Bossa Nova

Never been in there but drive by every day. my review is in hopes that the owners read this and fix the way they display the american flag. from the street view the union should be in the left corner. ever since they hung it it bothers me a bit. and the american flag should be higher in display than the brazil flag. I have heard that the food there was good from others I know so worth the try but ask them to fix the flag.

So we came here purely by accident. My man was raving about this Brazilian AYCE meat place he tried in the past and wanted to take me there. He couldn’t recall the name of the place and the pictures didn’t spark a memory whether this place was it. Walking in, Bossa Nova was definitely not it.
It was dead. Asides from us, there were only 3 other patrons on a Friday night.
We were the only Asian in what seems to be a primarily Brazilian neighborhood.
The important:
++Their buffet is only for LUNCH
+ They have live music. But for legit 30+ minutes, the guy was testing the microphone saying «yi-​er-​san, yi-​er-​san x 1000». It cracked both of us up– in Mandarin, it means 1−2−3 which is totally uncalled for in a Brazilian place. Not to mention hearing that more than the guy actually singing was a hilarious oddity.
Dinner:
They do serve food but only from a paper menu that belonged to a café. It was not a Bossa Nova menu.
+++I went for their fried tilapia with a side of fries, rice, and salad. ~$ 12. Good variety. The fries were legit crack, so good and crispy.
A surprising find, perhaps their buffet fares better.

Wouldn’t recommend, came on a Friday to a half empty buffet, and a small selection of barbecued meats. The meats I did receive were either too dry or too rare. Apparently they were setting up for a party in 2hrs… whatever that means.

I think the food here is delicious, but I am not familiar with how the restaurant works. One time I came here with my boyfriend and we payed about $ 20 for so much steak and fruit! Another time, we payed $ 40. The waiters assumed we knew how the restaurant worked. They were not very friendly and barely checked up on us. 3 stars for the yummy food, not for the service.

I love Bossa Nova! The place is clean, the food is excellent and Erika the server at the counter served us very well. All the staff were very helpful. No problems… as a matter of fact they were all over us to serve us. lol…very impressive. The lemonade is incredible and the meat is so good. Guys… I eat out a lot… my crew knows this… I am not kidding… the Rice was exceptional… A good rice can stand on its own… but let me tell you… everything is good. Everything. Also if you want a strong mixed drink… this is the place… fruity hardcore drinks… wow!
Now they also have live music on the weekends… when I went the dj was playing and it was a cool… just a nice party. Please check it out.

Hi owners of this restaurant and people loves rodizio,
This would be the last restaurant you ever want to go!
Reasons are:
1, when several friends of me and I went into the restaurant, no one was at the accounted. No one lead us to the table unless one lady appeared and pointed to several tables, you can choose to sit anywhere and then left us alone!
2, the bbq server would never come to the table and serve. I kept going to the window, waiting for that guy (none knows where he is since it is a small restaurant and only one table, that is us, were there), and telling him what we want. He only brought one beef, chicken there. Later I asked for other staff and only got chicken again! Not any more, he disappeared. BTW, the meat were dry after cutting off and put in the plate for a minute. No idea why it was that dry and hard to cut.
3, two boys kept coming to our table, shaking the table and pretending to be a auto man. Posing like a sword in the hands and killing us. They belonged to the owner??? If the waitress, the owner must not in the restaurant. This is the first time I’ve ever been annoyed with noise, and disturbing surroundings ever. At least 5 times back for the two boys and no one stopped them until I told the waitress who is 2 feet away. My friends have to stop from time to time to wait until the boys were running away.
4, Waitress came just once for water, a pitcher of water was there forever even it is gone. No one come again!
5, The grativity was 18% automatically and they put tips there on the receipt. Come on, even a little bit service or even asked us it is good???
We just ate some fruits and left.
Hope I am the only stupid one who brought my friends there.

I wanted to give this place a try with my friend on Saturday. I called in advance for a reservation just to be safe. However, I found out later that I didn’t really need one. The place was rather empty.
Immediately we were seated and the host explained the rodizio process. We did the ‘All-​you-​can-​eat’ but the selection of items to choose from was very limited. Only half of the items on the table were entrees and the others consisted of fruit.
Now for the meat itself, be wary of which cuts you choose. I came here because I’m an avid fan of lamb and figured about $ 20 for as much as I can eat is a great deal. I did notice that they left a lot of fat which was off-​putting. I enjoyed the pork sausages and grilled pineapple. The sirloins were rather too salty for our taste.
The server never refilled our water glasses throughout the salty meal. I had to ask him to.
Overall, I would come back for the lamb but the rest of the food is forgettable.

Very friendly service consistently. A great variety of side dishes and meats. A great place to go for someone to try sone new foods. The meat is better if you go earlier in the evening, the later you go, the more well done/​dry the meat gets.

Went to this place for lunch today and it was incredibly good. Friendly NEW owner and staff. The buffet had so many options, including several salads, such as kale and hearts of palm and spinach, beautiful rice dishes and meat entrees, along with the traditional cut meats as an option. It was not the usual unhealthy meat fest that’s common in Brazilian restaurants around Boston, but a flavorful and original selection of excellent, incredibly fresh and, in many cases, very healthy foods. The price was really reasonable. This place is under new ownership, FYI. I plan to be back with my friends and family very soon to enjoy the fine food again, support a great local business and listen to music on the weekends.

When I go out for a meal, I expect 1 of 2 things; good service or good food. It’s not that often that I find places with both, but in this case, it had neither.
The food was all over cooked and the chef did not explain what anything was. He just simply asked if we wanted any. Sure, we’ll have some of that beef/​pork/​lamb/​mystery meat. The menu posted a lot of variety ranging from beef to chicken hearts. We were served ⁵⁄₁₂ items. We never said we were full, the food just suddenly stopped coming. I was excited to try the bacon wrapped meats and chicken hearts… they were never served.
The staff might as well have stayed home. They didn’t do anything but to greet us and bring us our drinks. it was a challenge when it came to getting any attention. When a server walked past us, their eyes would be so focused on the T.V. that they would completely miss my hand frantically waving n the air. It’s not like it was busy either. We were one of the three tables and yet somehow we kept running out of water. How can 4 servers not take care of 3 tables?!
My advice: Stay away. Go to Midwest Grill on Route 1 North Shore or Terra Brasilis in the South Shore instead. Price is about the same but food and service is at least good.

4.5 stars
Just thinking about my meal here is making me hungry! I’ve only been to one other rodizio and it cost me twice as much! Granted the selection here was smaller, the food was just as good. Everything we tried off the salad bar was good, chicken salad, fried yuca, fried plantains, fried rice. just to call out a few of the standouts. The grilled meats were all also fantastic. They didn’t seem to have everything listed on the menu above the grilling station (i.e. we never saw lamb, ribs, brisket). It seemed maybe 1/3−½ of the listed items came out and what we did try was all very good — top sirloin, chicken sausage, pork sausage, bacon wrapped chicken, chicken wings, kielbasa.
I wish they had pao de queijo — that would have topped it off for me.
Casual, no frills restaurant. Friendly and attentive service. No tap water served — bottled only.

From a 4 star to a 2 star rating based on one visit…
It’s been 5 months since our last/​first visit. While the food was still very good, the service was absolutely atrocious. Our waitress kept disappearing, and the skewer/​server was often absent as well. The place was really quiet, meaning there were only 3 other tables seated in the entire place. Our waitress went downstairs for at least 15 minutes, and no one else checked on us at all; I kept seeing staff members socializing, ignoring everyone. I had to ask the bartender to refill our drinks and to send the server over. I thought the waitress would figure out we were displeased at that point, but she filled our glasses and never returned. Being dissatisfied, we decided we had enough and wanted to go, and waited at least 10 minutes for someone to stop by, but no luck. I went to the hostess and asked for the check. They said my waitress had to get it for us, and she went to go find her. Several minutes later she appeared. I understand it’s a slow Tuesday night, but you’re not encouraging patronage if you ignore the customers you have…

I was craving some protein so I looked up some restaurants around Malden and found Bossa Nova.
I was really looking forward to having Brazilian BBQ. Of course this is nothing compared to Fogo de Chao. This place is like an old fashion restaurant turned into a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. There were TVs in the restaurant but it was on a Spanish Soap Opera channel.
There is a small salad bar/​side dishes area. There was not a lot to choose from. The only decent options were salad and fried rice. I tried the chicken lasagna and it was too cheesy and greasy for me and there was not enough sauce. There was also fried fish which was covered in batter and it was not good.
There was one guy from the kitchen who brought out the meat. There were some meats that I liked and some that I didn’t enjoy that much. Overall the beef selections were really delicious. But I tried the chicken wings and bacon wrapped chicken and I didn’t like it at all. The chicken wing was not grilled enough. It also had this freezer/​fridge taste that I hated. The bacon wrapped chicken was too dry and tough. it made me wish that I had a saw to cut it with. It also took too long for the guy to come out with the meat. There should be more kitchen staffs!
This was just not an overall good experience for me!

Great food, service, and an excellent deal. I cannot understand how some others could say that paying less than $ 19 for all you can eat meat, including some really goods cuts of beef and lamb is overpriced — this is less than half of many other Rodizios, and BN are right up there in quality.
My personal favorite would have been the flank steak, although the bacon wrapped meats were unsurprisingly awesome as well. Draft beers were $ 2.50 on a Friday. Desserts were also very good. I’m a little beyond stuffed at the moment, but even in this current state I feel no regret and can tell you that we will most definitely return!

Can not say it was the most positive experience. This restaurant did not make a good impression on me and my friend who decided to dine here for the first time on a slow Monday evening.
First of all, what Brazilian restaurant does not have fried plantains? It was clearly on the menu and the server was worse off unfamiliar with this common plate. First sign of bad news.
Next, a ridiculously long wait for the food. The restaurant was not busy, fully staffed with several servers hanging around the hosting area out of view from the dining room. Our food came out cold. Over half hour for simply-​cooked, small, and non-​fantastic garlic shrimp appetizer, which came out cold along with our room temperature entrees, obviously had been sitting out for a long time.
The servers all came out to apologize and offered free dessert on the house. That made up for it. The coconut cake was tasty.
But then came Strike Three. Credit card line was conveniently down? Really, or did they just want us to pay cash? «ATM across the street or we could copy your credit card number and try it again later…» Pretty inconvenient, and possibly suspicious, not sure.
Didn’t come out with a positive experience. Probably won’t return. Largely unimpressed.

The place is nice, it’s a new restaurant so I think it will get better as they learn a few things.
The food is great, the salad buffet and some other Brazilian food is good too, the steak is great. Week days not as good as on weekends.
Worth trying :)

Meat-​tastic is the only word I could think of to describe this place. Large skewers of meat keep circling you until you just can’t eat anymore. Go for the rodizio experience (like mostly everyone else) and eat everything in sight. As far as the meats go, everything is really good. Our absolute favorites were the brisket, bacon-​wrapped chicken, sirloin, and pineapple. The salad bar has a lot of great options. Standouts were the chicken cheese lasagnae, fresh fruit (their pineapple was excellent), collard greens, and fried plantains. There were definitely a couple disappointments but not bad considering I tried about 15 – 20 different items. You will not leave hungry, and you will probably eat until you are feeling a little sick (from being so full). I would say we were offered around 10 – 12 different meats while here.
We came with a groupon and while service took a bit to get started it was great once we were greeted. The main server (older man) there was very personable and funny. The servers carrying around the skewers of meat were helpful and friendly as well. The one disappointment was the atmosphere was a little lacking. Some of the walls had stains and some seats were better than others. Once you start eating though, you won’t care where you are.

Unlimited meat! But not all meats are created equal. I found myself waiting in anticipation for the steak, often saying «no, thanks» to the other stuff, as delicious as all of it was (e.g., bacon-​wrapped chicken, sausage, chicken hearts, etc.)… definitely try all of them, though, because they’re all quite good. I’m just telling you now that the steak is the best! The roasted pineapple is a nice way to cleanse your palate/​sneak in something sweet at the end of the meal.
There’s also unlimited salad here, too, but don’t fill up on THAT if you’re opting to get in as much meat as possible. :o) Also, the salad bar is located in a separate room where there’s also a few seating options, but it looks kinda dismal in there, so I’d recommend opting for the «formal» dining room, if I were you, which is also where the live music is.
Speaking of, I loved the live music (and singing) and our waiter’s spot-​on cocktail recommendations. The caipirinha was stellar. Highly recommended.
Hard to find parking around the area, but it’s do-​able. Will be back!

used a Groupon for this place, BEWARE, they said the deal was only valid after 5pm but this wasn’t stated on the Groupon
there’s both a casual café area & fine dining area where they have live music at times, but the chef brings the meats to your table regardless of where you choose to sit! you can also go to the kitchen to choose your own meats!
—FRIED YUCCA MMM cant get enough of this
—meats overall weren’t nearly as tasty as at Oliveira’s, but the BEEF RIBS were good! the meats here tend to be a bit oversalted & a few were overcooked (although we came when it wasn’t particularly busy)
—large selection at the salad bar but again nothing compared to Oliveria’s!
NOTE there’s a Unilocal picture w/​fruits but this wasn’t an option when we came?!

You have got to try this place! We had a Groupon for Rodizio for 4 and it was great! We made reservations, was seated immediately and we had Adrian as our server. He is a KEEPER!!! Let’s run through the night…
Adrian was an outstanding server! He was attentive, friendly, knowledgeable, mature and really made the experience top notch. He is extremely well trained and experienced and will definitely seek out and request him again.
Ambiance was better than expected. There are 3 dining rooms and we were in the more formal room where the live music was. I was worried about sound levels of the band but they were a perfect addition to complement our meal. The bar is sizeable.
He brought out an appetizer plate of cheese balls, fried yucca and mashed potatoes. YUM. Then came the fish balls and fries. Again, yum! Though I’m not usually a fan of fried things in general, all of these fried items were cooked perfectly, not greasy and very light. With our bottle of Malbec, it went down rather nicely!
Now we were ready for our main course. There is an all you can eat buffet with various salads, rice, beans, fish, pasta, and fruit and we sampled a bit of everything and it was all fresh and tasty. We get back to our table and then came the meat. Servers went through the restaurant with beef, pork, kielbasa, Turkey sausage, chicken thighs, chicken hearts, lamb and pineapple — all sliced and served at the table. And it was endless. And delicious.
Adrian recommended cappuccinos with hot chocolate and my husband enjoyed it. Another in our party had an espresso with sambuca and he enjoyed that. We were overstuffed but Adrian wanted us to try the flan so he brought us a piece with four forks and it was light, not too sweet and refreshing.
A pleasant surprise and a great addition to the diverse restaurants of Malden! Welcome and we will be back! Even without a Groupon deal!