BRAVO! Italian Restaurant and Bar

When you decide on dinner at BRAVO!, it’s best to plan on spending the whole evening there. Not because the service is slow—far from it—but because the atmosphere is so welcoming and comfortable that the hours pass unnoticed.

“For me, service ranks right up there with food,” Mangia Bene COO and former service manager, Tanya Burns said. While she’s speaking, her eyes are constantly moving, scanning the dining room to spot any hiccups, glancing into the kitchen to check on progress, and taking notes every time a new customer walks in the door.

It’s clear that she expects perfection, but the relaxed body language and genuine smiles on her wait staff prove that she’s just as in tune with them as she is with the customers. The entire atmosphere, even where we sit in the often chaotic pickup area off the kitchen, is relaxed.

BRAVO!’s customers clearly appreciate it. The restaurant boasts a large number of loyal regulars who come in weekly, some even driving 2 or 3 hours to enjoy their favorite BRAVO! dishes.

“There are menu items that have been on the menu for 24 years,” Burns laughed. “We changed the tuna salad, and the blowback is considerable. If you’re going to change a dish, it had better be a vast improvement!”

BRAVO! has been a Jackson institution for 24 years, and with so many loyal regulars who’ve patronized the restaurant since day one it would be easy to assume that it caters mainly to an older clientele. That’s far from the truth, however. This year, BRAVO! launched a “Social Hour” as a way to provide a Happy Hour-style atmosphere for younger customers who tend to dine later. It’s become hugely popular—wander into the lounge or patio area from 8-10 pm and you’ll find yourself surrounded by crowd of young professionals—but even here Burns and her team manage to maintain the relaxed, easy-going atmosphere.

While the regulars enjoy their traditional entrees over a bottle of wine, it’s common to spot a table of friends ordering multiple small plates to pair with their craft cocktails, turning BRAVO!’s appetizer menu into a tapas-like experience.

It’s no wonder BRAVO! has survived the test of time to become one of Jackson’s oldest and most popular restaurants. With stellar service, outstanding traditional entrees, exciting specials, and one of the best wine and cocktails lists in town, they truly have something for everyone.

Pull up a chair, and stay a while.