Serra - Summit

Incredible! Food is awesome, the staff is amazing. Coming back soon!

Warning be prepared to wait for your food. Apps came out fast but entrees took a lot longer than we had expected. Empanadas were good as were the bread and butter and olives provided to our table. Entrees were overall fine the picanha was the most solid steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned and were accompanied by tasty collard greens (slightly undercooked) and rice and beans. Best dish at the table by far Bacalao dish was ok as was my steak salad dish. Tomatoes and bell peppers were fresh but the mesclun mix wasn't the freshest unfortunately. Flan was flavorful but a bit hard/dense.

The quality of food preparation at this restaurant is poor. I have lived in Brazil for over 8 years and it is clear that they have little understanding of how dishes are supposed to be prepared. My cod dish was mostly cubes of potatoes and the salmon was dry, with the dish being overloaded with mashed potatoes and broccoli (cheap ingredients). All of our dishes were overpriced by at least 30%. The service was pleasant, but the food took close to an hour to arrive, despite us being one of only two tables in the restaurant. Unfortunately, it seems like this place will not survive much longer, which is a shame as Brazilian food is usually delicious.

The Pros: Friendly, helpful, courteous staff. Absolute gentlemen (Saturday afternoon shift). And I 'm sorry I have to write this review, because they did a great job. The Cons: Overpriced, poorly prepared food. Unacceptable. Salmon portion was small, partially burnt and impossibly dry (unacceptable in general, even moreso for $32). I chewed my way through it and washed it down as best I could. It ceased to be a pleasurable experience upon first sight (and especially first bite). The risotto that accompanied it was pretty good. A $10 order of empanadas gets you three (3) of them, and when you bite into them, you realize they 're empty of whatever you thought was in them (the cheese one was pretty much a fried hollow shell). Shocking. If someone were to tell me I was going to get robbed today, I would 've pictured getting held up at gunpoint, not getting shafted on some empanadas. An absolute insult. The best (aka worst) part of it all was the $16 sausage (yes, as in one sausage; singular). Like ... Who are you guys kidding? We had to laugh. At least throw two of them onto that flambé dish. Absolute robbery! Calamari was good, but--no surprise--overpriced for the small portion we received. Taking it all into consideration, a terrible meal, and I really regret having to say it, because the staff was excellent and the restaurant is spotless and comfortable. But it all was so expensive that I feel I have to. Two weeks ago we (same group) ate at a nearby BYOB restaurant and ate ten times better for about $40 less on final bill. I won 't name the restaurant, but the salmon entree alone was less expensive and double (no lie) what we got here, and delicious. It 's really not so much the food as the sense that we were taken advantage of. And frankly, given all the years we 've been going to Newark to eat Portuguese, we should 've known better, but that 's the risk you run when you try new spots. Hit or miss. When I think of Portuguese restaurants I think of their generous portions, excellent service, and perfectly prepared seafood. Here, with the exception of the great service, we got skimped on the good stuff, and charged for it anyway. No way, Jose. Again, my apologies to the waiters. They were excellent. Went above and beyond for us. But ... Next time, Ironbound.

I decided to try out Serra. Typically, when I'm craving Portuguese food, I head to the Ironbound, so I was excited to try this local spot in Summit. The restaurant was open for dining, but there weren't many people there, which made me a bit apprehensive. We started with the Octopus House Style, which was delicious. The only thing we didn't like was the addition of potatoes to the dish, which felt unnecessary for such a nutritious meal. We shared the Paella Marinheira, which was both huge and tasty. Every bite was a delight. There was a $5.00 sharing fee. We also got a flan to go, which my wife thoroughly enjoyed. The staff were friendly, and I hope they attract more business because the food was excellent. Parking is available in the lot or on the street, but it can be challenging to find a spot sometimes.