NYC’s Bravo Pizza Hits Staten Island With a See-through Oven and Sports Bar

One of NYC’s Best Pizza Spots?

NYC’s Bravo Pizza and sports bar replaced former neighborhood staple Gennaro’s, and proved to be a worthy successor on my first visit. 

The business already boasts multiple locations in Manhattan and has chosen to take a different approach with their Staten Island location by adding a restaurant and sports bar. 

It also very intelligently keeps the same layout as its predecessor which was beloved by many Staten Islanders for over 25 years. They even hired one of the former pizza guys from Gennaro’s, according to one of the waitresses. 

The Layout

Bravo is split into pizzeria and restaurant/sports bar in almost the same way as Gennaro’s was, but if you aren’t from the area you probably don’t care. In fact, what you’re probably interested in is if this place has great pizza. I’ll get to that soon. 

See Through Pizza Oven

One of the first things that stands out when you walk into the place is their rotating see-through pizza oven. As you can see in the photo below, the oven features a window that lets you get a closer look at your food cooking. The food rotates on a flat surface in a spiral motion. While not a game changer, it’s a cool little addition that makes the place standout. 

Upon my first visit, I sat in the restaurant area which has a brand new bar with big screen TVs playing hockey and other sports. When I was there, the NY Rangers were playing which made for an ideal introduction with me. 

I had met my parents who live close by and had frequented Gennaro’s. They were anxious to try this place and see if it was remotely close to one of their old favorites in quality. 

The Apps

They ordered buffalo wings, fried zucchini, fried calamari and a large cheese pie. 

By the time I arrived, the fried zucchini and wings were gone, and the fried calamari was halfway finished. So I ordered up more wings, but unfortunately did not get to try the zucchini which I heard was great from some happy customers, aka my mom and dad. 

The calamari had a crispy, flaky outside and came with a slightly sweet marina sauce on the side. The rings had a nice crunch to them. There were no tentacles in the order which was disappointing, but the flavors were right. 

However, the standout to me were the buffalo wings. Sometimes pizza joints will give you frozen wings that they deep fry. But Bravo served up some freshly fried wings coated with a mildly hot buffalo sauce.

The wings were hot and crunchy and the sauce had the right amount of heat and flavor. I could definitely see myself going back there just for the wings and some beer to watch a game. 

The Za

After the appetizers were consumed, we moved on to the main star which was the pizza. I have to say that the large pie was really large. Each slice dwarfs what a lot of the other local pizzerias have to offer in terms of size, however, the taste is certainly not sacrificed. 

As my mom would say, “the sauce was good” on the pizza and the crust was slightly crunchy, but could have used a little more crispiness.

Bravo offers a classic New York pie with a lot of other variations, but you never order a specialty pie on your first visit to a new place. That’s a rookie mistake unless they are known for a specific slice other than their regular. 

The Verdict

I have to say that Bravo’s pizza is up there when it comes pies in NY.

These days I don’t want fresh mozzarella, charcuterie or vodka sauce on my pie. I just want the classic NY za I grew up with and Bravo certainly delivers in that area.

I scarfed down about two slices before getting full. Their slices are really filling and I could probably get away with eating just one, especially with the appetizers. 

I would strongly recommend Bravo to any Staten Islander or even to people just visiting. They don’t deliver yet, but will start sometime next month. 

It seems like a great place to grab a drink, watch the game and enjoy delicious pizza.