La Brasseria, Swansea

I don't understand why people rave about this place,I went on Saturday night for a friends birthday. We waited at out table approx 30 mins until our'turn'to go to the counter to order. At the counter we waited another 15 minutes until we were able to place our orders. The guy at the till gave people no time to look at the menu everyone at out table( 12 in all) felt rushed into making a selection. I ordered the Crispy Honeyed duck, it was awful tough and tastless, we were given 3 shallow plates of chips between 12 we were grudgingly given more when we asked, no one at my table really enjoyed their meal.If youenjoy a cold bottle of lager forget it, this place is too pretentious to serve lager its wine or spirits only. I can't say I was surprised as this was similar to previous times I've eaten here.I would suggest you try Bouchon de Rossi or the new Panty Gwydr restuarant if you want excellent food,a good ambience and fab service. You may realise the 'Brasse' leaves a lot to be desired.

La Brasseria is a well established and much frequented restaurant. The food we've had has always been fresh, well cooked and tasty. A word of warning however, avoid dining upstairs if large parties are in your vicinity!

Having previously always dined in the downstairs area we had no objections to being seated upstairs as it was very busy. How wrong we were!

We were shown to our table at the rear of the room, behind two long tables seating some 20 people each. One table proceeded to get rather 'merry' and continued their evening by chanting football songs (much to their hilarity but not to the amusement of other diners). The waiters made no effort to ask them to quieten their behaviour despite the obvious displeasur of the other customers.

The two solitary couples either side of our table left the restaurant promptly, a move that we attempted to replicate as soon as our food was eaten. Unfortunately it was impossible to attract the attention of the waiters to ask for our bill, they were clearly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that they tried to serve. Eventually we made our way to the bar and asked to pay so that we could end the evening that began so promisingly but became a farcical form of torture.

We will dine at La brasseria again but will NEVER attend on a weekend for fear that the 'chavs' are again in our vicinity, making a rather pricey night unbearable!

La Brasseria Swansea, Wales. Imagine some wacky American decided to build a European Pub out of plastic in the middle of Orlando to allow parents to get drunk while their kids consumed chips and coke until they vomited. Now take that vomit and leave it to dry on the table until it goes sticky. Remove the bright coloured cocktails, the zany and friendly waiting staff, beers, familys and fun, pick the building up and drop it in the middle of Swansea and welcome to La Brasseria!

This restaurant has an awful arrangement that makes no sense.

After being seated and served a drink you then go and queue to order your food from a butchers counter in the middle of the restaurant from a very stressed looking chap who's struggling as every single customer's order has to go through him. The open kitchen had 3 members of staff panicking as they tried to cook for a full-house. Meanwhile there were 15 front of house staff (I counted) stood, bored, awkwardly in the middle of the restaurant with nothing to do other than making customers feel very nervous as they had 2 waiters constantly circling the table watching them eat.

Despite the cheap, plastic looking, "family restaurant" interior, La Brasseria in Swansea still tries to be pretentious.

Having not been given a drinks menu I thought I'd be easy and just order a beer. I got a very arrogant, condescending waiter frown at me and with an impertinent tone inform me that they have Wales' largest wine selection. I said I'd never tried Welsh wine so that sounded great, he rolled his eyes. Still having not been presented with a wine list, one of our party ordered a Rioja (the waiter belittled her by bringing her a White Rioja when 99% of the UK are unaware there is such thing), another member of our party asked what white wine they had and was told Sweet, Medium or Dry... an extensive list indeed!

The entire food menu (posted on a blackboard above the "butchers counter") consisted of a choice of meat (or fish) with chips or jacket and an optional extra side salad. After a 20 minute queue for food I didn't really care what I ordered so the lack of choice didn't bother me.

The food arrived, a good tasting, well cooked steak, (the one thing Swansea's La Brasseria got right) sat lonely in the middle of an otherwise empty plate. A huge bowl (/bucket) of quite nice, traditional chips was placed in the middle of the table, I asked for ketchup. Wow, you would have thought I'd just asked for a hooker and a bag of coke the way the waiter looked and snarled "we do not and will not serve ketchup". I looked back puzzled, he went off and later returned with a large bowl of sweet, cheap salsa that had been passed around the whole restaurant. I picked the bits of the other customers half dunked chips out of the salsa and put a spoon on the side of my plate.

The manager interrupted our meal to ask if everything was ok. I said that the steak was nicely cooked but it is a shame that they don't have ketchup. He said "but we do, we have big boys ketchup" and reproduced the now moldy bowl of sugared salsa, "are you not a big boy?", he joked but for me it was quite an embarrassing and awkward situation to be in. Considering the amount of fuss I was making, I would have thought that one of the 15 waiters stood twiddling their thumbs could have nipped to the shop over the road and grabbed a bottle of Heinz. I asked why they wouldn't serve ketchup, "On Principle" was the answer. That is quite a statement when most top chefs are more than willing to look after their diners when such a simple request is made. My Sister worked with Gordon Ramsey for some time and yesterday she informed me that several dishes they produced at Maze London came with Ketchup on the plate as standard and yet their menu consisted of more than just Steak/Fish and Chips. So I am lost as to what "principles" this Swansea Restaurant is trying to adhere to.

As I was still eating my way through the vast, salty, dry, unketchuped tray of chips, the waiter started clearing the table. I couldn't be bothered to argue and ask him to not cleanup while I was still eating, I was just pleased that the whole ordeal had come to an end.

It just bemused me that somewhere that is trying to be somewhat up market:

-Had waiters in shirts that were made from such thin cotton that they looked like cheap school uniform,

-Made all customers queue for food,

-Didn't serve anything that I would really want to drink along side steak and chips (every Michelin Starred restaurant I've eaten at had a good range of beers)

-Had a choice of food that was basically a very slimed-down pub menu of similar quality

-Had staff with no manners

-Made me feel as though they thought they were better than me and that I was common and clueless, despite the fact that I have eaten in some of the best restaurants in the world and La Brasseria is effectively, a City Centre, Fast Food style / faux-American Steakhouse with a French accent.

The most tacky and misguided place I've ever had the misfortune of giving money to. I hope they close La Brasseria in Swansea down and replace it with something classier like a Burger King, then at least I can have ketchup with my chips.

we went here for out christmas party.We were told that we would be eating at 12.we arived just before only to be kept waiting in the frezing cold outside for around 20 minutes!We had to que up to the till to order food like it was a school canteenwe were finaly served adverage food around 2.30!!!I will not visit again.

For some reason there is an absence of any kind of beer on the drinks menu. I'm not sure what reason this is for other than the management turning their nose up to beer/lager drinkers. The steak was very nice along with the sides of chips. But the starters of Calameres and Garlic prawns were rubbery and bland.

This is not a chain run restaurant, the atmosphere is wonderful and we have always experienced excellent food and service over the years, plus a variety of wines and food combinations to make your mouth water. The oysters,prawns and scallops are delicious, but there is also a meat menu avaaible. The atmosphere is hard beat and lunch time menu offers vfm. Yes, they can be busy but it is worth the wait.

Ate here as a couple and after getting the hang of the ordering system enjoyed a fantastic meal. Fresh mackerel for starter and my first taste of ostrich for main left me full and very happy. My girlfriend had the duck which was delicious and cooked to perfection, also it could have fed a family on its own which meant the above average prices felt justified. We took the advice of the waiter on wine which turned out to be an excellent Sauvignon Blanc and reasonably priced at £16. Although we were in Swansea as a one off and may not have the chance to eat here again I would definitley encourage a visit as it was a different yet positive restaurant experience. Also we were not left waiting for our food despite it being a busy saturday evening.

I went here last night and this is the second and last time I will go here. Many of the party I went with had not been here before and did not know the format of ordering your meal. The staff did not explain the complex and lazy ordering system. The meal as a whole was quite tasty but very very overpriced. The wine was very overpriced as well - £13 for a house white. Dont go here unless you have remortgaged your house before going. You do feel very rushed, and the staff are not helpful at all. Only go here if you want to feel pretentious and above yourself. The only person who asked if everything was ok was the manager who had heard our comments about the staff. The staff should take a few manners lessons. On a final point, only go here if you enjoy drinking overpriced wine or water!!

It's not the first time my family and me or my colleagues go there and all the times we've been in La Braseria Swansea it has been a disappointment... Evenings over priced, starter + main course + house wine = 37 each!!, rushed by the manager and waiters just because our table was needed. We found out that the weight of the sea bass had been changed -real weight 486 grams against 575 grams we were charged- and paid a fortune for it. Moreover we've been told by some customers and a very nice waiter -at least the night we were in- that the prawns, crayfish (priced as gold), squids, sardines, white bait, chicken wings, mussels, oysters and other more dishes were not fresh....they were coming from the freezer while this restaurant advertises just 'fresh food'. Furthermore the staff is treated with shouts by the manager while the manager is most of the time either in front of the till or just with the card machine charging the tables.

Great restaurant, have had several good meals there. I would recommend the fish as it is always cooked beautifully, with them skinning and boning it at the table so it saves you the work. The wines there are a little more expensive than other places but they are good quality so that can be overlooked.