Brava Cucina
If you’re looking for a fantastic option for Italian South of Boston, you have to head to Brava Cucina. Located in the heart of Weymouth Landing, Brava Cucina is a cozy neighborhood spot offering Italian inspired dishes, from fresh baked focaccia made daily to generous portions of house made pastas.
The vibe is intimate yet lively. The space seats about 60, and features light wood accents, coastal Italian artwork, bartenders crafting up some cocktails at the bar, and a small dining room so close to the kitchen, you can smell everything that’s being cooked by chef/owner Devin Adams.
“On a typical night they're going to come in, there's going to be a lot of energy. It's going to be loud, bustling. The bar is always happening. It's a very small, tight, as we say, kind of Trattoria style dining room. And I think as they go through there, they're going to just see a lot of beautiful… steaming hot pastas coming out, and a lot of good energy.”
To start off your meal at Brava, you have some great options for appetizers. The Polpetti, which is Italian for little meatballs, are bite sized, almost like a braised short rib meatball and they just melt in your mouth. For a true Italian classic, you have to try the crispy Arancini, filled with cheesy, savory goodness.
“It's that Italian comfort food again, it's, you sort of split into it. You get a beautiful red sauce. You've got that mozzarella that's just stretching everywhere. And it's just such a great first bite. They're so, so good. They're addictive. And I steal them all the time.”
The Bruschetta section of the menu really lets the fresh made focaccia shine. This rustic grilled Italian bread really is perfect as a delicious starter to your meal or for soaking up some sauce after you’ve finished your pasta. There’s a sweet and salty Fig and Prosciutto Bruschetta with whipped mascarpone, that’s drizzled in extra virgin olive oil. Or go for the Burratini with rich and creamy burrata cheese on top, along with a seasonally rotating fruit, that’s drizzled with a balsamic reduction, and you absolutely “need” to order it, trust us!
“Everybody loves burrata. It has that textural element. Once you kind of break through that that mozzarella, and you get that cream that kind of oozes out. And you've got the agrodolce , which will change seasonally…. it's always that sort of perfect pairing to have that very rich, creamy cheese with a really nice kind of acid and fruit base that goes with it. It's it's delicious.”
Now, to the fresh housemade pasta. You have options like a pillowy pan seared Ricotta Gnocchi served with wild mushrooms, housemade pea and basil pesto, along with with extra virgin olive oil and parmesan. Another fan favorite is the beautiful Spicy Vodka Radiatori with more of that incredible burrata cheese, calabrian chiles and basil. But the must order is the Rigatoni Bolognese that has beef, pork and a little bit of chicken liver to add a deeper, rustic, traditional slow-cooked flavor.
“And I think you can tell that there's a lot of love and time that's put into it, because it's not just a red sauce with some meat in there. You can really tell that there's more dimensions to it. It's really, really delicious. And again, it's one of those. It's one of those comfort foods that just is, it's not going anywhere.”
For entrees, Brava serves a Bell and Evans Statler Chicken served over a creamy herbed lemon risotto. That’s topped with sliced cherry tomatoes and a little bit of butter and white wine sauce, so it’s Italian comfort food, but it’s surprisingly light and tasty. The real show stopper though, is the Pork Milanese. And this thing is about as big as a baseball glove. You have a tender pork cutlet that’s been marinated for 24 hours, breaded, pan-fried, and topped with an orange and arugula salad. This thing is epic! And if you have room for something sweet after all that carbo-loading, you should definitely grab an Espresso Martini and an order of delicious mini canolis.
“They're all housemade little mini cannolis, and Chef James has his whipped ricotta has a little bit of orange zest in there. It's seasoned really well. So it's not your kind of basic cannoli filling... It has a lot of flavor... And then they're just kind of dipped into whether you want to do the chocolate or whether you want to do the pistachios..I like pistachios...We keep our desserts on the smaller side just because you've just had a giant bowl of pasta. But you do want to finish off with… a little bit of sweetness with your Espresso Martini. And, you know, they're the perfect amount so you're not rolling out the door you know?”
Personally, I would expect to roll out the door here. But you won’t regret a bite. Because all your favorite Italian classics are served in generous portions at Brava Cucina in Weymouth.
“We're talking about fresh pasta being made… daily. We're talking about fresh focaccia bread ….being made daily. And then I think it's just you're not going to find a better staff serving that to you. I think we're, you know, we really are able to make connections with our guests. And again, I think for the value that you see in the portions that we give and the quality that we're able to achieve, I think we're bar none for where we are, for sure.”
