Cafe Bravo has been open on The Parade for as long as I can remember. It is located on a prime corner position close to the Hoyts Cinemas. Serving up Italian cuisine, the menu offerings are not too dissimilar to all the other Italian cafes in the area.

For dinner, I ordered the Expresso Pizza (leg ham, salami, roast capsicum, mushroom, black olives). The meal was ready after a 15 minute wait and was nicely presented. From the initial inspection, there was a good amount of topping on the pizza; not too conservative but not over generous. The amount of cheese on the pizza was just enough. The vegetables were fresh and there was a nice natural sweetness from the roasted capsicum. The ham and salami were of a good quality. The pizza base had a consistent thickness, and there was enough dough to make you full. It’s almost as though they have perfected the art of making pizza. The only issue with the pizza was it tasted kind of bland.

The following are the dishes the group ordered. No real complaints from anyone.

The staff were friendly and the service was fast and efficient. The atmosphere was vibrant, but it wasn’t too loud that you couldn’t hear people speak. The pricing is slightly above average with mains costing between $20-$25. My pizza set me back $19.40, but it was a decent size.

Verdict: There are some better pizza places down The Parade.

WHERE: 140 The Parade, Norwood