Restaurant review -- Brunello Bistro

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

A bit outside of Davis Square, but I'm trying to talk this place up, and it's not that far of a trek, really. X-posted to my personal journal, edited slightly for reposting here. I had a really good experience here and I'd love to see this place succeed.

So my sweetie browngirl, our mutual friend WG, and I went to Brunello Bistro for dinner last night. It's located in Winter Hill, on Broadway, in the same shopping plaza with the Walgreens.

Cuisine is mostly Italian-influenced, with some American. Dishes are mostly familiar, but each dish has some good imagination thrown in to make it different from similar fare elsewhere. It's definitely not "same old, same old." Overall it's way better than what one would expect at this price point. I opted for the house salad, which came with a vinaigrette dressing. My entree was the cheese ravioli with red sauce. Both were superb. My dining companions gave high marks to the roast duck with risotto and to the lobster bisque as well.

Service was excellent without feeling intrusive. Given the lovely evening, we opted to sit outdoors, so I really can't comment much on the décor and ambience. They've done pretty well at insulating outdoor diners from traffic noise, considering the restaurant's location on Broadway, one of Somerville's most heavily-traveled streets.

The chef, Manuel, came out and chatted with us for a while when we were done with our meal.

The only downside to the restaurant is the location. It's in Winter Hill, well east of the expanding wave of gentrification in Somerville. Unfortunately the restaurant was empty aside from us and a couple of customers at the bar. Not a good sign. Manuel, the chef, had told us they were busier on Fridays and Saturdays. I do hope Brunello Bistro survives, because it certainly deserves to, given the quality of the food and the service. The upside is that it has plenty of parking, is on several major bus routes, and it's a longish walk from Sullivan Sq. T stop. It's certainly worth the shlep from Davis Sq., if you're so inclined.

Comments

Parking & Another great review

[cintyber.livejournal.com]

It has a lot of parking as well which stands out these days in Somerville. Along with being prepared perfectly their portions are great and the owner is a lovely Italian gentleman who came out to speak with my party at length. I give the 5 Stars.

Re: Parking & Another great review

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Italian? I thought the owners were Brazilian (which matches what others in the thread seem to have thought too...)

Re: Parking & Another great review

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

That was the restaurant that was there *before* Brunello's.

Re: Parking & Another great review

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

If you're referring to Bread and Company, it's the same owners, they just decided to try a different concept.

Re: Parking & Another great review

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Er...see thread below.

Re: Parking & Another great review

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

But it's the same ownership. They remodeled their restaurant, updated their menu, and then changed the name to Brunello's Bistro all as part trying to become a place folks would go for a nice dinner out.

(They were actually quite good as Bread & Co too, but obviously they are still struggling to attract business and get people to notice them.)

Re: Parking & Another great review

[cintyber.livejournal.com]

The gentleman in charge who came out to speak to us was an older Italian. We had a little discussion about Sicilian vs Mainland Italians. So not sure on what is right here it could be The Brazilian owners brought on a partner.

Re: Parking & Another great review

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

And the verdict regarding Sicilian vs Mainland Italians is?...

[georgy.livejournal.com]

They also do a decent brunch/breakfast. If you want your outdoor breakfast fix but don't want to wait at the Neighborhood, this will do in a pinch.

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Sounds lovely! I'll put this on my list to try for a nice dinner out sometime. :)

I see they've got some consistently good Yelp reviews (http://www.yelp.com/biz/brunello-bistro-somerville-2) as well--I'd recommend adding yours to the list there, too, to help them out!

[ron_newman]

This used to be a Bickford's, and then a restaurant called Bread & Co. -- guess it got sold again.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Not quite - the owners changed its name from Bread & Co. to Brunello Bistro, and updated the exterior facade to go along with the name change.

[ron_newman]

Wasn't Bread & Co. Brazilian, and this is Italian?

[davelew.livejournal.com]

The two are not necessarily exclusive; just as there is a large Italian-American community, there are large communities of descendants of Italian immigrants in many other countries, including Brazil. I've heard figures as high as 1/3 of people of European ancestry in Brazil consider themselves Italian-Brazilian.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, if you're referring to the cuisine focus. However, it's the same ownership and I assume they identify with both culinary traditions?

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately the extent of my experience with Brazilian cuisine is about nil, so I can't answer that one.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

I found some numbers. The three nations with the most descendants of the Italian diaspora are:

Brazil with 25 million Italian-Brazilians (15% of the population)
Argentina with 20 million Italian-Argentinians (50% of the population)
The USA with 18 million Italian-Americans (6% of the population)

Anyway, it shouldn't be surprising that the same people are involved with both Brazilian and Italian culture or cuisine.

[thenelenasays.livejournal.com]

according to yelp, it's still the same folks from bread and co.

http://www.breadandcompanybistro.com/

looks tasty!

Great meal there Friday Night

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

Second/Third/Whatever all of the good reviews. I'm so glad to see this here! We were there Friday night around 7:00 and it's wasn't overwhelmingly busy. I've been thinking about posting something about them all weekend because the food was *delicious* and I really want them to make it.

We had fried calamari with cherry peppers, rosemary chicken pasta, and mushroom ravioli in a demi-glace sauce. All of them were wonderful, but the rosemary chicken pasta was amazing and crave-able. They put it over gnocchi for me instead of pasta and the gnocchi were obviously totally homemade. You could see the pinch marks where they had been rolled. The chef also sent out a complimentary starter of mussels in a white wine sauce, which I thought was a really nice touch.

Other good things: There were a lot of good options on the wine list in the $30/bottle area, which is really reasonable and seems right for the area and type of restaurant. There were lots of vegetarian options on the menu. The dessert tray looked very tempting. They have a nice fireplace which would be great and cozy in the winter and a cute patio for summer. They have parking. And, they sent us off with a $5 off our next meal coupon attached to our receipt.

I'm really not sure what else we could have asked for. We'll be back, for sure.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Thanks for such a detailed review! I've been meaning to go there and try the new incarnation.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I had such a good experience here I felt other people should know about it, and I wanted to encourage people to travel from Davis since it's a bit off the beaten path.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I don't consider it to be within reasonable walking distance from Sullivan Sq. Longer than just 'longish.'

[tlaad.livejournal.com]

Walking distances are tricky--I live in Winter Hill on the Davis side of Brunello Bistro, and walk to Sullivan square frequently. I consider it just short of "longish." Meh.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

I agree. I also live on the Davis side of Brunello Bistro and walk to Sullivan Square frequently, and I also consider from Sullivan to Brunello Bistro (or even my apartment) just short of longish.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

I'm sure its faster to take the 89 bus anyway, assuming you're coming from Davis.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

It's about a mile from Sullivan Square, 20-25 minutes walking including a steep hill.

[geekchik.livejournal.com]

I've been there several times for breakfast and it is consistently delicious! I especially enjoyed the Eggs Benedict and their mimosa. The service is great!

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Eggs Benedict and mimosas...mmmmmmmm.....

[exsplusohs.livejournal.com]

Yes! Their Eggs Benedict is 100% awesome, especially with the hash!

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

For those who like taking the busses, the 89 bus stops extremely close to the restaurant and leaves right out of Davis.

[ratheripped.livejournal.com]

As someone who lives literally a block away from this restaurant I don't think the location is so bad :-p. I was there a few weeks ago and hung out at the bar - anchor steam on tap?! I'm sold! It's really a lovely place and the service and food are wonderful. I tried their flatbread pizza - absolutely delicious.

It does seem like a fish out of water but there's really not much by way of anything nicer than hole-in-the-wall pizza/burrito joints at this neck of the woods. I haven't been for brunch but I might check it out since I can never get a table at sound bites/ball square cafe on the weekend.

My main issue though are their food prices. I mean for the quality you're not getting ripped off, but I wish they had more stripped down offerings. Maybe some cheaper lunch options to get more regular customers? A lot of people in this area of Somerville aren't really the type that are going to throw down 20+/per person a meal on a regular basis. For me it's a "special occasion" type of place...there's a reason why we live on Winter Hill and not smack dab in the middle of Davis.

[floormaster.livejournal.com]

FYI, I considered trying this place a while ago for lunch and did not bother because of the prices. It is an odd pricing strategy even if it is good. I would be happy to try it (and drinks sound like a great option) but at those prices I am not sure if I even want to like it.