Bocaccini's Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Town of Perinton

My friend and I arrived at 5:25 for a 5:30 reservation on a Wednesday evening and were seated promptly at a four-top. We ordered wine, appetizers, and entrees, and all proceeded normally until, immediately upon our setting down our forks having finished our entrees, the server arrived with our check. It was 6:40. We asked if we could order dessert. She said that the next party for our table was already waiting, and so she’d have to move us to the bar for dessert. The restaurant was at the time at least ⅓ empty, with quite a few two- and four-tops available throughout the dining room. We did order dessert and prepared to move to the bar, but the server said that the waiting party could wait, so we rushed through dessert at our table, paid, and left. There were a few people dining at the bar and one party of 3 standing by the door, but I didn’t get the sense of an urgent press for tables.

I have worked in hospitality and understand that guests can linger too long, logjams happen, and sometimes the best planning can’t fully mitigate unexpected developments. But I can’t understand why moving two women of a certain age to the bar after 70 minutes and without offering dessert/coffee when the restaurant has not yet been near capacity is the best solution. While I’m trying not to draw unreasonable inferences, it is certainly the case that I have never been asked to vacate my table when dining with my most frequent dining companion, my male partner, let alone before the conclusion of a normally-paced meal.

The service was prompt and friendly otherwise, and the food and beverage offerings were as expected for the setting, but the evening left me baffled and sad, and I will...

Odd ratings, but let me explain.

I loved this place pre-remodel. Many people seem to love the remodel. Well, I don't.

First the food - it's good! Best wings ever. No problem at all with the food, and the service. But...

Before the remodel they had a very nice bar area, with booths. Booths in the main dining room as well. The floor plan kind of rambled. Lighting was low. A very good vibe.

Now, there are no booths anywhere. Bar area is like an airport lounge, though it is better than the dining room, which has somewhat garish lighting, and all tables setup in a perfectly boring symmetrical layout. The remodel in my opinion is a %100 mistake.

So we won't be back during the winter. We will check it out in the summer, as they seem to have plenty of outdoor seating.

Update:

Just checked out the outdoor seating. News is not good.

The west side seating was closed. The south side seating is decent, with nice tables and umbrella's. Thing is - they have a slight sewer smell problem. Manhole cover on the sidewalk on the other side of the fence separating their dining area. My wife noticed it right away, she is kind of sensitive to that kind of thing. I noticed it as the meal progressed. It is not horrible, but it is there and they should look into it. Similar to the occasional smell you get from our Perinton landfill.

Other bad news. Their rosemary wings used to be #1 on my list. They are not anymore. Almost tasteless now. Had to salt them up.

Server was good. Salads were ok. Wife's dessert was very good. ...

This restaurant came highly recommended to me and being a foodie who took culinary arts for 3yrs I was kinda excited. Before the entrée came we had our soup I had the bowl and my wife the cup. Now being that I’ve worked in restaurants I spotted the issue right away. The bowl was huge but shallow the cup was small but deep. After eating our soup I called the waitress over and demonstrated with water that both the bowl and cup hold the same quantity. The waitress grabbed the manager who was quick to throw the buss boy under the bus, stating that he had thrown away their cups and that my wife received what was really a bowl quantity. I politely told the manager I would only pay the price my wife was charged. However I was told that the price is the price and I would have to pay for the bowl. When the waitress came with our food I politely said that we were leaving but I was nice enough to leave $50 to pay for their troubles. I give this place 4 stars on food because the soup was really good but the service was off. The manager was wrong for arguing so the service gets 1 star. The atmosphere gets one star only because their renovating but from what I can tell from behind the blanket they had hanging they are going for a modern sleek look. I will have to update this again down the road should I visit again as I feel the atmosphere will soon be a 9 or a 9.5 we will see. I will have to share this with a few other foodies as I feel this restaurant might impress me...