Bravissimo Café and Pizzeria

I’ve been going to Bravissimo’s almost daily for years. This is definitely one of the best pizza in LA hands down. This is from someone that moved here from NYC and pizza is a passion. You will not be disappointed! They also have recently begun selling a gourmet hamburger that if you have a little extra time to wait is also absolutely delicious!

Gonna chime in here as I saw that they plan to re-​open June 1^st. I am pretty shocked at all the negative reviews here but I do see that most of them are the result of the service, not the food. I always got pizza delivered from Bravo so I didn’t have those problems although I did find that sometimes they simply didn’t answer their phone. I asked why the next time I got through and they said they were too busy.
But pizza-​wise I found it to be the best in Santa Monica that is delivered. I have been falling back to Santa Monica Pizza Kitchen since Bravo closed and have tried Joe’s but neither can compare. Bravo pizza crust is chewy and thin but not too thin and they struck on just the right flavor combination for the cheese and sauce. The toppings I have ordered (pepperoni, mushroom and olive) have been excellent also.
I was pretty bummed when they closed and happy to see they plan to re-​open but I am a little concerned from a review below that ‘new ownership’ changed the pizza recipe for the worse. I have my fingers crossed that this is not the case. The pizza I described was from last summer (2013.)
My 4 stars would be a 5 if the pizza returns as the same as I ordered and likely sub 4 if not. The rating is for delivery only but I hope they revamp their personnel and improve the service in case I want to eat there.
ps– what is the difference between Bravo and Bravissimo. I always called them Bravo.

Notice how the «good» reviews are ALL 5 stars???
Dear owner: when you are posting FAKE reviews… use 3 or 4 stars… it’s more realistic.
This place is utter junk… maybe someone who owns a pizza slice joint will one day realize that…
:Young, irritating students who don’t care
:bad fake oven pizza
: expensive
Is a BAD idea and you will go out of business.
Stay away from this place.

I didn’t even get a chance to eat here. My company uses Seamless to order food and we had to get a refund on a large order because no one confirmed the order at the restaurant.
I don’t want to hear that it was an error in online ordering. I called 5 times and tried to get someone on the phone myself to see about our order. All I got was a recording telling me to enter in an extension number. When that failed I tried pressing 00 like the recording told me but that didn’t work either. The recording came back on the phone to tell me that there was no one to take my call and to call back. Seamless also tried to get in contact with no resolution.
My employees didn’t get any food when they were looking forward to having a meal after having to work overtime. I will not be tempting fate and trying this place.

gotta say, I used to love this place, but it has def gone downhill with new owners. Most recently went in and the pizza tasted horrible. Def a different sauce/​recipe than previous times. I never understand why people buy a successful restaurant and then change the very thing that worked for the old owners, specifically recipes.
Oh well… moving on…

The owner was so very friendly and gave us a round of canolis for free. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fantastic. Will definitely come back!

Peter,
Why are you citing online error when I called in my orders for delivery?
Additionally, I called this evening to give your establishment another try. All calls rang and rang. No one picks up.
Are you even open for business?
It still says you accept credit cards, deliver and are open until 10pm.

‘Bravissimo Pizza’ is certainly not Bravo, the pizza is good (by LA standards) but this was the latest episode; stopped in with 3 drunk guys at 10:00PM. I watched as each and everyone was was overcharged. Only after speaking up and demanding a printed menu showing the prices did a $ 5 plain slice get reduced.
I am convinced the young new guy was pocketing cash or working on some type of commission. You need to not frequent a place that rips off locales and tourists alike.

So after my review, instead of spending the time to improve the service, someone created a brand new account, wrote a 5-​star review, defended all the uncaring employees there, and left me a nasty «compliment».
Lucky, we have Unilocal’s review filtering system for hiding this phony review!
You are not fooling any Unilocalers here! Why not at least try to improve the food and service?

I’ve been coming to this spot for almost 8 years, the name changed and they added some delicious new food but the people are cool, the atmosphere is great and the eats are LOVE, no doubt.

Bravissimo used to be known as Bravo Pizza. I’ve been eating here for years. The new décor is warm and comfortable with a spacious patio with heat lamps. There are 4 pizza places within walking distance of my house, but I have been spoiled and will head to Main Street when we want pizza. It’s not just the pizza we love about Bravissimo, all the food is delicious. My daughter is obsessed the Rigatoni Della Farma pasta and I love the Molte Bene Salad. The owners are friendly and personable and even when stuffed to the brim, there is always room for dessert. This family has been in the Italian bakery business for years so they know how to do it right. Ferrara Cannolis dipped in chocolate are always a favorite, but tonight they have the tricolor cookies in :)

I was coming here for years when it was called BRAVO and was in LOVE with what I consider to be the BEST PIZZA in town and thought it had new owners because if it’s new name. THANKFULLY IT IS THE SAME OWNERS AND MUCH IMPROVED APPEARANCE ONLY! Still the best in town for pizza and fantastic cannoli’s direct from their family pastry shop FERRARA”S in NEW YORK’S LITTLE ITALY!!!

This place is great. Awesome beer and wine selection and legit food. Owner himself greeted us and gave us free deserts for our friends birthday. Eat here, you’ll love it.

I live in Palm Springs and come to Santa Monica every 3 – 4 months for check ups. The last time here I missed a Bravo visit and was surprised to see an even better place to enjoy a pizza… named Bravissimo. I am a pizza snob having lived many, many cities and travelled the US. New York was home originally and it makes a great pie as does so many other cities, except Dallas, where I recall a pizza dough made with Bisquick.
In any event, the pizza was on of the top three on my list of favorites and without question best in Santa Monica/​LA. Giving a one star and why sounds more like an angry competitor who can’t stand the heat rather than someone who actually ate Bravissimo pizza. Either that or they are stuck on Momma Celeste or Tree Tavern frozen pizza at Albertson’s.
I spoke with the owner to see why the tomato sauce was unique. Being full on Italian, my taste buds were honed on some of the best home cooking. My question was answered when I learned they used imported tomatoes from Italy, as my own mother would use, shunning local canned tomatoes. Next are the toppings. Picking off each one (meatball, mushroom, sausage and pepperoni) confirmed that these are not quantity bought inferior products used to raise the profit margin of the pizza. They are top of the shelf and I encourage folks to do the same when they try a new pizza anywhere.
As you can imagine I truly enjoyed the pizza. So much so that before I left Santa Monica, I went back and purchased 5 extra large pizzas to bring home. A great pizza reheating pan brings the pizza back to life and until Palm Springs brings a real New York Pizza of this caliber, I will be bringing this back each visit to Santa Monica.

I love, love this spot! It has a great outdoor space, a very friendly and upbeat staff (Dante you’re amazing), and the food was quality!
I had a slice of the cheese explosion with spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Romano cheese, olive oil, and fat cloves of roasted garlic. It was delicious! Giant, thin slices, and again, you could taste the quality.
I brought some chocolate dipped cannolis to my father. They were a little different than my grandmother use to make, but he loved them and wanted me to order more for the next family get together.
I had a pretty lengthy conversation with the owner. He strives for organic and local produce and all his cheeses are imported. This is my new go-​to Italian spot :)

I have come to bravissimo a café and pizzeria a couple times and the pizza is out of this world. I met the owner and all the workers while waiting in line and everyone is so upbeat in spirit and accommodated me for my gluten allergies. I highly recommend going if you want a great fast and cheap meal!

Best pizza I have ever had… Hands down!!! I stop in every day.. for a slice of pizza.. Everybody there knows my name and is super friendly. I highly recommend it to anybody who is looking for true new York style pizza

I don’t know what pizzeria that guy was eating at but the pizza I have at Bravo is the best pizza I have had since moving to California and I have been here for 10 years… It’s the only place I can enjoy good pizza, a cold beer, amazing hot wings and phenomenal service and company from the staff. Bravissimo gets my dollar any day of the week.

RIP, Bravo Pizza. Your pizza was the best outside of NYC, but then your owners sold you out and now you are nothing but a hub of overpriced mediocrity.
If you would like to pay $ 4 for a salty slice of pizza that tastes like a repackaged Tombstone pizza, look no further than Bravissimo Café and Pizzeria.
What a shame.

I just had (Thursday) their new Bravissimo Burger and let me tell you, it was delicious! I just asked for it without bacon because I don’t eat it, but even without it, it was so juicy and the taste was just out of this world. I’ve also had their baked penne pasta, that is my favorite place to have it at. Great service, owner is super nice and friendly. Love it!