Azul Viva brunch - walk away stuffed and happy

I've alway thought of Azul Viva as a night place serving tapas and the lighting would be too dark for brunch, when you want either outdoor seating or lots of skylights. I finally went there last Sat. and boy, the food more than made up for the lack of lighting! This is place that's determined to feed even the biggest eaters. For $120 or $150RMB, you can choose 2 or 3 courses from their extensive brunch menu. Included in the set, you get juice, sangria, or mimosa, AND coffee/tea, as well as a scone AND a muffin; you're half full before the dishes even arrive. For appetizers, we got the Italian antipasti plate and the spinach salad, which were both very tasty. The antipasti was $80 and the only appetizer that you need to pay an additional $15 for. For main dish, we had a veal steak and fries (also for $15 extra), smoked chicken sandwich, and the "best scramble you'll ever have." The pleasant surprise was the medium-cooked steak, which was tender and juicy. I have stopped ordering steaks at brunches because they are usually rubbery. Simple salt and pepper flavoring was all that the meat needed. The scramble came with spinach, asparagus, and baked tomato and was indeed pretty good, but I had little stomach space left frow chowing down the muffin/scone/bread that came with the antipasti. The ciabatta for the chicken sandwich was a bit too crumbly and could be a bit more chewy. We finished the meal with a rice pudding, in which the rice was slightly undercooked, but the vanilla/cinnamon flavoring was superb.

Many restaurants start off serving nice food but then deteriorate as the original chefs get replaced with apprentices and service get sloppy (this tend to happen when the owners open their 2nd/3rd locations). Kudos to Azul Viva as one of the older establishments for upholding quality. I'll definitely be coming back more often.

See other cafes and restaurants nearby.