I have been to Gates and Brovi twice. I did not write a review the first visit because I wasn't particularly impressed. I do not want to give an unfavorable review after only one visit. Truthfully, I cannot even recall what I ate. I just remember that no one at the table was thrilled with their food. We walked away full but the food was totally forgettable. The first visit was at night, the place was bustling. We had good service despite the crowd.
A few days ago I visited Gates and Brovi at lunch time. It was a business meeting of sorts but my friend and I agreed that we would not bring our paperwork into the restaurant as not to "hog" a table during the busy lunch hour. It turned out we had nothing to worry about. We were at the restaurant for a couple of hours and there were many tables available during our stay.
I had the shrimp salad sandwich and my friend had the eggplant sandwich. I thought the dressing on the shrimp was extremely thin and tasteless. The shrimp were small and probably had been frozen. The bread became soggy and there was a sad little lettuce leaf for some desperately needed crunch. I ate the sandwich with a fork.
The eggplant sandwich looked very appealing. It was a pretty plate of food. However, my friend stated that the sandwich was terribly under-spiced and just bland in general.
So, I do not plan to return until I hear that changes have been made. The menu is very small and not many of the items drew my attention. I cannot believe that the restaurant is run by the same folks who own Sardine and Marigold. Both restaurants have consistently excellent food and a great vibe to go with it. I still hold out hope for Gates and Brovi for the future. ( I wish they would change the name).