Brassica at Easton Town Center — Restaurant in Columbus

Sigh. Let me just say: I want to like Brassica. I really do. But they make it hard when every time I go there something gets messed up. Today was just one of many meals turned to disappointment. I went in, and as I’m sure you know if you’ve ever tried to order the falafel, they were out and had to make more. I don’t understand what their system is and why they think they should only be keeping 10 pieces in the dinky little serving bowl, but it’s not cutting it. If I’m being generous, perhaps it’s because they want to make sure it’s fresh and can’t figure out a way to serve more than 3 customers who want one of their most popular items in what’s supposed to be a fast food place? Perhaps it’s because they committed to an aesthetic that’s trying to be both industrial and rustic and those wooden bowls are doing a lot of heavy lifting. Either case, the one thing brassica is consistent in is being out of falafel. And let me just say, my issue with them always being out of falafel is NOT that I have to wait longer for my food because I don’t care about that. My issue is that because they have a weird problem with putting the other toppings on before the falafel, they always mess up my order. Today, I ordered the carrots and eggplant and they would not put those into the bowl before the falafel. Guess what I opened my bowl to when I got home? Yeah, no carrots or eggplant to be found. And I haven’t even gotten into the issues they have with giving you the toppings you order either. I’m vegetarian, so my options are to go with the falafel, or to get a veggie bowl. When I don’t want to take the gamble of seeing whatever it is I will end up with after waiting for falafel, I have just gotten a veggie bowl a couple of times. They seem to have a major issue with those who DARE to get the six veggie options they carry. God forbid you want the three cold vegetables and the three warm vegetables because the employees may as well be under threat of being shot if they give you more than two pieces of eggplant. Luckily I have not experienced an up charge for this but I’ve heard that some even get an added fee for the crime of not eating meat and therefor using the veggies to have some substance to your meal. Last time I went to the upper arlington location, the employee, upon seeing I got the 6 veggies told the person working at the register, “here comes a loadeddddd veggie bowl.” Smh. I have had issues with all of their locations but since the Easton one is the most recent offender this review is going under that one. Anyways, if brassica ever figures out their issues...

I previously worked here so I just want to explain the menu and a little about us. Brassica is named after a family of vegetables called brassicas which is primarily cabbages and kale. We are open every day from 11am to 10pm. We do not serve breakfast/brunch. Everything is made fresh daily and of very high quality. We serve sandwiches made with fresh pita, salads with a base of lentils and rice and topped with our greens mixture of napa cabbage and kale. We dress the greens with olive oil, salt and lemon juice. We also have hummus/baba plates and a kids plate option. Baba is similar to hummus but instead of being made with chickpeas it is made with roasted eggplant so it is more smokey. Drinks include Boylan soda (no pepsi or coke products), fresh made iced tea, minty pink lemonade, nitro cold brew coffee, a minty pink latte, beers on tap, wine by bottles and glasses, and our house made margarita made with a base of our lemonade and top self spirits. For the food options we have falafal, chicken and brisket. All vegetables and sauces are complementary and included with your sandwhich or salad. The veggies include cabbage, cucumbers, sweet beets, spicy (not really spicy, just spiced), califlower and jalapenos (again not really spicy because it is fried), spicy carrots , and marinated eggplant (this is the spiciest but not very spicy). Our sauces include special (yogurt, garlic, and fresh herbs [not vegan]) and vegan options of tahini dressing (Sesame butter, garlic, and herbs), roasted pepper( pureed red peppers[it is not spicy, more smokey sweet]), and Z'hug (pronounced zoo-guh, which is a jalapeno cilantro pesto). If you prefer a hummus or baba plate it includes a pita but protein and veggies will cost extra. Kids plates come with a pita and you can choose to get hummus or baba and top with falafal, chicken or brisket, and from there you can either get french fries or rice and lentils with a choice of 2 vegetables. We also serve vegan chocolate chip tahini cookies and french fries that are seasoned with sumac and paprika. Price of sandwhich/salad is determined by your choice of protien, and salads are an extra $2.50 because they hold more vegetables...

Copy/pasting from my review of Northstar because Northstar and Brassica have the same owners and there seems to be a systematic issue with their online ordering process.

I ordered hummus, pita, fries, and a tahini cookie carryout from Brassica through the online system. I got there after the pickup time and still had to wait about 5 minutes, and when I got home, realized they had not given me my tahini cookie. I called and they said they'd refund it. Great.

My issue here isn't with any interactions I had with the cashier/waiters, but clearly there's an issue with the online ordering process/fulfillment.

I placed a separate order for my dad from Northstar at 7:15 to be picked up at 7:45. I got there at 7:37 and after getting most of my order together, they informed me that they had no peanut butter cookies left. They offered to refund me the price of the cookie or substitute. I ended up waiting an extra half hour because 80% of why my dad likes this place (I personally think the food is mediocre and overpriced) is the peanut butter cookies.

Again, my experience with the cashier and workers was fine. But why would the online system let me order the cookie in the first place if they were out? They had a half hour to either contact me about the cookie or put in a new batch, but instead I had to get there and wait an extra half hour for my order to be completed. They weren't even busy when I was there, so not sure what the issue was.

Brassica and Northstar at Easton, along with a few other restaurants around Columbus are owned by the same people, which makes me think issues with ordering and fulfillment are systematic. They don't let you order online, and it seems like there's no one checking to ensure that online orders 1) can be fulfilled, and 2) are fulfilled correctly.

Ultimately, I should've double checked my Brassica order, and I'm not out any money, but I am out valuable time and just have a generally lower impression of the service provided at this slate of...