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Leña Brava

4.1 (714 reviews)
Open • 11:30 am - 10:00 pm
Updated 1 week ago

Leña Brava Photos

LEÑA BRAVA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Trendy
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Leña Brava

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Laquanda ..

So the drinks were amazing. Really loved the cocktail and the service. We sent the cauliflower back because instead of what we expected for roasted there was more of a boiled feeling, and the seasoning wasn't really there. A nice Friday evening light dinner so overall enjoyable . I'd have drinks again but maybe not dinner

Guacamole & Chips
Clarissa H.

Leña Brava is such a cute restaurant to escape the winter cold! The staff were so kind and provided some good recommendations. If you're pescatarian, there are a lot of options. But for vegetarians, the only main dish option was cauliflower. There were a few side options and smaller plates. I was still able to fill up, but in general, unless they get more creative with their vegetarian dishes then this won't become a staple for me. My favorite was the roasted beet dip. It was so rich and creamy! And the guac was also so good. They were able to do the potatoes without bacon, and it was good but a bit too salty for me. The cauliflower was disappointing. I think you have to loooove cauliflower to want to eat that much of it. The salsa macha on top was yummy but not enough to make it a stunning main dish. The flan was SO good! I was so full at the end but I'll always have room for flan!

Menu
Sana K.

Super cute hot spot!! Intimate lighting and ambiance. There's an upstairs section as well. Very cute. Delicious food and drinks.

lamb birria
Emily C.

I was blown away by this restaurant. The upstairs seating area was such a cute atmosphere and the food was seriously amazing. Our eyes were a little bigger than our stomachs (oopsies) and we ordered the guac, roasted veggies in salsa verde, fried plantains, crispy quesadillas, lamb birria, short rib, and chicken. Honestly zero complaints. Amazing flavors and very attentive/kind waitstaff. Would def recommend this place to anyone, it is perfect for a ~fancier~ celebration meal!

Meghan B.

Great Vibe! Good music, friendly staff, big screen TV's for sports. Great chips and Salsa. Salad was huge but lots of croutons in it. Pork nachos were wonderful with a warm salsa verde poured over the dish. Quesadillas were good, as you'd expect a quesadilla to be. Drinks are very good and they were giving out generous samples of their new beer! Look forward to coming again.

Claudy C.

Service was amazing. Our waitress was super nice and kept checking in on us. My party and I shared plates. My favorite was the steak fries and the plantains. Everything else was salty to me. Especially the scallops and the octopus. Overall tasty corn and short rib. The cookie skillet was also very good.

Denyce M.

Better late than never. This was one of our Restaurant Week 2025 selections and I was excited about the menu they had to offer. Due to the weather we were running about 5 min behind, so I dropped The Doctor and The Queen off to get our table. After I parked and walked in to find my folks sitting at a table that looked like a two top, set up for three people, squeezed in next to our table, AND our table was next to a door that servers kept coming back and forth through. There was no way I was going to sit here for a meal. Our server came over to take our drink order and I immediately told her that we needed to be moved. After about 5-7 min, the manager came over to see what the problem was and I told him that I did not want to have a meal next to a swinging door and wanted to be moved. He claim that they were full, but somehow found a nice four top table on the second floor. Once we got settled, we did have a nice meal. Because it was Restaurant Week, we decided to each order different items so we could sample it. We got all three starters: Salsa Macha Ceviche (lime marinated sea bass, smashed cucumber, ginger, avocado, orange, sesame, toasted chiles, cilantro), Wood-oven Empanadas (cochinita pibil, habanero crema, pickled onions) and Charred Shishitos with jalapeño crema. All three of these were very nice. The ceviche was fresh, with the ginger and cilantro giving it an interesting flavor. The wood-oven Empanadas were delish...the cochinita pibil was very nice and the pickled onions worked well with them. The Charred Shishitos were nicely charred and flavorful. I didn't do any of the crema because they had jalapeño and habanero in them. For dinner I got the Parrillada Mexicana (grilled skirt steak, grilled chicken skewer, fontina queso fundido, short rib tostada, lime, roasted chile, salsa roja, tortillas), The Queen got the Baja Mariscada (fire-roasted shrimp, p.e.i. mussels, half Maine lobster, butter, lemongrass infused white wine, lime zest, herbs) and The Doctor got the Fire-roasted Cauliflower (salsa macha, toasted almonds). The Parrillada Mexicana was well done. Don't get me wrong, the steak and chicken were great, but that fontina queso fundido was awesome. The short rib tostada, I had a problem with....it was too tasty to be served that small! It was a bite size serving and was so good! The Queen's Baja Mariscada was impressive. The lobster was nicely prepared and that shrimp was also good. Didn't try The Doctor's dish because I am not a fan of cauliflower, but he said it was quite tasty. Dessert was Rompope Flan (vanilla custard, Mexican eggnog, charred orange, nutmeg). The Doctor and Queen said this was quite tasty, but I am not a fan of the texture of flan, so I got mine to go so they could have it the next day. I will say the presentation was quite pretty. Overall, we had a good meal once we got moved to a new table. This could have easily been a 3 star review based on the initial seating arrangements, but with the new table, our server as well as the woman in the lovely white knit dress and matching boots who brought over my bottle of bubbles made it a much more enjoyable evening.

Nadia C.

WOW! Is all I can say. This spot is fantastic. I was so impressed with the menu and location is in a perfect fun part of town. I was really impressed with the smokiness and char flavor that came with every dish. We split a few small plates as our meal. The lobster tacos and empanada were delicious. And the corn side dish was such a nice surprise. I will be dreaming about the cookie skillet dessert with salted caramel ice cream - just incredible! I recommend this spot for dinner for anyone in the area

Jenny T.

A cute place for lunch but I wouldn't go out of my way to come back. Our party got the ceviche to start and the pork carnitas and ribeye steak sandwiches. Although the place raved about the hand formed pan de campo I found the inside of it black and burnt and the ribeye filling very little despite the massive size of the entree. So from the presentation it looks great but inside not so much in terms of quality. One of my friends also didn't feel well from the ceviche so I would caution on ordering it. Staff was super nice but the attention to food during dinner is probably better than lunch here. Very easy to get a table for lunch as well, we were only one of three groups.

Restaurant Week!
Yosef M.

Lena Brava is a restaurant that we have walked by numerous times due to the location being on Randolph Street. We've been to the sister restaurant, Cruz Blanca next door and we knew we had to check this spot out. With Lena Brava being on the restaurant week list this was our chance to try. We went for lunch and it was delicious. From the restaurant we menu my girlfriend ordered the meatballs which were delicious. They came with a piece of bread, and then the main course was the steak frites. The only caveat that my girlfriend mentioned was the fact that the steak was a little bit on the greasy side it was sitting in like a small pool of grease, but it was very tasty. Nonetheless, the fries were really good too. The dessert honestly was the star real the real star of the show. The ice cream was made of a stout made by Cruz Blanca and had cookie prices that were so yummy. I got the Salmon Tostadas and it was Baja Fish & Frites. And it was delicious and it was a very small restaurant was smaller than I expected actually. Also, the service a little bit slow the service was a tad bit slow however, the food was good and it was worth the restaurant we price

Can't remember
Erin C.

Last night, some friends and I ate at Lena brava and it was pretty good. The server was very attentive and the ambience is very chill. You can definitely have dinner with friends family even some kids. There's a huge patio and upstairs bar and seating area which is great downstairs was very hot so that was a challenge. The restrooms were small as they only had two stalls but we're tidy we had the empanadas and tacos for small plates. Both very very delicious and the entrées included the pork chop and the braised short rib. The pork chop was a little dry and tough, not really flavorful, but presented nicely. The brave short rib over cauliflower was amazing. I also had a cocktail with pineapple cream and coconut. Very good.

Nolan F.

Restaurant Week review Parrillada Mexicana - grilled skirt steak, grilled chicken skewer, fontina queso fundido, short rib tostada, lime, roasted chile, salsa roja, tortillas Rompope Flan - vanilla custard, mexican eggnog, charred orange, nutmeg Salsa Macha Ceviche - lime marinated sea bass, smashed cucumber, ginger, avocado, orange, sesame, toasted chiles, cilantro Flavor of the lime marinade was good but the fish's flavor is completely gone and the ratio is 90/10, cucumber/ fish & avocado. We got plenty of tortillas. The Parrillada of steak and chicken thigh was cooked to good tenderness but needed more seasoning. Cheese was good, salty and sweet. Overall, made for good tacos. Short rib tostada was a perfect bite. Flan was rich and creamy, perfect consistency. Loud atmosphere, tables packed close together, and less than ideal speed of service but not terrible.

Wood-Fired Chicken (whole)
Roxy H.

Excellent food. Dined here for NYE 2024 and for a friends birthday. We tried the paella, roasted chicken and the steak. So delicious! Every bite. All of the food was perfectly seasoned. New Years Eve, they sent our girls complimentary dessert with sparklers. It was so cute and festive. The sangria was delicious, nice and stiff. Highly recommend.

Shrimp taco

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2 months ago

Beautiful inside, great food, but a little pricey. Also they add the restaurant surcharge, but will remove if you ask

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6 months ago

Really tasty meat deliciousfoods are very amazing place to eat try it out you won't regret it

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Leña Brava Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Leña Brava

Is this more of a dressy or casual spot?

Generally business casual. This spot is in between topolo and frontera in terms of vibe and price point so dress accordingly.

What is the usual attire/dress?

If you're familiar with the other Rick Bayless restaurants, I'd say not as dressed-up as Topolo, but not as dressed-down as Frontera can be. So for the men, blazers aren't required, but I wouldn't go to Lena Brava in shorts either. "The nicer side… 

Will Lena Brava take reservations?

Yep they do but plan ahead! It's tough to get them at the last minute

View All 6 Questions

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Leña Brava - mexican - Updated November 2026

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