A guy in our office gets teased about the chain restaurant he likes. No matter how much flak we give him, he takes the abuse like a man; he likes the food there, and that’s that.
It was high time for us to check out one of our many Little Rock chain restaurants. I suggested Bravo! Cucina Italiana in the Promenade shopping center in the heart of Chenal. I’ve eaten at YaYa’s and Big Orange, and both were good. Sitting outside at Big Orange, I was curious about the covered patio that belongs to Bravo! and decided to check it out.
Two friends accompanied me for this weeknight outing. I told them we had to sit on the gorgeous indoor/outdoor patio, but when I got a glimpse of the dining room and the open kitchen, I was hooked on high ceilings and white table linens topped with white paper. It felt Italian to me.
Our waiter should be the trainer of all waiters. He was so smooth. Since this was our first time, it took us a while to decide. He didn’t push. Two of us finally chose Sartori pinot grigio from Verona, Italy, by the bottle; and the other guest chose Grayson Cellars cabernet from California. We would have loved to peruse the wine list, but we were too busy figuring out what we wanted to eat.
The waiter suggested Crispy Shrimp Napoli, which was fried with green onions, savory lemon butter and charred tomato Napoli sauce. Secretly, I was afraid it would be greasy, but it wasn’t. In fact I could make a meal of it. Charred tomato is my new fave.
Our choices from soup and salad made me ashamed. A Caesar Classico for $3.99? How good could it be? It was so delicious and just the right size. The waiter asked if I would like anchovies added on my Caesar. I should have hugged him. The other salad eater loved the Insalata Della Casa of chopped greens (very cold and crisp, just like we like it), cucumber, tomato, bacon and crispy pasta with Parmesan dressing. Instead of a salad, our third diner chose Italian wedding soup, which brought up memories of Italian dishes eaten when living in Philadelphia, which made him choose Mama’s Lasagna Bolognese as his main dish.
The rest of us wanted fish. I chose Frutti Di Mare, linguine tossed with shrimp, mussels, clams and bay scallops in a spicy tomato white wine sauce with pesto bread crumbs. It was just perfect. Last diner chose grilled tilapia with crab served with veggies of the day.
We were almost too full to have dessert, so we ordered only three: Torta Di Cioccolata, a rich chocolate cake with a warm center and a vanilla bean gelato; light and flavorful tiramisu; and a warm berry cake with ripe berries topped with vanilla bean gelato.
Our consensus was we would be back for more, like soon. You can have Bravo! to go, too! To order online go to BravoItalian.com.
Bravo! Cucina Italiana pastas, salads, seafood
HOURS: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri. & Sat.
ADDRESS: 17809 Chenal Parkway, in the Promenade at Chenal
CONTACT: 821-2485, www.BravoItalian.com