Where Time Stands Still: Bravo Italian Restaurant

Editor’s Note: Where Time Stands Still is a new Frolic series that celebrates Hawai‘i’s longstanding and beloved eateries. These places comfort us because they are the same as they always were, serving up favorite foods and dishes that we love, generation after generation.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Everyone talks about Anna Miller’s and her overflowing hotcakes, fresh strawberry pies and babydoll uniforms. While time certainly stands still there, I’m here to root for her neighbor on the ground floor, Bravo Italian Restaurant, a place I’ve dined at my entire life.

SEE ALSO: Tings You Nevah Know About da Last Anna Miller’s on Earth

First, you’re not coming here for a gourmet experience. For more than 30 years, my family has relied upon Bravo’s hearty portions and comfy casual setting to get through the day and then some with leftovers. If we weren’t going out to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory in town, Bravo Italian Restaurant was pretty much the next option.

My mom worked at House of Adler in Pearlridge Phase 2 in the early ’90s,  and I’d often accompany her. Beyond having the best time using her keys to unlock the cases, we’d lunch at Bravo. We’d sit in a booth by the window looking out at the parking lot with light fixtures resembling a wide-brimmed women’s hat. A basket of hot garlic rolls would hit the table before we had a chance to look over the menu. Not that we needed to: Mom always ordered a bowl of minestrone soup, and I’d have a rigatoni with meat sauce from the kids’ menu, coated with a shower of parmesan cheese.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Our lunch tradition continued as I grew and my appetite kept pace. I graduated to the lunch special lasagna and Caesar salad duo, which came in two bowls on a single wood platter and, at the time, it was only $12.95. Today, it’s $17.95.

When we made it a family affair, with Dad and my sister joining us, the ordering dynamics changed. For the table, Dad would order a basket of French fries with a “bucket of tartar sauce.” Our favorite waitress Wendy would bring us a salad bowl of tartar sauce for dipping—a bit much, but it made my late father so happy to have a well of sauce.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Both Mom and Dad would order their own platters of the pesto linguine with shrimp and scallops ($27.99). Mom wouldn’t finish hers, so Dad would tackle her leftovers. Dad also liked the mahi sandwich (extra tartar sauce) and the Bravo burger on the rare occasion he wasn’t in the mood for pasta. My sister would sometimes share Mom’s plate, or she would copy my order. We’d fight for the last garlic roll, even if we knew more were on the way.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

My choice: the baked rigatoni ($20.99), which always arrived sizzling from the broiler with a crust of mozzarella and parmesan cheese oozing over the sides. Under the cheesy blanket, tomato-based mushroom and meat sauce covered a mound of rigatoni pasta. Sometimes, I’d eat the whole thing in one sitting. Half is more than enough to satisfy me now.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Rarely would we deviate, which is funny considering Bravo’s extensive menu. The same could be said about our go-to orders at The Old Spaghetti Factory, but at the end of the day, aren’t they the same ingredients hashed out in a multitude of ways? It doesn’t matter. There’s something about having your favorite dish in your favorite seat that provides comfort at any age.

When Mom worked as a regional manager for a retail vendor in the military exchanges, she’d host her annual holiday party in Bravo’s private dining room. Imagine a room full of stylish women representing brands like Chanel, Coach, Victoria’s Secret and more, playing games and drinking on an open tab. Let’s just say they had fun, while I was there for the food.

SEE ALSO: This is the new Old Spaghetti Factory

Stepping into the sunny atrium is such a contrast to the dark red dining room accented by neon signs listing takeout, cappuccino, pizzeria, fresh pasta and rotisserie. As a kid, I always wondered if they ever used the hanging dry pasta in the kitchen. Were the tomato sauce cans and jars of olives real? And did they make fresh desserts on the display table every day or were they just fake?

None of this matters. I only hope Bravo stays the same as I remember it from childhood, a place where time stands still.

Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., 98-115 Kaonohi St., (808) 487-5544, bravorestaurant.com, @bravohawaii

Read more from this series:

Where Time Stands Still: Maguro-Ya