Brassica in Upper Arlington — Restaurant in Upper Arlington

I ate an absolutely delicious meal yesterday [11-14-2019] at Brassica [Upper Arlington].

There had been several logistical issues that had made my visit there rather difficult to navigate but I want to talk first about my delicious meal.

I ordered Chicken [slow roasted chicken shawarma with aromatics and warm spices]. That sandwich may have been one of the most delicious and most-filling chicken shawarma sandwiches that I have ever eaten.

The cashier, realizing that yesterday had been my first visit to Brassica [Upper Arlington], offered me a free drink. I usually drink only water with my meals but decided, since my drink that day had been free, to drink some of their absolutely-delicious "Minty Pink Lemonade."

I now want to talk about the several logistical issues that I had encountered during my recent visit to Brassica [Upper Arlington].

The ordering area had been way too dark and had been extremely complicated for a person with limited vision to navigate. The surface of the floor kept changing randomly from a black rug to a black hard floor so it had been impossible for me to know what to expect when making my next step.

All of the servers in the serving line had been speaking very quickly and very quietly and had not enunciated clearly enough for me to be able to understand that they had been saying.

When I had reached the area where additional ingredients could be added to my sandwich, the printed signs naming each potential additional ingredient had been light brown text against a dark brown background [remember that the lighting level in the serving area had been too low] and therefore had been extremely difficult for me to read.

And as I had previously said, the servers had been speaking in a way that had been extremely difficult for me to understand.

I did eventually figure out that one of the potential additional ingredients had been hummus [my server at that moment did pronounce clearly, when speaking those words [at my request] for a second time, "hummus or baba ghanoush" [thankfully I am already familiar with Middle Eastern food] so I had been able to make that choice.

I was able to see – and did order -- what I believe had been "cauliflower with jalapeño" and "blackened or crispy onions."

I had carefully studied the entire website before arriving at Brassica [Upper Arlington] but those potential additional ingredients had not been listed there.

The final logistical issue of my visit yesterday had been that my table had been too close to my chair and that I had not been able to push the table back to give me sufficient room to sit normally. For that reason, I had had to sit several inches away from the corner of my table -- at a 45° angle -- and then lean forward at a sharp angle in order to be able to eat my food without dripping any of it onto my clothing.

But I do want to say that, all of these logistics aside, my food at Brassica [Upper Arlington] had been worth the effort because it had been...

Brassica is one of my favorite restaurants in Columbus! Having said this, they have some opportunities.

1. 90% of the time I visit I have to wait for falafel. I get that they want it to be fresh but at 12p - 1p you’d think that they’d make enough for the expected lunch rush. There were two others waiting for falafel besides me (wait time ~ 5 mins). This has been the case at both Lane Ave & Easton sites.

2. Why does the salad cost $3 more than the sandwich? I can tell you from +10 visits that it’s not because you get a larger portion size with the salad. Seems like they are taking advantage of those customers that order salads (which I’ve noticed is the majority of people). Oh - kale and cabbage is more expensive - probably, but I get the same portion size with my sandwich.

3. During my visit today I got a sandwich. After waiting +5 mins for the falafel to be ready, they began making my sandwich. When it was clear that the sandwich would be overflowing (see picture) I asked if I could get the last three items on the side. I was told, “we’ll do it this time, but we normally can’t”. What? So - you don’t mind inconveniencing the customer to get their food and then it seems like the right decision to explain company policy when the customer asks for a side cup? BTW - no, “I’m sorry you had to wait so long to get your food”. Only, “we’ll do it this time…”. I sometimes think folks have lost their minds.

4. The portion size is inconsistent. It seems they worry more about the artistic creation of the food than giving the same portion visit to visit. Chipotle has this same problem - improved training would address this

Will I continue to come to Brassica? YES - the food is great! They just need to figure out a few details to make it a better experience for...

Ordering online/curbside is a joke.

I order from here regularly, and the food is always great. BUT, ordering online from here is a waste of time. I've always arrived, waited for my order after arrival up to 10-15 mins. Even when they say my order will be ready at X time, I arrive at or slightly after that time and it takes another 10-15 mins.

Recently I went into the store rather than wait in my car b/c their curbside logistics are pretty bad (no one comes outside or is checking, and you end up needing to call to get them to come out. which they don't tell you).

Found out they don't start cooking your order till you arrive (esp with the Falafel and Fries). Which is terrible service, I get wanting those items to be hot, but if thats your take, cook them 5 mins before you tell me to arrive, if I'm late to pickup thats my own fault.

If your not going to cook my items till I arrive I might as well just go in and order to go. It literally defeats the purpose of curbside pick up if you aren't making the food till...