Like the other Vanilla venues around town, Vanilla Brasserie is a case of love at first sight. It has easily attracted a fashionable young crowd with its chic ambiance and tasteful vintage décor. Lately it has become so popular that walk-in customers often have to leave a phone number with the staff and wait 20 minutes or more to get a table. Unfortunately, Vanilla Brasserie isn’t worth the wait and the romance is over before the main course arrives. The drink menu includes some interesting items such as cherry cola (cola with cherry syrup) and cranberry soda, but the food menu offers typical, sometimes boring salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes. Smooth and creamy, the warm pumpkin soup is true comfort food. Spaghetti with salami, rocket and cheese also hits the high notes, with al dente pasta and a generous portion of salami. But the crepe with ham, bacon, cheese and spinach, though generously stuffed, suffered from too much salt. Even the ketchup couldn’t help combat the level of saltiness. We managed to eat only half of it before giving up. The jacket potato with cheese and bacon was an even bigger disappointment: the outer part of the potato soaked up too much of the accompanying salad’s balsamic vinaigrette dressing, while the inside was bland and tasteless. The unremarkable food becomes a small matter compared to the service. The staff is friendly but not very knowledgeable and they struggle to answer questions and bring starters before the main course. When we complained about the slow service, one waiter freaked out and just ran away. Vanilla Brasserie’s saving grace is that its atmosphere helps diners to forget about the taste of the food and the service. Those with a sweet tooth will be happy to see that the restaurant offers many sinful desserts such as molten chocolate cake with ice cream. Our verdict—stick to the desserts.
