La Bocca della verita- any opinions

Possibly planning on going to La Bocca on Sat. nite with my dad.

Just as background, we eat at Bruna's at least once a week, have been to the following: Merlo, Gennaro's, Tufano's, gioco, A Tavola, Tuscany, Sapori, Trattoria 10, Rosebud, La Piazza, Vivere, Agostino's, Capri, and others.

Is La Bocca worth going to, or are there better alternatives?

Thanks

La Bocca Della Verita
4618 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-784-6222

I am probably at La Bocca two to three times a month for dinner, and I think that it is not as good as some, but better than most.

Their entrees are always excellent, and my sister who lived in Rome for a year, swears that their Gnocchi Quatro Formaggi is as good as she had it in Rome. So, that must mean something. The veal and chicken specials are excellent as well with simple preparations and side dishes that really let the quality of their food shine.

Some Italian places I think are better than Bocca are La Piazza, Tuscany (on Taylor) and Agostino's back in its heydey. Places like Bruna's, Tufano's etc. have a different atmosphere and style of food preparation so I'm not sure a strict side-by-side comparison fits.

I have gotten to know the owners and waitstaff, so admittedly I am biased. But the atmosphere and attitude of the staff are also what make La Bocca a place I frequent.

Bocca has been around for years and seems to have a very loyal following. I dined there for the first time Friday night and came away thinking it was ok, nothing special . . . whether this is typical or not, I don't know.

I had a caprese salad which was subpar -- average quality mozzarella and slightly under-ripe tomatoes. Perhaps I was tainted since I ordered the version at Cafe Spiaggia a few days earlier and it was fantastic. I also ordered the veal saltimbocca which was decent, but a little oversalted -- not bad, but not good enough to run back. A friend of mine ordered a spinach gnocchi in a mascarpone-blue cheese sauce which we both agreed had way too much sauce and not enough gnocchi.

Our waitress was very friendly, although the wait between appetizers and entrees was painfully long. I would tell you that we enjoyed dining outside, but I see that cold weather is expected Saturday so that will do you little good. Again, since this was my only visit to Bocca, and since the restaurant has been packed for years in an area where many restaurants seem to close too quickly, maybe it was just a slightly off night. I must say that we enjoyed the bread quite a bit. However, I think that I have enjoyed my meals at Pizza D.O.C. and Uno Di Martino more (and DOC a little better than Martino in food and atmosphere, but not service).

I'm assuming that you've settled on Italian food, but in case you're open to other cuisines in the Lincoln Square area, the following are excellent: Dorado (Mexican), Spoon Thai and Essence of India.

I quite like Bocca. We dined there last Monday. We split an order of the bruschetta "la bocca" (adding portobello mushroom and black olive cream to the normal mix). Mrs. Kman had linguine con le vongole which she loved and I really enjoyed my spaghetti carbonara. It had been a while since we'd been and it wasn't until I saw a plate go by that I remembered the terrific grilled baby octopus that they do; unlike Greektown's standard (and tasty) version the octo here isn't cut up but is served whole. It's served as an entree but I find it's best to share it and then you can still enjoy one of the very good pasta dishes. Don't think I've ever had dessert there as I've always been too full.

I thought the food was good, if not great, at Bocca, but found the sericer awful. For one, I was made to wait a long time despite having a reservation -- a huge pet peeve of mine. Plus, the room is a bit shabby. But my veal saltimboca (spelling?) was yummy.

I like Bocca (although the last time I went was quite a while ago), but I think I like Pizza DOC better in that neighborhood. The pizza is fantastic and the pasta is good too. I looooove the arugula and cherry tomato pizza, and the quattro stagioni one (4 seasons) is also delicious. I've also had some fantastic salads there. They use fresh, high quality ingredients and the price isn't bad. It's getting pretty popular, so go early (don't know if they take reservations)!

Yes...La Bocca is awesome and if you're really looking for incredible Italian, head to La Cucina di Donnatella on Howard. The best octopus salad and wild mushroom pasta, plus a BYOB. Charming, quaint, deserted and always right on with the food.

Finally made it to La Bocca last night. Unfortunately, I wasn't very impressed.

For apps, we ordered octopus and ravioli anatra (duck ravioli in a tomato cream sauce). The octopus was very good, the ravioli decent but not great.

I had the carbonara. Not bad, but I'll take Bruna's version by far.

My wife had Gnocchi with tomato sauce that tasted like it came from a can, and my friend had chicken marsala that was average.

Service was actually very good, but it wasn't very crowded. I suppose it would be fine to go back to you if you live in the neighborhood, but there are too many good destinations in Chicago if you're driving.

Drove by Sabatino's, and it was packed. The next new place that I visit will be there or A Tavola.

But as for my next Italian meal out, it's Monday night with 10 people at Bruna's.

John Saporito

saps wrote:But as for my next Italian meal out, it's Monday night with 10 people at Bruna's.

John Saporito

I just took some friends to Bruna's last week. They had never been there before and, as usual, the place didn't disappoint. The food was stellar. My carbonara was perfectly done. Talk about Chicago atmosphere, this place has it by the boatload. John Daley (the mayor's brother) was quietly eating dinner with an associate in a corner and no one even noticed.

I used to live across the street from there and was so excited to try it. Unfortunately, it was a complete disappointment and we never returned. In fact, I ended up writing a letter of complaint to the management and was surprised that it was never even acknowledged. Never understood the hype about that place. I'd much rather go to any of the fine establishments on Oakley. I'm especially fond of the gnocchi at Ignotz.

Heidi

HeidiHo wrote:I used to live across the street from there and was so excited to try it. Unfortunately, it was a complete disappointment and we never returned.

I'm confused. Are you talking about La Bocca della Verita or Bruna's?

Sorry, that was confusing! I used to live across the street from La Bocca della Verita and would prefer to go to almost any of the places on Oakley for Italian food.

Sampling two pasta dishes last night made me wonder whether they had come out of the same kitchen. The first - lasagna with truffles and porcinis - was full of deep, earthy, complex flavor and a creamy, well-made bechamel. A great dish, even though the noodles were a bit mushy. The second - spaghetti alla carbonara - was a complete miss. The cheese had congealed with the starch to form gritty cheese balls, and the whole dish seemed dry and crumbly as a result. The house-made bacon in the dish (they called it guanciale on the menu, but I doubt it) was fried to a nice crisp, but the chunks were cut so large that they seemed more like a main course of their own than a component of a balanced pasta dish. The bacon had been smoked, and I tend not to like smoke in my pasta - especially not in a carbonara.

Overall, I thought La Bocca della Verita was a decent place with fair prices on pasta (though not on meat and fish dishes). I'd go back for the weeknight special, which the server said would last until June. It's $10 for a half order of pasta and a salad. $5 glasses of wine too.

Kennyz wrote:Sampling two pasta dishes last night made me wonder whether they had come out of the same kitchen. The first - lasagna with truffles and porcinis - was full of deep, earthy, complex flavor and a creamy, well-made bechamel. A great dish, even though the noodles were a bit mushy. The second - spaghetti alla carbonara - was a complete miss.

Kenny - that pretty much sums up my experience with this restaurant too. Some things are executed really well, others are misses. I generally go for lunch if I'm in the area but I order carefully, which in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Used to be in our regular rotation (close to where we live). However, a couple of years ago we stopped in with a group of 8 and had close to the worst dining experience ever (for us). With maybe 2 or 3 other (small) tables occupied, it took probably an hour to get simple appetizers out to us. They came piecemeal over maybe another 30-40 minutes and then the mains came out about 45 minutes after that at staggered intervals, with more mix-ups than I could count.

This would have been a bad experience for the first week of a new restaurant, but in this context it was inexcusable. They didn't get another opportunity to win us back. Plenty of other good restaurants out there.

Service last night was very good. Friendly, knowledgeable server and a well-paced meal. Perhaps those problems from a couple of years ago have been corrected.

It's not an issue of "needing correction" -- I had eaten there countless times with good service and decent food. It was simply a night beyond excuses. Unacceptable for any restaurant to run like that, much less a nearly empty one with some standards. We received no explanation or apology. It was a giant "screw you".

spinynorman99 wrote:It's not an issue of "needing correction" -- I had eaten there countless times with good service and decent food. It was simply a night beyond excuses. Unacceptable for any restaurant to run like that, much less a nearly empty one with some standards. We received no explanation or apology. It was a giant "screw you".

My intent is not to convince you to go back, but to let other people considering a visit know that at least one much-more-recent-than-yours experience yielded fine service. Personally, if I had enjoyed a place "countless times" and then had one bad service experience - even a really bad one - I can't imagine writing it off forever.

I consider it a good neighborhood option, though not my first (or second, or third, or fifth) choice in Italian restaurants. After not going for a few years, I recently rediscovered it and the four cheese spinach gnocchi, which I really, really love. We also had the mozzarella and arugula appetizer, which was excellent.

One of the reasons I'd avoided it in the past few years was the round, toasted bread. I'm a big bread fan and prefer fresh, untoasted bread. I was happy to see they'd changed the bread basket and I liked the change (small french rolls and something else I can't remember). However, I went again last Saturday for an early dinner and it was the old round bread again. The four cheese spinach gnocchi was as good as ever, though, as was an asparagus appetizer and a scallop appetizer. We then split some gelato, which was so freezer burnt we had to return it.

In my experience both the service and food are hit and miss. Our server on Saturday was wonderful, but the visit prior we were left sitting for a ridiculous amount of time on a weeknight with a mostly empty restaurant but plenty of servers milling around taking care of the 5 or 6 other tables (and avoiding making eye contact with us). Finally the host asked us if we wanted a drink (yes, please!) and proceeded to take care of us for the entire meal. The service from there was impeccable.

If I had a horrible service or food experience, as the poster above did, I'd probably never return. But so long as their inconsistencies remain in a tolerable range, I'll continue to go for the occasional weeknight meal or (as Saturday) before a show at Old Town.

Kennyz wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:It's not an issue of "needing correction" -- I had eaten there countless times with good service and decent food. It was simply a night beyond excuses. Unacceptable for any restaurant to run like that, much less a nearly empty one with some standards. We received no explanation or apology. It was a giant "screw you".

My intent is not to convince you to go back, but to let other people considering a visit know that at least one much-more-recent-than-yours experience yielded fine service. Personally, if I had enjoyed a place "countless times" and then had one bad service experience - even a really bad one - I can't imagine writing it off forever.

If the food was so good as to keep me coming back then I'd agree. But in the years since Boca first opened many, many new (and better) places have opened - it's a far more competetive market.

I can do better and I choose to do so. In retrospect, the food wasn't doing it for me as time went on and this incident was the final nail.

I had a disappointing meal at La Bocca tonight. The Focaccia bread to start our meal, warm and fresh out of the oven served with a generous plate of olive oil, was yummier than anything I ordered.



Our waiter seemed only vaguely interested and when I asked about specific dishes, he half-heartedly chirped that every dish I asked about was great and would be an excellent choice...which immediately raised my suspicions. The scallops I started with, served with an oregano tomato sauce, were a little chewy, overcooked and not sweet at all.



My cod entree was not much better, just a step above cafeteria food. I didn't really care for the sauce and the cherry tomatoes didn't really work flavor-wise. The green bean accompaniment was completely bland and they were probably frozen, and the potatoes were underseasoned although I appreciate the starchy texture with the fish.



My dessert was the biggest disappointment of all. The housemade coffee gelato was grainy instead of creamy and the amarena cherries were sickeningly sweet, not the nice sweet/sour combo I remembered.



My friend had better luck with the Bufala di Mozzarella salad with arugula and Granny Smith apples, and an entree of potato and rosemary pizza. We both agreed that the gelato was lacking though.

Even though I was physically full after dinner, I was culinarily unsatisfied....so I stopped by Flourish Bakery on the way home for a more satisfying dessert.