Brasa

I came here early this year, I’m sad to hear that this place closed down after their more-​than-​a-​decade lease. I decided to write a review for honoring my dining experience here.
They have the BEST olive oil ever!!! I normally prefer bread and butter but their olive oil is TO DIE FOR. For appetizer I had grilled flat bread with figs, prosciutto, balsamic vinegar, and goat cheese. It was a good combination, sweet and savory, straight flavors without being overly complicated. I had paella for entrée and sadly speaking, it was disappointing. The rice was mushy, the clams were fishy, the chicken was cooked well though, and I didn’t notice any slightest hint of saffron. My friend had slow-​roasted pork shoulder spanish style. It was tender, but it was special enough to be served here.
The server was VERY nice and helpful. I told him I was not happy with my dish and he apologized for it and to make sure that I was pleased with my experience, he gave me a free panna cotta and a complimentary glass of red wine. 3 stars food, 5 stars service. =)

Per Nancy Leson, it’s closed (
).
When it first opened, it was delicious. Then something happened, and the food started getting bad, sometimes even inedible.
I guess that it’s a good thing!

Went to Brasa last night on the close of restaurant week. There’s really nothing else I could add that most of the 2 star reviewers haven’t already said. The food was meh and the service was terrible. I had the mixed greens salad with chickpeas which was too salty, the agniolotti (raviolis) which were lacking in flavor or substance, and finished with the gelato trio with macaroon. The dessert was the best part of the meal.
Bottom line: There’s nothing about this restaurant that’s worth the price they charge to eat here.

Great food, terrible staffing and service. A close friend chose Brasa for his last supper with our group of friends before moving to another country. We were seated around 7:30 and we sat at the table for a good 15 – 20 minutes before the waitress came over to take our drink orders. The woman pouring water actually noticed and had to go and get our waitress.
Once she came over, we asked if we could order drinks/​food at the same time and she said she would get the drinks first and then come back to take our food order. After waiting another 10 or so minutes for drinks, she came back to take our orders. At this point, it was past 8 pm and we were starving and had yet to get any bread. I finally asked for some and they did bring that over right after we requested it.
When all was said and done, we ended up getting our meals close to 9 pm and they were mostly stone cold. 5 of us had ordered steak and they were barely luke-​warm, mine was completely cold. We were so hungry that we ate the food anyways and did mention it when the waitress finally came over again to ask us how everything was. She offered some free desserts and gave us warm frites, which hardly compensated for 5 $ 23 plates of steak.
I truly felt bad for the waitress as whoever is in charge of staffing, dropped the ball. They had 2 cooks and a prep and 3 servers with a full restaurant. While a Monday night may not normally be busy, they offered a restaurant week special of $ 25 for a 3 course meal.
The end result was taking 3 of our steak dinners off of the bill, which was appreciated. Disappointing because the food would have been delicious hot. I’m not sure if I’d go back again because the service was that bad.

When we have a show at the Moore, there is a set routine. Arrive several hours beforehand to attempt to find street parking and to grab some food at one of two places: Wann or Brasa. The latter of which we try to frequent sparingly because the food is decadent and on the pricier side.
When we DO go, the food is always superlative and the service is competent. I won’t say that it’s as good as the food but I’ve never had any problems per se, just varied from visit to visit. Grab one of the comfortable booths against the wall to the tables in the centre but that’s my preference. I just like to people watch and not be in the fishbowl! There’s a full bar and a coat check at the front door near the hostess stand.
When there’s several of us, we’ll get the cheese table as one of the appetizers. There’s been inconsistencies with the size of cheese that accompanies it and I’ve always wished for more fruit + crackers. We’ll compensate by asking for more bread and olive oil — both so very tasty. I’ve had some amazing meals here. One standout was sea scallops in an orange reduction sauce with melted leeks, house-​cured bacon, potato chive cake topped with a quail’s egg. The scallops were perfectly prepared and did I mention bacon?
All in all, I’d recommend Brasa as a happy hour destination or to celebrate a special occasion. Or if you have a show at the Moore and fancy a short walk over to some really good food!

Brasa is geographically outside of my usual happy hour stomping grounds, and I don’t make a habit of going to Belltown generally, but I had a gift certificate to spend and happy hour seemed like the best way to try a lot of different things.
The restaurant is open and high-​ceilinged, dimly lit, with lots of dark wood fixtures — it’s tasteful and nice-​looking. On a Monday night, it was almost completely empty (just one other party in the bar area). Our waiter was attentive and checked back often, and water glasses were refilled promptly — the only time there was any delay was after the check had been brought, when it took a while for the server to come pick it up. They knew we had a gift certificate, but it didn’t result in bad service, small portions, or being ignored, as others have noted.
I had the curried mussels ($ 6), which were excellent, and olives/​walnuts/​grapes ($ 4), which were… hot and salty. The Champoire champagne/​pear brandy cocktail was delish, as was The Vamp. Drinks aren’t cheap — the signature cocktails are all around $ 8-​$ 10 — but they’re strong, interesting, and tasty. Others at the table had the Moroccan steak sandwich ($ 7), which was tender and good, and the french fries with aioli ($ 4), which were kind of dry and overcooked. We also tried the Spanish doughnuts ($ 6), churros served with a little ramekin of chocolate mousse and whipped cream — very rich and very tasty! (Though $ 6 seemed a bit pricey for two small pieces.)
The drinks were great, the food was a little uneven but mostly very good, and the ambience was nice and quiet for happy hour socializing. It’s a bit too far from my office to make this part of the regular post-​work rotation, but Brasa is participating in Restaurant Week this month, so I’d be willing to go back and try it again for that.

My boyfriend and I recently dined at Brasa on Friday January 30 for my birthday. While the food was good, the service was terrible and really ruined the whole affair. Our server, Bethany, was not very attentive at all. We had finished our main courses, and it took her 15 – 20 minutes after we were finished for her to clear our plates. During that time, she walked past our table 3 times, so even with a quick glance at our table, she should have seen we were finished. For 2 appetizers and 2 main courses, it took over 2 hours. We were so turned off by the whole experience, we did not even want to waste any more time waiting for dessert.
I don’t usually complain about service, but my birthday dinner was completely ruined by the service we received.
Also, there was quite a bit of grit in the clams in our pork dish, not cool. Something I would let slide if the rest of the meal was great but considering the whole situation, it only added to the awful time we had.
To end things, I sent an e-​mail to Brasa about my experience. I got a reply saying I needed to provide more information (already gave the date and server’s name but that wasn’t enough). I did provide that information and never received a response.
Needless to say, I will never be going back.

Saffron-​alicious.
I finally came in to try their roast pig. Mmmm… it was a tasty pork pot roast with potatoes, clams, and chorizo, in a saffron-​based sauce. Yum.
We also tried their seared scallops with saffron aoili. There could have been a better sear on the scallops but they were otherwise cooked well. They were generous with the saffron in the aioli. The scallops were served atop some nondescript dark grains (millet? dark quinoa?). Not very flavorful or impressive.
Their wines by the glass were very nice. We had a pinot noir and a very nice glass of Salenti di Veli, our new favorite.
We’ll definitely go again, if only to use up my certificate.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
They offer valet parking for $ 7 and that wouldn’t be a bad idea if you’re coming here on a friday or saturday night! I swear from the distance where we parked to the restaurant, it was almost worth a cab trip but I guess it was a great way to work up an appetite.
We were seated real promptly but I have grown really tired of being seated right by the front door since whenever someone comes in or out you feel this HUGE gush of cold air blowing right at you! Burrrr!!! Nothing at this restaurant really amazed other than the fact when I tried to wave down a hostess and/​or waiter I guess I spoke too quiet but then when I speak a little bit louder (border line yell) the whole room turns around and looks at me. =(
However I must say my dish the roasted chicken was surprisingly tasty and juicy, not dry or dense like I expected but I don’t think the girlfriend liked her dish.(I don’t remember what she ordered)

My husband’s company hosted its Christmas party there last night so we went dressed up in a limo — can’t say it wasn’t off to a great start.
The night started with wine and a selection of cheeses with bread, almonds, and fig. Our appetizers were clams and mussels — in an amazing garlic butter sauce, a Serrano ham and goat cheese pizza (not a huge fan of goat cheese), fire-​roasted vegetables, and some bread. My fav was the mussels because I rarely have them and they were cooked and flavored fantastically well. The spring greens in the sherry vinaigrette dish was just okay to me, though my husband really enjoyed it.
I had the paella for my entrée and it had calamari, clams, chorizo, and a chicken thigh. I studied abroad in Spain and had lots of paella there so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect with regard to authenticity and flavor. Brasa’s paella dish was definitely a few notches up from Bahama Breeze (whose paella tasted like bad gumbo) in taste and presentation, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the chorizo (which lacked flavor) and use of lots of cilantro (which overwhelmed the dish). If I were to order it next time, I’d ask for it without the chorizo or chicken — the seafood was plenty good to hold its own ground in the paella.
For dessert were Spanish donuts with whipped cream and chocolate, and a pear tart of some sort — both were not terribly sweet and excellent dessert choices to finish off the meal. One thing that was lacking was some espresso or cappuccino.
It was a nice ambiance and comfortable seating and I’d like to come back, given that the meal won’t cost an arm and a leg. If it does, it probably won’t be one of my top three choices to spend a lot of money on for a fine meal — maybe top 5?

I will be upfront – this review is NOT about the food because I have not actually eaten here.
And that is because my boyfriend and I walked in here the other night when it was moderately full. We were not greeted. In fact, three or four waitstaff looked at us and failed to acknowledge us. A hostess was nowhere to be found. After standing in the doorway awkwardly for about five minutes, we turned around and left.
You just lost customers for life, Brasa. Get your act together and actually greet people within 30 seconds of them coming into the door.

While in Seattle my BF and I decided to give Brasa a try because it looked and sounded interesting.
Erin B. commented on the impersonal décor and I agree. Although the dim lighting was an attempt to warm the place up, the impersonal feel came from the fact that the dining room is very open and rectangular. You feel like you’re in a decorated warehouse. Waiting endlessly for our entrees gave me a lot of time to analyze the place and it was tiring to look at.
We ordered the grape pizzetta and beet salad to start. I was weary about trying the grape pizzetta, because the thought of grapes on a pizza is strange to me. However I was pleasantly surprised since the lightly baked grapes loose their tartness and soften while still maintaining their consistency. Tastes great with the goat cheese and nuts. The beet salad… eh ok. Nothing special. Ordered the paella for dinner. It comes out in a traditional paella pan and has 2 mussels, 2 clams, 2 jumbo shrimp, and a small amount of chorizo. The reason I’m detailing the amount of shellfish and such is because the dish is $ 25 and I personally didn’t think it was worth that much. It was good though, so try for yourselves and see what you think.
One final thing. I asked for a glass of sauvignon blanc and my waiter suggested a substitute since they don’t serve it there. I can’t remember what it was called (might have been the Orvieto Classico), but whatever you do, don’t take the substitute! It was not anything like a sauvignon blanc and it was horrible wine.

I went into this restaurant with a pretty good recommendation from friends, who enjoyed the food here. With the 3 for 30 Urban Eats offer, it was time to visit, and taste what I hoped would be good eats.
I like to concentrate on food, but it wasn’t amazing really. I didn’t think the portion was adequate, nor did it have the right balance of flavor. There were extremes, some overly flavorful, others, less then so. It was tasteless, but I think too much was focused on the presentation, rather than on the food itself. A good restaurant is all about the food first, and then about plating… anyway, the person there, the server, was the most redeeming factor of this place. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and know exactly when to come by. If anything, they hire good people; at least our server was awesome, the atmosphere isn’t bad.
Well, I know people have had good recommendations about this restaurant, so I might go again, but I’ll wait for a menu refresh.

Anyone else getting an American Psycho vibe from this place? It isn’t crazy 80’s but there is just something impersonal about the décor that kept me expecting to Patrick Bateman at the next table.
We went on a Tuesday and the place was d-​e-​a-​d. All the better to observe our surroundings. Hostess was friendly and our server was different then I would have expected in a good way. Friendly, open, and professional. He laughed when i called the giant knives they give you a «stab-​y». bonus points.
The prices are high but the wine & beer weren’t set out of reach with a glass of the cheapest red at $ 7 and 9lb hammer at $ 6.50. Bites were $ 6ish with small plates at $ 10 and large plates in the low to mid 20’s.
We ordered to small plates (pizza & octopus) & 2 large (risotto & paella). The small plates were surprisingly extra delicious and of decent portion for 2 people to share. Both were good but the combo of the Gorgonzola cheese & grapes on the pizza was AWEsome! The bigger dishes were again good, with the paella standing out as delicious.
I doubt I would go back, but all in all we had a fun evening going upscale, but not necessarily better, for a night.

My boyfriend usually thinks wine tastes like rotten grapes/​fruit… but he really enjoyed whatever red wine we had here (and almost got a second glass)!
When we first glanced inside, we almost left to find another place. We were there for the HH food deals, but we were dressed down and everybody inside (mostly only the tables by the bar had people) seemed to be in «dressy casual» wear.
We were super hungry and most happy hours had just ended (at 6:30– theirs goes until 7pm), however, so we went in.
The waitress was pretty good. She would sometimes take a little too long to get back to us, but eventually it all worked out.
We got the $ 7 Lamb Burgers (tasty, juicy, small), the $ 6 Curried Mussels (delicious!), the $ 4 fries (ehhh worth skipping, I think), and the delicious mysterious wine (at $ 8.50/glass) that was recommended. We spent more than we’d usually spend on HH, but… it was good… and that makes it worth it.
The bathrooms. I’m not sure why every stall needs its own mirror, but… I guess it can come in handy… and I do like the more «private» style stalls!
Parting thoughts? I’d say that it was a pretty fine meal and I’d come here again when in Belltown and in search of good Happy Hour food and delicious wine. I’d just make sure to have a «biz casual» or «slightly dressy» outfit on instead of the jeans, hoodie, and sneakers I had worn to class earlier.

Aside from the fact that it was… sort of empty when I walked into the bar last nite, I liked Brasa. For the most part.
Our wait person was super duper nice and attentive. My food was very good, and my martini was… well…it was ok. I had heard they make excellent martinis, and I was so excited to try one out here and it kind of… tasted like a bottle of perfume w/​a little vodka in it.
Now I loves me a good martini and I might be a bit of a snob when it comes to them, so I kiiiind of have an issue if my martini tastes like… dishwashing liquid.
Sigh…I really wanted to like it here here too. Perhaps another chance will have to happen.

STANDING OUT LIKE A SOAR-​ASS THUMB
My friend and I decided to start drinking at 5:30pm and just bar hop. We made a pack to take a shot/​drink every bar we see as we just walk the city streets. We were bored.
It was our forth bar and we walked into Brasa. We sat at the bar and ordered two servings of Port. The bartender didnt pay much attention to us. Two girls, street clothes, sitting at the bar kinda drunk, asking for port. We drank up and left right away. I wanted to try some eats here but it’s not a place to lounge and chill. Its more of a place to have a nice dinner date.
Next time I’ll stop in and eat.

Microsoft Prime 2007
Ambience: 4
Food: 4
Value: 3
Very nice looking place. Interesting lay out and lighting.
Food is Mediterranean/​Spanish influenced. It’s got some interesting spices that makes it interesting. We had the scallops and paella. I’ve been to Span and this food is not too bad. The crunchy puffy bread is good. I liked it. I enjoyed eating here.

I listen when people talk about their favorite food in Seattle, tuck it away in my little mental file, and I’m surprised that Brasa never comes up. This place, in my experience, is highly underrated.
Friday night, 8pm, we had reservations for a party of nine at a different restaurant who completely dropped the ball, but Brasa was able to get us in last minute, no problem.
Even though they left us with empty glasses a bit too long a few times throughout the night (we would have bought more alcohol, we really would!) I’m still giving them five stars because when the food came, it was unbelievable.
Even though my friend’s black cod dish was a little unbalanced (the cod was light and delicate, served with a WAY too salty overpowering squid ink risotto something or other, if I’m remembering right,) I’m still giving Brasa five stars because the rest of the food I tasted was so frickin’ amazing.
I had the spinach salad with goat cheese, which was good, but my other friend’s pear salad was probably even better. I then had the Cappelletti with butternut squash, and I’m still thinking about it. I wish I’d gotten the large portion, but then I wouldn’t have had room for the Brasa Sundae, which was amazing. My friend got the scallops and we were all blown away. Totally orgasmic.
I believe their menu changes regularly, and I’m not sure their online menu is often updated to match, so be open-​minded. I can’t wait until I have another excuse to go back and try something new. Or maybe order the Cappelletti again. Gawd.

Generally, I like Brasa. Nice ambiance, very lounge-​y with a hip vibe, sexy lines in their décor… this is definitely a great happy hour spot to have one of their signature martinis and become human again after a long day at the office.
Food is excellent. Although, I swear the wafer thing that came with the bread plate tastes like a big fancy pringles chip! But of course, the original recipe for pringles had to come from somewhere… why not the Mediteranean. Go have a taste and tell me it doesn’t taste like pringles.
Anyway, I digress. I had the Mizuna/​Rocket Salad with Humboldt Fog goast cheese and grilled grapes. The grilled Octopus was divine. I also tried the Roast Pork, Pork Belly, and Beef Tenderloin from my dinner companion’s plates. It’s a good place to go with a small group and share plates so you can try everything. The only problem tonight was we didn’t get to any desserts because we had eaten and drank way too much. Next time, I will save room.