BRIO Tuscan Grille

Honestly, I was pretty astonished at how terrible Brio was. I’d gone to an Elite event at Brio and LOVED it! We had a blast, the food and drinks were incredible, and I couldn’t wait to go back! I organized a happy hour event with some friends and when we went it was just terrible! First, we were the only people there and the mood was all wrong — no music, no personality, etc. We went to the bar and had to sit and wait unattended for probably 5 minutes before the bartender came to greet us. And that’s pretty much how the entire time went. Food was nowhere near as good as it was at the Elite event… all just very «meh.» And even though we were sitting at the bar and literally the only people in the restaurant, it took FOREVER to get drinks, too. Food and drinks is pretty much what happy hour is all about… so if those things suck then the whole happy hour sucks, too!
In all, we were there 90 minutes but it felt like 3 hours because everything was soooooo dragged out. When we left I felt compelled to apologize to my friends because it was such a terrible time and I was the one who had suggested we do happy hour there. Honestly, I won’t be talking it up to anyone anymore and I won’t be back. Sorry, Brio!

Definitely a place I will come back too for happy hour. My first visit wasn’t so awesome. I went for dinner the first month or so they were open. The food was great but didnt wow me. I had the calamari appetizer, pasta and pork chops and of course it wasn’t memorable enough to write about. Second visit was a lot better. I was here for the Unilocal event, so I was able to try different things on their bar menu. I left with a better impression. I love places that offer a bar menu. You’re able to try their food without the commitment of a huge plate. I fell in LOVE the beef carpaccio. I would definitely order this one again. Their burger was juicy; beef was cooked perfectly to my likings! Everything on their bar menu is $ 3.95 and drinks start at $ 5. They won my heart this time.

Once again… Unilocal is restricting me to full star ratings… not fair to me or the business. An absolutely amazing weather day! We decided on a stop at Brio on a Saturday at 3pm for their happy hour menu. My illustrious friend V had gone to the Unilocal event here just a few days ago… and loved it, and I was hungrier than all the hippos in the game of our childhood. We sat outside, not a soul on the patio save the upper brass of the restaurant. My God it was nice outside. We ordered off the happy hour menu…5 items:
1.Beef Carpaccio
Served with field greens, capers, mustard aioli and Parmigiano-​Reggiano 3.95 —
since I am a foodiot (idiot about food) I did not realize this was served over raw beef. I am sure the beef is good, but this homies body doesn’t digest raw well. The salad wasn’t bad though.
2.Sausage & Pepperoni Flatbread
Fresh Mozzarella and housemade tomato sauce. 3.95 —
this was ordered for V’s favorite child. he barely ate any, which isn’t unusual for him, so I dug in… wasn’t very good. Dry and untasty.
3. BRIO Burger*
Grilled to order with Provolone and served with our housemade chips 3.95 —
This was excellent tasting! Albeit not cooked to specification… asked for well got medium… but well worth the money folks! Chips were good too.
4. Ravioli Caprese*
Romano crusted ravioli topped with tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and a cilantro pesto drizzle. 3.95 —
This was V’s main appitizer and she loved it… she graciously surrendered one to me so I could try it… although I could have sworn I heard her growling when I went for it.
The Ravioli was really good… a cant miss.
5. Tomato & Mozzarella Capri
Sliced Kumato tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and basil. Served with balsamic glaze and field greens. 3.95 —
This was okay… at best. Cant think of anything about it that made me think anything more than… its okay.
Now lets go «off the board» and I’ll start with the service. This is where they scored with me, it all honesty I’d of given a 2star if it weren’t for the training manager spending 15 minutes with us talking, and telling us of the «Brio» franchise.
There was a lettuce wrap that V had during her Unilocal outting… wasn’t on the menu though. They were nice enough to make it for us though.
Bolognese wrap-​the yummy meaty sauce served in lettuce. A good low carb solution for some of us. This was really good.
We had drinks too, V had a Mojito and I a Peach Sangria… both good.
We will go back, and order more smartly.

eggplant and shrimp — what a brilliant dish. A romantic slice of Tuscany!

Loved the happy hour here! Ordered the Beef Carpaccio, so scrumptcious. The beef is raw though, just to warn some of you. Super flavorful, ate all the beef from my friend’s salad. Spinach and artichoke dip was pretty good, very cheesy. The Tomato and Mozerella caprese was surprisingly savory. The kid’s salmon dish was surprisingly big enough for both of my kids to share. The spicy shrimp with eggplant was really eye catching and delicious! I want to come back for more very soon. my friend ended up grabbing their happy hour menu to tell all her friends about it!
Can’t believe their happy hour is every night from 3 to 7 p. m, and 9 til close! Really phenomenal deal, $ 3.95 happy hour dishes. Mmmm.

Steven V of Marana took me to task and rightfully so by saying having a pannini at an Italian place is like having a fish sandwich at Flemings. So, I’ll qualify – there are more pannini choices than pasta – quite an extensive selection. The other thing is my pannini was not good – my companion’s pasta was so-​so – but in comparison to my pannini, it was super yummy – that’s how bad my sandwich was. Now, if Flemings does make fish sandwiches half as good as their steaks, I’m all in!
So – I’m going with the dreaded three – arguably 2.5.
Ambiance – felt like I was in a giant buffet hall in Vegas – had plenty of space – not very busy, the openness was troubling – the room very bright (lunch) and I just wasn’t cozy – felt institutional.
Staff – we had the new guy – he was good, a little hovery – but service was strong and we wanted for nothing.
Bread – they start you with bread – nice job and good crusty bread that’s nice and moist inside.
Pannini – So, I’m a bit of a sandwich nut – in particular the pannini. Sadly, I got the beef and white cheddar – please skip. I’m a foodie and brought half home – enough said because that rarely happens. I thought the flavor was decent – but not great and I’d never order it again. Choice Greens and Olive Garden have far superior sandwiches for far less money.
Pasta – My companion had the lemon chicken with capers and pasta – well done and I was admittedly jealous.
Given that we rarely, if ever, go to a place that I’d rate under a 4 – we’ll never go back. I was truly disappointed and the meal was over priced. If your looking for decent or even good Italian – keep looking because you won’t find it here.

I’ve been wanting to try this happy hour out for awhile and finally got the chance to the other day. The ambience inside Brio is nice, it definitely has a fancy-​vibe. My friend and I opted to sit inside the bar area rather than the patio as they had the misters going and it was not warm enough for that.
On to what you’re all waiting for, the happy hour deals! They offer a selection of wine and cocktails for 5 dollars. Unfortunately they were out of the two drinks we originally picked out, which kind of set my expectations low from the outset. We both eventually settled on the rosso, the only red offered on the happy hour menu. It was fine, not ideal, but not bad either. Onto the food– all of the food of the menu was 3.95, so we weren’t sure how large the portions were going to be. We weren’t in a rush, so we ordered them one at a time. First up, the spinach artichoke dip. This was really good, I just wish it had been warmer. It was room temperature and would have been more appetizing hot and bubbly from the oven. Then we ordered the ravioli. This was basically deep fried and served with a small amount of marinara and pesto sauce. I asked for more marinara, which they were happy to oblige, because without it the food was far too dry. The food and drinks has its ups and downs, and while nothing impressed, the meal wasn’t unsatisfying.
The kicker at the end of the meal was that our waiter didn’t bring back my friend’s credit card back and then had to search for it, an alarming feel for the end of the evening. Pesonally, Brio was the definition of a three, I don’t plan on heading back anytime soon, but if I have to eat here I won’t complain.

This is probably the best place in Tucson for Happy Hour for the value! They have a selection of food that is $ 3.95 — including flatbreads, hamburger/​cheeseburger, shrimp, calimari, etc. The drink specials are great too with a selection for $ 5 each. The food comes in good size portions too and is very tasty!

Brio catered my friend’s wedding and we all thought it was delicious! We had the pork chops with vegetables and mash potatoes on the side. The pork chop was juicy and tender, especially for prepared and delivered food. The veggies were seasoned well and still had a slight crunch to them. The mashed potatoes were standard, nothing too special there.
The service was great too, from meeting with them to order the food to prompt delivery.

My 1^st time here and I came with a large group for Happy Hour. What a welcome we got! We did set this up ahead of time and they went all out for us, to introduce us to their place. Service was great, manager came out, chef made us a bread pudding and the apps that I shared were awesome.
I will be back with a much smaller group and relax and enjoy their menu. Bravo!

Uhhhhhm so here’s the deal… when these guys opened they were a-​ok, decent Italian for a smallish chain. The staff was warm and friendly and I felt they were super interested in community feedback and getting better. I think something changed around the first of the year. The food my last trip there was fine, nothing great. The bartender wasn’t really interested in chatting about menu recs or much of anything. Did management change?

Visited Brio for lunch On Wednesday, we lunched on the patio, very nice. Décor is excellent and pleasant. Waitstaff was well trained, attentive and polite. Every time I said thank you for service rendered, it was answered with, ‘No, thank you’ as in thank you for being a customer, I spcould get used to this.
The Lemon Shrimp on Rosoto, was excellent, my wife would recommend to everybody. The Sourdough and flat bread was outstanding. The experience fell below expectation, when I ordered the head lettace (can’t remember the menu name) and requested that the dressing be on the side. It was on the lettace. Frankly I ordered on the side because kitchens use mor than I like, and my wife likes more than me, but this order had more than we BOTH liked.
I ordered the Panini with Turkeynand Bacon and asked that the Chipoltli mayo be on the side. Waitress wasn’t sure, but it cam with the mayo on the sandwich. The kitchen wanted a happy customer, they should have made sure it was off, they didn’t which is why this review is a 4-​star not 5-​star.
Will we go again, YES, BUT I WILL RETURN TO THE KITCHEN ANY ITEM NOT PREPARED THE WAY I ORDER IT.

Not a fan, the food is just like any other chain Italian place and the happy hour is only available if you sit outside on the patio or in the bar itself. Silly rules I think.
The atmosphere was okay, but a little stuffy. I wouldn’t go back.

This place may just be my new favorite happy hour place!!!
I had the happy hour burger and the spinach dip. My friend had the shrimp cocktail and spicy eggplant and shrimp. We also shared the chocolate lava cake.
Positive: the burger was amazing!!!, the happy hour has $ 3 tasters and they are amazing (the burger was one of them), the cake was great with amazing gelato
Negative: the lava cake price was a little steep
I will be going back for sure!

It was a rainy day, perfect for indoor dining! Along with my usual dining family trio (Husband Gary, mom and I), we met and ate with some family friends. So we were 5. And this was everyone’s first time at Brio, except for my mother.
We were seated at a really nice-​sized round table. The restaurant has a really pretty, warm, and high-​ceiling type of ambiance. Very noble, contemporary yet warm feeling. We loved it. The sound level is higher than average but it did not interfere with our conversation. We toured around the restaurant to peek at a few private dining areas, which would be great for private parties. One room-​with solid walls, seats ?? maybe 15 or so (verify exact # with Brio) and another long room seats a much larger party – and the room can be divided into two parties by a curtain.
Our dining five-​some went for brunch (It was 12:30). The menu is large and fun, with some different types of offerings. We also had some daily food choices. The brunch menu is offered only on Sat./Sun. and served until 3 pm.
My mother, who was graciously treating all of us (Lucky us!), opted to start us out with Brio’s Bruschetta Quattro. GRREAT choice-​8 lucious pieces of 4 types of Brio bruschettas (a sampler style offering) came colorfully to our table on a long ceramic serving piece. Very appealing to the eye – uh, and also to the tastebuds! We were sharing parts of each type with each other. Kind of messy but fun. One of the pieces had carmelized onion cooked in pinot noir. That was a fab flavor I had never experienced before. All I could hear was WOW, Outstanding, and lots of MMMMMs as we munched them down. No kidding. TIP: you could make a light meal out of this for yourself. It cost $ 13.95.
Rosie in my party had an omlette of the day-​grilled chicken, carmelized onions and roasted red peppers with cheese. It looked fine but may have been slightly drier than desired. The flavor was great, she said.
Ray had a grilled chicken panini (I want to spell this with lots of N’s but that’s not the case). It looked huge and fun. He loved it, and said it was super spicy. We couldn’t figure out why and asked our friendly server. He asked the chef directly-​the chipotle peppers added that strong spice element.
Gary had the brunch frittatta al forno. It looked kind of small on the plate, but don’t be fooled. Once I tasted it, I knew why. It is quite rich. Best frittatta I ever had! It was layered with eggs, angle hair, crisp bacon, onions, spinach, artichoke, Fontina and topped with a Parmesan Cream (sauce). I wish I could say it had no calories, ha! But if you are splurging, this IS the place to do the damage. Gary also had the chopped salad as an add-​on to the entrée. It was super delicious – we shared it. Truly outstanding flavor.
My mother had Eggs Oscar and it was very quiet at her end of the table, kind of unusual for her. Good sign. She eventually came up for air and said she was lovin’ it all! It was a variety of stuff with eggs.
I delighted in my choice. I often like to go for the hardest thing to make that I would never make at home. Today’s dish qualified: I had the brunch choice of Grilled Chicken & Chorizo Benedictano (the name is even trademarked-​a good sign). Two poached eggs with grilled chicken, pieces of chorizo (not hot-​I can’t eat very spicy food), oven-​dried tomatoes and green onions served over toasted brioche with Hollandaise and potatoes peperonata on the side. It looked like Christmas time on my plate, very colorful reds, greens, yellows and yum, all placed on my plate. My plate runneth over-​well not really, because I ate it. At least I ate half of it (after all that other stuff I ate earlier). I gave Gary my other half but he just tasted. We were full! I loved, loved, loved my entrée for appearance, taste and texture. What a win!
I neglected to add that I added on to my entrée with a lobster bisque (I would never order all this to eat alone-​my helpful husband was there, spoon at the ready). That soup is smooth and perfect. If you like lobster bisque, try this one! YUM x 2.
On top of all this, Brio served a breadbasket with freshly baked sourdough bread (REALLY good and moist inside), along with seasoned cracker type triangles (their own type of very good cracker). A nice touch with our left-​over food: they gave us two bags of bread to go.
We saw a curious plate go to the neighboring table. It was probably nearly 2 feet long with a slight curve. Our server said it was a meat dish (the raw, seasoned one – I forget the name now – mom filled me me: it’s carpaccio). Impressive plating!
My final words; It was good to the last bite! We found the quality remarkable for a chain type restaurant. It didn’t feel like that at all. And the food was excellent quality, with reasonable enough pricing, given the quality of the food and the entire experience and ambiance. Great experience all around. We all left saying that we can’t wait to come back! And that says it all, friend!

For a chain, BRIO has its rough spots. They also have some pretty bright spots… for a chain.
For a chain, that’s the third time I said it… you would think it’s a disease. Sure, the service can be up and down. Sure, there are misfires with the food. If you are dining here, you probably have prepared yourself for this.
Pre-​Pre-​first course — drinks (that’s a course in my book):
They have a decent wine selection… for a chain. My wife loves their watermelon martini. On Thursday nights, martinis are five bucks. They have a whole menu full of martinis. I asked for one not on the menu… five bucks. For a chain… pretty cool.
Pre –first course — bread:
Warm sourdough bread, flaxseed lavosh sprinkled with seasonings and sea salt… add the accompanying butter. For a chain… high marks.
First course — salad:
Try the Bistecca (wedge) salad. Chain or not… one of the best I have had.
OK… what course were we on? Never mind — Main course:
Lasagna — layers of pasta, ricotta, alfredo sauce and marinara sauce laid out like the Italian flag. Nice presentation and good flavor. A nice dish… for a chain.
Lobster Ravioli — For a chain… not bad, but not great. Nice fresh ingredients like grape tomatoes, sauteed arugula and artichoke hearts were on top of so-​so ravioli in a so-​so sauce. A poor lobster died for this… I hoped for better.

Some hits and misses, but in the end, I think BRIO gets it right… for a chain.

Went for brunch Sunday after church. They open at 1100 and we walked in the door at 1045. They told us they weren’t open yet, but that we could come in a sit and they would seat as as soon as they could. Very pleasant waiting area and nice looking décor.
We were seated first, right at 1100 and were brought fresh bread and toasted crackers (both were very tasty.) My wife had a bellini with which she seemed to be quite happy.
I ordered a Fritata from the brunch menu and my wife had a Shrimp and Risota from the lunch menu and a chopped salad. When her salad came I got one also. Our server walked by and noticed that we got two salads and went to check to make sure I had not been given someone else’s by mistake. It turns out she had accidentally entered two on the order. She apologized and assured us we would only be charge for one. The salads wer very good. It was nice to see the situation awareness and attention to detail in the waitstaff. Very impressed!
The Fritata was very good and the taste of I had of the Shrimp and Risota impressed me also. Plentiful portions — So big that we actually didn’t order a desert from the multitude of offerings even though they all looked tasty.
No problem recommending this. The service was definitely first rate!

For a chain, Brio’s food is pretty tasty. They’ve been open only a month. but the service was excellent. The waitstaff was quite attentive an knowledgeable about the items on the menu.
The complementary bread and lavosh were delightful. The bread was warm and the lavosh was extremely savory. For lunch I had the Tuscan Harvest Salad. The marriage of flavors in this dish were delightful, and I recommend it to my fellow salad eaters. It was a generous portion, but not so big as to make dessert a dream of the past.
Lighter meals mean room for dessert, and Brio offers a pretty decent spread. Their dessert’s are the perfect size. Enough for a good taste, but not too much as to leave you guilt ridden over the calories. I had the Mocha Panna Cotta. Sweet enough to be a wonderful end to the meal, but not so sweet as to trigger a sugar coma.
All in all, nice ambiance and a good balance of taste and portion size. I’ll be back for dinner with the husband soon to see if the service keeps up as the restaurant grows.

Beautiful décor and classy surroundings and staff. Spotty service depending on the waiter. Food is good, not great, but is is somewhat creative. It is not Tuscan at all. Too bad. But what do you expect from a chain?
Simplicity is central to the Tuscan cuisine. Legumes, bread, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms and fresh fruit are used. Not so much at Brio. Not many choices beyond pasta. Really skimpy on the veg but great fresh fish. Salmon and Tilapia on some occasions. Pricey, however.
Excellent flaxseed flatbread and breads, served warm with butter. Tempting desserts but after all those carbs, who dares to eat them.

Yes, that’s right I have experienced better. We had ordered fried ravioli, and a salad with some of their flat bread which came out being burnt. The only thing pleasant about the meal was the watermelon drink.
I could have done without the waitress explaining every single detail about the deserts on the tray.
The two stars are really for the décor it was nice inside.