Love the Piano Man
This is a charming traditional Italian restaurant. Veal Piccata, risotto, fresh seafood and the like are delicious, but in my opinion, the main attraction is the entertainment. The piano man sings old standards mixed with a few Italian songs. Very special.    [23 Nov 2003 20:26:13]

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     ­irishlass, www.theirishlass.blogspot.com   

Romantic? Are You Kidding?
My wife and I dined there last evening. It was the first opportunity we have had to do so since returning to Sacramento from Chicago, Washington and the Bay Area. We may have been spoiled by our Chicago experience, but Bravo was a major disappointment—one we don’t intend to repeat. Both of us come from families that owned and operated restaurants. So we understand how tough the business is, and if anything, tend to lean over backward to be understanding and forgiving. Our backgrounds make it all the more painful to watch a dying restaurant in action—which unfortunately is our diagnosis for Bravo. I would liken it to watching a fish flopping around on the floor, gasping for air.

We arrived on time for our reservation and were seated at a table that rocked badly on the uneven tile floor. We called this to the attention of whomever the short fellow is with short dark hair and the apron. Rather than apologizing for the problem, he rather aggressively asked who we were, how we managed to get seated there and whether we had a reservation. Eventually, one of the four or five different people who waited on us, ot tried to (there seemed to be a lot of confusion among your staff about who was to be doing what) fixed the problem. Next, someone wandered over to take our drink order. We weren’t quite ready to do that because we had not been given a wine list when we were seated. I wanted a cocktail; my wife wanted wine. So, while she went over the wine list to make her selection, I ordered a Bombay Sapphire up with a lemon twist (not a martini). What I was served was a martini glass half filled with warm Bombay gin and dry vermouth. It obviously had not been shaken with ice. In it was not a twist but a small lemon wedge with brown blotches on the skin. Not a very promising start. Next my wife and I ordered a bottle of Chianti Classico. The server delivered it to the party at the next table. They corrected him and he brought the bottle to us, proceeding to open it but not noticing that we did not have wine glasses. Fortunately, someone showed up with glasses and the wine was exquisite—the highlight of the evening, unfortunately. Meanwhile, we were served a basket of bread (day old would be my guess) and a small tray with butter, some tomato concoction that was not particularly flavorful, and a ripe olive spread. (No olive oil??) So, we ordered. We wanted to start by splitting a carpaccio appetizer. We each wanted the hearts of romaine salad with anchovies and gorgonzola (also quite excellent, by the way). I ordered the rigatoni and my wife ordered the sole. The server brought us the salad immediately—he had split one salad even though we had clearly told him we each wanted one. When I inquired about the carpaccio, he said it was on the way. It arrived after we’d finished our half salads, at which point he informed me he brought us the wrong wine—one that was more expensive—but that we would not be charged the additional amount. Then he brought the carpaccio we’d wanted split, but it wasn’t split. Finally, we received our entrees. My wife’s sole was wonderful, but the presentation was pitiful. Pieces of fish stacked on one side of the plate and some potatoes or whatever scattered around the other. Even I can do better than that. As for my rigatoni, I must tell you I thought the sausage was outstanding. But the sauce was watery (it might help if the chef allowed it to drain a few seconds after removing it from the water). Overall, I would rate the rigatoni at Olive Garden much higher. Then we decided we would try dessert and espresso. Oops. No espresso. (In an Italian restaurant?!) Only decaf coffee. So we had that. There was no dessert menu offered, just a brief verbal description of the few options: ice cream, tiramissou and flan. I had the flan. Forgettable. My wife ordered the tiramissou. It was absolutely the worst excuse for that classic dessert we have ever tasted. You’d do better to run down to Albertson’s and buy the Sara Lee frozen version.

The service? Disorganized! I kept wanting to ask people, “Have you ever done this before?” Not one of the servers had any personality.

Some additional feedback, which will “seal the deal” as to why we won’t be back. (No, we are not angling for a free meal; even if offered, we’d rather go to the place across the street—McDonald’s.) The décor “misses.” We've read the other reviews calling the place romantic. The reviewers must have been from Rio Linda. The chandeliers are ridiculous. We kept waiting for the aliens to come out of the mother ship. (They reminded us of the space ship in Star Wars.) The room is too brightly lit; try a few candles! (The “mother ship” chandeliers enabled us to see that the ceiling in the dining room is acoustical tile that had been spray painted. Tacky! The faux ceiling in the reception area is nice. Why didn’t they extend it into the dining room?)

The piano player was really quite good, but his musical selections did not quite match the atmosphere one would expect in a good Italian restaurant (unless Andrew Lloyd Weber is really Italian, because the best things your piano player played were from Cats and Phantom of the Opera).

Obviously, we were very disappointed. We live in the neighborhood and were looking forward to finding a good, nearby dining experience. Our suggestion to Bravo's owners: offer the space to Swanson’s. They DO know what they’re doing.    [16 Jan 2006 00:31:50]

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Recommended Dishes: Hearts of Romaine Salad

     ­Anonymous