270 Rele St. – Lane Parke
(205) 747-0013
locandabrasato.com
Birmingham has no shortage of Italian restaurants, but Locanda Brasato is taking a slower approach.
Opened in Lane Parke by the team behind downtown favorite Lé Fresca, the restaurant leans into handmade pastas, traditional techniques, seasonal ingredients and the kind of personal service that makes dinner feel less transactional and more like someone actually wants you there.
“Locanda Brasato is about the kind of Italian food that takes time to make and is worth the wait, food that feels personal and unexpected. It’s a place where Marco and I can bring all the things we love about Italian cooking and hospitality to the table in a new way.”
Chef Duaine Clements
Opened last winter in Lane Parke where Post Office Pies used to be is Locanda Brasato, an authentic Italian restaurant started by the crew who owns Lé Fresca downtown.
If you’ve been to Lé Fresca downtown, you’ll notice the similarities, but the menus aren’t directly reflected. Both do share a personal, more casual approach to service and vibe.
Having owner Marco Butturini personally attend to your needs downtown, and owner Duaine Clements personally attend to your needs in Lane Parke, is refreshingly common. Both are great guys.
Locanda Brasato is open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner.
In Italian, locanda is a gathering place, and brasato is a slow-braised beef dish. Their motto is live fast, eat slow.
All of their pasta, stocks, dough and sauces are made by hand. So even the heavier dishes don’t seem too heavy. They have “authentic Italian techniques that have stood the test of time,” says Duaine.
The menu is somewhat seasonal and looks to source local, in-season ingredients.
The Food & Drink
We started with a Vermentino Olianas ’24, which was great and a decent price at $11, and the Prosciutto di Parma ($22) with watercress, olive oil and bonny melon.
The bonny is a small, softball-sized Southeast Asian melon that tastes similar to a pear. It was so simple and so light, a perfect summer dish.
Next was the shareable Heirloom Tomato Pizza ($19) with pecorino, saba and cured sheep’s milk cheese. Very similar to their downtown pizzas, but we were told they’re different than Lé Fresca’s, but served the same.
Not sure what that really means, but it did come with chili oil instead of chili flakes.
It was good, although it was tough for the Napoli crust to hold up with the water of the fresh tomatoes.
Carbonara can be done super heavy or super light. The Roman way is as simple as it gets, with only pasta, pepper, eggs, cheese and guanciale, or cured pork jowl.
The Italian-American way is heavier, adding cream, butter, garlic and more meat.
Not that the Italian-American way is bad, but Brasato keeps it traditional with fresh-made pasta and a McEwen & Sons local egg cured in brine.
It ($28) was great, but wonder if other less adventurous eaters might be scared off by the raw egg yolk.
The Ricotta Cavatelli ($28), served with fresh corn, cherry tomatoes and Calabrian chili, was a light and seasonal dish. We added shrimp, which added to the ticket price, but it was worth it.
Like all of their dishes, they’re served to share.
One of their most popular antipasti dishes is the Veal Meatballs ($19) with McEwen & Sons polenta and rosemary. The veal demi-glace is not overpowering and lets all the ingredients shine.
For dessert was the Strawberry Tiramisu ($13), which was layered perfectly with a custard base and biscotti that kept it from getting soggy like too many tiramisus can be.
The Atmosphere
Like its downtown sister, Brasato is warm, elevated and lively with predominantly dark walls and hardscapes.
Service is never stuffy and always personal without being inattentive.
Situated in Lane Parke, the outside traffic helps give the spot more energy.
The Parking
Unlike downtown, it’s not a problem.
Lane Parke, however, does have a good problem for them to have when the customers outnumber their parking spots. Parking can be sparse and you may not be as close as you’d like.
But it’s in Mountain Brook, so there’s no concern for safety.
The Bottom Line
Authentic Italian fare with a focus on slow methods, traditional approaches and local and seasonal ingredients.
Not too light, not too heavy, with a laid-back but lively atmosphere.
If you already love what the Lé Fresca team does downtown, Locanda Brasato gives you a familiar philosophy with a different menu and a Mountain Brook address. If you haven’t been to either, this is a good excuse to start.
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