Bocca Bistro — Restaurant in Boone

I originally wrote this review and it was immediately after patronizing the restaurant. I've now waited and am posting with hindsight.

It must be noted the buffalo chicken sandwich was edible and the garlic knots were the only thing we finished!

I legitimately would offer this restaurant up for that show with Gordon Ramsey where he comes in and tells everyone what they're doing wrong and how to best improve the restaurant. Honestly without an intervention like that, I can't imagine how it will survive.

For me, I will never dine here or recommend it to any person for any reason.

The first odd encounter was it was a weekend evening and when we called to make sure we could get in the host said on the phone that we "should definitely make a reservation" despite planning to come in about an hour and change before close. When we arrived there were only 3 other patrons in the establishment and the hostess gave us a blank stare and an entirely apathetic attitude bordering on nihilism but that would require a bit more intellect.

It was $80 for two entrees and two basic mixed drinks and I think they think it's okay because of the size of the portions. It absolutely was not. To kick things off, the tap water was so grimy we had two sips and gave up.

We started with garlic knots which were sizeable but our waitress forgot the sauce we asked for. The second drink ordered took way too long considering there were three waitresses, a bartender, at least one cook, someone else whose role seemed undefined, and a food runner present and no orders on deck. No one employed here seemed to even remotely want to be there. Shoutout to the food runner though as he seemed to be the only person actually doing his job (and well).

The pasta entree was enormous, which would've been great had it been remotely edible. Their "Sunday sauce" is a marinara that tasted watered down, the chicken in the pasta dish tasted canned, whether it was or not is entirely besides the point that I couldn't choke down more than a few bites.

The service was mediocre at best but the attitudes and general ambiance was wavering on depressing. Please save yourself the trouble and the money and go somewhere else. Also of the few bites I ate, my stomach rumbled with a defined distaste the...

We took a family day trip to Boone/Blowing Rock and found this place by accident. The best accident we've ever been in! Ava was our waitress and she was absolutely perfect. Her recommendations, honesty and genuine personality radiated a glow. After our daughter shut her thumb in the car door, Ava offered a cup of ice to help her feel better, with no need to ask! Paul was a gentleman and was delightful to speak with and very very respectful. The food, holy smokes. I got the Chicken Marie and it was absolutely fantastic. They asked me what kind of pasta I wanted for my "side".... I got more pasta than I put on my plate for spaghetti night! The flavors were punchy, the calamari was perfect, the tea was fresh, and the pizza, omg the pizza, melts in your mouth after a pleasant crisp crunch that you seek for. Absolutely blew away our expectations and definitely set a standard! Highly recommend. My wife and kids all left very thankful, full, happy. Thank you for welcoming us into your establishment and treating us like family. Amazing experience and will officially be our go to every time we travel to Boone/Blowing Rock. Thank you to Ava especially for being so sweet and genuinely interested in her tables. I can't rave enough. Paul was on expedite duty and was swift, pleasant, respectful and had a great energy about him. The place was super clean, bathrooms were stocked and spotless. An absolute treat and a sure fire hit. The red sauce hit home as it refreshed my senses with my late Grandma's Sunday sauce🥹. Has a very authentic New York / Connecticut connection somewhere in the kitchen. Did I mention how amazing this place is?!?!...

We have eaten once and experienced delayed seating even though not full table tops. Sadly, a very nice interior, good good choices…BUT it’s an annoying service approach to hold customers from seating because “the kitchen needs a break to catch up” and guests are forced to sit in the uncomfortable lobby area until the “kitchen catches up”? I would rather be seated with a heads up expectation statement “the kitchen is very busy right now so please excuse a slight delay for food service”. I will NEVER BE BACK.

Update: I guess I was not clear enough with my experience 🤷‍♀️. On our first visit we sat waiting to be seated, when we got seated we were happy with the food experience. On our second visit, the greeter/hostess told us it was a 10 minute wait for a table, so I asked if we could sit at the bar, (which I could see vacant seats) and she said..”it does not matter where you sit it’s still a 10 minute wait to give the kitchen a break and a chance to catch up”. The owner reminded me in their response of a “nationwide staff shortage”..that is true, but using your kitchen as an excuse unfortunately tells me there is something else wrong..customer service training maybe? I perfectly understand busy times and staff shortage, but the excuse was unacceptable to me. By the way, we went to another restaurant..also Italian..and even though they were two staff down, the seated us immediately and advised the one and only wait staff would be with us as soon as possible while the “host” offered us beverages and menus…that’s good attentive...