Bravo! Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in West Chester Township

I used to work at this particular Bravo location years ago (around 2012), and when I worked there, the food quality was quite good, and the prices were reasonable for the quality. For example, in 2012, the Chicken Fra Diavolo was between $10 and $12 for the dinner portion, and consisted of freshly cooked pasta, a spicy tomato cream sauce that was smooth and flavorful, a freshly grilled boneless chicken breast that was cooked whole on the grill, then sliced and laid onto the cooked and sauced pasta. the only part of this dish made in advance was the sauce, which would be made the day of in the morning and chilled, then reheated in the pan to finish the cooked pasta when someone ordered. additionally, in 2012, the bread was always fresh and soft, constantly being baked. the place was always packed, even for lunch, and there would often be an hour wait for a table in the evening. when I walked in this past week, after not having been to this location since 2012, I was shocked. the place was empty, even though it was nearly 1:00 p.m. on a Thursday. There were only two parties seated, and both were groups of elderly folks that looked like they just came from a golf course - I soon discovered the reason that only senior citizens were dining at Bravo in West Chester. The dinner portion of the Diavolo was between $16 and $20 depending on your choice of chicken or shrimp in the entree, a significant increase. I noticed that there was a lunch deal, so I decided to try that instead, ordering the chicken diavolo lunch special with lobster bisque for $14. I began to snack on my bread, noting that it did not seem fresh. It was hard, and nearly impossible to break. I was only nibbling on my first piece of bread, when, to my shock and horror, my bisque and entree came out together, after only about 3 minutes. I placed my order, and 3 minutes later, my soup and pasta with cooked chicken was ready..? how do you cook chicken in 3 minutes? I soon found out. the bisque tasted fishy, and was oddly thin. it was also grainy, and poorly made. I couldn't eat it at all. it had the texture of thin grits. my pasta was even more shocking. the pasta was so, so gummy, and mushy. clearly, this pasta was very old. I looked at the open kitchen, and noticed that there was actually NO large pot on the stove to drop pasta in... in other words, they were not cooking pasta to order. at a pasta restaurant. this pasta was pre-cooked, probably the day before, in bulk, and kept in the walk in. the "spicy tomato cream" sauce was filled with cheese for some reason (the recipe does not call for cheese), and was extremely grainy due to the unmelted parmesan inside and was way too thick. it was also flavorless. there was no spiciness (from the roasted red pepper), or tomato flavor. clearly, they had made this sauce days ago, without following the recipe, and were trying to bulk up the amount they had left by throwing handfuls of grated parmesan into the cold sauce, instead of making more. the chicken was the most shocking part. it looked like it came out of a vacuum seal bag, and was probably the worst quality chicken I've ever seen. parts of it were grey in color - just big grey blobs of who knows what hanging on the ends of the pieces of boiled or maybe canned chicken. it was mixed into the pasta and sauce, not laid on top or grilled. in short, they had taken old pre-cooked pasta, thrown that and the flavorless grainy cold sauce into a skillet on the stove along with chicken out of a vacuum sealed pre-portioned bag and heated it on high heat for 3 minutes then served. they're charging almost $20(!) for this at dinner. obviously, I did not eat this food, and thankfully, my sweet server noticed that I had barely touched anything, and took it off my bill. no one is going to pay fine dining prices for quality way worse than Chik-fil-a. I would avoid this location if you want something better than old folks home...

A promotional mailer offering a couple bucks of savings prompted our last-minute dinner visit to Bravo! Italian Kitchen on a weeknight. From the moment we walked in, we were treated like royalty. Our server, Suzanne, was knowledgeable and provided expert suggestions while offering excellent customer service. Our bill came to $72.89 before discount and tip which included two soft drinks, one appetizer and two entrees.

The ambiance is definitely a star here, followed by the menu and value… Large comfortable booths and delightful smells wafting out of the visible kitchen. The menu is extensive and everyone should be able to find something to suit their needs and tastes. Hot and fresh bread was delivered to the table, although we could have used a refill during our meal. We started with the Crispy Mozz Ravioli for $11.99. Generous portion, but if “Mozz” is in the title, perhaps add a bit more cheese, please.

Dinner was the Insalata Della Casa (added to my entrée for $6.99) and was a good salad that featured crispy pasta (tiny slivers) and creamy Parmesan dressing (ask for extra on the side, as it barely moistened the salad). Dinner was a delicious $20.99 Chicken Marsala (and one of the tastiest I’ve ever sampled) however, the mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetable (green beans) were barely warm. The sides felt like they were plated first and waited for the chicken (it was definitely hot). I would have sent it back, but I was too hungry. The chicken portion was large (2 breasts) and covered with sauce and mushrooms.

My dinner partner enjoyed a huge slab of Lasagna for $19.99. It wasn’t fancy, drowned in sauce or packed tall with ingredients. However, it WAS packed with flavor. When you have a good quality presentation and recipe you don’t need all the other stuff. He thoroughly enjoyed his menu selection and said he would order it again. We both went home with leftovers!

Before you go, make sure to sign up with the E-Club (free) in order to take advantage of specials and savings. We used a $15 coupon which the amount was tipped back, plus some to our server extraordinaire, Suzanne. Highly...

This will sound like a schizophrenic review. After arriving on Friday night, happy hour, at 5:15, I found a table in the bar area. The bartender saw me but then went on to ignore me. After 10 minutes I got my water and was told he'd be with me in a minute. 10 minutes after that I went to the bar to ask for a drink. He was quite rude and exclaimed, "I told you I get to you!!" It took another 15 minutes before my drink arrived at my table. By this time two of my friends had joined me, the waitress started to walk away without even inquiring if they had a drink order as well. At this point I bet they're over half an hour. Just as a point of reference, there was five of us and we have avoided visiting for the last 2 years because of the horrible service. At this point we're looking at each other thinking we've made a huge mistake by coming back. That's when Jacob showed up. He was our server for the night and made all the difference! He was attentive without being overly so, remembered every drink and food order perfectly it was an absolute joy. For the record I did speak to the manager who apologized. It's hard to believe staff when they are under staffed. That blame then falls on poor management. I realize it's difficult to hire and keep good people, but I also realize it can be done if you treat them with respect and lead by example. For example, when is happy hour at the bar area is slammed, knowing there's only one bartender why would the manager not step in and help out until the second bartender started their shift? Will we be back? Probably, the food...