When I was fresh out of high school, my buddies and I would go out to dinner on the Vic Park café strip – usually at Bella Rosa, Christina’s, Sebastian’s or any other cheap n cheerful Italian restaurant we could find. In the 15 years since, I’ve graduated from that kind of Italian and without wanting to sound like a total food snob *cringe* I do want more from my restaurants these days. For me, Bravo’s ticks all the boxes. An inviting, modern dining room. Friendly service – our waiter was a hoot and very helpful. And food that’s about QUALITY over quantity.
On this night, my old high school mates were getting together for a girls dinner – most of us enjoying a quiet night out away from our kids (and partners!). Bravo’s is a busy restaurant and hugely popular, so it has a very lively and loud atmosphere. Hearing someone at the other end of the table was difficult.
We decided to bypass filling entrées and go straight to mains…
Myl enjoyed a Pescatora Plate ($42.50). The whopping plate was brimming with tender salt and pepper calamari, grilled barramundi, sizzling garlic prawns, bread and a side salad. It was expensive, but Myl justified the extra cost, as she’s no longer drinking wine, since she has a baby on the way 🙂 🙂
I absolutely adored my pork belly dish ($38.50) The confit pork belly was so tender I hardly even needed a knife. The spinach was fresh and the mash potato wonderfully creamy. It was finished with a maple butter, apple and my favourite – perfectly crispy crackling! Fab dish.
Ren had the Fettuchine marinara ($29.50). She enjoyed the dish – commenting there was a BIG kick of chilli and the napoletana sauce was really tasty. There could have been a bit more of the locally sourced seafood in the dish though.
Alysia had the BBQ pollo pizza ($25.50). It was topped with chicken, bacon, mushroom, red onion, mozzarella and bbq sauce and smelled very tasty!
Sure some of the dishes might be on the pricy side, but when it’s good food, I don’t begrudge paying a little extra. I think there’s enough range on the menu to cover all budgets. The general consensus was that we all enjoyed our first trip to Bravo’s and that another girls dinner is on the cards soon.
*Bravo’s is also in the 2014/15 entertainment book*