Bruno's of Brooklyn, Italian Eatery — Restaurant in Fort Myers

Bruno's has been the talk of the town for some time now but it doesn't completely live up to the hype. The food is good, but waaay over-priced. It's pasta and sauce after all. I understand the pasta is made fresh and that takes time, but $50-$55 for a dish is too much when there are still flaws. I ordered the Fiocchi de Bianco and it was wonderful and reasonably priced at $25. The little purses filled with cheese and pear were delicious nestled in a creamy white sauce. Highly recommend! Another dish ordered at our table was the pasta with broccoli, add chicken, and olive oil. This dish was not great. The broccoli was raw, NOT el dente, and on the verge of going bad with brown spots all over it. The added chicken was over-salted, and there was no olive oil "sauce". It was dry. The bright spot was the homemade pasta, but it too would've been better had there been a sauce. Someone else ordered the veal chop. The portion on this was huge and worth the money. It was cooked and seasoned well and the accompanying pasta was perfect. I would recommend it. The black truffle and mushroom pasta is not worth the price. As someone who loves truffles, I was excited for this dish and it was a complete let down. The overall dish was fine, if you are not expecting truffle flavor, because there was none. The pasta and mushrooms were well cooked and seasoned, but there was no evidence of the truffle that made the price $55. We did sample a few appetizers and, again, the prices on some were crazy. We ordered the octopus for $30. When it came, it was two tentacles. It was cooked and seasoned well and we DID enjoy it, but when compared to a similar dish at another high end restaurant in town, it's very over- priced. The bone marrow, shrimp cocktail, and ravioli were all tasty and each portioned well for what they were. The limoncello cake was divine!! A perfect way to end the meal. If you were at the previous location, you know it was very small and crowded. At the new location it is still crowded. Once you are at your table, it's difficult to get up, if needed. Personally, I think it's the choice of chairs. They are comfortable and add to the aesthetic, but they are large and take up valuable space. This crowdedness then leads to it being a bit noisy, but not so much that you can't talk. Overall, it's a good restaurant with some bright spots when it comes to the food. I will return, but I'll be cautious when ordering the...

I really wanted to give this place a good review but last night was just an awful experience for us. The staff was really nice so I will absolutely give credit where credit is due. They accommodated us with our baby and that was awesome and everyone was friendly. The rest of the night just wasn’t up to par at all. The staff was nice but it either seemed that they were just all unorganized. There isn’t that many tables in the restaurant so when we sat down it was a solid 20 minutes before someone spoke to us. Got our drink orders and we squeezed in the appetizers as well. The appetizers came out and we ate them.

Every Italian restaurant claims they have the best meatballs and just like every other Italian restaurant they were ok. But it wasn’t until another 10 minutes after we finished our appetizers that the waitress came and took our main entree orders. So naturally we are waiting for over a half hour after eating for our entrees to come out and during this time we got overloaded with BUGS!!!!! just falling in our drinks and in our faces and all over the table, nonstop. A terrible experience on that alone.

Whether or not the bugs is there fault it just kills the experience all together. The food finally came out and it was just awful. The Alfredo pasta with shrimp had 4 pieces of shrimp in it and was completely watery. I mean it looked like soup. The rigatoni with sausage was dry as the desert. My $48 plate of pasta with shrimp and scallops had two scallops and three shrimps in it. So the food was atrocious for the prices.

If you think this is the end it’s not.

We asked for ToGo plates because the bugs got to bad. The bring us legit 6 bowls with the lids for us to do it ourselves which is ok. But the bus boy is legit standing next to the table waiting for us to pour the food in the container so he can take our plates. Naturally the second we put it down he takes it. So yeah my wife and daughter felt awkward the entire time.

Awful service from a restaurant that supposedly holds a higher standard and is legit right next door to The Verandah. Sub par food and awful ambiance.

Another restaurant that just gets away with being in a good area to give bad food and service at a high price.

Olive Garden is a better restaurant than this place and it hurts to say that.

We will...

Please take note of some of the reviews that you are reading. Most of the complaints are about the service and not the food itself. Granted, the service may be slower during peak times, but stop and think why. Any restaurant that serves food like this is bound to be busy. The food here is excellent and I will share my experiences with this establishment. I went one night for take-out and the place was packed. There were people standing outside waiting to get in. The food was excellent and I had to experience other dishes while eating at the restaurant. I decided to go at 1130 am for an early lunch and there were only two other patrons at this time. This gave me a perfect opportunity to experience the menu and offer a fair and accurate review. The menu has several options and the recipes are from the Southern region of Italy. Cal Bruno and his wife were both at the restaurant during my visit. Being a native New Yorker, I had the pleasure of speaking with them and learning about their history. Mr. Bruno cooked my meal after the prep work was initiated by one of his line cooks. From start to finish, the owners interacted with me and shared a lot about themselves. The food is absolutely phenomenal! Everything was hot and fresh when it was served. The ingredients as well as the preparation of the meal were within view the entire time. This couple really takes the time to ensure that you have a good experience as well as an excellent meal. I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion when it comes to a review, but take some of them at face value. Try this place earlier in the day and eat the food before you read or write a review. If you truly value a great meal, you will have the patience to deal with minor issues as some have previously complained about. Leaving one or two stars because you had to wait and didn't even eat the food creates an injustice for this restaurant. You have to give this restaurant a try and see it for yourself firsthand. Please note that this a fair and unbiased review and was written without any influence or coercion. I will eat here as often as I can and every time I visit the Lee County area. Hands down, and in my opinion, the absolute best location for Italian cuisine in...