Brando's Citi Cucina — Restaurant in Asbury Park

Atmosphere was pretty nice at first. It sort of felt like a clash as the experience carried on because its supposed to be a nice restaurant but they have big TVs with sports on at the bar. They also seated us underneath an old AC unit in the wall and there was some small pieces of dust falling down during the meal. Some candles would have been nice.

We sat at the bar as we were early for our reservation. I ordered an old fashioned which is a very simple classic cocktail. On the menu it says it is made with simple syrup, however when I watched him make the drink he just used a packet of white sugar. This makes the drink sweet at the bottom instead of the flavor being balanced throughout the drink. The old fashion was also made with the glass full of small ice cubes instead of a large ice cube. If you know then you know that this causes the drink to become watery quite quickly. However I asked him to remove the ice when it became diluted and he quickly took care of my request.

When we were moved from the bar to our reserved table. They seated us underneath an old AC unit in the wall and there was some small pieces of dust falling down during the meal. Not a huge deal but not something I expect from what is supposed to be a nice restaurant. We waited quite some time to put our order in. In the meantime they brought us some bread with oil, olive pate, and ricotta cheese. The bread was a bit stale but the spreads were great. It took a pretty long time to put our order in and he offered to bring us more bread which I thought was a nice gesture. However he comes back 10 minutes later and tells us they are out of bread.

How are you "out of bread" at an Italian restaurant at 9PM? Bread is really easy to make and they are literally making pizza in a wood stove 50 feet away from me. Most places would at least offer an alternative.

For our meals my guest and I shared Bolognese pasta and the stuffed veal chop.

Both were delicious! The Veal chop was sweet however which was unexpected and difficult to pair with a drink without knowing that ahead of time. The pasta was not home made which is just something you would expect from a place that is supposed to be a nice Italian restaurant.

Overall it was a pleasant experience and this place has a lot of potential that could be fixed with a little bit of extra care to detail and ambition.

At the very least use big ice cubes and simple syrup in classic cocktails and put a few candles around the place.

I wouldn't go out of my way to go here again but if someone invited me to go there I wouldn't necessarily persuade them to choose...

I’ve lived in the surrounding area over 10 years, always hearing about how amazing Brando’s was. I finally tried it yesterday and everyone was right, the food was incredible! At first, our bartender (Dolan, name on my receipt) was very nice and answered any question we had about the food. Apparently at one time this bartender had a bad night and was throwing glasses around, being aggressive. I only know that from overhearing customers around me. When I received my bill, I paid with a Debit card because using a Credit card meant I had to pay a 3.5% fee. When I had to sign and leave a tip, I noticed there was a $6.30 fee attached to the original total. When I asked the bartender about why the credit card fee was added to my debit card, immediately he got defensive, and his demeanor changed. “You used a card” I said, it was a debit card, you charged a credit card fee to my debit? “It has a visa logo” But it’s a debit card. Then I said ok no problem, can you cancel the transaction and I will pay cash? He said, I can’t cancel the transaction. Now, i’ve been in retail and involved in food service for my entire life. I know for a fact there is always a way to cancel a transaction. No sale is really ever final. Anyway, he comes over, grabs the receipt, visibly angry and says, “how much is the fee? I’ll take it out of my pocket” Mind you, this isn’t really about the $6.30. It’s the fact that restaurants are charging a fee on debit cards which is illegal. When you’re using your debit card, the money is coming out from your bank account immediately. Not the case when using a credit card. Then the bartender comes back and puts the six dollars on the bar and says I want my customers to be happy. I understand that he was frustrated and angry but if you wanted to make a point then he should’ve given me the $.30 as well. I left the $6 and gave him over a 20% tip because that’s who I am. However, if this place is going to illegally charge your debit cards and keep the service fee for themselves, I will never come back to this place, and I will let my family and friends know as well. Thank for reading, I hope they can start doing the right thing and hire people who know how to give good...

I recently had a the worst customer experience at Brando's, primarily due to the mishandling of a lost credit card and the nasty gentleman bartender. While I understand that mistakes happen, it was the lack of proper response and professionalism that left me scratching my head.

Upon waiting for my credit card to be returned after paying for cocktails at the bar, I patiently observed the bartender's search on the floors for about 15- 20 minutes. When I inquired, is there an issue? the response was nonchalant, " I lost your credit card" with no reassurance that they would locate the card. After 30-35 minutes of inconvenience, the so-called "manager" approached us with a dismissive attitude, stating that they can't find the card and asked " how do we want to handle paying the bill" "do you want to pay with another credit card or cash" .... Serioulsy, my response should have been " when you find my card, use it to pay the bill"!!!

What sent us over the edge was the absence of any type apology or acknowledgment of the inconvenience caused. Even when dealing with the repercussions of having to cancel the credit card, the staff was like oh well. The gentleman bartender, in particular, displayed rude and condescending behavior, which unfortunately seems to be a recurring theme based on my previous experiences at this establishment and common feedback from others.

A simple gesture, such as taking our name and number with a promise to contact us if the card was found, would have been appreciated. However, the staff's apparent disregard for basic customer service etiquette is alarming, especially for a place that prides itself on providing a "dining experience."

To add to the frustration, my credit card was never recovered, forcing me to cancel it immediately. This, in turn, resulted in the inconvenience of updating all associated accounts the following morning. A simple apology for the entire ordeal would have gone a long way, but unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found.

I hope that this feedback prompts a reconsideration of the establishment's approach to handling such situations...