A great little place hidden in a part of the city that's being reborn.
The service for the most part was excellent apart from one waitress that came off a little snobby. Nothing too bad but she did warm up later in the evening.
The food is delicious albeit a little pricey for the small portions you receive considering we were told things were meant to be shared. Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine was $230 (tax & tip included).
To start we had the corn and cheese empanadas which were the size of 3 little perogies. The baby romaine salad which reminds you of a cesar salad but sweater with the orange honey vinaigrette. And final the mollejas (sweetbreads) which I love and order every time I see them on a menu. They were very tender but had a lovey crispy exterior. They may have even won over my partner as well who was always squeamish in the past when she tried them.
For our mains we enjoyed the skirt steak and grilled halibut. Both perfectly cooked. I'm not a fan of restaurants cutting my meat but I guess you kinda have to with skirt stake. The halibut came topped with chimichurri which was nice and bright but not overpowering like some tend to be.
Mains come a la cart so we went with crispy potato strings and burnt carrots for our sides. This is where your meal can start to add up as the mains are $20+ and the sides $6 each. I do recommend the burnt carrots. They were fantastic and I'd definitely order them again.
The waitress also recommended we order the condiments as well to go with our appetizers and main. Seems a little silly to charge $1 each for these. I'd kind of expect them to be given as part of your meal. They all fall into the good/not great category.
We're both dessert people and recommend you try them as well. The lemon tart was our favourite but the golden dome chocolate mousse was very nice a well. A little rich and it could have used a little more sour cherry sauce.
All and all we're glad we tried Branca. Food and service were great. Decor (wallpaper) may not be everyone taste. Would we go back? Errr...probably not and that's only due to the price. There are plenty of great places in the city where your money will go further for a meal that's just as good.