Had dinner here on a Friday night when visiting Boston and was amazed by the food and service. First, the space is very un-Boston (airy, not cramped, and rustic/modern with lots of re-purposed wood). After being seated at a nice table in the window, we proceeded to order some bread with cheese and three small plates (wood roasted beets, grilled green beans, and mexican fried rice) and two rounds of drinks. All of the above were delicious and the portions were so generous (not at all small) that we were full before ordering an entree. The service was also excellent and I credit the waiter for not blinking an eye or trying to upsell us when we asked for the check without ordering more food. Will return here next time I'm in town and will order one snack or small plate to save room for an entree and dessert. read more

Terrible service. We were left at our table for a half hour with no waiter checking on us or asking our order. My husbands chicken was so dry and tasteless. My duck was over powered by balsamic. I was never asked what temperature I wanted my duck cooked. With all the amazing choices we have in Boston for restaurants, I would never go again. I would rather have McDonald's than this. read more

Went there for brunch and it was delicious! Best pancakes ever!! It has some kind of corn meal or something in there with maple butter. Yummmmm read more

Food was excellent, ambience was great, and price was actually very reasonable. Filling dinner, all-in with drinks was about $50 per person. Food quality would've suggested more like $80-100 per person. Waitstaff were terrific, totally attentive but not overbearing. Will definitely go back. read more

Totally underwhelming. For starters, it took 30 minutes for us to get drinks. They arrived well after appetizers had been served (and eaten). If you're a martini drinker, DON'T BOTHER. It comes in a champagne glass (half the size, all the price), with an olive with a pit. The starters were the best part of the meal. Good taco, pickled egg and bread, as well as Mexican fried rice. The entrees were dull, especially for the price. Chicken, steak and duck, all very basic, no outstanding flavor or presentation. The visual appeal of the space doesn't make up for lackluster food and service. read more

The drinks are always interesting, bartenders are great, and the vibe is always nice. I've had a few different items off the dinner menu and have been happy with them all. The late night pizza is a different story. It's not very good. It's my opinion that when you choose to do a simple sauce/cheese/basil Margherita type pie, you have to get each component right to make it worthwhile. The pizza doesn't have enough cheese for my taste, and as I took bite of the pie, there were many bites with clumps of flour on the bottom of the pizza. Go for dinner and drinks, but skip the late night pizza. read more

The first time I went to La Brasa was when I took my mom for her birthday this summer. The food was beyond good, we ordered about 4 different dishes and they were all excellent. The dish that left us fascinated was the green pea soup with pieces of lobster on top(5/5). I wish they had that on the menu all the time! The service is impeccable. They honestly have the BEST pancakes I have ever had (I am not exaggerating). The Mexican fried rice is delicious, the chicken is super tasty it is cooked to an astounding level of perfection. The cocktails are also divine. If you go there you definitely need to save some room for dessert, the flan is outstanding. They have a pretty short menu, but whatever you get you will love. The food is fresh and so unique. I also just had my daughters baptism party at La Brasa, I can not thank them enough for their amazing service. There were about 20 of us and not one single person left unsatisfied, even though it was really busy the waitress was so attentive, the food came out quickly. Everything was PERFECT. La Brasa has become one of my favorite restaurants. I highly recommend it.. read more

In short - some teething problems, but this is a hugely exciting new addition to my neibourhood! In long - I have been waiting with baited breath for La Brasa to open. I live a little further up Broadway in Winter Hill, and I've been walking past the construction site on my way to Sullivan. Every day, I've been trying to peek through the windows and see how it's coming along because I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. So I was so excited to see on Friday that it's open! We decided to come in for an early dinner on Sunday and check it out, and we were glad we did. First of all, they have done a wonderful job of doing up the space. It's really stunning - the atmosphere is great and very inviting. As others have mentioned, the minute you walk in you are met by the most amazing smell from the grill. It's stunning - and a great precursor of things to come. We sat at the bar - the guy who served us was friendly and knowledgeable about the drinks. We had some nice wine and would definitely try the cocktails next time. However, there were definitely teething problems. We ordered some tacos to share to start and asked how many tacos came with each order - we thought the guy said one, so we ordered two - but when they came there were two per order, which was more than we really wanted. Had we known, we would have ordered one. That said, they were really delicious. We also ordered a pork sandwich and the rib roast with cilantro chimichurri. The pork sandwich came out and my husband tucked in, expecting the rib to arrive quickly after. He finished the sandwich and still no sign of the rib... The pork was tasty, but there was a lot of mustard on it, which we both found a bit overpowering. A shame because the individual components were delicious. After the plate was cleared, still no sign of our rib - to the point that we thought we had forgotten to order it. Our barman told us we had ordered it and that it would be out shortly. It was strange though, because we ordered two entrees and expected them to come out at the same time - I'm not sure if they bring things out as they're ready or if someone forgot about our rib . If the former, not a problem, but we would have appreciated someone letting us know when we ordered. The rib finally appeared and it was absolutely delicious. Incredibly charred and delicious on the outside, meltingly tender on the inside. The chimichurri was great, and it was a huge portion. That said, we had to ask for steak knives, and it came out just as it was - no sides or anything. Again - not an issue, but we would have appreciated them telling us that when we ordered because it would have been nice to have something alongside the big hunk of meat!! All of this being said - we had fun, and the food was great. I am really excited about coming back in a couple of weeks when they've settled into their groove. For one thing, it's really incredible value for some delicious and high quality meat, and a great atmosphere. read more

This just became my fav place to eat locally. Incredible ambiance, awesome servers -- great food! I would recommend the grilled escarole and redfish coconut ceviche. read more

Fun food, hip decor, hilariously named cocktails, respectable beer list, relaxed vibe, and friendly and attentive staff. What more do you want? Nothing. I love it and I'll be back. A lot. read more

Favorite neighborhood spot! The food is so flavorful and portions are on point. Atmosphere is trendy and comfortable to be in. Definitely a recommended spot to bring friends, family or date! read more

Had a marvelous Friday night dinner! Hard to meet expectation when you have heard so much -- but LA BRASA was wonderful. From parking, service to food, we loved it! read more

Oh dear, I won't be going back. We had five dishes, none memorable, none that we would order again. To be fair, we don't eat beef so maybe you would do better. For what we had, $10 per dish...not the date night I was hoping for. read more

The food was great and I am looking forward to going back to try other things on the menu. I highly recommend the empanada and the escarole salad--very good. I enjoyed the space and its ambiance; it would be nice for a date or for a group of friends. read more

I walk by La Brasa 2x a day on my way to and from work so I've been waiting ever so patiently for it to open. Finally got there last night (a Sunday) and am definitely a fan. I scoured the menu that Boston Magazine featured a week or so ago but when we got to the restaurant we saw they had a completely different menu for Sunday night. We tried a bunch of things and nothing was a disappointment - the pork tacos are a little lackluster, and surprisingly the tenderloin that they served from the meat cart wasn't anything terribly special. But the brisket - oh my - so amazing. The spring onions were delicious as well - such a seemingly simple side but done so well and a great companion for all the meat on the table. We tried some of our friends' bon chon chicken --incredible flavor. I cannot wait to go back - especially since all the stuff I wanted to try wasn't on the Sunday night menu. (swiss chard pie, mexican rice, harissa chicken) It should also be said that the space itself is just amazing. There's so much wood but yet it's airy and light - it's a great contrast. I also cannot wait to until the market opens in a couple of weeks. Welcome to the 'ville La Brasa! read more

I have to say I really enjoy the market at La Brassa. The cheese, the meat, eggs, and those awesome stone and skillet English muffins! It's a once stop breakfast shopping spot. Lunch here is really cool, it's in the market very casual and comfortable. The brisket sandwich is pretty amazing, and for the price you can beat it. Also they have probably the best ice coffee I've ever had. read more

After dining here a few more times, I have to say that this is the place to get delicious steak in the area. Also 5 stars for the recent lunch options! So delicious. The coffee is phenomenal too, and the vibes in the cafe area are very nice. The service has always been really great when I've gone to get coffee or lunch. I'm glad this place is in East Somerville! read more

Came out with a combination of sticker and culture shock. I'll give credit for alot of effort, but they seemed to overwork it and lose track of alot of the things I really enjoyed. The Good: Tacos were tasty, not crowded, not too loud, attentive and knowledgable wait staff. Good beer list (which is not that hard to find in Boston) Mediocre: Alot of the decoration just didn't make sense--a huge wood cart sitting in the middle of a restaurant with no fireplace, knives stapled to the wall etc. I came away with the feeling the decor be be descibed as "hipster pretentious". The menu is really sparse, so the waiters have to make up for it by reciting a massive description of each item -- which took a long time and left me glassy-eyed. Non-steak portions were too small for the family style approach. (two whole tacos! that is not a "family plate") No real avocado in the avocado salad, just a thin paste. Bad: Getting a steak for the table is never fun when you have to take turns cutting it and shifting the plate back and forth. To top it off the steak was not good quality (alot of gristle, not very tender) and cost a solid 80 bucks! If the meal for my wife and I is going to break 130$ for two drinks, two small plates, and the steak; the bread should be free! 4$ for bread is a joke. An additional 1-4$ for the spread made me feel taken advantage of. read more

Great environment. Tacos and flan were amazing. Rib cart service was good, very flavorful but not very warm. Service was decent. Menu is very limited, would have liked a few more options or at least some better descriptions. Would consider coming again. read more

Where should I start? The 30 minutes we had to wait until somebody offered us water/gave us a menu, even though we were literally waving our arms in the air (like we just don't care)? Though for the record, we did care. We cared a lot. The "2-person"spiked "horchata" that was literally 5 sips in a cup full of crushed ice? The fried chicken that was the size of my hand, but cost 1.5 hours of me doing data entry at my thankless job? Being forced to order a side dish of rice because I was warned that my chicken would be...just chicken? A dessert that I literally do not remember? You work hard for your money! Please consider not parting with it here. There are tons of great places to eat on the same street that will probably cost you quite a lot less. read more

The food was good, but ... I asked our bartender what the place was about; he said the chef was Mexican and specialized in wood-fired cooking. Indeed, there are stacks of firewood at either end of the cavernous dining space. However, the menu selection is not at all extensive. They offer one beef entree, one fish entree, and one chicken entree, with a couple of additional selections "for the table". The food is ridiculously overpriced. Honestly, $28 for half a chicken? I suppose if you want to impress your date by overspending, this is place to do it. I won't be coming back. read more

We had dinner at this restaurant several nights ago, we were a group of 4. We were there at the beginning of the dinner service. Two in our party had been to La Brasa before and had enjoyed the food. We ordered drinks, then 3 or 4 small plates, a couple of entrees and the beef that is carved at the table. Strangely, the server brought the tacos first, and the bread we ordered, then within a few moments, all of the rest of our food, including the mussels. There was no attempt to serve the dishes in such a way that we could pace ourselves and enjoy it. Then we noticed that our chicken was quite raw inside. The server said she would take it, we asked specifically for a "new plate" of chicken, a replacement. Instead, they took this piece of chicken that was already partially cut up and brought it back cooked more. Our dinner was an overpriced, rushed experience and the service and management decisions were unprofessional. The restaurant itself is lovely and comfortable and has good potential. read more

Went for brunch on Sunday- great ambiance, delicious food, fantastic service. Warm and friendly. The food was tasty. Would love to see them step up on the gluten-free options though- also there were no alternatives to milk for our coffee. But other than that I look forward to returning and trying dinner some time! read more

Yelp sells the ability to hide ratings. By rating things on Yelp you become their tool, through which they diminish upstart restaurants, and allow big corporate ones to thrive. If you write a negative review on yelp - you are a bad person. read more

This place always kills. Great food with an easy going atmosphere. It's always really lively. The bread with ash butter is delicious; definitely give it a try. I would probably steer away from the pay-by-the-ounce steak; it's not a great value. read more

I just ate here tonight for the third time. Tried to give it a chance. Never again. The restaurant is grossly overpriced. One small deviled egg cut in half six dollars. Five slices of bread with Ash butter nine dollars. Very small cocktails. And the music was so loud that your head will explode. Are you serious.? The concept is interesting and the waitstaff is fine. But my God the prices are out of control. And I eat out a lot. read more

First the food - I gave this place 2 stars because some food was good, some was very bad. I can only classify the menu as strange. My friends made the reservation to go here, we went along for the ride. I looked at the menu before going and was huh?? I could not figure out what this place was. Tapas? Not really. Odd collection of food offerings in 'little' and 'medium' plate sizes, no 'big' plates. They sell you bread for $3. I know that is happening more and more at restaurants but I still cannot wrap my head around that fact that a for a group of 4 who ended up having a check around $200 that the restaurant really needs the $3 for some bread and at the same time have people at the table joke about how ridiculous that is. I just don't get it. I understand the waste issue. So don't give bread to someone unless they ask for it or say it is $3 but then don't put it on the bill. Trivial but annoying. The bread was excellent but still made me wonder why. My friend ordered the artisanal cheese plate which was simply an insult. There were 3 pieces of cheese that were so small, if you put them all together there would be less cheese than a thick slice of American cheese from the deli. Really? $15 for less than 1 oz. of cheese on a plate with some goo that looked like they just did not wash the plate before they served it. Even my friend who never complains about anything made a joke about the cheese he ordered. You can read many other Yelp comments with the same info. My wife and I had the carnitas tacos. Those were tasty (the some food was good part of the review). I ordered the lamb tart. Now, I was expecting a nice flaky pastry crust with some braised lamb pieces on it. When it was served I looked at and thought - what is this? Well, the closest thing I can relate it to is it was more like lamb shepherds pie (which I would never order). The 'tart' was about 7" across and covered with mashed potatoes. And when it was served, someone from the kitchen came over with a cup of jus and pored it over the top of the mashed potatoes. It turned into a soupy mess. It was g-r-o-s-s. The crust of the 'tart' was thin as cardboard and just as tough. I needed a knife to cut through something that was 1/8th inch thick. The whole thing was completely unappealing. I ate about half of it and it is a good thing I stopped there because I spent a good part of the next day in the bathroom getting rid of the lamb tart. To be fair, another friend had the same thing and liked it. I just thought it was disgusting and would not have ordered it if I understood how it was served. Maybe I mis-read the menu - but even if I did - it was still gross and the pastry was like cardboard. Finally on the food front (beverage really), they have only 1 beer on tap. Pretty lame for a hipster Somerville restaurant if you ask me. The restaurant itself is very interesting design. Some people like, some hate it. Very nice space but designed to be loud. They had the music too loud considering there were only 2 other tables of people in there. Finally - the service. I never take service into account when giving ratings in these reviews. To me service is a random thing and can change from day to day so I do not put it in the rating....but I do make a comment about it when it warrants and in this case it does. First, the waitress had a nose ring. Not the little post type or tiny thing, but an all out bone-thru-the-nose type of thing that for me is simply gross. I do not want to look at that when talking to the waitress or even think about the logistics of such a thing. Ok, so I am old, I know. I can deal with piercings anywhere else. But with all the people a restaurant can hire, do they really need someone with a nose ring representing the restaurant? Service was pretty lame on top of that also. Waitress was a low-talker (not great with the loud music, see above). Slow to get drinks. Slow to ask for drink replacements. The place was not busy. No excuse for that. No interest in going back. Same opinion/experience as all the other reviewers with 2-3 stars. read more

I went with my sister and mother after reading about this in Improper Bostonian. We loved this place! We are into trying new, trendy places like this. We got a few vegetable plates plus the special pig roast and the steak with zucchini. We loved everything! All of the food was eaten. The carrots with mole was excellent. I did not go into the market but will probably return. Parking can be tough but we found a spot on the street very close (and it was a Friday night) we had a 645 reservation. We were seated right away and there was room for walk in diners. They have a bar that is open late. The waitor was very friendly. Oh and the drinks - unusual but they were really good. A bit on the pricey side so I wouldnt be having too many coctails. I would recommend this place! read more

The décor is very nice but the food is terrible. We ordered the bread with hummus side and oil side, the beet egg, and the oysters. The oil was awful tasting, it tasted like canola oil. If I am paying for oil, it better be a great extra virgin olive oil. This was cheap tasteless oil. Everything was made from it and you could taste it in hummus as well. The oysters were very salty and served with no tabasco or cocktail sauce. Our drinks were okay, my drink was in crushed ice, the same ice that the oysters sat on which was a bit odd. Anyways I wouldn't come back. read more

We live down the street and love stopping in for a drink. Unfortunately there is a hostess that is incredibly rude (over the past three visits). Yes, I have an infant that is silent and has never cried in the restaurant (and if she did I would definitely take her out of the restaurant so we don't disturb others) however, the host has almost refused to seat us despite the restaurant being empty. I can only take you rolling your eyes at me so many times before we don't return. I hope this changes as the waitstaff is always lovely, the drinks are excellent and the food is delicious. read more

We ate dinner at La Brasa on Sunday night. My friend ordered a vegetarian empanada and I got chicken wings. Although they were supposed to be "small" plates, both of our portions were very generous. On top of that, they were delicious. Unique without being strange. I would love to come back to try their Sunday brunch. read more

Food was amazing, we literally ordered the entire menu and some items a couple times. Love the fact that they have a meat cart coming around at all times, will be back soon read more

Restaurant not listening to yelpers who correctly complain about flavorless food (the posole is tragic) and tiny portions (once we removed the inedible gristle from the porchetta sandwich there was almost nothing on it). Four people ordered a dozen dishes: Some were passable, some were not, and absolutely nothing rose above mediocre. A great space with nice staff, still in search of a good chef. Eight thumbs down. read more

I've been here a few times with groups and have been lucky enough to try most items on the menu. The food is excellent as was the service. Also, it was refreshing to not see the typical menu items that are everywhere. They're a bit different. The price to portion ratio is what gets me. The place is extremely expensive. I dont mind paying top dollar if i'm going to be very impressed with the food but there prices are a bridge to far. They literally have THE MOST EXPENSIVE STEAK IN BOSTON and likely New England and beyond. They charge $4.00/oz for primerib/ribeye. Here is the PROOF: Delfrisco $2.93/oz Capital Grill $2.31/oz bone in Moo $2.33/oz for 18oz Ruths chris $2.44/oz Bancroft $3.35/oz prime AND dry aged Smith&Wollensky $2.41/oz bone in Texas roadhouse $1.28/oz LaBrasa $4.00/oz All the steaks are prime grade and/or dry aged ribeyes/prime rib and cooked when order EXCEPT FOR La Brasa and Texas roadhouse. La Brasa sells an inferior grade for significantly more ($64/LB) and has it waiting around for you to show up. It is the most expensive steak in Boston by far! It is delicious, dont get me wrong. It's better than some of the places I named but not most of them. read more

Really nice ambiance with a lot of reclaimed wood, friendly and attentive waitstaff, and easy to get a table at 6:30 on a Friday night, but was filling up by the time we left at 7:30. The korean squid pancake and the lamb kabobs with some sort of delicious slaw were highlights. We couldn't decide if we liked the triple cheese cheesecake with stone fruit (nicely tart, not too sweet) or the butterscotch pudding better... Will definitely return! read more

Epic fail on so many levels that it isn't even worth writing about. I will say this. I take issue with restaurants that force their waitstaff to perform. That should be left to the chefs. Here, if you want steak, you buy it by the ounce and the waiter has to wheel a cart with a roast loin across the restaurant - presumably to make people go ooh and ahh so they order it too (the idea being that it is so absurdly expensive you need to motivate them somehow). But since it has been resting for a while, waiting for people to order it, it is probably luke warm, rolled around uncovered, flies everywhere and it looks unappealing. Worse, when we asked for medium rare, the waiter cut into it, hands shaking probably from the nerves of everyone in the restaurant watching him, and he cut three separate times into it and it was brown everywhere - clearly well done and overcooked. Embarrassed, he rolled it back and came back 10 minutes later with another one - this time, essentially raw. The waiter turned bright red and looked completely humiliated. We took it anyway. But you're supposed to watch him and tell him the size you want him to slice it - and then he weighs it - all without touching it with his hands which they probably do back in the kitchen but not in front of 30 people - and it took him five minutes to put the plate together as we lost our appetites. It was inedible. Also cost $40. Keep in mind, they had brought the other person's dinner plate before they rolled out the cart the first time, so we ate at separate times. The menu is filled with baffling hipster nonsense. Everything else we ordered was mediocre and overpriced at best. And they have a bad fly problem. Just put up some fly paper rather than have the waitstaff running around with fly swatters. Sheesh. It was just like an SNL skit of all that is trendy, fashionable and wrong in hipster dining right now. Just, no thank you. I liked the design/decoration of the restaurant itself though. Let's hope the current owners sell it to someone who can make and execute a better, more reasonable, less trendy menu. read more

My boyfriend and I recently found this place while staying in Somerville. We were pleasantly surprised, even though the ratings were good on Yelp we had to see for ourselves. We had an appetizer dinner and it did not disappoint us at all! The Mexican fried rice was delish (we couldn't finish it and sadly it ended up getting thrown out after a couple of days in our hotel fridge). We had bread with Ash butter, also very good and not sure what the ash actually was but was tasty nonetheless. The Taco Carnitas were amazing!! I just wanted to keep eating mounds of the pork it was so good. Finally, we had the asparagus...they were cooked to perfection and the cheese and crumbles just took it to a level of 'non-boring' - they were crunchy and tangy and sweet. So good! They make cocktails on draught and the one I tried had Campari in it and was served martini style. Different, but in good way. I wanted to try so many of their other house cocktails but there was just not enough time. The staff were super friendly and accommodating. A highly recommended place. read more

I was super pumped to try this place out; however, after eating here I am only disappointed. The decor is spot on for a hip new restaurant however the food did not meet our standards. My BF and I are both chefs, but you didn't have to be a he'd to realize all of the food was bland and totally under seasoned. Salt goes a long way in the kitchen especially if it were to be paired with traditional Mexican flavors. Too bad the chefs missed the mark on that. our server was super sweet and knowledgable however we probably won't be going back. read more

Great happening restaurant. The bronzino fish and flan were incredible. The duck legs and chicken liver mousse a bit too salty.

To give a bit of context to this review, I will say that I'm generally dissapointed with the Boston area restaurant scene. Creative cheap food barely exists and the mid-term restaurants like La Brasa have consistently left me feeling like I was better off cooking at hope and splurging on great wine for my guests. La Brasa is another spin on the all to familiar "community" table, family style trendy restaurants we have in the area (e.g. Kirkland Tap & Trotter, Alden & Harlow, and the list goes on and on and on). Some have been good, but most don't last (like the place La Brasa replaced). Server ws fine, perhaps slightly socially awkward, but it's Boston so that and bartenders that don't know how to chat up their patrons is expected. She asked if we had eaten there before and after saying no, she explained to us their, "shotgun" serving style...which I think is stupid. We ordered some raw oysters for apps, and a couple of glasses of red wine, which they only had three offering of by the glass so we each ordered something different. Oysters were oysters, we ate them straight up so no idea about that funky sauce they serve them with. Neither of us were impressed with our wine. Then we ordered a kale salad and the flounder and I asked for them to be brought out at the same time...she said no problem. Two minutes later we had the salad. It sat there and waited for the flounder. The flounder looked like it had been pan seated in the skillet it was served in with a mix of "latin" vegetables and some fishy meat that we joked were rats tails, because that's what they looked like. Whatever it was, it was fishy and mushy and I'm guessing it came from a can. The flounder was sitting in a pool of reduced stock and was mushy and under seasoned...I think it was an attempt at "a La Veracruzena style fish, but poorly executed. We were both very dissapointed. In summary, yet another twist on a generic template that doesn't deliver. OK, for those who like the new restaurant "scene" and don't know any better in terms of food. This place will not last...they never do. read more