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| - After my first experience with Brasa, I decided to give it another try, and the experience was 5 stars all around. For the last year, it has been one of our favorite places to go out for special occasions (and made-up special occasions when we're just craving meat.)
After our last experience, I think that tradition will end. Our service last night was inexcusable. When I think of Brasa, I think of fine dining. We go to Brasa for date night, and when the bill coming back is in the 100 dollar range, I expect pretty impeccable service. Perhaps years of working in the service industry has given me high expectations, but when you choose to dine at one restaurant over another, you expect the best.
The first down point was that we had a reservation and it took eons to get to our table. Our hostess told us "oh, we're just cleaning off a table. It will be a few minutes. Go ahead and have a seat in the lounge." That gives you the impression that you will be seated shortly. Not at Brasa. It took us 45 minutes to get seated WITH A RESERVATION. And of course, the lounge was so crowded, so there weren't any seats to wait in. So after standing for 45 minutes, the hostess directs us to a table that had been clean and open for a whole 20 minutes. Unbelievable.
Our table's location was less than ideal. We were right on the edge of the dining room by the lounge. It was loud, crowded, and I could hardly hear my fiancee speak. But, hell, we were seated finally, so who can complain about the location? Our waiter promptly greeted us, which was a very redeeming quality. After making a nice trip to the salad bar, it was time for the best part..the meat.
25 minutes later, the first piece arrived. Our card had been green for 25 minutes before they graciously served us some sausage and chicken. Many waiters walked by, just no meat. I was hungry; I was anxious; I was starting to become one of those people that just stare around the dinning room impatiently...desperately hoping the food will arrive soon. So, I ate that rather hurriedly...And another 15 minutes went by before another piece of meat arrived...and guess what it was? Sausage again. The sausage train continued for a little longer...Wait 15 minutes...more sausage. Wait a tad longer...more sausage. So we sat there. Without any rice or plantains to sooth our hunger either, since they'd seemed to had conveniently forgotten those as well.
It wasn't until a good while later that some other cuts started arriving. We sampled about 4 different kinds of meat at this point, 45 minutes into our meat service. But, where was the good stuff? Where was the filet? Where was the sirloin? Where was the pork? It seemed the waiters were bringing out sausage, beef rib, lamb, and chicken legs only.
It wasn't until new people arrived at the nearby tables that the waiters finally started bringing out different cuts (about an hour after seating). I think if it hadn't been for those people, we wouldn't have gotten to sample much at all. Every other time I'd been to Brasa, it was a constantly rotating selection of meat. You might have to wait a few minutes between pieces, but you were never nervously nibbling on bread, fearing all they'd bring after 20 minutes would be more sausage.
Being a waitress for years myself, I am usually pretty lenient on bad service. Brasa was indeed busy that night, but it had always been busy before. The service we received was one of the worst experiences I ever had at a restaurant, especially a place that is supposed to be higher-end dining. Part of me thinks it's partly because my fiancee and I were indeed the youngest people in the restaurant. Why bother going out of your way to take care of two kids who probably won't tip much anyway, right? (How wrong!) Several waiters walked by and noticed our plates were empty and our anxious stares, but no one seemed to care about making sure our service was superb. Even being sat in a corner, you expect to get the same service as someone who is sitting in the middle of the dining room. I can almost guarantee that people sitting closer to the center received much better service and selection than we did.
I am giving this review one star (it almost deserves none) simply because of a guy (who I assumed was the manager) who seemed to try and make our experience a tad better. After he walked by a few times, miraculously, our side dishes came and our waters were filled. At least management tried and ensure that the waiters were attempting to do their job.
What a shame, Brasa. What a shame.
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