We've been to Tropical Cafe three times now, and never disappointed. The food is great, staff super friendly, and the entertainment we've seen (guitar/singer during dinner) was quite talented. If you don't speak Portuguese, you may have a language barrier with the staff, as not all are fluent in English. This is more part of the fun, though-- you feel as if you are in Brazil for an hour or two. Much of the clientele appear to be regulars who all know each other and greet each other on the way in. Definitely a neighborhood-y place. We drink caipirinhas every chance we get, and I would say they have the best caipirinha of any restaurant or bar in the greater Boston area. The only negative things I have encountered there were: once one of two containers of rice at the buffet was dry and crunchy, and one meat (beef with garlic) was fairly tough and gristly. But the number of other good foods we've had there easily outweighs these small things, and the prices are very reasonable. I would highly recommend Tropical Cafe. read more

Visited for first time in quite a while hoping to find something different. It was ok but we went on a night they stopped the "Rodizio" at 5pm. We had a Churrasco mixed meat plate. The steak was dry and tasteless, the chicken was good and the sausage ok although they had no mustard. The rice was dry and the beans tasteless. The plantains while charred were pretty good and saved the dinner but All and all disappointing The house beer was a bargain and the flan generous and good The fried chicken was all bones and about ready to be served to animals. They replaced it thankfully . Other sausage dinners were also very ordinary. I would not be in a hurry to go back and if so will make sure they are offering Rodizio. Ps Music hadn't started but they seemed to have a cover for that. read more

Have been to this place a few times and only once have I ever received decent service. They hardly ever check on you to see if you need anything and when you do need something they take forever to get it to you. I've sat at the bar a couple of times and that is when service seems to be worse. They are very unfriendly and do not make you feel welcome at all. I find it very hard to understand as usually restaurants with food from different countries are very welcoming of "foreigners" and are excited to show them a piece of their culture. Now you're probably wondering why I've visited multiple times. Well, first, because every time I think it will be different (but it's not) and the other reason is the food. The food is really good! I love their rodizio, X burgers and pastel! Definitely recommend washing those down with a caipirinha! If it weren't for the food this place would get one star from me. At this point though, I think I've learned my lesson and will most likely just order take out and buy my own bottle Of cachaça with a bag of limes.. read more

Great experience! Very friendly staff--held the door for me on the way in/out with my baby carriage. Delicious pina colada! A lot of folks seemed to be ordering fresh orange juice or orange smoothies as well. Beautiful, funky, fun decor inside with multiple flat-screen tv's. I had the lunchtime buffet for $8.99 and it was fantastic! Beets, hearts of palm, salad, boiled eggs and potatoes, etc. and a wonderful assortment of meats. The carne asada was phenomenal--very tender and flavorful. The chicken was also amazing. Great fried side dishes as well. I'll definitely be back! read more

Great place fresh food good atmosphere fresh squeezed orange juice and great price me and my family always come here to have Brazilian food read more

Tropical Cafe - tables and chairs in a restaurant - Brazilian Near Me - Framingham, Massachusetts

We just left the restaurant and I truly regret going out of my way to have dinner there with my husband. Well over 1 HOUR we ordered, we finally get our food. It wasn't even that busy to take so long, and I wasn't the only one unhappy there; a lot of people were agraveted by how slow the service was. Fries were cold and tasted like old grease, and to top it all off, my husband's top sirloin burger that was ordered to be rare was well done... We ended up splitting my burger, waiting to have his redone simply wasn't an option given the amount of time we'd have to wait again... First and last time dining here. Would highly NOT RECOMMEND. read more

I LOVED Tropical Cafe! Amazing food, good service, incredible drinks. There was live music which was great! But they sat us right next to the speaker so we couldn't hear anything - we asked to be moved (plenty of open tables) but they didn't accommodate us. Some of the servers ignored us until we asked our waiter to help out and then we got attention. The price was definitely high but it's endless food (and really good quality). The drink prices are cheap, though. Overall it was amazing ambience and a delightful experience. I will definitely go back! read more

I ordered the oxtail and it was WATERY. Smh it used to be so good! What happened? PLUS my BF got the Meal that included unlimited meat.... Sitting right across from the grill we were disgusted to notice prior to each piece going out to the floor, the waitress or waiter would douse it with salt from a huge container. I'm so sad to see this place go to pot like that. The only thing good I got was my Long Island ice tea , and even that was on the lighter side too. Guess they're cutting corners trying to save $$ read more

Okay... sooo. This is a Brazilian restaurant! They have primarily Brazilian food that is okay. I've had better. The thing that is so cool about this place is that they host events for Brazilian soccer teams, music, parties, etc. It is also a pretty cool atmosphere. They recently got rid of the buffet food style were you weigh your plate which I think was a great idea. They now have more room for tables and people! Parking is always pretty easy to find and the people are always friendly. This place is for sure more of an atmosphere place then going for the food. I will say the yuca fries are always a must! read more

Placed to go order online on Sunday @7:47pm when it says it is open until 1am...After 1.5 hrs of waiting I called the customer service Eat24 (what a joke) and they tell me the restaurant is closed and she is sorry, tells she's is gonna issue me a refund and hangs up.... Now it is 9:24pm and I have no food....GREAT SERVICE! Shaking my head read more

I was at a show at the tropical café today and the owner of the establishment was very ignorant, screamed and assaulted my friend simply for nothing, squeezed her arm and still threatened to call the police. I want to leave it here for everyone who intends to go there for fun, it's this treatment you receive in this establishment! read more

Poor quality food, didn't have half the items listed on the menu. Gave it a second shot and tried take out through yelp, ended up receiving a call 30 minutes after the order was placed that they didn't half of what was ordered. Cancelled the order and went to Cafe Belo. read more

My fiance and I love Brazilian Steakhouses and were looking for one for Valentine's Day to do something a little different. We found Tropical Cafe on Groupon and wanted to try it out. The waiter was so friendly and the food was fantastic! Everything was well seasoned and moist! Typically, I leave these places with my stomach feeling like I ate lead for an hour, but I felt great after leaving here. I will definitely be back the next time I'm in Framingham. read more

My partner and I went to the tropical cafe about a month and a half ago. So glad that we stopped here. Little bit of a language barrier if you don't speak Portuguese. But don't let that scare you away! The general manager was extremely helpful when we were giving our order to the waitress. The food itself was authentic and tasted great. The portions were huge and the bill was small! If I were to go back here again I think I would just get a big plate of food and have it weighed. However, I wasn't very familiar with it. All in all I really liked this place! read more

Today i stop buy to order a food to go waiting for almost 10 minutes to the server came to me and take my order, she just order and give me a bill, so i wait for the food i ask for a beer , she dont ask me if i need anything else, she bring my foos and charge me $6 for gratuity, i give a tip , but for this shit service and high price i dont go back anymore read more

Ordered twice from here while traveling on business. Both times the food was good (Chicken Filet burger & yucca fries) but (also both times) the delivery took close to 90 minutes. I'm guessing the reason was that the drivers had difficulty finding my location even though the address I gave them was correct (I googled it and double checked with the receptionist). Also, neither driver spoke English very well which made helping them get to me an exercise in futility. My advice to management (that no one asked for) would be to hook your drivers up with Google Maps. I imagine it would save them some time and frustration (not to mention gas) and save your customers from room temperature food. read more

Great Brazilian and Portuguese food with very reasonable prices. The Caipirinha's are terrific and on weekends there is often live music. Most of the staff's english is not so good, but that should not deter anyone from eating here. They have two different menus; one Brazilian, the other Portuguese. Some nights the Portuguese menu is not available. If you like octopus, they do it really well, along with Frango Passarinho which is a big hit. I bring visitors from out of town to Café Tropical all the time and everyone has enjoyed it. One of the best restaurants in Framingham. read more

Went there on 1/30/15 with a groupon. The atmosphere is relaxed and low key. Our waiter was fantastic. Lots of hot and cold salad bar items, rice, beans, sweet potato and the rice balls were really good. The meat was great. Sirloin is always wonderful at any Brazilian we have gone to. All the meat is good and for the price you can't go wrong. It's not "Smith and Wollensky" but you are not paying for that quality. The trip is about 2 hours for us, so we will be returning within the next month. read more

Food is unbelievable. The beer is served in chilled mugs so cold, that the ice melts into the glass. The service is excellent and very attentive. If you come, get the fries. You won't be able resist eating them all. Will be back for sure. Don't be deterred by the language comments. This is a true Brazilian establishment and adds to the character. Highly recommended. read more

The food is really good and cheap. Casual environment. They have karaoke and live music sometimes. And you don't have to speak Portuguese to order, like some other restaurants. We will definitely be back there soon! read more

First, I wanted to communicate that the address found on the Google site is completely wrong.My husband and I went to your location for lunch on Sunday, when its expected to be excellent.The food looked horrible and was awfully cold too .I drove 40 minutes to your location, whereas, on my way there I could had gone to many other restaurants in the area. However, I opted to eat Brazilian food. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Food was not decent. read more

I went to this place tonight and they stop doing rodizio. I use to love there rodizio. We had to leave and go to Ashland ale house! I hope they still do it on the weekends. Fogo is a long ride in Boston. I'm bummed. read more

The worse place ever. I got my delivery 90 minutes later old and cold. They came to pick it back up and I've got my money back for the food but lost tip money. Will not recommend it to anyone. read more

Came here last Saturday night for date night. The street parking is free on the weekends and easy to find. We had a reservation for 6:45 and were sat right away. We had a groupon and mentioned it when we sat down. The lovely Brazilian waiter looked at it to make sure what it included and explained how it worked. My boyfriend and I were both familiar with the process but he gave a great explanation. The salad bar had some delicious items and some not so delicious items but we were both able to fill up without a problem! Some of the hits were the chicken salad topped with potato sticks, fried yucca and fried bananas, beef stroganoff, and some kind of cucumber salad. The men came around with meat very frequently. We were told to ask for a thing we specifically wanted. After we started seeing some repeats we noticed we didn't see any lamb or pork. We asked the waiter, and he told us it would be out in few minutes. The one of the men carrying a different kind of meat came over to let us know they were getting the lamb and pork ready. The service was excellent. There was a younger woman who looked to be a Manager who came around to check on us. We ordered a bottle of wine, and it wasn't exactly what we ordered but we are easy and drank it anyway and she came over and noticed it wasn't what we ordered and offered to bring over the correct bottle which we declined. Usually Brazilian BBQ restaurants have delicious garlic bread. I didn't see any being passed around, but when I asked for some they brought over those delicious, garlicky balls of crispy bread. I'm not sure why they weren't passed around, but if you ask they will probably have some! The best part of the evening was the guitar player and percussionist! They were awesome!!! It was a really awesome great night!!! There were no problems with using the groupon. We will definitely be back again!!!! read more

Went here last night with a groupon and was not disappointing. The meat was flavorful and tender, the service was efficient, overall a great place. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was the beyond obnoxious factor of kids running, screaming, crawling on the floor (4-5 year olds, not babies) and no one stopped them. This SHOULD be a parents duty but they weren't doing anything and the staff never even tried to intervene. The meat was very good, lots of choices being served. The even had roasted pineapple, a real delight. We will definitely be back again! read more

A definite hidden gem! I have driven past this place a million times and never noticed it until I bought a groupon. The food was so good! Some of the moist moist and flavorful steak! The staff were great...so nice. The manager was so sweet! I will definitely be going back!! read more

After looking up the hours and seeing they were open until 1am, my boyfriend and I went here with a groupon for a rodizio dinner around 8:30pm. When we got to the restaurant, we realized the buffet/ rodizio was finished. The owner(?) sat us and said he would honor the groupon if we wanted to get something off the main menu instead. I went with a plate of all different meats, fried plantains, rice, vegetables, and yucca. The owner indicated it was enough to feed both of us, but we wanted to get our money's worth with the Groupon so my boyfriend ordered a steak, ham, egg etc. sandwich. The owner was right... plenty for two! I was satisfied with my meal, though I like the idea of rodizio better... and my boyfriend's sandwich was good. The best part of the experience was the customer service. The owner apologized that the buffet was closed and told us it was open later on different days. He also said he would give me a gift card of whatever the balance was on the bill because the Groupon was $50 worth of food for $25 - so we paid $35 and got a $15 gift card. He also gave us a complimentary piece of flan, which was awesome! The server and owner were both extremely nice, and I will definitely be back with my $15 gift card - hopefully to get some rodizio style food! read more

I order from this restaurant last night for delivery and it was the worst Brazilian food I ever eat in my life( I am originally from Brazil)! It took so long, the delivery guy, was kind of rude, and the food, oh my, how can I describe? Well, my husband and I got 2 "Marmitas" and it was so much dry/cold rice( I bet it was at least 1 day old) not made that day for sure. Then they put a teaspoon of "Farofa"(flour side dish), the beans smelled bad(so true that I had to run to the bathroom minutes after eating, I took few bites before I realized it tasted weird) the chicken was a little piece and very dry, and so was my husband "paper thin steak". The salad, if you can call that, the green some was brown and not fresh at all. That was a very bad experience!!! never again!! read more

I went to this place i am exhausted and tired thinking a good smoothie might perk me up. So i went inside the place and order a smoothie paid for it. Then as i was waiting the guy did like six orders in drive in so as i was waiting for him to do my smoothie i ask when is he going make and give me mine? He told me that their priorities are the drive in. So i was mad and told him he should tell me to go out and do drive in. That place sucks too bad their servce sucks. read more

Great service. Good food. Strong drinks. Will definitely be back again.

Don't go before 7pm. That meat has been cooking all day, it was like eating a boot. Our waiter practically attacked us with the " buffet " option, which is really the only option. The unlimited salad bar, was an unsavory Petrie dish of god knows what, that even the staff couldn't describe. ( eg, " what is this?" Answer: vegetable ) Various meats were tender after 8, but yet staff seemed befuddled as to what those meats might be. Mojitos were good, when you could get your buffet sales crazed waiter to notice you. read more

Came here via a groupon deal. The meat was terrific. Several types of steak, a couple types of chicken, and lamb. My favorite is the "picanha" or top sirloin. There was some guitar being played and brazilian futbol on the TVs. I felt like I was in Brazil. Would recommend, especially if you get a deal. read more

Extremely friendly staff who went out of their way to give us an excellent experience! Alex one of the owners took his time explaining the menu and the current specials.They offer a variety of meats and salads. All are delicious and satisfying. The best part of this place is its authenticity. You get a clean atmosphere with solid food at a reasonable price. We will be back! read more

Having very little experience with Portuguese food I wanted to love this place I really did. My boyfriend and I each chose a tuna fish seeing as seafood seemed to be a popular menu item. The sides were good (average beans, delicious fried bananas, jazzed up potatoes with cheese) but overall the food was WAY too salty and drenched in so much oil I was worried it would make me sick. The tuna was also pretty disappointing as it's definitely one of those meats that is best served with some pink, I was pretty disappointed to find that it was tough and overcooked. I'm not ready to write off Portuguese food entirely but I definitely wouldn't come back here again!! read more

We found a LivingSocial deal for the Tropical Cafe and decided to bring the family to check it out on a Saturday evening. We had a great time. The manager and wait staff we incredibly nice and made us feel at home. The variety of the food was impressive. Some of our favorite dishes were the filet mignon, spicy sausages, beef short ribs, lamb and BBQ pineapple (!), but it was all really good. There is a nice little salad bar as well, but my advice is to nibble lightly because you will want to save room for the main course. My boys loved being able to flip the wooden piece up to "green" for more food or "red" for stop. We followed up dinner with Flan for desert and it was incredibly good -- I think some of the very best we've ever had. My wife who normally doesn't like flan loved it as well. When our server saw how much we liked the dessert she took a few minutes to write the recipe down for us too! The entire time we ate there was some great live music, although it was a bit louder than it needed to be. My only complaint is that - no surprise really - there are not many options for vegetarians. But, we will definitely go back. read more

I went here with 3 friends Friday night. The staff was friendly - there was a bit of language barrier - no big deal. Also - they are great about taking a Groupons! No horror stories here! The atmosphere - colorful, lively, tropical without being tacky. As one of my friends put it "I feel comfortable here." Now the food - you can get entree's but we chose to do the buffet with the meats brought to our table. The buffet was not bad. My personal favorites were the plantains and the potato salad. My friends just LOVED the beans and rice and crab salad. My only complaint....no fried yucca on the buffet. People next to us ordered individual entree's and they got fried yucca and it looked amazing. Perhaps friend yucca would not hold up well on a buffet I don't know. Now the meats - WOW - the chicken in bacon is tasty but my personal favorite was the top round. Sooo good! My friends liked the flank steak and the lamb. I even tried the chicken hearts - they were not bad. And they have grilled Pineapple that is just out of this world. I have never had it before so I tried one piece. It was so amazingly good I got four more pieces it is so delicious! The guys who came around with the meat were very nice - they were always smiling and if they brought a meat over and you wanted a more rare cut they would go get another skewer without any complaints and always a big smile. They would get you whatever cut of meat you wanted and cut you as much as you liked! The whole staff seemed to want you to feel comfortable and happy. While we were there the stage was being set up for a band that was coming in later. Small stage and dance floor to add to your evening out. We didn't stay to dance but probably will next time! Ya this place is a hidden gem. And yes I will be going again! read more

This is like vacationing in Brazil AND you get to purchase alcohol without flying. The food is FANTASTIC. And the people are incredibly friendly. I am very big on attitude and they DO have a very positive attitude. Usually I am a one or five star type of guy. However this is an exception. I have a few minor problems with Tropical Cafe. I have read previous reviews and: (1) per another review "If you don't speak Portuguese, you may have a language barrier with the staff, as not all are fluent in English. This is more part of the fun, though-- you feel as if you are in Brazil for an hour or two." They need someone on staff at all TIMES who can speak English FLUENTLY. (2) ... "and only once have I ever received decent service. They hardly ever check on you to see if you need anything and when you do need something they take forever to get it to you." I myself have had this problem and when I brought it up to the manager (Sool) she knew of the problem. I always see to much wait staff doing nothing! I wonder how they can afford it! (3) I usually sit at the bar (which cannot have more than eight seats) and have the same problem just getting a beer. The male bartender is not very diligent in his job if he can't serve 2 to 3 people (that's all that are usually at the bar). How difficult is it to fill a glass of beer? However, I really do like this place. It does make you feel like your in Brazil. Which makes me wonder what type of service is you would get if you went there? read more

Where do I start? First of all, stay the hell away from this place! Second, loud, crowded and lousy service. Tonight there is a live stand up show and guess what? No place to sit. They wanted us to stand for 2 hours!!! Can't really say I'm surprised though, It's my fault for expecting anything else from these people. ***Update*** This was not a misunderstanding, we spoke to a woman at the front desk/register and she simply ignored us until we sat ourselves down, only to be asked to move again, because the tables were "reserved". We had called earlier that day asking about reservations and they said that NO reservations were accepted and it was first come first serve only. However, that was not the case, because we had to stand throughout the whole time. The only reason we stayed there was because my wife wanted to watch the stand up comedy show that we had already paid for. I should have notified the proper authorities at the time, because the restaurant was clearly overcrowded. P.S. Just a piece of advice, this is not Brazil, there are rules in this country that need to be followed and customers need to be respected as well. I am happy to say that I am never going back there and I hope that no one has to go through what my wife and I went through that night. read more

I used to eat here all the time, the food portions were huge and had incredible flavor and the service was pretty good. Ever since they moved to this new location service has gone way down, the portions are half what they used to be and prices are double. I made an order, after hearing the price decided to cancel, the lady on the phone was incredibly rude and hung up on me. I took my business elsewhere bought the same thing for half the price. I can honestly say I won't be going back. There are restaraunts in the area that sell Brazilian food and that won't rob you blind. I do not recommend this place for anyone! read more

This is my second time coming to this place and I have to say that the food is superb , great display of many Brazilian dishes and desserts .. The meat is cook to perfection and the beer cold as it should be .. I'm definitely feeling like I'm in Brazil .. Great crew .. Congrats !! You should go check it out . Say hello to Nayara if u can . read more