Bravado Small Plates & Pizzabar is now open in Franklin’s Cool Springs area. The newest concept from POP Hospitality Group is hosting a soft opening for dinner from Wednesday, September 23, through Saturday, October 2, at 1770 Galleria Blvd. The restaurant brings Italian-inspired small plates, house-made pasta, wood-fired pizza, craft cocktails, and weekend brunch to Franklin’s growing dining scene.
The space has taken another turn since Honeysuckle closed in May 2025. At the time, the team hinted that a new concept was in development. Soon after, that next chapter had a name: Bravado. The restaurant now gives the familiar Cool Springs address a fresh identity centered on Italian-inspired food and lively hospitality.
Bravado joins POP Hospitality Group’s independent restaurant family, which spans more than 25 years. The group’s Nashville restaurants include NashHouse, The Row Kitchen & Pub, and The Treehouse Nashville. With Bravado, the team brings their experience and hospitality approach to Franklin. Take a look through the photo gallery below for a peek inside the restaurant and a closer look at some of the menu items.
Italian Small Plates, Fresh Pasta, and Wood-Fired Pizza
Bravado’s menu is built around food created to be shared, with a mix of Italian-inspired small plates, fresh pasta, wood-fired Neo-Neapolitan pizza, and dessert. The approach encourages guests to explore the menu, mix and match dishes, and enjoy a relaxed meal around the table. The small plates offer plenty of options for sharing, including whipped goat cheese with pistachio and honey, Tuscan risotto with wild mushrooms and truffle oil, patatas bravas, wood-fire Brussels sprouts with whiskey maple gastrique, and Bravado meatballs served with whipped ricotta. The menu also features salads such as Caesar, Caprese, and beets with goat cheese, along with entrées including chicken Milanese, Faroe Island salmon, pork tenderloin, and flat iron steak.
The pasta is made fresh using 100% imported Italian semolina. Options include radiatori alla vodka with spicy vodka sauce, spaghetti bolognese with a pork, beef, and veal ragù, fungi gemelli with wild mushrooms and Reggiano, and gamberoni campanelle with jumbo shrimp, parsley, and garlic butter.
Pizza is another centerpiece of the menu, with a focused selection designed around quality ingredients and traditional techniques. Bravado uses Italian flour, certified San Marzano tomatoes, all-natural cheeses, and a 48-hour fermentation process. Pizzas are cooked at high temperatures to create the characteristic charred spots known as “leoparding.” Guests can choose from options including the classic Margherita, four-cheese, wild mushroom, spicy pepperoni, prosciutto, and vegetable-forward pizzas. Dipping sauces and hot honey are also available.
Chef Sean Foley leads the kitchen, bringing experience and culinary discipline to Bravado’s ingredient-driven approach. Imported cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil plays an important role throughout the menu, while the use of quality Italian ingredients helps shape the restaurant’s pasta and pizza programs.
Bravado also operates without seed oils throughout its kitchen, with an emphasis on straightforward ingredients and careful preparation. That philosophy extends across the menu, from the shareable small plates to the fresh pasta and wood-fired pizza. The result is a menu designed for a slower, more social dining experience. Guests can start with several small plates, add a pizza or pasta, and settle in with a cocktail. Whether it’s a casual dinner, date night, family meal, or gathering with friends, the menu gives diners plenty of ways to build a meal and share it together.
A Cool Springs Restaurant Made for Lingering
Bravado pairs its food menu with a curated cocktail program featuring classic and seasonal drinks. The restaurant also offers non-alcoholic beverages for guests looking beyond traditional cocktails. Together, the food and drinks create a relaxed setting built around conversation and another round.
The restaurant’s interior adds plenty of personality. Its mid-century Italian influence appears alongside playful murals depicting restaurant workers as acrobats. Pizza peels, bicycles, wine, hot plates, and high dives turn the realities of restaurant work into a colorful visual story.
One of the most interactive elements is a projection-mapped mural. Guests can press a button and temporarily become part of the artwork. The image then returns to its regular display, creating a playful photo opportunity and giving the restaurant another memorable feature.
That mix of food and design reflects Bravado’s larger personality. The restaurant takes its kitchen seriously without making the experience feel formal. Guests can focus on the food while enjoying an energetic space designed for spending time together.
Kelly Black on Pizza, Ingredients, and Building Bravado
Kelly Black, Founder and Operator of POP Hospitality Group, brings decades of pizza experience to Bravado. He has worked in pizza throughout his career and traveled internationally to study the craft. His knowledge includes food science, baking, dough development, tomato acidity, and the details that influence a finished pizza.
“I’ve been working in pizza my whole life, and I’ve toured the world for that purpose,” Black says. That experience helped shape Bravado’s pizza program and its focus on imported ingredients. He also wanted the restaurant’s other food programs to receive the same level of attention.
Black intentionally kept the pizza menu small rather than creating an oversized list. “We’re trying to be small, super focused, and make the food well,” he says. That philosophy extends beyond pizza, influencing the restaurant’s pasta, small plates, sourcing, and overall dining experience.
For Black, the small details behind creating a pizza matter as much as the finished product. He understands the relationship between flour, fermentation, baking, tomatoes, acidity, and heat. That technical perspective gives Bravado’s pizza program a clear point of view within the restaurant.
Behind the Kitchen: Fresh Herbs and Thoughtful Sourcing
Bravado’s ingredient philosophy extends beyond the kitchen and onto its patio. The restaurant currently grows fresh basil, rosemary, sage, and mint on their back patio. Black says the garden reflects the restaurant’s commitment to growing what it can directly on-site.
“We’re lucky the garden outside is still able to put out herbs,” he says. “So there’s your basil, rosemary, sage, and mint.” Those herbs already support Bravado’s pizza program, with fresh basil making its way onto pizzas served from the wood-fired oven.
Black hopes to expand the restaurant’s urban gardening efforts with hydroponics. A hydroponic kit is already on-site, but the patio garden continues producing herbs for now. “We’re not able to go hydroponic yet,” he says, pointing to the equipment waiting for future use.
The garden will not supply the entire restaurant, but Black sees it as a meaningful start. “The urban gardening is not going to pull the whole restaurant,” he explains. “But that’s our effort.” For now, that commitment brings fresh herbs directly from Bravado’s patio to the kitchen.
From Dinner to Brunch and Lunch in Franklin
Bravado opened for their soft opening on Wednesday, September 23, with dinner service starting at 4 pm for its first 12 days. The restaurant is using this opening period to fine-tune kitchen operations and service before expanding its schedule. Brunch is set to follow in early October, giving guests another way to experience the new Cool Springs restaurant.
Weekday lunch will join the lineup afterward, with a menu built around sandwiches, salads, and other midday options. Brunch will bring Chef Foley’s own take to the weekend menu, adding another layer to Bravado’s Italian-inspired dining experience. The gradual rollout allows the team to establish each service while maintaining the focused approach behind the restaurant.
The expanded schedule also gives Bravado more opportunities to become part of the local dining routine. Guests can stop in for a relaxed lunch, plan a weekend brunch, or settle in for dinner and cocktails. The restaurant’s shareable format makes it easy to build a meal around the table, whether dining with family, friends, or a date.
Private dining and events are also available for groups of eight or more. From celebrations and gatherings to casual dinners with friends, Bravado is designed to bring people together over good food and drinks. As the restaurant moves beyond its opening phase, its growing service schedule will offer even more reasons to pull up a seat in Cool Springs.
A New Chapter for 1770 Galleria Boulevard
Bravado gives the former Honeysuckle space a new direction while keeping the focus on hospitality and quality food. Their combination of Italian small plates, house-made pasta, wood-fired pizza, and cocktails creates a distinct dining experience in Cool Springs. Guests can stop by now through October 2 for dinner service starting at 4 pm daily. After October 2, Bravado will fully open and expand their menu and hours to include brunch starting on October 3 and lunch added on October 5.
Bravado Small Plates & Pizzabar offers a welcoming place to gather over thoughtfully prepared food and drinks. Before leaving, guests should also check out the interactive mural in the dining room, where they can press a red button to temporarily become part of the restaurant’s mural. It’s a fun, interactive experience and the perfect opportunity to capture a memorable dining moment.
Whether stopping in for dinner, planning a weekend brunch, or gathering with favorite people for a private event, Bravado offers plenty of reasons to settle in and stay awhile. Come hungry, share a few plates, and save room for one more.
Bravado Small Plates & Pizzabar Photo Gallery
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Image Source: Bravado Small Plates & Pizzabar
