Some people like pizza.

Beth Gibeley: “Here’s your fig prosciutto.”

Some people love pizza.

Beth Gibeley: “Mmmm!”

But Beth Gibeley is absolutely obsessed with pizza.

Beth Gibeley: “Everyone loves pizza. Do you know anyone who doesn’t love pizza?”

So Beth has taken her life-long passion for dough, sauce, and cheese, and she’s turned it into the driving force behind Bravo by the Sea in Manchester, Massachsuetts.

Beth Gibeley: “Enjoy!”

“Bravo By The Sea is a wood-fired pizza bar. It is a Roman-style wood-fired pizza… we use all Italian ingredients, they’re all imported from Italy. We use double zero flour, San Marzano tomatoes, Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, and we love our pizza. We describe it as a personal sized pizza. It’s 12 inches, it has 6 slices, and it’s Roman-style. So It’s a little thicker than Neapolitan, so when you pick up a slice, it doesn’t flop over. We only have one piece of cooking equipment and it’s that oven, and we make pizzas, chicken wings, and we brought in some vegetables and salads because we can’t eat pizza everyday.

That beautiful oven is a Forno Bravo oven. I had it shipped here from California. It was made there, it’s made out of California clay, and it’s 4 tons. It will stay there forever. It’s a direct vent oven. That oven gets so hot, 800 degrees, and it cooks the pizza in 3 minutes. And all of the ingredients together, along with the smoky wood flavor, make for a delicious pizza.”

And the appetizers will make you yell “Bravo” as well. There’s a burrata salad featuring fresh greens, vibrant tomatoes, a balsamic glaze, and some ultra-fresh imported burrata cheese. There are Tuscan style chicken wings that are dry-rubbed, roasted, and smothered in sauce. And for a healthier alternative, there’s even roasted Buffalo cauliflower served with a housemade ranch dip.

But Bravo’s true culinary claim to fame is the pizza, because Beth wants to make sure every pie deserves a standing ovation.

Beth Gibeley: “I make pizzas all the time. I do lunches, I do snowstorms. I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of pizzas here. We make our pizzas by hand-stretching our dough, putting it on the pizza peel, adding all the toppings, putting it into the wood-fired oven, taking it out, garnishing it, cutting it, and serving it to the guests.”

Some of the most popular choices include the meatball pizza topped with shaved parmesan. And the fig and prosciutto pizza boasting a black mission fig marmalade, fontina, and thin-sliced prosciutto with a drizzle of honey. Pizza purests will want to order the wood-fired Margherita, perfectly executed with a little extra San Marzano tomato sauce, super-fresh Fior Di Latte cheese, pecorino romano, and freshly cut basil. And if you want to spice things up, check out the Sausage Pizza.

Beth Gibeley: “So I chose Bianco’s Sausage because it’s an 85-year-old company and it’s the best sausage I’ve ever tasted. So, it has created a sausage pizza, which is our most, is our number one selling pizza. And we serve it with pepperoncinis and fresh Fior Di Latte. The delicious tomato sauce that we use combined with the Bianco Sausage is such a burst of flavor when you bite into it. It’s so wonderful that everyone just says, “‘mmm!'”

Even spicier, and increasingly popular is the Buffalo Chicken Pizza positively packed with chunks of juicy chicken in every bite.

Beth Gibeley: “The buffalo chicken pizza is hot. If you like hot, you should get the buffalo chicken pizza. So we make a bleu cheese crema and then we put chicken and cheese and buffalo sauce and it’s delicious. What sets it apart is the bleu cheese crema and the caramelized onions. But it is very spicy and it’s crispy and yummy and everyone wants more.

There’s also a roasted pineapple pizza, Bravo’s salty-sweet spin on a Hawaiian, featuring fresh-roasted fruit, smoky bacon, and crushed pepper flakes. And then there’s the unforgettable Mashed Potato Pizza, topped with classic combination of comfort foods.

Beth Gibeley: “The mashed potato pizza is a white pizza and we put freshly boiled potatoes, crispy bacon, delicious cheese, and all those flavors come together and when it comes out of the oven, we put freshly sliced scallions. It’s like eating a loaded baked potato.”

Some customers come to Bravo to eat outside in the nice weather. Others enjoy a glass of wine at the bar while they wait for the train. And everybody who comes in should order a Chocolate Pizza for dessert.

Beth Gibeley: “The dessert pizza was inspired by my employees and we put a sprinkle of cheese and so we don’t burn the crust. Then we put semi-sweet chocolate chips, spread it around when it melts, and then put sliced fresh strawberries with some sprinkled jimmies. It’s sweet and warm and gooey and delicious.”

All the pizzas at Bravo are certainly gooey and delicious. And it’s the service that’s always sweet and warm.

Beth Gibeley: “It’s makes me happy to come to work. I love being here. I love hostessing. I love bartending. I love making the pizzas. Everything about the restaurant industry makes me happy.”

And for customers, happiness is served by the slice. So now all you have to do is…

“Come to Bravo!”