La Boca Restaurant — Restaurant in Doncaster

We visited on a Saturday night for my boyfriend’s birthday. We booked a table online.

We came via car, very easy to get to off the motorway. We parked at the Markets car park which was only £1 for the evening which was very good value. It was around a 2 min walk.

Inside the restaurant it’s nicely decorated and clean. There are some steps up to the restaurant which may be useful for some to know.

We ordered a Risotto con Carne & a Plato de La Boca (mixed grill).

The meals came very fast, maybe 10 minutes after ordering. I had the risotto which was really nice and a big portion. It was very cheesy and I would say it did get sickly towards the end. The selling point of my risotto was that it was topped with steak. I was disappointed this was 4 tiny well-done pieces of steak (one of which was just pure gristle), which were very chewy and I ended up leaving. I was shocked as they looked very tender, so this was a big let down, especially as this dish was almost £30. The garlic ciabatta that came with the dish was very nice.

My boyfriend had the mixed grill. He also said his steak was not the best and was disappointed. He asked for medium rare, but the steak was very well done. He did not bring this up to staff though, so we appreciate no option to correct was given. He said the rest of the meats were nice, but the chorizo did have lots of very hard bone-like chunks in it which I wasn’t a fan of. I will say the chips were lovely and we both agreed they were the best part of the meal.

We shared churros for desert which were quite nice. The staff came over with a complimentary brownie and sang happy birthday to my boyfriend which was nice- they did it for lots of people they groups too whilst we were there and l, so nice to know they have an option for special occasions.

Staff were very attentive and hard working. Can’t fault the service at all in the restaurant!

Our bill came to £95 for 1 Pepsi, 1 larger, 2 mains & 1 dessert + 10% service charge.

Overall I would definitely recommend a trip. It’s definitely on the more pricy side, but nice food. If I returned again I would order a straight steak off the menu, as I don’t feel the quality of the steak on the mixed grill & risotto was very good, so don’t feel we had the best steak experience. I won’t rush back though in all honesty, especially as we...

Having been told about how great La Boca is, and then being given a voucher for Christmas, we just had to give this place a try.

We were greeted by a nicely designed, warm restaurant which had a lovely atmosphere. We were visiting on a Tuesday and there was a healthy amount of diners in which is always a good sign.

We were greeted and seated very quickly and drinks ordered. We were pleased to see a good range of mocktails available for us non-drinkers and got an order of non-alcoholic Pina Colada's on the go whilst we perused the menu. Elina introduced herself as our server and even offered to take a photo of us which was a great personal touch. She also enquired about whether we were celebrating too.

Our drinks arrived quickly and were tasty and a good size. Our orders were taken and Elina advised us of general cook times, as the pork belly takes 30 minutes which allowed us to add a shared starter to tide us over whilst we waited, again a nice touch.

Our starter, nachos, arrived quickly, piping hot, with plenty of vibrant colour from the toppings! Over all a very generous portion, considering we went for the small, and packed full of flavour with a perfect topping to nacho ratio!

Between our starter and main, a pallet cleanser of a lemon sorbet was brought to the table which again is a really nice touch.

Our mains were quick to follow and were beautifully presented. The pork belly had crispy crackling and tender meat, seated on lusciously creamy mash and a rich hearty gravy/sauce. It was delicious! M's lamb shank was also so tender and flavourful, with the rich jus adding a punch of extra flavour on the side.

We ordered a side of Mac & cheese and with the powerful flavours from our main, the cheesiness was lost in the Mac and cheese and tasted a bit on the mellow side. I'd recommend adding some more punch of cheese to the Mac and cheese to allow it a better chance of standing up there with the powerful flavours of the mains.

By the end of our mains we were both stuffed and were unable to go for a dessert. Our bill was brought with a small chocolate treat, we paid and were on our way happy and full!

Overall, I would 100% recommend la Boca for a great meal out. It's clear that attention to detail is key and the staff, especially Elina, made the whole experience enjoyable. We will...

This is not a moan or a winge but honest feedback. After being welcomed into the restaurant and shown to our table we were told that our 'server' would be back shortly to take our drinks order... 10min later I called the guy over. Told him which bottle of wine we wanted and that we also knew what we wanted to eat. 15min later our bottle of wine appeared and the jug of water we asked for. Then to our surprise the food came. We both had ordered a ribeye stake cooked rare. Both steaks where cooked rare as requested but my steak I had to cut a lot of viens and sinew out of it. I left them in a pile on my plate. Once we had finished, our plates where taken and the waiter never even asked or enquired if there was anything wrong with the steak. We then ordered two espresso and asked for them to be strong. The espresso was short but weak and when the waiter asked if they were OK I told him that they were both poor. He then said the he "only takes the orders" ... So what was the point in asking if he wasn't going to take the feedback and do something with it? I asked for the bill and a different person came along with the card machine. He asked if the meal had been OK, so I told him that he deserved honest feedback and that was "we had eaten better for cheaper" He accepted that but never asked what could have been done better... So, if he's reading this...

1. a more prompt service for ordering drinks. When told that the waiter would be back shortly, we wouldn't expect 10min
2. a more prompt service to deliver the drinks... 15min after ordering a bottle of red wine is too long.
3. if someone complains about something, take the complaint and do something or at least say that the complaint will be passed on. Doing or saying nothing makes the customer feel under valued.
4. if a waiter sees an unusual amount of rough cut steak left on the plate, someone should ask if there was any problem with the meal. Most customers hate to bring up a complaint first but if asked they are more likely to.

In our other reviews of restaurants we always pose the question "would we go back?" Our answer to this one...