Brasa--CLOSED

In a word: disappointing. Three of us headed to Brasa last night for dinner. It was raining steadily... more

In a word: disappointing. Three of us headed to Brasa last night for dinner. It was raining steadily... more

Three of us headed to Brasa last night for dinner. It was raining steadily outside, and initially it was quite lovely to walk into the warm-toned atmosphere and simply get out of the rain. Then, we stood there. For about 3 minutes. Which doesn't seem like a long time, but when one is standing around in the middle of a restaurant dining room and there is no host/ess to be found, it seems like a loooooong time. We were seated toward the back of the room in a beautiful large booth. Our waiter arrived within a minute to fill our water glasses and drop off menus. When a friend had a question about the presentation of one of the menu items (an appetizer: clams, chorizo, tomato, chickpeas, croutons), he appeared a bit stumped that there were clams on the menu, and then muddled through an explanation of how the dish was prepared. We finally learned that the clams were broth-based, and went forward from there. We decided to forgo appetizers and salads to ensure adequate room was saved for dessert. I ordered scallops with quinoa in a fennel and citrus sauce, my friends ordered the Portuguese pig (clams, chorizo, bay scented potato, smoked paprika) and mussels (heirloom beans, caramelized sweet onion, crostini). The scallops were properly cooked, but one of the three (yes, only three little scallops arrived on my plate) had a distinctly fishy taste that told me it was past its prime. The quinoa was excellent with an earthy, nutty flavor; well-complemented by the citrus sauce. I was a bit undone at the cost of almost $10 per scallop, but sometimes that happens when dining out and I just know that for the future I don't need to order that particular dish again at Brasa. The mussels were apparently quite good, nothing really stood out that made the taste buds sing. The Portuguese pig was very salty and the salt overshadowed the rest of the ingredients to the point of overwhelming the entire dish. Onward to dessert! We decided to try the molten chocolate cake with chocolate Chantilly. The cake arrived sharing the plate with what appeared to be a puddle of melted chocolate ice cream (I'll be honest, I was thinking ""What's with the goop on the plate?"") topped with candied orange peels. I later learned that Chantilly loosely translates into whipped cream, so we had chocolate cake with chocolate whipped cream. The cake was really, really good. As a lover of most things gooey, I sunk right into enjoying the molten loveliness. The Chantilly, well, it tasted like melted chocolate ice cream and actually took away from the overall presentation on the plate. The candied orange peels did not escape scrutiny and came up a bit bitter, as though the peel used was from a not-yet-ripe orange. Overall, there are so many amazing spots in Seattle for dining that I doubt we'll be back to Brasa. In fact, we're thinking that next week we'll head for Icon Grill instead, where the decor is more interesting and the food is consistently good. more

In a word: disappointing. Three of us headed to Brasa last night for dinner. It was raining steadily outside, and initially it was quite lovely... more

I've been meaning to go have a regular dinner at Brasa for quite some time, having enjoyed their happy hour... more

I've been meaning to go have a regular dinner at Brasa for quite some time, having enjoyed their happy hour... more

I've been meaning to go have a regular dinner at Brasa for quite some time, having enjoyed their happy hour special (half off bar menu food with dr... more

Not a great experience at all. After we ordered, we spent 15 - 20 minutes sitting there with no wine, no bread. First plates arrived in about an hour and second plates maybe 45 minutes later. We were sitting at the table for 2 1/2 hours, but not by our choice. The waiter never stopped by to see how we were doing; he just seemed annoyed when we would ask about our food. Anything we got from the waiter we had to ask for (and mostly by stopping him as he ran by). The food was also mediocre. Our first plate was the grilled vegetables, which had too many onions and they were burnt. The papardelle arrived on a cold plate, was overcooked and stuck together, and had a piece of dry hamburger on top that was supposed to pass for sausage. Bla. Pros: The water was fine Cons: bad service, mediocre food, expensive wine list more

I have been here maybe 3 or 4 times during the time I've lived in Seattle. This is one of my favorite... more

I have been here maybe 3 or 4 times during the time I've lived in Seattle. This is one of my favorite... more

I have been here maybe 3 or 4 times during the time I've lived in Seattle. This is one of my favorite restaurants. The experience has been fantasti... more

I went early on a Friday night with a couple of friends for a nice, relaxing happy hour. The atmosphere was beautiful and the food was not great, but good. We did not feel that we were being pushed out and were allowed instead to stay and enjoy our conversation even after we paid the bill. Pros: beautiful setting more

I love this place, beautifully appointed, delicious mediterreanean cuisine paired with great wines. Really love the ambiance, and the server, while slow, was very gregarious and knew a lot about what she was doing. Obviously a passionate place. Pros: Wine, Environs Cons: Service was a little slow more

Everywhere I am seeing restaurants create new deals. Even on a recent visit to Las Vegas, I was surprised to see high end restaurants creating affordable ""tasting menus"" or 3 course meal deals so people would venture out from cheap buffets to restaurants like Fix and Bellagio, and Barlotta at the Wynn. Pros: Great service and food Cons: Change in menu more

For about the last ten months or so we've been heading out every third sunday of the month to this great late-night happy hour. There aren't that many places that are open later on a sunday and have a great menu. We always sit in the bar and no a matter who is working the service is always great. The ingredients are always the freshest in Seattle. All organic and fresh from the market even the grapefruit juice is freshly squeezed. This is one of my favorite places in town. Pros: Everything more

I've been to Brasa several times every since it opened. I was never very impressed (and had one bad experience) and never intended to return. Then a friend took me there for my birthday several years ago and I had one of the best meals ever. Since I hadn't been there in awhile since that visit, I decided it was time to try it again. Unfortunately, the service, which has always been cool and perfunctory, has not improved. On the night we went, the menu was more limited than usual and there was nothing that inspired the senses. No sweetbreads or rabbit or sea urchin, dishes that had made the menu interesting before. To make matters worse, out of a list of six appetizers, they were out of two. That left salads and soups. When we got our salads, mine had ingredients not mentioned on the menu and excluded some that WERE mentioned. Had to send it back. The wait between our salads and the entree was over 30 minutes. My companion's duck breast came almost rare and ice cold and he had to send it back. It seemed as if the entire service staff wanted to be elsewhere. The food, once received, was quite good, but not good enough to make up for the indifferent service and lack of variety on the menu. This restaurant has the potential to be great, but it seems as if they just don't care. Pros: decent food Cons: perfunctory service, limited menu, running out of items, menu descriptions don't match what you get more

Really bad service. Not only was it pretty slow and our waiter was constantly difficult to find, I had ordered the tenderloin medium rare and it arrived medium well. When I asked for a correction, the waiter took my plate, was gone for 10 minutes and then CAME BACK WITH THE SAME STEAK and explained that I was mistaken and was told ""this is our medium rare"". So now I had a medium well, and COLD steak. more

I had expected such wonderful things and was sorely disappointed. My husband and I were in Seattle for our 10th anniversary. I was hoping to go somewhere with good paella. I had read good things about this restaurant in local magazines and decided to give it a try. The concierge at our hotel said it was a good choice. Unfortunately they were wrong. The food wasnt bad but it wasnt great either. My husbands scallops were meager. My paella had almost no discernable safron in it and the chorizo was ground up and salty. There was a decent amount on the plate but not overwhelmingly tasty. The worst part though was the service. The ladies at the front were very nice but that's were it ended. Our waitress was awful. She barely spoke the whole time. When we were seated she brought our water and left without a word. It wasnt until she came back a minute later to see if we wanted a drink that I new she was our waitress. We had barely been sat so we asked for another minute to decide on our drink. She sighed and acted as if it was such an imposition to even be there. I had planned on having a cocktail first and a glass of wine to complement the paella. Before I could mention it and without her even asking if we would be wanting wine later, she reached across grabbed the wine glasses and silently walked away. After our food arrived she barely asked how it was, just an afterthought on her way across. When we were finished she took our plates without one word like ""did you enjoy it?"" Then she wiped down the table while we sat there. She brought dessert menus again silently, just slapping down one in front of us and walking away. We so put off by then we decided to leave and go have dessert and coffee somewhere they actually wanted customers. At the door no one was there so we got our own coats from the check area. I had hoped for 5 star dining but got disappointment instead. I got 10 x better service the night before at a pizza place for 1/2 price. Pros: cant think of any Cons: Service! more

6 of us sat at the bar on a Wednesday for Happy Hour. Pros: ambience, food is not bad, good happy hour Cons: too expensive, cold service more

I was leary about going to Brasa after reading the inconsistent reviews about it. It varied anywhere between a one star to a 5-star. What a range! But my fears were unfounded, the food was exceptional! We were there on a Saturday night. It was busy there, we sat in the bar, and ate off the tapas menu. We ordered 5 items, and all were very good. Three of them were outstanding! My husband has chef standard tastes, so again I was nervous, but he loved the squid and the paella. The squid was my husband's favorite. The paella(another reviewer said that the night he went, it was way too salty. Again this made me reluctant to try it.) and the goat cheese, grapes pizza were absolute perfection. The portions were large, so much seafood brimming over in the paella, squid, and fish stew. The service was good, though our water glasses did go dry. But, all in all, Brasa was an outstanding dining experience! We plan to go back as often as we can. Pros: food, ambience Cons: parking more