Bacaro — Restaurant in Providence

Unfortunately, I have to change my review of this restaurant based on an experience from Saturday night. AVOID this place if you want to sit a table and eat dinner on a reasonable timeline!! Bacaro does NOT value their customers!! I had reservations for our group of 6 for 8:15pm. We checked in early with the host and were told that our table would be ready on time, so we went to the bar next door for a drink. We returned promptly at 815 and were assured by the hostess that it would only take a few more minutes. There were many parties gathered around the entrance and bar area waiting for tables, yet no sense of urgency from the staff. We continued to wait for twenty minutes, observing other parties being seated. Finally, we approached the host again and were told that "our" table was still occupied by a large group (20ppl) that was supposed to be done an hour ago. (The party was enjoying drinks and dessert and did not appear to be in a rush to leave.) We inquired about other tables, explaining that we all had small children at home and were all relying on babysitters so were under time constraints. At this point, we were not given an apology or any alternative or solution, just told that the table we were waiting for should clear up soon. We approached the bar, hoping to at least get a drink and maybe order an appetizer, and were met with being told the bar was occupied. 40 minutes after our reservation, a hostess agreed to set a hightop (directly next to the door) for us to at least wait and order some food. Eventually, we were given our "original" table, more than an hour after our reservation without any sense of apology or regret. There is no question that the food is wonderful and the servers are great. Despite those positive qualities, our overall experience was very disappointing. After spending more than $500 on dinner (plus extra sitter time), and after waiting more than an hour past our original reservation, I would have expected some acknowledgement of the great inconvenience we endured. I can not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is looking for a nice sit down experience within a reasonable timeline. Clearly, they do not value their customers, nor care about the...

I tried hard to like this place, because I was the one who picked it out and brought family from out of town. We were seated in the darkest corner of the first floor. We ordered drinks but unfortunately they were out of the ingredients for the cocktail I wanted so I got a different one, no big deal. We explained that people in our group had celiac disease, and our waiter assured us that it wouldn’t be an issue. Ok so the steak and potatoes must be GF right? No, said the server, the sauce had gluten and they had no other sauces, the sauces were made a head of time. The people in the kitchen could not possibly make a sauce for me. When I asked the waiter for his recommendation, he suggested a different steak, but that too turned out to have gluten in it. He then suggested I get my 45 dollar steak dry with no sauce, which I did to avoid further rebuttal. He clearly had no interest in helping me find something I could safely eat. My mom asked for a substitution to avoid gluten in her order but she was told “no substitutions”. They couldn’t possibly substitute potatoes for pasta because everything was made from scratch (I thought everything was made ahead?) She had to order a side of potatoes for extra $. Another member of the party asked for a side of fresh pasta, but nope, the waiter chuckled and explained that the pasta was so special that it would be too expensive as a side dish. We ask for an extra candle because it was even darker in our corner after the sun went down, but no. The waiter couldn’t possibly do that either. We ordered a bottle of wine, which was good, but the waiter only poured it for 3 of the four guests, leaving out the person who actually ordered the bottle. Later we asked to order another bottle of the same wine, they were all out of that too the waiter said. After the meal we had leftovers packed up, but they didn’t give them to us so we had to ask for them at the door on our way out. Everyone at the table was wondering aloud what we had done to make this server so rude to us. I felt terrible that I suggested this place to my family. We left and I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom because after all that, I still...

This was our first time here and there's no doubt we will return. We had been to Otra, their other restaurant just next door several months prior. We enjoyed the tapas style menu offerings and planned to try Bacaro. There were four of us - two couples - and nary a complaint. We were seated upstairs with a great view out of the wall of windows over the river. Having arrived at 6:30pm there was a bit of sun streaming in for those seated facing the windows. But that was temporary and not an issue as there was also cloud cover. With a fairly broad list of drinks, including a few mocktails, and plenty of wine as well (Italians by the glass and plenty of others by the bottle), we began. The menu was surprisingly extensive. With so much to choose from it was a bit difficult to make a decision, but we all managed. We began with charcuterie - as one should! Fresh, delicious ingredients. Both the Caesar and the mixed greens salads were fresh and tasty. For entrees two ordered the same - Saffron-Scented Riso from the Oven with Chicken and Clams - and each enjoyed the dish very much; taking home the remaining portion with pleasure. An order of Wood-Grilled Summer Spareribs "Scottadito" disappeared before our eyes voraciously - without offer of sharing! And the fourth entrée was my own - Crispy Pork Tenderloin "Milanese" - which fully satisfied. Arugula is a favorite of mine and it went very nicely with the buttered noodles and zucchini. Our server had mentioned at the outset that we would be wise to pre-order desserts as some can take several minutes to prepare. We went with the Bing Cherry Upside Down Crème Fraiche Cake and Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart each of which were outstanding. Now, it is, I find, a bit of a shock when any restaurant is able to consistently hit the mark when the menu offers a dozen entrees. But Bacaro seemed to meet that goal head-on. When considering the number of ingredients necessary to create so many dishes (including all of the tapas-style items), it will amaze me if that is, in fact, the case. I'll be looking forward to finding out on...