Bacco

My husband and I went to Bacco for a nice dinner on a getaway weekend that happened to correspond with Boston Restaurant Week. We waited almost an hour for a table on a Saturday night, but it was well worth it. We sat in the charming upstairs dining room at a cozy table for two and were given authentic Italian bread to dip in a dish of olive oil and spices. My husband had a beautiful tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad and then an incredible seafood fettucine carbonara, with peas, Italian bacon, fresh pasta, garlic, and big chunks of lobster, shrimp, and scallops. He is a great cook himself, but this was so intricately spiced and good, he did not think he could duplicate it. I had the mixed green salad and the butternut squash ravioli with dried berries in a brown butter sauce. The latter was so subtle, rich, flavorful, and deeply satisfying that I almost wept! Along with an excellent bottle of Italian wine, the entire meal was Nirvanha. The fixed price meal for $33 each (without wine) came with an excellent, airy tiramisu for dessert. Within the fixed price menu, there were plenty of choices for the first two courses, but only the tiramisu for dessert. (That's all that would have fit in our stomachs by that point, anyway! And it was great.) The one thing we did not care for was that our waiter brought our courses one right after the other, as well as the check, rather than waiting a decent interval in between, but neither was he pushing us out the door. The fixed price meal may have been special for Restaurant Week, but even without it, we would definitely go back for the amazing food.

I was wandering around the North End looking for a place for dinner with a date. We randomly came upon Bacco and thought we might go in for a drink (it looked like a bar from the outside). We ended up getting a table upstairs. Great view. Awesome Chicken Picatta (the risotto was de-lish!). Wine was good. Great waitress. I'd definitely go back.

The first floor bar proved an excellent location for building an appetite and the second floor was an equally unique experience compared to other North End dining with an open and vibration mood. The food was good but fairly typical for the area.

The delicious food at Bacco was completely undermined by the terrible service. Staff were inattentive, unapologetic for mistakes, and unabashedly rude. It ruined what otherwise would've been a great culinary experience in a warm atmosphere.

My wife and I loved it. My fussy Italian wife loved the pasta and I loved the wine. The waitress was terrific and the atmosphere was dexciting.