Fogo de Chão's Next Level: steakhouse first, rooftop second

Everyone knows Fogo de Chão for the parade of gaucho chefs and skewers downstairs. I didn’t know about the rooftop until a bartender tipped me off while I was waiting for a table — there’s a lounge called Next Level above University Street, and it runs at a completely different speed than the dining room. I went up out of curiosity and stayed two hours.

The lounge

Where the churrascaria is all momentum, the rooftop is a place to sit still: lounge seating under the neon signage, a bar menu of Brazilian-leaning cocktails, and city-canyon views into the downtown core. The first thing I did was check whether you need a dinner reservation to come up. You don’t.

How to do it

My move is a caipirinha and the bar bites without committing to the full meat marathon. I’ve also stumbled up post-dinner, at the exact moment you physically cannot look at another skewer, and can confirm the rooftop is the correct place to recover. Both approaches hold up.

Best time to go: weekday evenings after work, or post-dinner for a nightcap.

Photo courtesy of Fogo de Chão.