Bocelli Modern Italian — Restaurant in Tampa

My husband and I decided to give this place a try for date night since we've heard so many great things about it, but were unfortunately really disappointed and wouldn't try it again or recommend it.

There were so many tiny issues that I kept trying to overlook, but they added up and made for a lesss than stellar experience. We made reservations for 7:15 and were seated promptly. The table we were sat was literally 1 ft away from the entrance door and a giant sign was 2 inches away from me, it wasn't a great location but hey a seat is a seat.

However, on the other side of our table was a couple with 2 giant dogs, they were very nice and it was fine initially but within 5 minutes there was dog hair all over our table mantle and the dog walked over and put his head on our table so there was visible slobber. When I asked the hostess, who I saw walking past, if we could please change the mantle, she sounded and looked inconvenienced and annoyed, and when our waitress asked about the situation and I explained, she made a condescending comment that made me feel like I was overreacting. I love dogs and animals too, but wish we would've been asked if we were okay with this seating, not everyone wants a stranger's big dog so close when they're eating.

Our drinks came out great and in a timely manner, and the calamari was delicious. But our food took an hour if not more to come out. I loved my gnocchi, but my husband's chicken parm came out luke warm. When we were ready for the check it took our waitress about 30/40 minutes for us to get her attention, since she stopped checking in on the table.

Overall, the quality of the food and the atmosphere was not what I would've expected for the price. The service was okay, I get service workers get slammed and it gets tough on a weekend, I just wish they would've been more thoughtful or considerate in their interactions...

After reading several rave reviews, I was really excited to experience an early New Year's eve dinner (5:30) here. Perhaps that set me up for disappointment. Having worked in a 75 year old 5 star Italian restaurant in Philadelphia I had some expectations.

The service was fantastic. Our server was attentive, polite, funny at times and knowledgeable. When asked, "does the restaurant make its own pasta?", He replied, "eh...", and that sooner should have told me what I needed to know.

The charcuterie was nice, you can't really butcher that, save for a lack of imagination. The meatball appetizer was plentiful, but the pomodoro was bland. The meatballs were authentically made, which was great to see. The caprese was nicely presented. In fact, the presentations throughout the night were spot on. That was as far as compliments can go though.

The 6 pasta dishes we ordered were bland. The pasta overcooked, and the flavors were close, so close, but just missed the mark. I had the cacio pepe, a dish that is difficult to mess up, but it was nearly flavorless.

My 13 year old son ordered the Bolognese, another easy mark, but swapped it out for plain spaghetti off the kids menu because "it's probably less disappointing", only to be disappointed. Our guest tried the fradiavolo and was underwhelmed by the soft pasta sand overcooked calamari; noting it was "rubbery" but complimenting the Calabrian chili in the sauce. My wife regarded her tagliatelle as "chef boyardee" pasta that lacked the slightest bit of salt.

When asked about dessert we settled on cannoli, which were actually very good. The espresso was ok, but when asked about cappuccino, we were informed that "they don't always clean the milk out" and opted to not risk food poisoning.

I was sorely disappointed at what we received. I wouldn't say don't go, but I would say to set your expectations...

Establishment was clean and had modern decor. Outdoor seating was available.

Would not recommend it. I should have known to avoid this place as soon as I noticed they misspelled Bruschetta on their website.

Starting with the Antipasto:

Ordered Bruschetta the picture on the menu reflected 3 different types of bruschetta. (*See pic) Crispy Ciabatta, Traditional Tomato Basil, Balsamic Glaze, Parmesan When ordering waitress informed us it wouldn’t be like the one pictured. Instead, it would be 3 tomato basil bruschetta (traditional)

Pizza wasn’t an option. We were told "the pizza guy didn’t show up"

Main course: I ordered Carbonara. $23.00 (no option for a half order like all the other pasta) Bucatini, Smoked Pancetta, & Guanciale, Romano, Parmesan, Garlic, & Black Pepper They were out of Bucatini pasta. Waitress asked if it was ok to substitute with Spaghetti.. (same price no discount for using spaghetti) This dish was lacking flavor and only had a few tiny pieces of Pancetta. Would have been better off getting a frozen Carbonara from the grocery store.

Husband tried the Chicken Parmigiana $22.00 Breaded Chicken Breast, Pomodoro, Mozzarella, & Parmesan Cheese Over Lemon Garlic Butter Linguine Nothing to write home about.... underwhelming.

Drinks: We happened to be there during ladies night. 50% off drinks. Was not even aware until after i ordered my drink.

I Ordered the "Spicy Nights" $14.00 (half off $7) Pineapple infused YaVe Jalapeno Tequila, Ancho Reyes, Agave, Lime, Pineapple, Tajin

It lacked flavor & alcohol it was more like Pineapple infused Jalapeno water. Did not appear to have any alcohol. I would have been happy to pay normal price to get a real drink!

Will not be going back to this...