Bruno’s Restaurant & Tavern

Very rude employees. Coming from out of state you would think they would treat their tourists well to get word of mouth business out there and to just make the town of Portland look good but we were treated very poorly. Wouldn’t recommend eating here to anyone honestly. Didn’t even get to sit down and eat the service was so bad so I couldn’t even tell you if the food was good or not. If you are any race but Caucasian Good luck getting good service.

We went to Bruno’s for New Years Eve & had a great time & a great meal. I got the Shrimp Scampi, it was one of the best I’ve had in years. It’s one of my favorite dishes & often I’m disappointed but not this time. It came with 5 jumbo shrimp, homemade linguine, which was amazing and just the right amount of garlic & butter. Bruno’s is a classic, italian restaurant. The meal comes with a small side salad, which is crisp, cool & fresh as well as dinner rolls. It was pretty busy on NYE but we were served promptly and everything was delicious. I’ve been a few times and will be back to try out some more of their classic italian cuisine for sure!

I have had a pleasant experience at Bruno’s a number of times in the past so writing a negative review is a surprise. My family and I went last Friday night for a couple of pizzas and drinks after a movie. We arrived at 730 pm, the place was busy but not overwhelmed. There were open tables. Here is what happened, you be the judge. We arrived and self seated at a table in the lounge area, sat ten minutes without be engaged, finally asked a server for help. server finally came with menus and we place drink order. waited another 20 minutes for two draft beers and a wine to arrive. place order for two pizzas, waited an hour and twenty minutes for those to arrive. while waiting for the pizza waited 15 minutes after drinks were consumed for a drink reordsr. waited another 20 minutes for those drink to arrive. when they did arrive asked about the pizza. and got a surly response back. I’ve only no tipped twice in my life due to deplorable service and this was one of the two times. Upon reflection I believe the poor service was retaliatory by our primary waitress in part because we asked another waitress for help. just beware.

I’ve lived down the street from Brunos for years, don’t ask me why I have never been before today. I went with my folks and all three of us were blown away by the quality of food and affordable prices. It was so nice to find a restaurant in Portland that serves classic, fresh favorites in a casual atmosphere. Nothing over-​the-​top exotic or pretentious just good, fresh food. My dad’s fish sandwich tasted, as he put it, «straight off the boat», my butternut squash ravioli was delicious and my mom’s Italian eggrolls were filled with creamy veggie heaven. I highly recommend this establishment. I’m sure it will be the first of my many visits.

So good. The hard working owners are always there. Great waitstaff. There is a reason why the place gets packed all the time. Plenty of parking and homemade Italian food. So many choices. Go there.

Been here many times and always a first rate experience, whether lunch or dinner. Last month, we had a small memorial gathering for my mom in law, who loved it whenever we brought here here. She would always comment on «the stage», which was actually the working kitchen in full view from the comfortable dining room. The staff was thoroughly accommodating to our table of 12 friends, and the food, including their fresh, homemade pasta was outstanding. Go here.

Bruno’s is a must-​go spot every time we visit our grandparents. The waiter named «Jim» — ask for him! — has sort of adopted them, and they him, and so we feel like we receive extra-​special service whenever we step in. Not to say that the other servers are not helpful– they are, very welcoming and friendly. Food tonight was delicious and packed with flavor: salads, pasta, seafood, and cheesecake. We always eat at the kitchen side, not the bar, so I don’t know what service is like on that side. But this restaurant… we keep going back! Italian atmosphere and friendly character… it’s wonderful.

I had never been to a restaurant before so I figured screw it, Bruno’s seems like a restaurant. As soon as I walked in I was confused– do I go left to the dining room or right to the «tavern»? bad start. luckily they had TVs on the wall so I quickly forgot about the debacle at the entrance. now why they call it «tavern» is beyond me because it feels more like not a tavern. we immediately asked our waitress, «Lexi» what we could get for free and she laughed and said nothing. we weren’t joking so we didn’t laugh. to make matters worse she proceeded to bring us free bread– what a liar, I’d guess habitual. the good news is she listened to us when we spoke. it was her job to write down what we wanted and she did that and she also smiled and her smile made me feel pretty good about going to Bruno’s. the haddock was tasty the stir fry was tasty we also put mashed potatoes in our mouths. our bill was only $ 22, neat! the receipt suggested how much to tip though and nobody gives me suggestions. that’s why I had to knock a star off. I tipped a lot though because I enjoy making others happy & that’s just the type of person I am. I hope I get Lexi again next time I go, which probably won’t ever happen again. great place!

Haven’t been there forever, figured we’d give it a shot. Fun atmosphere, decent food, decent prices. A little slow in service, but it was packed.

I really, really like Bruno’s. Some of the best service I’ve ever had anywhere has been from the servers on the bar side, and their arugula dough cannelloni is a near-​constant craving. I also like their pizza, 8 inch pies with a crispy crust. Maybe it’s a 10 inch pizza, I’m not a size queen. If you’ve lived in Portland for a bit be prepared to stop and say hello to someone you know, everyone winds up at Bruno’s at least once.

Completely ordinary. Food is uninspired and not particularly well prepared. If you want the pre-​fab, predictable experience of chain family dining without driving all the way to the mall, this is for you. There are at least 10 much better restaurants within a mile of this disappointment.

This is a neighborhood go to. I’ve eaten here over 100 times… first…unless the mood requires quiet dining… go eat at the bar side on entrance… I know first hand that the pasta is cut and made to order… it’s fresh… spinach cantiloni app… killer…Neapolitan meatball app… also very good… menu has literally 40 options for dinner… me…love the fra diovilo… the penne vodka with sausage and scallops… the chicken piccata. This is decent Italian food… at $ 15 – 19 entrée prices which is good value for your price… it’s not fine dining… but a damn good value for the price… I’ll keep coming

Love the food (for the price), love the vibe — both the old-​school dining room side, and the sports bar.
Twice now we’ve had THE WORST waiter I’ve ever experienced anywhere on the planet. «James» our tab said (we checked after remembering him from the time before). We didn’t have a drink menu at the table, so asked him what was on draft. Clearly a huge inconvenience. And from that moment on, any little request, or taking more than 2 seconds to answer any question he had was too much for him. We sat with our menus for a good half hour before he came over to see us. When asked if we wanted appetizers, we said no, and he turned back to the kitchen immediately, although we were sitting menus closed, ready to order dinner. 15 minutes later we were able to put an order in. No plates for our table bread, no salt shaker at our table, no water. The place was ¾ full, but not busy enough to warrant that kind of neglect. We weren’t running up a huge tab for him, but still! After having had our empty plates cleared away by some very attentive bus boys, (and looking very ready to leave for quite some time) we had to go over to the wait staff station to request our check.
I’d go back for the food, but would ask the host/​hostess at the door not to seat us in James’ section. Unless we literally have all night to sit around and be amused at the near-​comical inadequacy of his «service»

We’ve been to Bruno’s 6 or 7 times and really enjoy the classic Italian food. The tavern side of the business is what you expect; bustling and casual with lots of TV’s for sports, and the staff there are great.
Tonight we went to the dining room for the second time. The food was great, but the service was slow and just shy of rude. After we got our drinks, the waiter asked if we wanted any appetizers. As soon ‘I don’t think so ’ crossed our lips he had turned his back on us and was half way across the room and didn’t come back for awhile. Eventually he came back and took our dinner order. For some reason ordering the exact same food in the tavern seems to arrive faster. He brought our salads and offered some one at our table fresh ground pepper, she said yes and then he disappeared again… we never saw the pepper. Dinner arrived and the food was good. The bus people were great, but the waiter was scarce. He passed by our table but never checked in, even after 10 minutes with all of our dishes cleared. I eventually walked across the room to the kitchen station to get him to just bring us the check.
It felt like we didn’t meet his definition of a profitable table, and decided to let us know through slow, passive-​aggressive service. Normally I’d write it off as just a weird night, but we had the EXACT same experience the last time we had the same waiter.
If we go to Bruno’s again, we’ll request anyone other than James… or just go to the Tavern.

My POOR grandparents– grandpa 80 and grandma went here last night for her 75^th birthday and BOTH got food poising and were up vomiting all night from your old, not fresh food. I am so disgusted and disappointed, as food poisoning to an elder could be life threatening. Get your stuff together you are over priced and disgusting and your cooks clearly need to go back to school! You should be ashamed you sell this food to people… will NEVER be stepping back into this «restaurant» again!

We and our friends went out to dinner here last night.
Prompt seating even on a busy Saturday night– Our waitress was great– responsive and attentive!
With the great tasting food and drinks flowing seamlessly from apps to entrée s the great atmosphere and service made for a very enjoyable dinner out with freinds!

Great establishment with plenty of options food-​wise and price-​wise. We started off with the mussels app in the red, garlic sauce (a wine sauce was also an option). The portion size was perfect for an appetizer and the flavor was delicious. I did inquire about the «onion soup,» which wasn’t french onion soup and the waitress had no other information on it – no idea if it was cream based or vegetable based, etc. A little disappointing, but the mussels were great. I ordered a garden salad with grilled chicken. He ordered the chicken pesto pizza. My salad was a great dinner size and even had a bit left over for today’s lunch. His pizza was a perfect size; thin crust and loaded with all toppings. Our dinner, including my glass of wine and his two beers, brought the bill to 43 dollars and change.
You can tell by the atmosphere that it’s a family establishment, but welcomes diners with a slightly more fancy taste without the steep prices.
I’ll go back for the food, but wish the service was a little more informed on the menu.

Great neighborhood restaurant. Really good eggplant parm, meatballs, salads. They make all of their pastas in house. Spinach capellini is my favorite. You will see lots of people you know in this place! We usually eat on the bar side. It’s quieter on the restaurant side if you are into that.

Our wedding anniversary is ⁹⁄₂₃ and my folks is 10/​18, so we went for a joint/​early celebratory meal.
The lot was full but the seated restaurant half was more than half empty when we go there around 7:30pm. The open faced kitchen is a nice idea, but it makes it easier to see all the bearded chefs cooking without face gaurds on to prevent hair in the food. :-(
My shrimp scampi was acceptable; given my admittedly snobbish standards for that particular dish.
Dad had the chicken pesto pizza, which we all tried, and all enjoyed. My husband’s garlic mashed potatoes were a big hit with us all. His scallops were good he said, but the butter based sauce they were broiled in, made the dish very filling and heavy sitting in his tummy afterwards.
The fries with mom’s burger were clearly twice fried (as fries SHOULD BE) and therefore very crisp and yummy.
For the prices, I wouldn’t go back. I do give them points for using pasta that tastes legitimately fresh made. (I make mine at home, so I’d know.)

Order: asparagus ravioli
Decent. I’ve had better but their cheesy sauce hit the spot that day. Overpriced and small portions leaves me no choice to give this place a 3 overall. However, their service is ⁵⁄₅ in my book.
Would I take my friends visiting the area? Probably not one of my first choices. I’d rather take them somewhere else. Would I go here again? Maybe to try some other dishes. My friends had bigger portions and theirs looked really good as compared to my simple dish.