732 Social is so good.....

I can't decide if I wanna go to 732 or Seviche for my birthday next month. On the one hand I've never been to 732 and it sounds like an amazing time, but on the other hand I've had some of the best meals I've ever had at Seviche...

Anyways, 732 is at the top of my must try list. It looks awesome.

Adam: We just went to 732 for the first time. We had an ok meal, but imho it is not on the same level as Seviche. Seviche is truly tops in every way, from food to service. I personally would pick Seviche for a birthday celebration. Just my 2 cents.

I'd have to disagree generally with Benjamin, just based on my opinion. For the overall experience and the food, I'd probably give a slight nod towards Seviche, but 732 is certainly exceptional, in my opinion. They are just very different restaurants.

You've been to Seviche, you can always go back, so give 732 a try.

[Robin Garr]

I'd probably give a slight nod towards Seviche, but 732 is certainly exceptional, in my opinion. They are just very different restaurants.

Well said. Seviche is on top of its form these days, and it's one place where I keep going back even when I'm not reviewing. But 732 is excellent, too. It's one of the few places in town (along with Seviche and Mojito) where I refer visitors to give them a clue that this isn't just another country town. I would certainly not dismiss 732 as "just ok."

"OK"--from our perspective--was actually a fair rating from our experience.

First, the night we went 732 was hot. For the price we would like to be cooler than c. 75+ on a 90 degree day. Second, our first glasses of water were warm and had no ice. Third, the music was too loud and prevented the social part in the restaurant's name. It was hard to hear each other talk. We asked our server to turn it down, and it went down for maybe ten minutes, and then back up again. Third, the chicken costs $3 more than Seviche, isn't organic like Seviche, doesn't have a side serving of veggies and beans like Seviche (if you want more than chicken you can order things like the--I think--$11 potatoes--and so it's really more like $14 more than Seviche), and most importantly doesn't in my opinion taste as good as Seviche. 732's chicken had on top of it a burning piece of Rosemary. Burning. I assume it was intentional and trendy, but it didn't impress us much. The server made a joke about it scaring the witches away. It was a little funny, but we still had to scrape the ashes from off the top of our chicken. Finally, my son didn't entirely like the flavor of his steak, and felt it was rarer than his order of medium. But perhaps he was off base.

The cheese plate was excellent and elegant. The open kitchen is fun. The decor is nice. My ratatouille was quite good. There were definitely good things about the place.

Anyway, it was an OK meal for us. Service was good, but not exceptional. All the surface stuff was done, but frankly underneath there was a slight sarcasm to our service that everyone picked up on. Our kids are very well behaved, and were during the dinner, but perhaps the server felt we were not the right people to be in the place, esp. after I asked for the music to be turned down. I don't know. I still gave a good tip--20%, but my wife was not exactly a happy camper in the car on the way home. She feels "ok" is generous. I think it's about right. She always praises Seviche. She's picky, I agree. But I think it's acceptable for amateur restaurant reviews here to be picky, esp. for a place that is as pricey as 732.

Seviche costs a good deal, but it has always been exceptional for us (for dozens and dozens meals now) when it comes to food and service.You feel like you get every bit you pay for there, imho, in terms of an exceptional night of eating out.

Without a doubt I think it's fine for people who've had great experiences at 732 to say so. I think it's also fine for our family, when we had more of an OK experience, to say so as well.

[Robin Garr]

I think it's also fine for our family, when we had more of an OK experience, to say so as well.

Benjamin, it certainly is! I would only add that when your experience differs from that of many of us, it's helpful (although certainly not mandatory) to support it with the back story. Thanks for doing that. I have no further questions. (I would add, though, that when I reviewed 732, I loved the food but dinged them rather severely for ... being too noisy for normal humans to carry on a meaningful conversation.

Here's that review, which goes back to the early days when the Ton brothers were still involved. I probably ought to treat myself to a revisit since management has partially changed.
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/lets- ... t-hear-you

I think it's also fine for our family, when we had more of an OK experience, to say so as well.

Benjamin, it certainly is! I would only add that when your experience differs from that of many of us, it's helpful (although certainly not mandatory) to support it with the back story. Thanks for doing that. I have no further questions. (I would add, though, that when I reviewed 732, I loved the food but dinged them rather severely for ... being too noisy for normal humans to carry on a meaningful conversation.

Here's that review, which goes back to the early days when the Ton brothers were still involved. I probably ought to treat myself to a revisit since management has partially changed.
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/lets- ... t-hear-you

Fair enough. And when you go, take notice of the bread. It was also lackluster in the ratings of a whole family of bread lovers. We love the bread at De la Torres (maybe the best in town--esp with the aioli they give you--yum!), Uptown (2 kinds, both very good), Seviche (you need to ask for it, but it's wonderful and always given with a smile), etc.

The bread we had at 732 was like....Well, my wife said it was like undercooked cook your own bread from Kroger. Maybe that's a bit harsh, but from my perspective somewhat on target. Probably they were just having an off night.

But, on the positive side, the cheese plate at 732 was one of the best we've ever head. Generous slices of amazing bleu, nice slices of whatever the other one was, honey nuts, honey, and a relish that was delicious. There definitely were good things about 732! If you go order a drink and a cheese plate--you won't be sorry about that at all....And I'm sure there are other good things as well. As I said, we may just have experienced an off night.

For dozens and dozens of times, however, over several years now, we've always had great experiences at Seviche. I'm just amazed at how consistently excellent they are. At this point if we had an off night at Seviche, we'd go again, but given this was our first at 732, not so much...

Had to have dinner there again last night

Perfect from top to bottom as usual

Cotswold (cheddar with chives) & Humboldt Fog (goat with an ash line through the center) with the candied walnuts, honey, and apple/raspberry/strawberry relish
(i think the bread at 732 is great for the cheese plates because of its simplicity, it lets the cheese lead the flavors)
followed by the
Spinach & Arugula salad (which was a little spicier than we've had it before)
then
the Steak frites
&
Beignets for dessert

One of the few places that I eat until i am far more than full

I think it's also fine for our family, when we had more of an OK experience, to say so as well.

Benjamin, it certainly is! I would only add that when your experience differs from that of many of us, it's helpful (although certainly not mandatory) to support it with the back story. Thanks for doing that. I have no further questions. (I would add, though, that when I reviewed 732, I loved the food but dinged them rather severely for ... being too noisy for normal humans to carry on a meaningful conversation.

Here's that review, which goes back to the early days when the Ton brothers were still involved. I probably ought to treat myself to a revisit since management has partially changed.
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/lets- ... t-hear-you

Yes, the back story helps, and it sounds like your experience wasn't great. To be honest, I would never pick 732 as place for a family meal with children, or a place to have intimate conversation to catch up with old friends. It is loud, bustling, and crowded. It tends to be a place we go as part of a broader night on the town when we're in the mood for that kind of scene. I would guess that their regualr patrons, and probably the clientele they're aiming to draw, want that loud music. That being said, there's no excuse for it being hot inside, or for the water to be warm.

Like I said above, it's just a different restaurant than Seviche.

Thanks for all the information in this thread! If 732 is in fact that loud then it's definitely a no-go for my birthday; my dad hates background noise.

732 sounds good to me though.

Thanks for all the information in this thread! If 732 is in fact that loud then it's definitely a no-go for my birthday; my dad hates background noise.

732 sounds good to me though.

Yeah, if your dad hates background noise I would avoid it. To be honest, I've never noticed the music issue when we were there, but there are a lot of boisterous people crammed into a very small space, so regardless of music it's just loud from people talking. Personally, I didn't find it that much lounder than say, oh, Seviche on a crowded weekend night, but it is somewhat louder than your average packed restaurant.

Dined and drank at a nice spot Downtown Austin-very, very similar to 732 Social but more options-Parkside...we tasted lots since portions were small BUT delicious.