Las Espadas has opened in El Paso, Texas, bringing Brazilian rodizio service to the ground floor of the PNC Bank building at 6044 Gateway Boulevard East. The restaurant was serving during a September soft opening, with skewered meats circulating through the dining room and a salad bar that has evidently given some thought to stealing the show.
The arrival extends a restaurant brand grown in Mexico. In an August interview with the El Paso Times, chief operating officer Alex Danielli said Las Espadas had eight restaurants there and described an offering of about 40 salads and hot dishes alongside 13 meats. Founder and CEO Jorge Ibarra is behind the expansion, with Danielli bringing experience from Fogo de Chão.
A salad bar with substantial ambitions
The El Paso Times’ September visit gives buffet enthusiasts considerably more to work with than the phrase “salad bar.” Its report describes yucca, squash, Mexican corn salad, Brussels sprouts with maple syrup and bacon, and caramelized bacon strips, plus cheeses and cold cuts.
A watermelon-and-pineapple salad brought Tajín, feta and mint into the mix. Chicken wings also appeared among the hot-food offerings. There is a perfectly respectable chance of developing a side-dish itinerary before the first steak reaches the table.
On the rodizio side, the report describes ribeye, bacon-wrapped steak and bone-in chicken, with beef, pork, chicken and lamb in the rotation. Earlier company descriptions named fraldinha, alcatra and picanha among the cuts. Danielli’s August description put the planned rotation at 13 meats.
September’s introductory adult prices were $25.99 for Monday–Thursday lunch, $35.99 for Friday–Sunday lunch and $45.99 for dinner. The same report placed the lunch cutoff at 1:45 p.m. Those figures were explicitly described as soft-opening rates; they provide a documented starting point rather than a current price guarantee.
A bank building and an upstairs bar
The restaurant occupies a renovated interior at the base of the bank building, across Interstate 10 from Bassett Place. A Texas construction filing registered in October 2024 described an 8,322-square-foot restaurant improvement with an estimated $800,000 cost.
By August 2026, management announced plans to hire about 130 full- and part-time employees and hoping to open for Labor Day weekend. A photographed September 15 dining visit and the subsequent opening report establish that the restaurant was serving by mid-September.
Management also described an upstairs bar called Ipanema, planned for food service and events. Opening coverage treated it as a future addition.
