gauchos bringing us meat.) Fed up after being passed by more than a dozen times (seriously, we saw one Gaucho pass us by easily half a dozen times! ...and there were another 3 or 4 Gauchos doing the circuit), we flagged someone down so at least my five-year old daughter could have one more slice of pineapple. We were told that there were 18 selections that would be brought to our table. I think we might have been offered ten or twelve before the servers and gauchos decided we had had our fill. It really felt to me that we were being treated as though we weren't "high roller" enough to warrant excellent service. In the end we all left feeling a touch angry and wishing that we had gone somewhere else. Maybe one day I'll go back; the food IS quite good, but I managed to introduce the two people who had never been there before to a restaurant with horrible service. Next time I introduce people to a new restaurant, Bolero won't be on my list. Too bad. I've given a one-star review, not because any of the food was bad--really it was all very good. I'm giving a one-star review because when we were leaving at the end of the night, we were feeling so let down and disappointed by our experience, that we forgot about the quality of the meal itself. read more

Ive been here multiple times, maybe three times in the past two years, and ive enjoyed the meal and service each time. They do have some room for improvement though. My favourite meat items were the rack of lamb, tenderloin and grilled fruit (grapefruit / pineapple). I think they try to fill you up with the 'cheaper' meats though, and rarely bring over the expensive stuff. You are kind of at the mercy of their staff walking around with the meats, in regards to what they bring and how often. We've requested certain items but it takes a LONG time for them to come around with them. The salad bar is mediocre. The fun thing about desserts is they bring over a platter of "plastic versions" so you can get a visual of them. It's a little too big of a dessert menu though if that could be a criticism... there were like 6-7 choices and when the waiter runs down the list verbally, its a little over whelming and difficult to remember what they just said. Overall it's a pricey meal, like $35-45 a person if you have a drink too. read more

Great meal. Not a cheap date at $42 per person but it's heaven for any meat lover. They provide plenty of well thought out extras as well, salad bar and table breads all of which sadly rob you of space for more tenderloin. Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken BBQ pineapple. There's no way you will leave unfulfilled because they have all the bases covered. Due to the constant waiter interruptions, it's probably not the best place to hold an important meeting where conversations need to be sustained. But you know that going in. Not the most extensive bar for a high end restaurant which was surprising, no high end Rum, no Jaeger! What?! All in all a great experience. Loved it. Left utterly stuffed, a real 1st world problem. read more

This is my first time ever and it was just amazing from the service to the food it was top notch. I will be back for sure. I am surprised the place is not packed every night. Thank you for everything and I will be back again. read more

Excellent food and service. Had a great birthday dinner here in August, tons of meat so bring an appetite!! Our server was great about bringing cocktail refills around, and all the servers were friendly and professional. read more

The price is just right and the food is delicious. They have great variety, too, from the BBQ to salads to pizzas and there are many healthy options to choose from, if someone wants the company but not necessarily the BBQ. The space is neat, too, with two floors and and lovely big windows. I'll admit, the only thing that I feel Bolero Fire Grills does wrong is the bathroom - these super wide basins for the sinks let the dirty water run to the edges and not necessarily drain, which is strange. But I don't go for the bathrooms, I go for the Q and I never leave unhappy. read more

Good for brunch but a bit pricey for dinner. We have been several times and would recommend it to anyone celebrating something special. It is a lively atmosphere and the selection of meats is good. If the item you want isn't coming around, simply ask the waitress/waiter to bring it over and if it is available they will. Disclaimer: not suitable for vegetarians read more

I had heard a lot of amazing reviews about this place and maybe I had just set the bar too high. I was not impressed at all but I am very picky about my food. We ordered a bottle of wine with our meal and it ended up costing about $170 for the two of us. I thought the service was terrible considering 15 to 20 percent of $170 is a pretty good wage. I felt like I was more of a bother than anything. I might just not be a fan of Brazilian food as this was the first time I have ever tried it. Give me a good steak or seafood dish anytime over this place. I honestly wouldn't go back if they offered me a free meal. It is set up to be "an experience" but to me it was just a bad one. It pretty much ruined our anniversary evening. read more

Phil is the best server I have ever had in my entire life. The food is amazing and they are very accommodating for any needs you may have. They also remembered my boyfriend and I after not seeing us for a year and they remembered it was our anniversary. We love this place. Now if you are a vegan this place is not the best to go to as it servers mainly meat which is why it's delicious. read more

Love this place!!!! It's my all time favorite yummy food amazing deserts. A bit pricey but worth it in my opinion

Bolero is a carnivore's paradise. For around $35 a person, you'll be seduced into a world of grilled meat fantasy where gauchos roam from table to table with swords full of every kind of beef, from rump roast to filet mignon. Then there's pork, bacon wrapped chicken, sausage and even grilled pineapple. As long as your table marker has the green side up, the waiters will continue to stop and ask if you'd like them to cut off more meat for you. It's the best buffet-style steak house in town and the service is always impeccable. If the meat you want hasn't been brought by for a while, the waiter will find it for you. I have a tendency to overdo it at buffet-style places and I left Bolero with a belly packed full of meat. I couldn't eat beef for a few days after. The vegetable and side selection buffet could offer more variety, but that is more than made up for with the variety of swords full of perfectly flame-grilled meat. The price makes the place even more attractive. It would still be a deal at a lot more. If you want to eat there on any day other than Monday or Tuesday though, call ahead a few days before for reservations. read more

For me personally, Bolero is definitely a restaurant exuding style over substance with an over-priced menu for mediocre food. Of course, you are probably wondering why the hell a vegetarian was at a bbq house that predominantly caters to meat-lovers. Well the reason why I went was because I was dragged along for a family dinner. So right from the get-go, readers, you can skip over my review if you like as i have no idea how the meat tastes. However based on what my dad and boyfriend report, the meat apparently has lack of flavour, except for having a very smoky flavour???? For first-timers, I do suggest that you either book a reservation a week in advance regardless of how big the party is. The restaurant at this moment is among the most popular to dine at where getting a table at a decent time can be quite a challenge. The other option is to either go very early or very late to miss the busy rush. With the restaurant located just off of Macleod Trail, it is upstairs and directly above another busy eatery, Open Sesame. If you have already added the two together, it equals a crazy busy parking lot so ensure a few extra minutes of some frustration and stress trying to get a decent spot. Bolero itself is beautiful, complete with large wooden tables, spacey booths, and dark undertones throughout the restaurant creating a nice and relaxing atmosphere. Served with two bottles of wine, that was about as good as the dinner got....for me that is. The concept of Bolero is definitely a MYOM (make-your-own-meal) type of thing which immediately turned me off as I have a strong pet-peeve for food venues like this. The dinner itself can be quite expensive because it depends on how many meats diners want to try. The first and most expensive pick off the menu is the Full Rodizio where diners have access to the salad bar and 17 (effing 17!) choices of meats. The teaser platter is priced at $30 dollars, where you have access to the the salad bar but only two choices of meats, and lastly, those who don't enjoy meat can just dine from the salad bar at $20. Me being the boring vegetarian stuck to making friends with salad (woot, representing!!!!). Although Bolero is a beautiful restuarant, the salad bar didn't cut it for me. Despite the fact that they offered a variety of seafood, roasted vegetables, pasta salads, both a meat and vegetarian stew, and an array of salads, I found the quality and taste was mediocre. Even if the salad bar was all gourmet, I found most of the vegetables and pasta salads kind of saucy which strangely resembled the taste of Kraft salad dressings. Not trying to be a snot, I also found the vegetables over-cooked....but who really wants to eat stringy asparagus and zucchini? The one thing both my boyfriend and I enjoyed during the dinner was the beans and the coconut rice where I actually would go back to Bolero for if I didn't have to pay $20. Throughout the meal, I got to enjoy the AWESOME....just awesome view of my family gorging themselves on the skewers of meat where I was frankly horrified in how much the human body is capable of digesting. One thing for sure, I was not nursing a stomach ache on the way home like they were ;) haha. So despite a beautiful atmosphere and interesting concept of a dinner, Bolero just didn't cut it for me. Obviously they don't really cater to vegetarians, so the salad bar was a bit of a disappointment for me where it definitely is not a bang for your buck. I do definitely suggest that people should at least try it once, however, if you are a picky eater in terms of flavour and food quality, you may or may not be faced with disappointment. read more

Very good! ... I enjoyed the salad bar and the wine was really good! The service was also very friendly and the meat was great! Nothing to complain! read more

I was really impressed with Bolero and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes BBQ meat. If you are a vegetarian this is not the place for you but luckily I am not and love all you can eat BBQ. Thanks and ill be back. read more

Brazilian BBQ, with its endless stream of fire roasted meat, is pretty darn good by any standard if you're a carnivore like me. Since there are only really two in town, I'll use this space to compare them. Bolero has a somewhat larger selection of meats than Gaucho, but I'd have to give the edge to Gaucho on the quality of the meat preparation. The buffet of side dishes at Bolero is considerably larger than at Gaucho, but Gaucho's has more traditional accompaniments if you're looking for authenticity (e.g. a dearth of vegetables :-)). Gaucho's has a mean caipirinha (the national cocktail of Brazil), and a relatively sterile and bright decor compared to the dark wooden steakhouse feel of Bolero. In sum, Gaucho's takes it on quality and authenticity, whereas Bolero takes it on variety and atmosphere...bom apetite! read more

i took my husband here for his birthday, since he can pretty much instill terror in any all-you-can-eat restaurant managers heart I figured it would be a no brainer. But oh i was wrong, the lamb was as gamey as gamey gets, the other meats were good but nothing over the top fantastic. I will admit the bbq pineapple was fan-freaking-tastic, but that was it. the "salad bar" if you could call it that was disgusting, no real options and most of it looked like something from a dumpster. We kept asking for the bbq veggies, but alas never got any. all in all it was a bust. And, while i did leave full, it was a mediocre uncomfortable full that just wasnt worth it. read more

All you can eat good food is the selling point. It is different from buffet which is usually deep fried oily food or filling starch food which is not good food. Even the concept to sample all big variety of great meat is worth to give it a try. They have at least four to five different kind of steak (tenderloin, rib eye, ...), rack of lamb, chicken, must try for veg is the honey pineapple. I recommend you give it a try. read more

Great experience. Loved the salad bar but not enough for gluten free. Meats were delicious but some were underdone for our liking- even though I usually like medium rare. The best bits were the pineapple and the goats cheese - so delicious. Coconut rice was fabulous too and the black beans were fantastic. Brought two kiddos who were really well looked after and really enjoyed themselves. Definitely recommend to try this place. read more

We decided to try this gem the week following the Calgary Stampede. Some might think that after 10 days of Stampede there should be a beef moratorium. I do not subscribe to that theory. If you have never experienced "a Brazilian Style of Steak house" you should. Its a fun evening for a group or even a few friends. The Fresco Bar has all the sides you would expect. Salads, potatoes, vegetables and such, but the real winner it the coconut rice. At least three helpings should be in your future. The servers continuously bring skewers of roast meats and they are endless. It was a great opportunity to try the typical meats but have them prepared in the unique Brazilian way. The best was the Ribeye Steak was clearly the best but many of the others were very good. However, as a full fledged carnivore it is with some embarrassment that I admit that the grilled pineapple was my second favourite. I couldn't come here weekly because the fire roasted preparation kind of makes everything taste similar but monthly sounds wonderful. read more

Had an amazing experience . We sat in the perfect booth and the staff was friendly and fast .. Great food and would highly recommend . Buffett was full of variety and the meat was incredible . Love this place . Thank you . read more

Was tasty, make it an event though as it will take some time to get your dollar value. Meat is pretty red which is fine by me. The pineapple will change your life and as 6 guys out for the eve it was a great way to spend 4 hours. Keep the green up! read more

Amazing food!!! Though their price did go up, it's nice to go and enjoy a meal served at your pace. Save room for dessert:)

What a great experience! The room is gorgeous, the food is fantastic and the staff are friendly and helpful. On Sunday my family met at Bolero's for dinner. I have never experienced Brazilian BBQ before but knew what to expect...a lot of meat! I myself is more of a veggie lover so I was happy to see the salad bar. We thought the cost would be about $60/person and were delighted to see it only cost $45. I totally will recommend this restaurant to all meat eaters out there. The only reason I knocked a star off is because the chicken was quite overcooked but no big deal :) read more

The grilled pineapple at Sunday Bruch is to die for. I'm graving it night and day ever since I tried them last Sunday. I love how they walk around with different dishes to the tables. You flip up the green side of the pillar if you want them to come by, and red if you want them to stop coming by with BBQ- ed choices. So fresh and yummy. The only thing I really think they lacked was bread. They have croissants and some kind of sweet bread from the grill, but there's no selection of buns and bread, which would go really well with the ham, salmon, sausages, and cheese etc. It was such a luxury to start of the day with a long Brunch, Mimosas and finish off with mouthwatering desserts and cakes. One of my new favorite places. I would have given 5 stars if there would be more bread. Service was fantastic from the entire crew read more

We dined at Bolero this past weekend. We have been to Brazilian BBQ before, both in South America (the authentic kind) and to Gaucho's. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Bolero! The vast array of meats was incredible, and the hot/cold buffet was average. Our favorite was bacon-wrapped anything (especially the filet), and the caramelized BBQ pineapple (a MUST HAVE). Our server was fantastic... cleared the plates as the night went on, and ensured that our wine glasses were always filled. read more