Gates & Brovi

We were invited here by some friends who said they have good oysters, they do. That unfortunately is where the good review ends. The meal itself was nothing to right home about. I had a shrimp Po’boy and it was just okay, I’ve had worse but I definitely have had better.
The waitress seemed more concerned about getting us out of the place and the next guest into the seats than whether we were enjoying our evening there or not.
I would return for the oysters and that’s about it.

Gates and Brovi was okay. A bit pricy for what you’re getting. We started with cheese curds. They were okay. Then we ordered the sausage and artichoke pizza to share, which sounded awesome, but didn’t taste great. It had a very strong vinegar-​y taste, which I did not enjoy. The crust was nice, though. They had a strawberry rhubarb pie that we couldn’t resist ordering for desert and it was pretty disappointing. It was served cold and I was expecting a warm piece of pie. Overall just not my favorite experience.

Was pleasantly surprised, nice beer selection and great food. The fish stew was very good along with the cod fritters and cheese curds. We will be back.

Had an excellent time here. Food was great and menu was imaginative and executed with ease. I was most impressed with the wine list. I was exceptionally happy to see a winery from my home state of Washington on the offerings (Seven Hills).
It was clear that they employ college students as servers and bussers. Many local businesses do, but Gates and Brovi got it right. The service from all was great. We were checked on by all and never felt ignored.
I will be bringing other people here; as it is a great way to showcase Madison restaurants!

I have been here a couple times for dinner and both times left unsatisfied. I’ve never really felt the desire to come back here ever since… their one saving grace are their cheese curds… I will admit they are out of this world good… so I guess if you’re in the mood for cheese curds and beer this is your place, otherwise I would make dinner reservations elsewhere!

Yummy food, love the oysters, my wife and son love the chicken tenders. Sautéed green beans are good as well. Service is good, nice buzz in the restaurant. Really like this place. Happy hour 3−6tues –Friday. Oysters are 1.25 each Yum

We love this place. G&B has a really great vibe and pleasant atmosphere on Monroe Street. Our food has been uniformity excellent, though some may balk at the unusual menu. Service is cheerful and prompt.
Parking can a challenge, but if it’s too inconvenient, you can always go to the mall. A short walk won’t kill you.

We’ve been to Gates and Brovi a handful of times now. We’ve had all good experiences. We mostly come for their oyster happy hour. It used to be $ 1 a oyster but they raised the price recently to $ 1.25 I believe. It still a good deal and the oysters are always fresh.
I also really enjoy their fried cheese curds, some of the best in Madison. A very light coating of breading served with a delicious ranch dressing. Their fries are also really good, they are very thin and crispy. I have had a pasta dish with sausage and clams and it was super good. They have pizza but we haven’t tried it yet. They have a nice cocktail menu and the drinks are always good. This is also a nice place for kids.
Parking can sometimes be a little tricky. They don’t have their own lot and you cant park in in it until after 6 or 7. So its mostly street parking before that.

Stopped for lunch here with my 4 year old son. Was greeted with prompt service and some crayons for my son. I had the pan fried bluegill belt and it was very tasty. The pimento cheese spread was a nice touch. The kids chicken tenders were lightly seasoned and crispy. The cheese curds were great and the ranch based dipping sauce was spot on.
Overall a nice ambiance with the lighting and reclaimed wood. Parking requires a bit of a walk and would be enough to keep me from coming during peak hours

Terrific food, comfortable and unique atmosphere, and excellent staff. I highly recommend the Tom & Jerry in winter and the cheese curds just about any time of year!

We had a lovely dinner at Gates & Brovi on our most recent visit. Our food was excellent and service was pretty good. Add that to a cozy atmosphere on a winter night and you can’t beat it.
We went right around 5:30 which was fortunate as the place seems to fill up around 6 or so. The host seated us in a booth towards the kitchen, but our waitress was prompt in getting us water and explaining the specials.
I decided on the seafood cannelloni special and my friend got the salmon burger. We ordered the cheese curds as an appetizer. The curds were excellent! I wasn’t expecting them to be since this place is known for pizza and burgers, but they have their own recipe going and I think the ranch was even homemade. Who knew!
I also loved the seafood cannelloni; it had big chunks of shrimp and scallops with a delicious sauce over top both cannelloni. Again, better than what I was expecting for G&B. I’m taking off one star for the portion size (small) and the price (high). I would have left hungry if not for the curds appetizer.
Overall, the space is charming and their food is high quality. It’s a bit off the beaten path, so probably best for a weeknight date. They have a good happy hour too!

It’s not that I have a love/​hate with this place. It’s more love/​annoyed. The food is reliably very very good. It’s pretty pricey, but not exorbitant. They have a decent tap list, it’s usually dominated by multiple different IPAs on a list of draft beers that’s pretty small. A bit more variety would be nice.
The real annoyance with G&B come from trying to park (which isn’t their fault) and having no place to easily wait for a table when it’s crowded — which it usually is. If you get there early enough to find a table you’ll struggle to find parking. If you get there after the parking restrictions lift it will be too packed to find a table without without waiting while standing against the northeast windows dodging people trying to get to the bar.

We came to sit at the bar, lunch and watch college football. Love the atmosphere. Had the chicken sandwich with giardenera and it was awesome. Try the scotch ale on tap. If you like beers, you will live this one. Really nice scotch after taste.

This local joint (I live right up the street) is a welcome addition to the hood. Craftsy beers and cocktails, fun supper-​club twist apps (fried smelt!) and awesome pizzas make this a great option for a girls night out or a quirky first date. The Pan Fried Bluegill BLT rocks — pimento cheese spread for god’s sake! Even the side of sautéed green beans were yummy.

Came here for brunch with a few friends. We were there mostly to watch the Man U game but ended up eating too. The space is very cool-​the type that makes you feel like you are a million miles away. They achieve that costal Atlantic feeling well. And major bonus points for having the EPL on most of the TVs :) we sat at the bar and had wonderful, friendly service by the bartender.
The brunch special was biscuits and gravy. I’m a total sucker for this dish and was a little worried when the bartender mentioned Italian sausage. The dish was not the typical southern sausage gravy but was excellent nonetheless. The biscuits were a bit denser than I normally prefer but still very good. It comes with eggs but I was allowed to substitute the white cheddar grits for no charge. My friend swapped the eggs for toast. It also comes with a huge «side» salad. The greens were very fresh and came dressed in a nice light vinaigrette which had a pleasant uniqueness to it.
The other dish ordered by our party was the shrimp cake benedict which also came with the same side salad. My friend thoroughly enjoyed it. Portions all around were large and could easily be split.
They have a short list of breakfast cocktails, all of which sounded delicious. I opted for the Salty Dog which was tempting given the fresh grapefruit juice promise. It did not disappoint.
Hooray hooray for brunch where all the paths meet!

Hello Maine!
Er, wait. That’s not how the opening to that show goes… but it’s how it feels when walking into G&B. Definitely not what I pictured it to look like, but in a very good way.
+ Big, open space. Bright. Lots of white-​washed walls, exposed duct work, tile work, and natural wood ceiling.
+ Huge bar area with plenty of good seating
+ Even though it’s a big, open space with hard surfaces, it’s not super noisy. It could’ve been an unbearably loud space, but I suspect they have done some things to help manage ambient noise
+ Several strategically placed televisions for watching the game/​sports center
+ Decent tap list; albeit a bit small (maybe 6 – 7 taps?); great pricing
+ Nice bottle list
+ Small mixed drink list, but drinks were tasty and well made
+ Bartenders were efficient and good
— Not super personable, but not aloof by any means
+ Menu is heavily seafood-​based
+ Pizzas looked amazing (didn’t sample any)
— Prices are a tad high, but not unreasonable
I can’t wait to return to here and sample more of the food. I’d strongly suggest sitting at the bar if possible — just felt «right.»

The pizzas have a great, crispy crust. I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The black bean soup of the day was also delicious. The pizza could feed 2 – 3 people easily, too, so the price is worth it to me.

Okay, first let me say that any place that has fried smelt on their regular menu is off to a roaring start with me. It was actually the reason we came to G&B in the first place (I had read a review elsewhere that mentioned it).
My companion and I started with the clam chowder. On ordering, we specifically asked if it was a New England (cream-​based) chowder. We were told that it was, but… yeah…not so much. It was… tan, I guess. So not New England and not exactly Manhattan (tomato-​based), either. I don’t know whether there was cheese in it or what, but the broth had «broken,» so it was sort of gritty. And the vegetables (onions, carrots, and a ridiculous amount of celery) were cut in large chunks, instead of a nice, manageable dice. I also didn’t notice any clams. Not exactly a hit — and it made me a trifle concerned about what our entrees would be like. I needn’t have worried.
My companion ordered the G&B burger — with an upcharge for cheddar (instead of American) and bacon. Wow — delicious. Perfectly cooked (both burger and bacon) and wonderfully juicy. It came with a side of cole slaw. Slightly creamy, but definitely more of a vinegar-​based slaw. My guy was less enthused about this than I (he’s definitely a creamy cole slaw man). I thought it had a nice tang.
We had a side of fries and they were great. Perfectly brown and very flavorful.
Now…the smelt. First, the portion is very generous. Plenty for sharing if ordered as an app, more than enough for a meal if you’re eating it by yourself. The batter is light and nicely seasoned. This is a must for smelt, because the small fish can be easily overwhelmed by too much batter or breading. On the side, both cocktail sauce (with a pronounced hit of horseradish — yum) and what I would characterize as a tartar «dressing.» Same flavors as tartar sauce, but with the consistency of ranch dressing. Again, very nice for smelt — much easier for dipping.
The décor is charming — sort of east coast boat house with a side of industrial. We were lucky to be there at a later lunch time — we were able to park right on Monroe and didn’t have to hunt for a space on a side street. I can imagine the parking situation is tougher in the evening — especially in winter.
Please, G&B — keep the smelt on the menu. I want to come back for more!

The parking situation is terrible, but the pizza is great. Let me explain. Gates & Brovi is located next to that Mallatt’s at the end of Monroe St, where it splits off into Nakoma Rd and Odana Rd. There is not private lot; it’s all street parking. They have these very complicated diagrams everywhere showing you where you can and cannot park. Most of the suggested parking areas have some kind of restriction. Anyway, back to the pizza. They have 7 or 8 specialty pizzas on the back of the menu, and having tried about half of them, I can say they are all amazing. The crust is on the thin side, and I think they must have a wood-​burning pizza oven in the back.
The Clam Pie has clams, roasted fennel, tomato sauce, cream, basil, mozzarella and parmesan and it all melts together in your mouth. The clams are very juicy *insert clam joke here* but the basil and fennel really make the flavors pop.
The Green Goat is also a good bet: basil pesto, zucchini, roasted tomatoes, oil-​cured black olive, mozzarella and goat cheese. You can’t go wrong with pesto and goat cheese.
Another one of my favorites is the Sausage and Roasted Artichokes pizza: parmesan béchamel, red onion, house-​made giardinera and italian parsley. It combines many of my favorite things; giardinera, sausage, and artichokes. Win-​win.
I also love the interior… it is really spacious, and the exposed brick walls, the cozy booths, and the wooden ceiling give it a casual but upscale feel. There are also a couple of big screens if you are into sports. I’ll be back for more pizza… and their chowder looks good too!

I came here for a double date on a Saturday night. Reading the reviews on Unilocal,I had my bar set a little lower than usual. However, I was pleasantly surprised!
We has the veggie fritters and oysters for apps. The fitters were basically lightly fried, tempura (ish) style veggies. They were tasty combined with the sauce it was served with. The oysters tasted fresh and were served with the usual Tabasco, crackers and horseradish.
For dinner, I had the Fisherman’s stew with was a combo of seafood (oysters, clam, fish, crab, mussels) in a spicy tomato broth. It was served with a side of French bread. I really enjoyed the stew. I highly recommend it. My wife had the seafood penne pasta. It was also very tasty and well prepared.
Presentation and portions were right on. We also had homemade cherry pie ala mode. It was delicious!
Overall, décor and environment was very nice. The food was tasty. It was very pricey so be prepared to spend a lot if you go with a three course meal. Do not go here on a game day or night unless you want to actually watch the game. It gets very loud!