Christopher W.

Decided to try out Braven for an early Birthday Celebration in the ice district. The dining area was very nice with a warm and cozy feel. Brenda was our server for the evening and seemed a bit pushy at first even though when we arrived there were hardly any other diners in the restaurant. But by the time we decided what to order she calmed down a bit and let us relax. I had ordered a vodka espresso martini. It was very impressive with a thick creamy foam head and a nice chocolatey taste from the espresso. My wife had a margarita which was also pretty tasty but a bit messy with the amount of salt on the outside of the glass. For our entree I ordered the 8oz. Flatiron steak and the truffle fries. Steak was cooked to what I asked for and was seasoned perfectly. The truffle fries were good but Way too salty and I could not finish them which was disappointing for the amount of money we spent on them. Something Braven cooks needs to perfect. My wife ordered the Beef short ribs, which she loved and so did I. It was fantastic! We would definitely come back here and If you're craving a steak, you definitely need to try Braven.

Ian S.

The strip loin and flat iron were amazing. I got it at a medium and it was absolutely perfect. After it was served to me, the chefs came over to me and made sure I was pleased with how everything tasted (I was sitting at the bar). The waiter (Aaron) also always made sure my water was full which I really appreciated. The ambiance was incredible as well! Sitting at the bar, you can watch the chefs cook the steaks on the grill, super cool.

Rose W.

I came here recently to celebrate a special occasion. The place is a gorgeous place to take pictures since it is located inside the JW Marriott. They offer complimentary parking if you park in the parkade underground. Just go up to the restaurant after you parked to tell them your plate. Do not enter anything at the parking meter because it doesn't provide you a free option. For food, we tried: -New-York Striploin ($52)- the server said Braven was the only place in Edmonton with a hardwood fire grill for steaks. The steak was juicy and seasoned well. A bit pricey but pretty good. -Mezza pasta ($24)- pasta was made out of scratch and very yummy and fresh! Presentation kinda makes it look like Mac n Cheese though -Truffle Fries ($12)- Loved the truffle and cheese. Crispy and flavourful! Oliver's Carrot Cake ($15)- Not bad. It was moist and I liked the ice cream on the side. Nice presentation. There were some extra fees that we weren't aware of until the end. Such as $3 extra for peppercorn sauce and $8 for stilled water. Overall I had an enjoyable experience! Service was friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are on the higher end but food is good.

Kristin M.

We came here for our anniversary and had a lovely time. The service was very good, friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was stylish and upscale, but we had a booth so it also felt nice and private. The food was very good, delicious filet mignon and perfectly cooked broccolini. We ordered a bottle of the Bordeaux house wine, which was lovely and smooth. The highlight of the meal was the dessert, key lime pie with white chocolate and custard, just delicious! This place is very pricey and I'm not sure how much better they are than an average or even more upscale steak house, which is considerably cheaper. Not sure if we'd come back, just because of the prices, but we had a lovely time anyways.

Britt D.

Finally. I ended up booking reservations just in case it was super busy on a weekday. Which it was. So I recommend booking reservations to make sure you get to enjoy this beautiful restaurant. We had a few drinks and shared a caesar salad to start. I found it good but I'll admit it wasn't anything crazy. Good caesar that you would get at any steak house. We then got a tenderloin and striploin steak and a side of whipped potatoes. The tenderness of the tenderloin to the striploin is worlds of difference. Go for the tenderloin. It was perfectly cooked absolutely amazing. The broccolini and tomato sides of the steak I felt like could really use some extra seasoning to give it the punch it needed to match the flavour of the steak. They were kind of cold and just flavourless. I would order the tenderloin again in a heartbeat and the ambiance of the restaurant is incredible. It is definitely a must go.

Vilma R.

Located in the lobby of the JW Marriott hotel in Ice District, Braven did not disappoint! This restaurant was really popular so I would highly recommend a reservation here. The staff were amazing, so friendly so helpful and informative and attentive. I was so impressed with the service here, even the manager came over to ask us how our meals were. We decided to order a bunch of dishes and share them all so we could try many things. We ordered the cheesy cauliflower, beef brisket, wedge salad, a pasta dish with lamb, shrimp cocktail, and deep fried cheesecake for dessert. We were so impressed! The food was absolutely delicious, beautifully presented, full of fresh complex flavours and so much food we couldn't finish it all between 3 of us. The prices for a restaurant of this luxurious nature were very well priced. I felt it was an excellent value for our dollar especially if you want something more upscale but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. Our favourite dishes included the wedge salad, the pasta dish (which was a large portion), beef brisket, and the duchess cocktail! How can I forget about the cocktails?! They are really yummy here and I would definitely recommend the duchess cocktail if you want something tasty that looks fancy in a coupe glass. Overall highly recommend Braven for a special night out, celebration, or just to treat yourself to something out of the ordinary. Make a reservation and go! You might even see some Oilers players there! We did see Darnell Nurse and Gene Principe.

C. H.

We arrived in Edmonton and were craving steak for dinner. We booked this restaurant as there was reservations available. We were seated right away and menus dropped off. Our server got us water shortly afterwards. After looking over the menu, we ordered a number of items to share. We ordered the garlic and cheddar buns, smoked duck carpaccio, seasonal Canadian coastal oysters, mac and cheese, mafalda bolognese, AAA braised short ribs, bone-in striploin and banana split. Food took awhile to arrive. This is more of a restaurant to chill, chat and drink while you wait for the food to arrive. The garlic and cheese bun was pillowy soft with slices of garlic. We were surprised to find garlic slices, but it gave the buns that garlicky flavour. They could have served more maple butter on the side. The duck carpaccio has a strong smoky flavour. The oysters were from the east coast. I forgot which type, but we were able try two types of oysters. They were fresh and easy to eat. The house made pasta were tasty. The mac and cheese was super cheesy. The pasta was al dente. The mafalda bolognese was tasty as well and had a decent amount of meat. The short rib was tender. I did not understand why there was an onion ring, but the presentation was nice. The star of the meal was the strip loin. It was enough to feed two people. The meat was cooked medium rare as requested. Meat was tender and juicy. The mashed potato was buttery. The braised onion had a rosemary flavour. The broccolini was good. We finished off the meal with a banana split. It was also large enough to share amongst a couple people and was presented nicely with house made ice cream. Overall, it was a tasty and satisfying meal. I would consider this restaurant date night worthy or for special occasions because of the price point. There was street parking available nearby. Please remember to pay for the meter. The city staff were on top of ticketing people during the weekday evening. We saw the car parked behind us with a parking ticket.

Heather M.

Absolutely beautiful service! Classy moody dining room decor , we've dined here three times last year and have tried everything on the menu. The chicharones are awesome and the tomahawk steak was seared to perfection.

Kayla C.

I'm pretty surprised by some of the terrible things I'm reading in the other reviews; but here I am to give a glowing review... because last night was nothing short of amazing. Fiancé took me out to celebrate my birthday last night (a Saturday night). We came early for a 7:45 reservation, and were seated right away at a very intimate table in a more private back seating area. Our waitress, Hannah, oh my gosh. I hope her managers, and their managers, and their managers read this. That girl is a gem, she created such an elevated dining experience and I literally felt like royalty the whole evening. That girl knows what it means to create a customer experience, and it wasn't because it was a special event (she didn't find out it was my birthday until dessert time), but she just went all out to make the night feel special regardless, without prompting. She was very helpful with the menu, made suggestions for cocktails, and was very prompt with her service. It wasn't until we were leaving that we realized she was managing that whole back area herself. She's a brilliant server. Now on to the food... Fiancé loved his lamb, I had cod... everything was flavoured and plated beautifully. I will say that the cod was cooked a little less thoroughly than I normally enjoy so that's probably just me and a matter of my preference. The taste was very nice though. One of the slices of my cod, though was "jello-y" is the only way to describe it. I had to pass that piece to the fiancé... I have no idea what that was, but it was not appetizing and to save my experience I gave that piece to him. Not enough to knock a star off. Come dessert time, Hannah asked what we were up to this evening; and Shawn mentioned birthday, and Hannah said, "well the dessert is on us then". We had chosen the dessert platter, not cheap, at $22. We added that to her tip, because that was so kind. But the dessert platter was so cute and they wrote Happy Birthday on it.... Anyways... and here's where it gets really good. Shawn mentioned that we wanted to check out the speakeasy upstairs (Alchemy). Hannah told us that during covid on a weekend especially the reservations would be packed solid and it would be unlikely we would get to go in. She left for a short time while we were clearing the Bill, and brought her manager Michael. Michael introduced himself, and said he managed to get us a table at Alchemy and had come to escort us upstairs. Michael was so professional, treated us like very special guests, told us neat things about the hotel and the speakeasy on the way upstairs. He is very customer oriented, so I can see how he ended up managing such a trendy and elevated local spot. We were so happy to go, and everyone was just so kind and wanted to make sure we were having the best time. The last thing I'll mention in this rave review is that normally we go away to Mexico or somewhere for my Birthday. Obviously not possible, but for a night I felt like I was on a vacation, as this didn't feel like Edmonton. Hannah and Michael made our night; and I would absolutely like to return.

Denise B.

I was at Braven for a friends birthday dinner on a Saturday. There were 6 of us and we knew it would be quite busy however it took 1 hr before we received our drinks and 2 hrs before we received our food. When we did get our food, all was amazing, we all did enjoy our dishes immensely. Braven is quite a large restaurant and very open so it can be quite loud, we didn't mind it but some people may not like how echoey it was. Overall I personally am glad I got to try Braven out but I doubt I will be back as the price point is on the ridiculously high end (my dinner was 45$ and my glass of wine was 24$, these were on the low end of the menu lol) the service was good but not phenomenal and overall I think there are some better choices out there. I actually would give it 2.5/5 but it won't let me.

Jennie L.

So I went here for Downtown dining week, so I am just judging it by that meal alone. Inside it is beautiful. Oak furnishings and accents, high ceilings, elegant décor. It reminds me of a library in England. What I didn't like was the lack of space between tables and how small the tables were themselves. We couldn't keep the plates, our drinks, and look at the menu at the same time. For a fine dining experience you don't have to load them up like a barrel of fish. Looking at the menu, it is fairly pricey so this would be for a big date night. The Downtown Dining week was much more affordable for 20 bucks we got a soup and a main. Food wise, everything was excellent. I chose the Habitant Soup with mustard and apple. For a Main I went with the Penne Al Forno - rocket & broccoli pesto, fior di latte. My friend went with Grilled Albacore Caesar - crisp romaine, cucumber, crispy teriyaki shiitake, pickled ginger, wasabi peas, sesame ginger. Everything was delicious. The soup was flavourful and rich without being overpowering. My penne was fresh and my friend's salad was zippy. I think I would have enjoyed the salad more, but both were really good. Our server though was not. She brought us our Cesar's, and maybe filled up our glasses once but wasn't to be seen. I definitely could have used some water. And the restaurant was not that full. So here is the issue, looking at the reviews it has a solid 4 star level, but then reading the reviews, for the premium price people were generally disappointed with the food, the service, the space or a combination of all 3. So I thought that I would not give them an easy pass and be the first person to rate them with a 3. I probably won't go back unless something changes.

Daisy Y.

Was hoping for something a little more outstanding from a Marriott hotel restaurant, but this restaurant is nothing out of the ordinary. It's a nice restaurant located in a very nice hotel, but for the price point, you are expecting an exceptional meal. My friend, who loves her steak tartare, felt the one at Braven was bland. The skinny fries that came with the steak tartare were fabulous though; nice and salty, just the way I like it. Reminded me of McDonald fries, but for double the price. I had the foie gras french toast, which I wasn't totally a fan of mixing the sweet and savoury, and the piece of foie gras was a little on the stingy side. The tuna tartare that I also had was a bit on the bland side. The lobster and shrimp mac'n'cheese wasn't bad. Upon seeing the serving size, you're a bit disappointed, but it's actually pretty filling, or maybe I just found it filling because I had just split two appetizers. Either way, I finished the meal feeling quite satisfied. The dessert menu doesn't really offer anything extraordinary, although they do have a huge black forest sundae that is share sized for 4. (unfortunately, I could not convince my friends to partake) I split my meal with a friend, and we ended up paying a little over $40 each. My other friend ordered the set menu, and we all felt it was the best deal, although the entrees in the set menu didn't really appeal to me. She felt the crab, shrimp and haddock cake was the highlight of her meal. I found her dessert (the sticky toffee pudding) to be too sweet, and she found it very filling. Excellent service. Food came out at a good pace. To sum up: expensive, not really worth the price, but a nice spot to have get-togethers or to celebrate a special occasion. Two hours free parking is included, just let the hostess know that you've parked in the Stantech parkade. Free wifi.

Shabnam K.

My husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary @ the JW Marriott during the Sept long weekend. The JW is located in the new ICE District downtown Edmonton. Finding the entrance for parking was a little difficult. My husband had to park a distance and walk over to find out how to get to the valet. Once we did get there though the service was great. The valet drivers were very friendly and also helped us with our luggage. They insisted on taking it in for us. I haven't seen that service from the Fairmont even. We were happily impressed. We checked in and went to our beautiful room. We had booked reservations at Braven. We went down for our reservations and as we were heading over an employee came up to us and suggested a dish and wished us a great evening. We went to check in and they seated us immediately. The restaurant was very busy. After being seated our server came by to offer us anything to drink. Once we ordered we were very impressed with the everything we ordered. Serving sizes were great. I love tartares and this one was definitely at the top of my list. The pickled vegetables cut the richness of the meat and the egg. I do however wish they had more pieces of baguette for the amount of steak they give you. My husband ordered the soup and thought it was pretty tasty, very earthy.. the color leaves a little to be desired. We both ordered a flank state that was cooked to perfection, seasoned with salt and pepper, our sides of wild mushrooms and mashed potatoes were pretty average. The dessert was suggested by our server and it was mind blowing. perfectly creamy cheesecake and a well done phyllo cover. I would recommend this restaurant and hotel for your next special occasion.