Surf City and turf: Fogo de Chão arrives in Huntington Beach

The corner of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue is one of the busiest in Huntington Beach.

A new restaurant is just about ready to call that corner home, as Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão will open its doors for business there Monday at the Bella Terra outdoor mall.

It will be the popular eatery’s second Orange County location, joining the one at the Irvine Spectrum that opened in 2019. The spot was formerly home to Romano’s Macaroni Grill, which was torn down.

“Opening our second Orange County location is an exciting milestone for us,” Fogo de Chão Huntington Beach’s general manager Cristiano Machado said in an email interview. “We’ve been expanding in Southern California for several years now, and following the success of our Irvine location we knew it was only a matter of time before we opened another location in Orange County. Huntington Beach is the ideal second location for us because of the city’s cultural diversity. The opening of the Huntington Beach restaurant will join other Southern California locations including Pasadena, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Woodland Hills and El Segundo.”

Fogo de Chão’s gaucho chefs practice the culinary art of “churrasco” — cutting, preparing and fire-roasting different cuts of protein over an open flame.

(Courtesy of Fogo de Chão)

The new restaurant was designed in collaboration with global architecture and design agency Harrison. It features an expansive dining room centered around an open “churrasco” grill, where guests can dine while watching chefs butcher, cut, prepare and grill different cuts of protein over an open flame.

Fire-roasted meat is indeed the highlight, with the restaurant offering choices like bone-in rib eye steak, lamb chops and the house specialty, picanha, the prime part of the top sirloin.

The Huntington Beach location also features an outdoor patio, wine cases and a white Carrara marble “Market Table” with seasonal salads and soup, fresh vegetables, imported charcuterie and more. Dry-aged meat lockers provide in-house aging, and the indoor “Bar Fogo” allows customers to experience an all-day happy hour.

Machado started his career with the restaurant 12 years ago as a gaucho chef in Las Vegas. He said that Fogo de Chão is donating a portion of its first week of sales to local Huntington Beach non-profit Robyne’s Nest, which helps underprivileged students.

Additionally, Fogo has partnered with brand advocate and Los Angeles Angels third baseman Eduardo Escobar to host a community meal donation on Sept. 28 at Refuge Calvary Chapel Church in Huntington Beach. More than 1,000 people in need will be provided with a warm meal.

“We’re excited to expand our footprint in Orange County and to continue to share the culinary art of churrasco with food explorers who are seeking new discoveries in Surf City soon,” said Barry McGowan, chief executive officer of Fogo de Chão, in a statement. “As we grow our brand in new and existing cities globally, we remain dedicated to serving our local communities as we have for the past 45 years. That’s why we’re excited to collaborate with Robyne’s Nest and Eduardo Escobar, who bring support to so many throughout Huntington Beach and beyond.”