Bosco Pizzeria — Restaurant in Bath

I don’t normally leave reviews as most issues are small and easily fixed, however these ones are bigger.

Having heard a lot about Bosco and eager to support a new local business my friends and I decided to try it out. None of us want to go back. The staff weren’t that friendly and didn’t seem to be trained properly with regards to the menu. One of our party is Gluten Free and was told that she couldn’t have any of the pasta or pizzas as there were no GF options, which is absolutely shocking. However, a few days after our visit she discovered there were a couple of options, not a great selection, but a few things she could have had other than a salad if the waiter had been trained…so she got her meal refunded. The waiter should’ve known what was GF and if he didn’t then he should’ve asked someone else or tried to have put something else together for her.

Furthermore, a couple of us were vegetarian and vegan. They do not have a vegan menu! Which again for 2021 is completely shocking and unacceptable. I don’t think I’ve been to a restaurant without a vegan menu for years and years, I had no trouble with vegan food in Italy and it has never been a problem with the heaps of other Italian restaurants in Bath which offer a separate menu with vegan cheese, pesto and desserts. Even fast food meat based chains likes Maccies offer vegan alternatives. Succeeding in Bath with high rents and vast competition is difficult, especially when isolating a lot of people. There seemed to be one pasta dish that was meat free and I was told they could simply serve it without cheese to make it vegan. It was a small portion and pretty dry, I’ve bought better red sauce from a supermarket but for this I was charged £10. My other option was a cheerless pizza….not even a suitable salad. Again in other Italians the pomodoro pasta option is cheaper and tastier than this. It must also be noted that the cheese which the pasta and pizzas come with is not vegetarian as the vegetarian in our party discovered written in the small print at the bottom of the menu, which she almost missed. She had to request the vegetarian option…this should be made more clear as most people assume the cheese is vegetarian and could easily end I know eating the other.

The other members in our party without dietary preferences or allergies were able to order fine, but didn’t think it was anything special and were also disappointed with the service received. Such a shame, we all love eating out and do it...

In one fell swoop, Bosco has landed into Bath’s foodie scene and taken the crown as the best Italian restaurant in town - in the face of A LOT of competition.

The first thing you’ll notice on arrival is the friendly, welcoming staff who are incredibly attentive and chatty and very knowledgable about the food and drinks on offer.

Despite being really busy, drinks orders come very quickly and it never feels like a long wait for food. We’ve eaten here twice and, on our last visit, a very apologetic waitress arrived with our mains. Apparently there had been an issue with the ordering. But, because we were having such a great time, we hadn’t even noticed - but accepted the offer of a complimentary round of drinks nonetheless!

The starters are incredible - the best arancini we’ve ever had, fantastic and flavoursome veal meatballs and sensational fennel sausage that you’ll want to order every time. There’s also a great selection of meats and cheeses - I highly recommend the pecorino fresco toscano and prosciutto di Parma.

As for the mains, the parmigiana di melanzane is incredible and the pizzas are sensational. We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to pizzas in Bath, but it’s the dining experience and setting that means Bosco stands head and shoulders above its competition. There’s a good selection of pasta and “large plates” although I find it hard not to order pizzas from Bosco’s two wood-fired ovens - which are quite the sight when you enter the restaurant. I guess I’ll just need to come back to try more dishes!

The restaurant itself is nicely decorated with a really cool courtyard area with in/out piazza style seating, larger sheltered tables and inside a big mixture of tables and booths. There’s further seating upstairs with a terrace and, with a bar upstairs also, the drinks come very quickly! Speaking of which - the cocktails we’ve tried are soo good - especially the stiff espresso martini...

If you’re here because you saw it recommended on TikTok or you’re looking for a nice lunch or dinner spot like we did, don’t bother. There are plenty of better Italian places around. For pasta, I’d recommend Solina instead.

The pasta was the biggest disappointment. It seemed like they were aiming for an al dente texture, but it completely missed the mark, somehow both mushy and a bit hard at the same time, and it stuck to my teeth in a really unpleasant way. We ended up leaving most of it. Before that, we ordered three starters, but only received two of the correct ones, plus bread we didn’t order. When we asked about the missing starter, we were told it was coming, but it took a while to arrive. For pizza it’s nothing special, if you tried Rudy’s Pizza then you wouldn’t appreciate this one.

The service wasn’t great either. I booked through Google rather than the website. On their website, it clearly shows what tables are available for each time slot, but on Google it’s split into “Restaurant” and “Counter” seating. I know I selected “Restaurant” (since I did not scroll down to the split counter section), yet when we arrived, they insisted my booking was for the counter. This was frustrating, especially as there were clearly tables for two available. We were eventually given a table, which I appreciated, but the awkward start set a negative tone for the rest of the evening.

Between the food and the service, the experience fell well short of expectations. Having worked in hospitality myself, I really tried not to make a fuss but it’s hard to justify paying for a meal we didn’t enjoy and still leaving the service charge despite everything. Of course, we paid for everything without making a scene as we just wanted to leave, but I’d warn anyone looking for a nice and peaceful dinner to...