BACINO Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Singapore

Almost a 5 stars and honestly I could have been swayed to feel the same....

So when I first walked in at 725pm, I was the only one and it felt awkward. The boss (I think he is) was definitely very welcoming... And assuming he's Italian too, whereas the waiting staffs were ok, and just did their job pretty well. (FYI: The above has no relation to how I rate this place)

I proceeded to order one of my fave Italian Vongole Linguine, while my friend ordered a truffle fries and a cold salmon appetiser... Will cut to the chase and say that ... This was the BEST vongole "pasta" I ever remembered eating in Singapore... If I could just rate the "pasta", it really will be a strong 10/10 (although I was tempted to write 11/10)! The "pasta" was perfectly Al dented and each strain of linguine was well coated with the juices and the so called cream of the clams. I cannot describe it any better but to say it was the best!!

Obviously you will see my " " on the pasta word...and it's simply because the pasta was really good, but the clams was way too tough and chewy. I have to be frank and say that the "pasta" aka the linguine was my main objective... So far, I can't find anything close to that taste... The richness of the sea! Whereas.... The clams it's easy to forget. I was told by the supposed boss that these are fresh clams from Australia that gave it that fresh sea taste, which I can imagine. But what I can't understand is that if they were that fresh, why was it so tough and overly chewy? I did realise there were about 5 clams she'll but plenty of clams.... So could some of those clams be from a can instead? I dun know and I am not bothered that as the "pasta" itself will make me come back here over and over and over again! Surely, this clams gotta play a part in the 4 stars .. and it almost became a 3 if I were to include the cold, tough (free) bread... It's so bad that I wished it wasn't served in the first place. Having been to De Luca (at novena) not so long ago and tasting one of the best warm fresh bread, this was not even anything close. So I guess they surely gotta improve on this area ...

The rest of the 2 dishes were alright... So nothing to shout about.

The boss did had a decent Convo with us and I shared my "pasta" experience but not the clams (out of courtesy), we were also eventually served 2 limoncello which I always loved as my fairytale ending to a great Italian meal. It was really good ... With a slightly overpowering liquorice taste ... Again.. it's still good!

So eventually, that free limoncello and the exceptional world class "pasta" almost made this a 5 stars, but it was also close to a 3.... Eventually a 4 stars or in my honest view, a 8.5/10 for this casual looking restaurant.

Btw (no.1) the wine we had were good too... And btw (no.2) the prices aren't exactly cheap for a casual restaurant like this....

All in all... Hope I don't offend the boss in any way ... But the key thing is, I will surely be back and am already planning one next week! That's how good their vongole "pasta" was (I was told their bolognaise is...

Initial impression - I found this place by simply searching “good Italian food nearby” and this place stood out because of its amazing ratings, 4.7 stars and quite a handful of reviews. After reading the reviews, I was eager to try. I made a reservation. The process was easy and the staff were VERY friendly.

Atmosphere (Excellent) - The place has a very cozy Italian feel to it. When I walked it, i really felt like I was in something like a little Italy. The outdoor area could accommodate pets which was cool, and the indoor area had air conditioning, which i opted for when making the reservation. The owners of the establishment would also walk around the restaurant and talk to the diners about how the food was, and sometimes even having the conversation in Italian (to Italian diners), which REALLY improved the whole vibe. For me, that was the number one indicator of authentic Italian food.

Service (Excellent) - To say that Bacino’s service was merely excellent was an understatement. Firstly, when making a reservation, the process was so smooth, and facilitated by friendly staff. On the day that I went to Bacino, when I walked in I was greeted by the staff and also Evelyn, which was the co-owner of the establishment. Throughout the entire night, the staff always made sure that our glass of water was full, and regularly came to check up on us on how the food was. Additionally (I love this), they also timed the serving of our food in an orderly manner, so as to not overcrowd the table. They really took note of all the small things.

Food (Excellent) - The night started off with a burrata pizza. The reviews do not lie. The bread was really as soft as they say. I could easily bite through the bread without much force. Evelyn also came over to check with us on the food, and at the same time she told us how the bread was made. It was really the highlight of the pizza. Next, we had the lamb sauce pappardelle pasta and the linguine vongole. Linguine vongole - it was basically a clam pasta but prepared really well. The draw for this dish was the abundant amount of clams given. I think there were around 20 pieces in the whole dish. One thing the restaurant took note of was that even though there were so much clams, they took away most of the shells so as to not crowd the plate. A superb dish.

Lamb Pappardelle - I could really taste the lamb in this dish, and to say that it exceeded my expectations is an understatement. It was one of the Chef’s specials.

Overall (Excellent) - Thank you Evelyn and her team of staff for the wonderful evening and amazing food. I hope to be...

I would give a zero but that is not possible. my experience here has left me wondering how this place has 4.7 stars because i did not experience any of that. we ordered the calamari, meatballs, penne arrabiatta and amatricana and all these dishes were extremely disappointing. the calamari was not even cripsy/looked like flour or whatever still sticking on it and it was stacked on top of a sad bowl of vegetables and some lemon slices, came with homemade sauce which also wasn't anything great. next, the meatballs, all i can say is that these are ordinary meatballs that had canned tomatoes poured all over it, there is barely any seasoning. i had some hope for the pastas but they turned out to be the worst thing to set foot on that table, penne arrabiatta- of all the arrabiattas ive had, its usually really saucy with ample chilis, garlic etc but this had 0.1% of that, it had about as much as a spoonful of sauce dumped on a bed of penne that still stuck together, it tasted like tomato water with blend penne. penne amatriciana- this dish usually comes with cooked and diced guanciale, key word DICED whereas this dish was served with slobs of fat guanciale that not even crunchy, (it did not look appetising at all ) which is the usual texture of the diced guanciale in all other amatricianas ive tried, again pasta was sticking together, BARELY any sauce. couldnt even be bothered about dessert because i just wanted to leave the place asap. this was by far the most disapponting meal ive had in a long time and not to mention it is $30 for each of the pastas which is absoutely diabolical considering it tasted like a welfare meal. ive been to many other italian places that do not charge such exorbitant prices for a simple pasta dish. this place seriously needs to do better because this is far...