Bacio — Restaurant in Minnetonka

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary here and really enjoyed it. We arrived about an hour before our reservation so had a few drinks at the bar. My husband enjoyed their beer selection and I had two mocktails (the basil lavender mocktail was excellent). Our server was attentive but not overly and we closed out our tab for 4 drinks (two beers and two mocktails) for $30 including tip which I thought was reasonable.

We were seated right on time in a nice booth. It was loud the entire time, and therefore hard to hear each other even sitting in a booth just a few feet apart but otherwise the ambiance was quite nice.

Service was again well paced and attentive without being intrusive - excellent. Our waitress let us know the kitchen was 99% scratch which we thought was awesome. We both ordered salads (I got the Ciao Bella which was tasty and my husband got the Caesar which he enjoyed).

For mains my husband ordered the Chicken Parm - he said it was excellent and the only think he’d change was mozzarella topping the dish instead of burrata but otherwise really good. I got the chicken on a brick I think it was called. It has a beurre blanc mushroom sauce and white cheddar mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus. Excellent all around - I really enjoyed it.

We both got dessert (the waitress comped one in honor of our anniversary which was so sweet!) so I ordered the crème brûlée and he ordered the tiramisu. The crème brûlée was very good - highly recommend. The custard was the perfect creaminess - my only edit would be that the sugar glass is a bit thicker so the crunch is nicer but honestly minor detail. It was awesome. And the tiramisu was good too - he said he didn’t think they used real ladyfinger cookies but instead it seemed like cake and it was a little light on the coffee flavor but otherwise still excellent. Pricing was reasonable for a fun night out with great food and service.

Thanks for a...

Yesterday we ate here for a friends birthday and had the WORST experience ever. From the moment my friend and I walked in the waiters at the front desk especially a white male was staring at us as if we were in the wrong place and yes, we are black. There was no specific dress code on the website so I don’t understand why he looked at us in pure disgust when we were simply wearing dresses and heels. One of them finally led us to the table where the rest of our friends were sitting. The service of course was rushed because they had a party coming in after us so while food was still at the table and we weren’t ready to leave yet one of the waiters were bussing our spoons and forks as if signaling us that it’s time to go. The other waiter that had our tab did not ask our party of 7 how we wanted to go about paying, instead grouped our tab all together on one. When we asked if we can get it split individually, he got upset and told us we needed to wait aggressively. When we finally got up to leave, the same white male from the front desk came to our table and seemed to be getting it ready for the next party and was shaking his head and making rude gestures. We went to the front to report the unprofessional treatment of their servers while we were dining and no one seemed to take us seriously. They pretty much brushed it off with a few “we’re sorry” and that was it. As we were leaving the same white male server came to the front and started to laugh as we were walking out as if he was glad that we finally left. Will NEVER be coming here again or recommend this...

I started going to this restaurant more than 7 years ago, and it was truly an upscale Italian restaurant with an outstanding menu and service, all worth the price, which was in line with the experience. Now...not so much. Last night was the proverbial nail in the coffin of my returning. As a result of the previous outing, I got sick. That should have been enough to convince me. Specifically, the brussels sprouts were woody to the point I was not sure what I was eating, and the cobbler was tasty, but it was not cobbler. More like lazy chef cobbler. I am reasonably certain I could have found tastier parmesan shrimp in the frozen food section at a grocery store. The wild mushroom tortellini was also tasty, but don't bother with the blackened chicken for the protein. Yes, it was blackened, but so is charcoal, and I wouldn't have that for an entre either. To add insult to not serious injury, the prices are about 25% too high. The bright spot? The server. Attitude, sense of humor and promptness - the winning combination. On the other hand, the front desk is a hot mess of children who can't spell communication. Unfortunately, like so many restaurants that survived the pandemic, this one too is a mere shadow of its former self, and the public is apparently willing to put up with it and pay dearly for it. I, on the other hand, am not I and expect more from a nearly $100 meal....