Boca — Restaurant in Hickory

I just dined at Boca with my boyfriend this evening, and while the restaurant's ambiance was quite lovely, the overall experience fell far short of our expectations, especially given the high prices.

Starting with the positives: the décor and atmosphere were warm and inviting, with festive Christmas decorations that made the space feel cozy. The menu is expansive, offering something for vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike, which was appreciated.

In spite of those positives, we were incredibly disappointed with several other aspects of our visit. First, the service. The host and waitress both had a cold, distant demeanor, which made us feel more like an inconvenience than valued customers. While our waitress did the bare minimum—refilling drinks and checking in on the food—she lacked the warmth or attentiveness that one would expect, especially at a restaurant of this caliber.

Next, the food itself. For the price, we anticipated high-quality dishes, but this was absolutely not the case across the board. We ordered the naan and falafel as tapas. The naan and its accompanying spreads were admittedly delicious, but the falafel was completely burnt—so much so that my boyfriend had to spit his piece out. We didn’t complain, hoping that the entrees we ordered would redeem the meal.

Unfortunately they didn’t. My veggie burger was overcooked, with one side completely burnt and the patty itself very dry. It had only a small amount of mayo, and I had to ask for mustard just to make it more edible. The fries were fine, but they couldn’t make up for how disappointing the burger was.

My boyfriend's Argentinian Pork Sliders were also inconsistent. Each slider had a different sauce ratio, with one having far too much mayo, another having a mix of mayo and green sauce, and the last one barely having any sauce at all. Worse yet, the temperatures of the sliders all varied, which made the dish feel hastily put together. While we’re not ones to waste food, my boyfriend struggled to finish the last slider.

Overall, Boca had a lot of potential to be a great dining experience, but the execution fell flat, both in terms of the service and the food quality. Given the premium pricing, we expected a much better experience and were left extremely disappointed. I hope management can address these inconsistencies and improve the dining experience moving forward. We would not likely...

The food was good, but the service was probably the strangest experience I've ever had at a restaurant. My wife and I were meeting our daughter for lunch. We arrived before my daughter and were seated by a waiter. After we sit and look at the menu he brings us water and the first words out of his mouth to my wife were, "are you going to be drinking something other than water, because you're looking at the wine menu?" As if my wife didn't know what she was looking at. My wife responded by saying water will be fine for now. She was looking on the back of the menu to see if their beer selection was listed.

When the waiter came back he said, "do you know what you want?" I asked what the beer selection was and we ordered a beer with our food order. The beer never came. Our food arrived and still no beer. So I asked about the beer and our waiter didn't say a word, just turned an left to get our beer. When he came back with the beer he didn't apologize for not bringing it earlier he just sat it down on the table and walked away. When he came back he didn't ask how our meal was or anything, just "can I take your plate?"

So my wife had an appointment to get to so she left and me and my daughter were waiting on the check. I told my daughter I'm going to ask him if he's having a bad day or is he always like this. If he's having a bad day then I understand and forgive his service. He brought the check over and we paid with the electronic checkout and I asked him the question. He just turned his head, looked and me, rolled his eyes and walked away. It was by far the weirdest experience as a diner I've ever had. I asked my wife before she left if we had done something to make him angry and she said no I just think he's a rude person.

I spoke to the manager on the way out and shared our experience. He apologized and hoped we would return. I told him it was not a...

Boca is in a nice location with nice decor & ambiance, with upscale prices. I've been here twice now, in both cases the restaurant was lively and very busy. The menu consists of small plates & a selection of large plates, with a selection made to meet the desires of everyone. Seafood, meats, cheeses, and vegetables.

When you're seated, water carafes are supplied and generally kept full. This is unfiltered city water.

Tonight we ordered a variety of plates including roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts, sliders, edamame, soups, and more.

Brussel spouts and cauliflower came out first. The brussel sprouts were notably undercooked and tough, without any interesting flavor-just brussel sprouts . Cauliflower was unremarkable in flavor and grilled but not undercooked. Edamame was served in a tasty zingy Asian sauce but also notably undercooked. Sliders were served on buns that were cold, as in refrigerated. Perhaps this was intended but I found it unusual.

Drinks ordered were served within 5-10 minutes and were quite good. Both creative and well crafted. Their cucumber gimlet is excellent. A jalepeno infused margarita is also a great choice. Other cocktails were ordered at the table and they did not disappoint.

Regular drinks at the table were fine though not-sweet tea was frequently refilled with sweet. Drinks do frequently go empty for extended periods of time.

Our party did not try deserts tonight, though on a prior visit they were excellent.

Overall, the preparation of signature tapas and large plates leaves much to be desired at these price points. This is not an inexpensive restaurant and a dish as simple as brussel sprouts at almost $10 for a small plate should not be undercooked. The cocktails are consistently...