Bravo Kitchen & Bar unveils weekend special lunch buffet

Bravo Kitchen & Bar owner Adrian Ruan gives a big thumbs up to the Garapan restaurant’s new weekend special lunch buffet. (MARK RABAGO)

With most of the island flocking to the 24th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden, Bravo Kitchen & Bar has opted to shift its focus to attracting the lunch crowd on the weekends.

Owner Adrian Ruan said he expects dinner sales to go down in June because of the food festival every Saturday at Garapan Fishing Base, so Bravo Kitchen & Bar launched its lunch buffet every Saturday and Sunday.

The $18.99 Bravo Kitchen & Bar special lunch buffet debuted this weekend with an eight-dish spread that included pork spareribs, sweet and sour pork, beef broccoli, fried lumpia, fried chicken, pancit, fried rice, poke, vegetable salad (cucumber with peanuts), and crab meat soup with seasonal fruits as dessert and bottomless iced tea.

Ruan said for now their special lunch buffet will only be available for the weekend, but if it’s successful they have plans to make it everyday.

As for the dishes, Bravo Kitchen & Bar is still waiting for more customer feedback on what items to retain and replace, but judging from what Ruan heard during the lunch buffet’s first go-around, the pork spareribs, fried lumpia, and poke seem be here to stay.

Bravo Kitchen & Bar is located across Cha Cafe along Beach Road in Garapan. (MARK RABAGO)

The fried lumpia, left, and pork spareribs seem to be the favorites in Bravo Kitchen & Bar’s weekend special lunch buffet. (MARK RABAGO)

Ruan said customers like the fried lumpia the most as their Philippine version of Chinese egg rolls is packed with meat and are cooked to crispy brown perfection.

The pork spareribs also appear to be a crowd pleaser, as the dish was the first to always need refills in the buffet spread. Poke, meanwhile, has always been a local favorite for its freshness and umami taste.

Ruan hopes to get a good chunk of both the local and tourist market for their $18.99 special lunch buffet.

Bravo Kitchen & Bar also continues to host a live band every night, which has been a favorite of bar-hopping habitues who just like to relax and kick back after work.

Aside from the special lunch buffet, Bravo Kitchen & Bar can also host private parties with buffet spread for christenings, birthdays, engagements, weddings, graduations, and for other special occasions for a minimum of 20 people.

Bravo Kitchen & Bar can accommodate up to 100 dine-in customers. It’s open from 11am to 2pm (with buffet lunch last call at 1:30pm) and 5pm to 9pm every day. The bar can also be extended by another two hours until 11pm.

Bravo Kitchen & Bar is located across Cha Cafe along Beach Road in Garapan. For more information or to make reservations, call Bravo Kitchen & Bar at (670) 488-1818 or follow their Facebook page.