THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bravo

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Bravo Restaurant Review:

HURRICANE KATRINA: this establishment is currently closed. For a New Orleans Travel Update as well as resources, information and help click here. Intimate is not the adjective for Bravo, cavernous in size, bustling in pace and always jammed with fans of its very accessible Italian dishes. The place itself is almost theatrical in aspect. The neo-baroque, stone-like exterior evokes a Florentine villa. Inside, classical fluted columns and pediments rise toward the lofty ceiling above the big, busy bar and main dining room. Another plus: few restaurants are as efficiently organized as this one. The crackerjack service staff and kitchen crew see to that. The menu blazes no trails, although an occasional offbeat dish shows up, like a whole portobello mushroom brushed with aïoli and accompanied by creamed spinach. Fresh fish from the wood-fired grill can be delicious. The disappointments---and they are significant---are the flavorless pastas and forgettable soups. Still, the wine list is impressive for a restaurant of this one's large size and modest culinary ambition, with reasonably priced, drinkable California and Italian bottles.