Since 1949, the Bruno family has been Little Rock’s premiere destination for authentic and unrivaled Italian food. With a long list of awards including: Number One Italian Restaurant in Central Arkansas by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, best customer service by Rock City Eats, and Best Italian Restaurant 2014, 2015, & 2016 by the Arkansas Times, Bruno’s Little Italy takes pride in offering you generations of delicious family recipes, great service, and a beautiful atmosphere.
We welcome you to participate in the Bruno’s Little Italy experience!
click topics
cured meats, aged cheeses, olives, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes & marinated mushrooms
our house dinner salad tossed with cured meats (soppressata, prosciutto, pepperoni) & cheeses small / 7
with house vinegar and oil dressing / 4 with gorgonzola dressing / 4.50 add anchovies / 1 white anchovies / 2
add grilled chicken 14 / Small Caesar 4.50
with meat or marinara sauce for dipping (a favorite of Lauren Weintraub)
Large button mushrooms baked in butter, seasonings, cheese, and breadcrumbs
pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic butter, & italian hot peppers
cup/ 3.50 bowl / 5
cup/ 4 bowl / 5.50
with mushrooms
breaded chicken livers, marinara sauce, & mushrooms
homemade Italian sausage, prosciutto, pancetta in butter, cream, & egg sauce
child portion / 5 over 12 / 7
if over 12 / 9
with Romano cheese (child portion) / 5 if over 12 / 7
with Romano cheese
(Bruno’s first patron) garlic, oil, spices, & Romano cheese
red onion, oil, spices, & Romano cheese
topped with muzzarella and baked
layered with ricotta, muzzarella & Romano cheeses, Italian sausage, meat balls & cured meats, covered in Meat Sauce (featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives)
(lady’s glove) a filling of ricotta, muzzarella, & ramano cheeses, italian sausage, meatballs, and cured meats wrapped in pasta, with meat sauce, baked ala Sorrento
a blend of cheeses with fresh spinach, mushrooms, broccoli, eggplant, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes & squash, wrapped in pasta, baked ala Sorrento in marinara sauce
seasoned beef wrapped in pasta, covered in meat or alfredo sauce, baked ala Sorrento
with marinara sauce, with meat sauce or mushroom sauce / 16 ala Sorrento/ add 2
marinara or meat sauce / 14
add grilled chicken / 19
butter & Romano cheese
pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes & fresh basil in lemon-butter sauce
butter, garlic, mushrooms & seasoned beef
red or white sauce
sun-dried tomatoes & red onion add grilled chicken / 21 add shrimp / 23
with mushrooms
tossed with meat sauce, ricotta & Romano cheeses
with marinara & mushrooms
in a fresh lemon & mushroom gravy, served over fettuccini
with marinara
top round veal slices, prosciutto, & roasted mushrooms in a marsala wine sauce
tossed with marinara & mostacciolli
pulled chicken with marinara, mushrooms & rosemary
pulled chicken with mushrooms, cream, & fresh oregano
garlic cream sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes & fresh tarragon, served over fettuccini
fresh lemon, butter, capers, served over linguini
fresh lemon, butter, capers, served over linguini
with prosciutto & roasted mushrooms in marsala wine sauce
breaded livers, mushrooms, & Romano cheese in pan gravy over spaghetti
shrimp, sea scallops, fresh clams, & mushrooms in a cream pesto sauce
in egg-cream sauce
marinara or meat sauce
with choice of red, white, or pink sauce
A Side of spaghetti is served with meat, seafood, eggplant, and chicken dishes that are not already served over pasta.
The original pizza: tomato sauce & fresh garlic with spices & romano cheese, no muzzarella
(no cheese)
a fourth each of cheese, sausage, anchovy & mushroom (no substitutions)
sausage, mushroom, pepperoni, beef, red onion & black olive (no substitutions, no additions, no subtractions, no halves) (a favorite of Larry Jegley)
mushroom, black olive, bell pepper, red onion & zucchini (no substitutions, no additions, no halves)
baked filled pizza crust with spiced ricotta, muzzarella, romano cheeses, & prosciutto, served with marinara sauce for dipping
(NOT a stuffed pizza turnover) (maximum 1 added ingredient)
extra cheese, mushroom, anchovy, red onion, Canadian bacon, seasoned beef, garlic, black olive, pepperoncini (mild), zucchini, & green olive
white anchovy, soppressata, Italian sausage, bacon, prosciutto di parma , pepperoni, roasted bell peppers, Italian hot peppers, & fresh spinach
cheese cake
Italian pastry (two per order)
a light, sweet, whipped custard with marsala or amaretto, served with lady fingers
Italian tri-flavored ice cream
Italian tri-flavored ice cream with cake layer
Italian cinnamon-almond ice cream
* all housemade
by the pint to-go 6
free refills
free refills
coke, diet coke, sprite, dr. pepper / free refills
bottled or sparkling
Bread basket refills are available upon request.
Due to limited seating, we can only seat (at a single table) parties of 12 or less.
No checks accepted.
Gift certificates and T-shirts available
The vast majority of our recipes are exactly as our father, Jimmy Bruno, handed them down to us. Our family came over from Naples in southern Italy at the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, our recipes may be different than you expect from previous at-home, family dining, or restaurant experiences. But, we believe you will find a dish from our family’s legacy to be to your liking.
Gio and Vince Bruno
by Giovanni Bruno and Gennaro Giuda. Sung by Giuseppe Milano.
by Gio Vanni Bruno
Between 1900 and 1905, brothers Nicola, Gennaro and Vincenzo Bruno (sons of Stanislas Bruno) each arrived in the United States from Naples, Italy. Vincenzo soon returned to Naples, but his brothers remained here and encouraged another of their brothers, Giovanni Bruno, to join them in America. Giovanni arrived on the boat at Ellis Island sometime between 1903 and 1907. It is two of the three brothers, Gennaro and Giovanni, that my father credited with helping introduce Pizza as a commercial product in the United States by opening one of the first pizzerias in New York City. Nicola remained proprietor of an Italian grocery store.
My father was Vincent “Jimmy” Bruno, Giovanni’s son. Giovanni (6/21/1883-7/9/1950) was considered an extraordinary chef and baker (at one point he was supposedly head of the local baker’s union), but was probably better known and revered as a gifted Neapolitan poet and lyricist. He was friends with the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (Caruso was godfather to my Aunt Clara) and wrote several published tribute poems in Caruso’s honor.
According to my father, from age six he worked and learned in the kitchen of his father’s restaurant and bakery. Coming from a lineage that reportedly cooked for the kings of Italy, he mastered the authentic recipes of Italian cuisine handed down through his family, as well as studying under other renowned chefs.
Even as a child, Jimmy was sent out by his father to teach the skill of pizza-making to others for a fee. While serving as a staff sergeant in the army during World War II, wearing both hats of chef (in the mess hall) and entertainer/emcee (with the USO), he was stationed at North Little Rock’s Camp Robinson, getting his first taste of Arkansas.
Upon leaving the service, he and some of his army buddies opened the first pizzeria in Chicago’s famous Loop, as part of the Yacht Club at 421 South Wabash Avenue. It was a turbulent time in Chicago, with organized crime trying to sell …
310 Main Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Tuesday – Thursday
5:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Friday – Saturday
5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
~ NO RESERVATIONS ~
New Years Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas
background video & photos by Markham Park
We offer FREE VALET PARKING at night.
Also we are a first come first serve restaurant,