Brasserie JO

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

Before you go to Brasserie Jo, I recommend you visit OpenTable, and sort by "worst ratings". Count how many one and two-star ratings the place has received recently. As of this writing (12/27/2011) I count 8 one-star ratings, and 5 two-star. ratings since September 2011. Thats 13 poor ratings in a four month span. Something is up at Brasserie Jo, and its not the service. My girlfriend and I went to Brasserie Jo in Boston after seeing "The Nutcracker", on 12/23/2011. We were very excited because we both love good French food, and the evening had been great so far. When we arrived at Brasserie Jo, my first thought was that there was no one in the restaurant (never a good sign). We were there on a Friday evening, just for reference. From the moment we sat down, the waiter acted as if we were imposing on him. There was no welcome to the restaurant; he did not ask if weve been there before; he didnt even say "How are you this evening?" He was brusque, short, unfriendly, and it got worse from there. We were greeted with a nice plate of sliced carrots, with horseradish and vinegar, with a french mustard sauce for dipping. This little dish was very good, and the only reason Im giving this review two stars instead of one. This was a nice little pre-appetizer -- crunchy and tasty finger food. We ordered the escargot appetizer to share, and it was good, if not outstanding. Escargot, butter, garlic. The usual. At one point, prior to ordering our main course, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look and saw our waiter walking towards our table. Halfway across the dining room, we made eye contact, whereby he started calling out the evenings specials. Im like WTF?? He was basically talking *at* me, from five tables away as he walked towards us. Gee buddy, sorry to interrupt your lunch break. We both ordered the steak frites and some wine. When the steaks arrived, I knew things were going downhill. The "steaks" were thin, unseasoned, grisly, and overcooked. These steaks looked exactly like the kind of "steak" you get for $10 at a breakfast diner when you order steak-n-eggs. Woefully disappointing! No seasoning, no flair, no taste, really. There was a dollop of green-tinted butter of some sort floating around on top, and an obviously old Bearnaise sauce accompanying. (I mean, really? Old Bearnaise? Thats food poisoning waiting to happen. Any chef knows thats a bacteria festival if its not made and served fresh!!) How do I know it was old? Well, it had this kind of yellowy crust of oldness across the top. Easy to spot. This was made worse by the fact that the steaks were just barely warm. The frites? Ive had better at McDonalds. While they werent bad, they didnt pitch in and help out in any way! Overall, I would recommend, strongly, that you think twice before eating here. Again, check those OpenTable reviews. Maybe Brasserie Jo lost their chef, or are under new management -- I dont know. I do know that I could not have been more disappointed in a dinner, especially given the high ratings here, at OpenTable, and at Yelp. Poor service, poor food. Fail.

A

A Private User

My wife and I arrived for our Christmas day reservation at 5:00 p.m. No one was present at the desk of the maitre d, but in a few minutes one of the waiters took interest in us and asked if we had a reservation. I assured him I did and he began trying to find the reservation on the maitre ds computer. He seemed not to know how to accomplish that, but said he would seat us anyway. We were directed to our seats and handed a menu which clearly was not the correct menu for the day. After seven minutes, my wife and I had not yet seen a waiter, nor received the usual carrot appetizer and fresh bread. As we discussed whether to leave or make a ruckus, the same waiter (pleasant but giving the impression it was his first day) appeared at our table to take our orders. When I asked about the menu, he assured me it was the correct special menu for the day. There was no mention of either entree special on the menu, so I asked the waiter if the lemon sole was still available? I had earlier checked the menu for Christmas dinner on-line and thought the lemon sole sounded interesting. The waiter responded that that he wasnt aware of sole being available that day. Then, he said he would check, left and became involved in a rather intense conversation with the missing maitre d who had appeared at her post. We waited a few more minutes, left and drove to McCormicks and Schmicks where we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day meal graciously served. Despite our Christmas dining experience at Jos we ended up having a wonderful meal at McCormicks and Schmicks. Too bad, but we just had our last visit to Brasserie Jos on Huntington Ave. Our experience at Brasserie Jos confirms earlier experiences there. The place has lost any sense of management oversight and will soon lose dinners, as well. Too bad.

JE

Jeanette Broadard

My boyfriend and I went here yesterday (2/23/17), the restaurant was not busy when we arrived at 6pm. Our waiter Rich came to the table and he was very polite. Rich did not rush is at all. He was very patient and very attentive the entire time we were there. We started off with their table starters, horseradish glazed carrots, and fresh bread. Both were very delicious. I ordered a cocktail called Little reds martini, which was quite strong. Bourbon, fireball, orange juice. All I could taste was the bourbon. My boyfriend ordered a beer, stoneface brewing ipa. Which he liked. We ordered dinner, I ordered the porkchop, which red cabbage and potatoes which was reasonable at $26.00 My bf ordered their special beef tenderloin, roasted cauliflower & broccoli, croquettes for $38.00. When our meals arrived, the presentation was lovely. But the portion size of the need tenderloin compared to the price ($38.00) was not great. Six pieces of tenderlion, 4 pieces of cauliflower/broccoli, and 3 croquettes. I tasted the tenderlion, very flavorful. Two pieces of porkchop, red cabbage, and potatoes. The pork chop was very flavorful, red cabbage complimented the pork. I could have done without the potatoes. Which they were not bad, just did not go with the fish in my opinion. We had dessert, which was my favorite Creme brulee, I had no problem with that. Overall- restaurant was good, food was flavorful, just the prices were not coinciding with the portion of the dishes.

MA

Maddie Conway

I give this place three stars because I thought it was kind of a tourist trap. It was packed here the night before a Holiday Pops show- clearly a popular choice. Positives: The food was well-prepared and everyone liked their meal, and the menu offered something for everyone. Drawbacks: Our food took an hour to come out, and we were rushed through the end of the meal. We did not have our water refilled until we finished our food (I had to ask three times). The steak knife I was given was so dull it could barely cut through the meat- odd for what seemed like an otherwise meticulous place. Verdict: This is a perfectly good restaurant, but if you want good food (including but not limited to fine dining), there are so many other options nearby that are more creative and less crowded.