I was invited to the Leave Your Wallet at Home Wednesdays by Tab; held at the Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse. They held an event every Wednesday for the month of August, where both Tab and Uber, featured one restaurant where people can dine at. 

The deal is great as users get $20 off their bill if they use Tab to pay (using promo LeftMyWallet), and 20% off their Uber ride (using promo code: NOWALLETWED). For more information, you can read about my first-hand experience here.

Now onto my review of my dinner at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse. Prior to my visit, I checked out their website which advertises that they offer 20 cuts of seasoned and grilled meats, so I was excited to check it out. 

Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse is an AYCE Brazilian Steakhouse, and there are 3 locations (with one being in Niagara Falls) in Ontario. When you first enter the place; you will reach the hostess area where one of the hostesses would bring you to your seat. The overall design of the place can be described as both modern and chic with red/blue tones illuminating the space. Our waitress arrived shortly after, and we told her that we were paying with Tab.

The price is a fixed price at $37 (Sun to Thurs) and $45 (Fri and Sat). Just a quick note that drinks and desserts are not included in the price, and costs extra.

 

 Near the entrance was the galleria which was chock full of side dishes and a salad bar. The set up was pretty much buffet-style and the selection was pretty good.  My favorite part of the galleria was that they served hot mussels, which I couldn't help but packed on my plate. Additionally, to the right of the galleria was the open concept bakery offering five different kinds of bread. 

The carvers would circled around the restaurant with large skewers of delicious steaks, and carve slices table-side. I believe that there were about about 8 different carvers that night; assigned to different sides of the room.

My favorites of the night were the skirt steak dry rub, butter milk rib-eye, flank steak, top sirloin, pork sausage, and chimichurri steak. I wasn't a huge fan of the filet mignon wrapped in bacon or leg of lamb. I rarely eat pineapples, but I thought that their roasted pineapple was rather good. I liked the contrasting taste between the pineapples and meats. There was a good selection of meat that night, so if you're a meat lover, then you will enjoy it. Some slices were slightly over-seasoned with salt, but the majority of the meat that I did try were tasty.

The overall service from the carvers were good as they came around with the meats often, except one particular guy. I believe that he was the main carver there, and he missed our table on five different occasions. He would stop over at the table next to us which was full of chatty ladies, and would topped off their plates with meat. We deduced it to that we weren't ordering alcohol (I am allergic and my friend was driving us back home to uptown) ... meanwhile the next table were downing red wine. If this was the case for the inferior service on his end, then that's just downright rude as we were also paying patrons. Even with this little mishap; the both of us still had an enjoyable dinner cause everyone else was friendly and accommodating.

The overall atmosphere was lively and fun, so it's a good place for a casual dinner with friends/family and even a date. Bon Appétit!

Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was completely subsidized by Tab. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2013 
Meal: Lunch
Location in Japan: Harajuku (Tokyo)

If you happened to be in the Omotesando-Harajuku area; you should check out a pretty popular chain called Heiroku Sushi. It's a conveyor belt sushi restaurant located nearby Meiji Jingu Shrine and Omotesando Hills. They also have some English-speaking staff so this is a great place for tourists.

Conveyor belt sushi (kaiten-zushi) are very popular in Japan. It is a sushi restaurant where plates of sushi and other miscellaneous appetizers are placed onto a rotating belt, and they would go around the conveyor belt. Customers can either select whichever plates on the sushi train belt they want or place a special order with the chefs. Many places have specific prices for different colored plates, and at the end of the meal, the servers would count the number of plates.

 The pricing are as followed: ¥130, ¥160, ¥220, ¥280, and ¥ 480.

Our cheap lunch for two didn't turn out to be so cheap as we spent  ¥6781 ($70 CAD). I guess it's because we took a couple of the higher priced plates and ordered a few items from their a la-carte menu.

Address: 5-8-5 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.heiroku.jp 

Hours: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm; everyday

Transit: Omote-sando (C-04, G-02, Z-02) or Meiji-Jingūmae Station (C-03, F-15)

The Big Fat Greek Buffet touts itself as being "one of the first authentic Greek buffet restaurants to open in the GTA". I was here a couple of weeks ago for lunch with my family, as they haven't had Greek in a while. The price for the weekend lunch was a little steep at $15.95; given its limited selection. However, to play Devil's Advocate, the price isn't too bad as you get to taste a bit of everything. Considering the fact that most Greek platters are on average between $9 to $15 each of Greek restaurants.

The buffet stations are placed in the middle of the restaurant, and the dining area is up a few steps from it. I thought that their salad station had a good selection of mixed greens along with various toppings and salad dressings. For those who don't like salad, there were also macaroni, potato and a small seafood medley. For the mains, there wasn't as much meat as I'd have hope for lunch, but it was a decent selection. At least they had both chicken souvlaki and pork souvlaki covered, and also stewed chicken and stewed beef. The Big Fat Greek Buffet also offers some Greek dishes such as moussaka, pastitsio, beeftekia, loukanika. This is a buffet after all so you can't expect amazing quality, but for what it is; I thought that the food was good for what you get.

 All of the food items are made fresh in-house daily, and the souvlaki sticks were grilled throughout the day. You are allowed to take two stick at a time, but unfortunately there weren't that many on the hot plate to begin with. The Big Fat Greek Buffet is open daily for both lunch and dinner, and their prices are as followed:

Monday to Friday lunch ($13.95)
Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays lunch  ($15.95)
Dinner ($19.95 everyday)

Address: 5165 Dixie Road  Mississauga, ON L4W 4G1

Bymark is a fine-dining restaurant helm by the well-known chef Mark McEwan. It's located in the Financial District in downtown Toronto, so it's rather accessible by car and TTC. It was a rather spontaneous dinner as we didn't know what restaurant to go to until the last minute, hence the later than usual dinner time.

 The four of us (including his parents) were given the menu to peruse.

 We were offered complimentary toasted bread with butter while we wait for our food. The server went around with a basket of four different kinds of bread (I forgot the names).

 Being the only one at the table who loves oysters with every meal; my significant other got the oysters (4 got $15.40). It was market price so if you get oysters; the prices will fluctuate depending on the seasons.

 As I read through the starters; the lobster poutine definitely caught my eye. I decided to start with the

lobster poutine [crisp frites & classic bearnaise] ($27). The dish arrived, and it was a lobster shell containing golden cut fries and topped with warm classic bearnaise sauce. I was pleasantly surprised that the shell contained a good chunk of white lobster meat, and it was very filling.The bite-sized lobster chunks tasted delicious with the rich tasting sauce. Additionally, the fries were crispy and weren't overly oily.

 As for my main course, I opted for their surf and turf ($44). The dish arrived beautifully presented on a white plate and decorative with garnishes and cooked vegetables.

 The scallops ($38) dish.

Overall, I had a lovely dinner at Bymark, and everyone else did too. I thought that our server was knowledgeable, and attentive despite having to wait about 4-5 other tables around us. The atmosphere is perfect for family dinners, casual business diners, and special anniversaries as well.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 4.3/5

Service: 4.3/5

Overall Dining Experience: 4.3/5

Price: $$$$

Address: 66 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5K 1M6

Tab is a recent Toronto startup that aims to make dining out seamlessly easy. The free app has been out for a couple of months now, and can be downloaded in both the App Store and Google Play. Tab has partnered up with several restaurants where customers can pay their bills with the Tab app; eliminating the use of a physical credit card, or cash.

It's very easy to pay with Tab, and it can be done in 3 steps.

1) Check-in (create or join a tab).

2) Tell your server ("I am paying with Tab").

3) Enjoy your meal and pay with Tab at the end of the meal.

The app is very easy to use once you set up a profile (don't forget to add a picture of yourself and credit card information). Have the app opened when you're dining at one of the participating restaurants, and the location finder will automatically geolocate the restaurant on the app. Tab is pretty much a mobile wallet that not only allows you to pay/tip using your phone, but you can also split the bill amongst your friends (granted that they use Tab as well).

Last week Wednesday, I arrived at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse around 7:30 pm for dinner, and was promptly shown to my seat. I am currently working on my full-review of Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse, which will be up soon.

Our server arrived at our table, and we told her that we were paying with Tab that night. She brought out the Tab-provided iPad and found our profiles on Copacabana's list of diners, and started our Tab. This was my first time trying out the app, but I thought that the app's interface was very sleekly designed, and it wasn't hard to use. Nearby restaurants are displayed clearly (with their address, how far they are from your current location) when you have your location settings on.


I found that by using Tab; it did provide a more personalized experience. Our server's photo and name were clearly displayed in the app, and our names were on it too. Depending on the customer service provided; you can also customize the tip by going into Payment => Default Tip to enter the tip percentage.



After we finished our meal, we checked out and paid with Tab. My receipt was emailed to me right away with the breakdown of the cost (including price of meal, tax, tip, and credits). The price at Copacabana was set, so it was easy to check the breakdown of the bill. However, I am not sure if the Tab bill will provide the breakdowns of every item ordered at other establishments with individual prices. However, the overall process of paying was quick, and we left soon after with no problems. Thanks to both Tab and Uber for hosting a fun event!

Bonuses:

New to Uber? Click here and get $20 off your first ride by using promo code NOWALLETWED.

 $10 Off Tab? Use my promo code TABLE0BB to get $10 off your first Tab meal.


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Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was completely subsidized by Tab. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.