Bardea Food & Drink — Restaurant in Wilmington

My 3rd time dining at food & drink location was…meh. Sectioned out the review below so you can skip to what interests you. The TL;DR is that Bardea needs to up its game.

Parking - street parking is always full, so to make your reservation, you’ll pay the $25 (+ tip) to valet. This is Wilm., DE, not Philly or NY. Get over yourself. I would’ve walked from my work garage if I wasn’t afraid of being mugged or shot.

Atmosphere - wide open space, super small tables closely placed. You’ll be sitting within 2’ of the next table if at a booth (most of the 2 tops are). I get that they’re maximizing their space but I’m not there to dine with strangers. Music is club-adjacent. It doesn’t make it ‘cooler’ in there.

Service - it was adequate this evening. It is usually quite good here.

Drinks - my husband enjoyed his smoky old fashioned but jaysus every 50 year old man has his own drink smoker at home and I’m sick of seeing these everywhere. Smells great, concept is getting old. I had some lavender drink which was tasted more like grape cough syrup. Paloma was good.

Food overall - if I hear ‘tapas style’ one more time… Tapas style uses small shared dishes, not so small you need a pipette to divvy up. Everyone gets one lick! Seriously, though, I’ve eaten at Michelin-Star restaurants around the world & small is one thing, but it if it’s intended to be shared, it should be enough to do so. Think appetizer size.

‘Snacks’ - we stared with the porchetta bao buns. The buns were perfectly steamed. The filling was a tuna-fish salad consistency with too much salt. I’ve had better at 2 Stones Pub. The 2 buns were the largest portion of the evening by far.

‘Small Plates’ - Red snapper. We ‘shared’ our 1”x2” snapper. Fish was cooked just right but otherwise it was again heavy handed with the salt and otherwise not memorable. I guess not much was wasted..

‘Pasta’ - Mafaltini with chicken and trumpet mushrooms. This dish was actually quite good and enough for 2 people to conservatively share.

Vegetables’ - Eggplant Parmigiana ‘fondue’ We were told to pour our Chef Boyardee orange sauce on our carefully placed sideways eggplant rectangle. I guess it makes it seem a little different, it’s just harder to eat that way. Listen, I’ve been in love with eggplant parm since the first time I had it at Ishkabibble’s on South Street. This is what food should be. I’ve had it from many ‘lowly’ sub shops and in gobs of restaurants (including several across Italy) over the years. This just wasn’t good. And that is a travesty.

‘Dessert’ - We had 2: Tiramisu eclair - slightly bigger than a cigar eclair, covered in a thick chocolate ganache, served with deconstructed glass of cream and espresso. The eclair was tough to cut through and although a curious twist on the classic, this did not improve the taste or experience. Also one of my favorites elsewhere by the way..

Sticky Toffee Pudding - again, somewhat deconstructed where something is poured over top (time for new tricks). Instead of bread pudding in a bowl, it was a small square of what seemed more to be a soft Genoise. Toffee was in little coin-sized wafers. It was okay. It wouldn’t be fair to compare to a Hell’s Kitchen but again I’ve had similar dishes at lesser ‘accomplished’ restaurants and regardless of size or construction, I’d expect it to be eye-rolling as a dessert should be. This wasn’t.

If you had the exact same as us, you’d pay ~$170 (+ tip, of course) (+ $50 & tip to valet 2 cars - I came from work & hubs came from train station). Not unheard of in finer dining establishments, but if I were you, I’d try La Fia down the street instead.

Do better, Bardea. This was not becoming of...

TLDR: Delicious food. Poor restaurant.

I really wanted to give Bardea a 4 or a 5, but I couldn't justify it... honestly, considering the major issues it could be lower than a 3. Make no mistake it is a good meal, but there's more to a restaurant experience than the food. For the hype and the cost there really shouldn't be any criticisms of note, just tweaks and critiques; unfortunately that is not the case.

Major issues... We disclosed a nut allergy for multiple patrons at our table when ordering drinks. We ordered no items that listed tree nuts as part of the dish. Two dishes came out with tree nuts. One of which wasn't even announced as such and was only disclosed when asked about.

Mid level issues... Atmosphere and ambiance. It's an atmosphere for a bar in a restaurant trying to do fine dining. The seating is very tight. Multiple servers bumped into people at my table throughout our meal because of the lack of space, while they were always apologetic, that's not the point. The music choice is also unusual and loud for the type of restaurant. Considering the tight space, the noise from neighboring tables works with music to drown out a significant portion of table conversation.

However, the food is delicious. I love small plate formats and the dishes were executed well (save for the allergen issues). There were plenty of intriguing options and unique offerings to really give an enticing mix. Everything didn't exactly "hit-the-spot," but that is more about misaligned flavors or expectations... With a different pairing or on a different day that would have been enjoyed. The branzino and oakwood tartes (mushroom and goat cheese tartes) were the highlights. The pork and geoducks were also strong dishes. Nothing really fell flat, but other dishes were nothing special.

The cocktails were okay, I personally enjoyed mine (Dr Rx) thoroughly, others were not as enjoyable for everyone as they lacked any layering of flavor and were just a punch in the mouth of alcohol.

Hidden fees are also a minor issue that are a bit annoying, but certainly not deal breakers. While they are disclosed in the fine print on the menu they are a bit underhanded. The 5% service fee is silly, raise the cost of your food. If you want the $20 pasta to cost $21, list the item at $21 rather than listing it a $20 and hitting me with an extra 5% charge on the bill. There is also a $2 bottled water charge per person, but it is essentially an additional seating charge as tap is not offered as an option. Plus, pouring water from a bottle that staff members are refilling from a tap (filtered or not) isn't really what bottled water typically means. It is worth noting that while the extra fees are disclosed on the menu, I was the only member of my party to notice, so the fine print is meant...

So, here's the thing about Bardea. It's an amazing restaurant. The food is amazing, the service is outstanding, and the attention to detail is absolutely top notch. On top of all of this, as if that isn't enough, every single person who works there goes our of their way to ensure that you have an amazing experience. Snapping a photo of their amazing wall mural? Someone may tell you the backstory of how the owners would FaceTime each other from Delaware to Italy all the time, and the wall in is based on the background in Italy from those calls. Ask about a menu item and you will get and in depth (but not overly wordy) description of what is in the fish and possible why it is on the menu. Have an event or something to celebrate? They will go out of their way to ensure it is memorable for you and that you feel like a celebrity. A lot of places can create good food. Bardea's food is so much better than good. Not a lot of places make you feel as welcomed or appreciated or as special as Bardea makes each dinner feel. Now, on to the food, just in case you were wondering and have actually read this far. Dinner 4/2019: We started out with their assaggi - or meat and cheese board. It was delicious, and the cheese has been different each time I've been. The accompanying olives are the perfect foil for the creamy cheeses and the ideally paired meats. During dinner I ordered the duck, while my husband ordered the spaghetti. The duck was asking the best I've ever had: rendered well, portioned wonderfully to be able to enjoy some of the other dishes and seasoned beautifully. I loved the added kumquats which made the dish bright. I added the root vegetable pave and it was one of my favorite parts of the meal. If you get a chance, ask how it's prepared because I couldn't possibly do it justice. The spaghetti bolognese with mint goat cheese is obviously crafted with love. Pastas are handmade here and you can tell. The sauce was filling and light at the same time. We ordered the tableside French press coffee and tiramisu for dessert. The tiramisu was presented by our waiter with a pour over sauce that I could have just drdru on its own. Lunch 4/2019: I dined here with a friend during their restaurant week, which was delicious. I'll be updating with photos and...