Bruno’s Bar and Grill, a Scotts Valley favorite, serves American comfort cuisine Wednesday-Sunday from 2pm-8pm. It offers takeout, indoor dining, an outdoor rooftop deck and catering. Joanne Guzman and her husband Rogelio, the head chef, have owned the place for four years. She says the restaurant has something for everyone. Their concept also includes fun events, such as drag shows, holiday-themed parties and cornhole tournaments. Joanne recently spoke to GT about “Naughty Sauce,” “Feisty Tots” and some of the other scrumptious specialties that keep Bruno’s unique.
What is Bruno’s philosophy?
JOANNE GUZMAN: Our philosophy is to make both guests and employees feel like family, and we aim for a community feel. Before we purchased Bruno’s, it was a barbeque joint. We changed it to a bar and grill in order to serve a more diverse menu. We still do barbeque, but now also have dishes like pastas, salads, seafood and weekly specials.
Talk about your barbeque offerings.
We smoke everything ourselves, and one signature item is our beef ribs (served Fri-Sun only), which not many places do anymore. We also have a 12-hour smoked brisket, and people really love our baby back ribs too. Especially the variety of barbeque sauces we serve with the ribs, that’s what sets us apart. They are all made in-house and are very popular. A few examples are raspberry chipotle, pineapple jalapeño and bourbon bacon apricot.
What are some of the other menu highlights?
We keep winning awards for our burgers because Rogelio creates flavor combinations that people rave about. My personal favorite is the Bad Boy, which has smoked gouda cheese, bourbon bacon jam, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and Naughty Sauce. The key is the sauce; it’s mayo-based with a kick, and people really love it. My favorite salad is the Pear Gorgonzola that has spring-mix lettuce, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and it’s tossed with our housemade pear vinaigrette. Our rockstar appetizer is our salt and vinegar chicken wings; guests are literally addicted to them. We’re also known for our mac and cheese skin appetizer and our Feisty Tots loaded with honey mustard pulled pork, bourbon bacon jam, Pico de Gallo, grilled jalapeños, jack and cheddar cheese and sour cream.
230 Mount Hermon Road, Suite G, Scotts Valley, 831-438-2227; brunosbarandgrill.com.
