Restaurant Review: Bruno’s Pizza and Pasta

by Tylerites Staff of Tylerites-Your guide to everything Tyler!

I hope a few other Tyler restaurateurs will follow Bruno’s example and expand south!

Bruno’s has been a Tyler staple for years now, yet I don’t find myself venturing over that way too often. In fact, before this week I had only eaten at Bruno’s once and that was several years ago. That being said, I’ve always known Bruno’s to be a Tylerites favorite and have yet to hear a bad word uttered about the place. Lucky for me, and many of the other south-siders, Bruno’s opened a new location on Old Jacksonville just north of the four way intersection in Gresham.

I met my sister at Bruno’s for dinner this past Thursday evening. Their new location is shiny, big, and new and is a fantastic choice for families or friends or couples. It is BYOB so I brought a bottle of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio which I’ve been fueling with all summer. Bruno’s is known for their pizza, but I was more in the mood for pasta so I turned to that page in the menu. There are no creative dishes on the menu at Bruno’s. Your options are limited to marinara, meat, or Alfredo sauce. Of course they also offer ravioli and lasagna, and everything comes in either full or half sizes. I took this as a sign to order with caution and ordered the half order of spaghetti with marinara and one meatball. My sister did not pick up on the warning and ordered the full portion of lasagna.

Soon after we ordered our dinner salads were delivered. Talk about yum! The salad came with thick, freshly sliced mozzarella cheese, green olives, and a porchini pepper. I ate all the cheese off mine and waited anxiously for my entree to arrive, though I was starting to get full after that salad. Not long after, our dinner was delivered to our table. I dove right into mine. Spaghetti and marinara with a meatball is a pretty simple dish, and Bruno’s does it right. The noodles, the sauce, and the meatball all tasted great. I sampled a bite from my sister’s vat of lasagna and it too was delicious.

I am certainly happy that we decided to venture over to Bruno’s. Good food, friendly service, and a nice but casual atmosphere make for an experience I am sure to come back for again and again. Not only is the food good, but it is also very reasonably priced. I hope a few other Tyler restaurateurs will follow Bruno’s example and expand south!