Brixx offers pizza, beverages for everyone

In the heart of the LanMart building in downtown Petaluma you find Brixx - a warm and welcoming establishment featuring specialty pizzas, a full bar, excellent service and convivial patrons.

The interior is painted dark red and black, and decorated with Americana and gilded mirrors on the walls.

It is split into two levels - on the first level is a bar that seats 10 and eight tables. Upstairs there are eight more tables, in an area visible from the bar through the wrought iron railings, but removed and more conducive to family dining.

There are three big screen televisions, two upstairs and one down, and one larger drop down screen over the stage area.

A small stage in the corner of the bar area features local and touring bands every Saturday night.

The atmosphere is friendly and familiar. It’s clear that there are many customers who make Brixx a regular stop - those dropping by for a drink at the bar, those staying for dinner and those picking up dinners to go.

We saw several friends there with their families, finishing up dinner after a movie, or enjoying a drink while waiting for their take out pizza to be ready.

It was full and lively the Friday night we went, but not so loud that you couldn’t hear or be heard.

While almost every table was full, the turnover was steady, so no one had to wait long for a seat. And service at the full bar was quick and courteous.

Brixx features a variety of 25 specialty thin crust pizzas in 10- and 12-inch sizes. They range from the more traditional combinations with red sauce and plenty of meats to the Speziato Gambero, (spicy shrimp with pesto, roasted peppers, gouda and mozzarella) and the Fun Guy (three mushrooms and caramelized onions with mozzarella, finished with a white truffle oil). Of course, you can always have plain cheese and add your favorite toppings.

They also serve appetizers, have a specialty sandwich menu, with prices for a sandwich and side salad running in the $8.95 to $9.95 range, and a variety of dinner salads (priced from $7 to $8.50).

The establishment serves several local beers on tap, have a full selection of bottled beer and soft drinks, and a wine list that is global and generally priced conservatively. They do offer some wine in the $85 to $90 per bottle price range. At the bar, they feature a variety of specialty cocktails designed by the house.

Brixx is family-owned and operated. It was established in 2009 by Jennifer and Noel Milo, who formerly operated the William Tell House in Tomales, and just celebrated their sixth anniversary in Petaluma.

All of the pizzas and many of the specialty cocktails are recipes of Noel’s or Jennifer’s, aka “Mama.” And they have retained the William Tell salad on their menu, composed of arugula, Granny Smith apples, Point Reyes blue cheese, candied walnuts and bacon.

They consider themselves part of the fabric of Petaluma, posting “Friends of Brixx”on their website, an informal compilation of local restaurants, shops, ranches, wineries, and resources that they like.

Brixx is open seven nights a week, beginning with a happy hour that runs from 4-6 p.m. On Monday nights, you can get a pizza and a bottle of wine for $19.95.

Dinner service runs from 4-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 4-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The bar stays open longer.

When we arrived, we asked our attentive server Neely what pizza she would recommend. Her choice, which we then ordered, was the Ba Da Bing pizza, a hearty composition of hot pepperoni (we subbed out the usual Italian sausage for pepperoni), sweet and hot peppers, mozzarella and house seasonings with a red sauce ($16.95).

As an appetizer, we shared the Spicy Garlic Prawns, a half dozen prawns roasted in olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes and served with toast points ($8.95). This was not a dinner to overdress for - the shrimp, peppers and pepperoni were, as advertised, hot and spicy. But delicious, and not overwhelmingly spicy.

And the pizza, which arrived at our table piping hot, had just the right amount of crunchy thin crust and gooey cheese. That plus the constant buzz of friendly conversation around us led to our conclusion that this is a place we need to come to more often.

(Contact Lynn Haggerty King at argus@arguscouri er.com)