11/08/09

Bad service, bad drinks

by pgm214

I went to Rocca on Friday night with a few friends for drinks. We got there around 10:30 and the place was pretty packed. Unfortunately there was only dedicated bar attender to serve the big crowed. It was an arduous process to order a drink. The staff acted like they were paying me to go through all that trouble to get a drink. When it came out, the glasses were over flowing, dripping everywhere. The bar attender didn’t even bother wiping it off or at least putting the glass on a napkin. The drinks were of subpar quality.

• Pros: Bad service, bad drinks
• Cons: Decent décor

03/09/09

Good meal, good waiter, uncommonly spacious and open for Boston.

by theeel

Visited Rocca for the first time on Sunday night and had a very good experience. Slightly off the beaten path, this is a really cool, modern, very open restaurant and bar. Need a place where your suburbanite friends can park their SUVs and not be uptight about sitting on top of strangers at another cramped Boston restaurant? Bring them here.

My girlfriend loved her Sangria, a bit sparkling for me, and the waiter made good wine suggestions for me. We started with the Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Pizzetta which was a nice beginning to the meal. She had the Potato Gnocchi with wild mushrooms which was rich, creamy and earthy. I had the Pan-Roasted Duck Breast, cooked medium rare at our waiter's recommendation, which was very nice also. "Smashed Almond Bark" for dessert was overly crumbly and generally unmemorable but the meal was enjoyable none the less.

When we spilled a drink half way through the meal our waiter promptly cleaned up the mess and refilled the drink free of charge - that's good service! Total bill came to about $95 plus tip. One of our better South End dining experiences. We'll be back.

• Pros: Spacious feel, Good food, Good waiter
• Cons: Rambunctious Bar Scene, Disappointing dessert

03/08/09

Is the parking worth it?

by GeriNicole97

I recently went to Rocca for a friends' celebration dinner. We had a price fixed, 4 course dinner, and when the waitress came by to ask if we wanted red or white wine, I assumed this was included in the cost. I was driving (excellent parking) so I did not partake, but the rest of the table did. 6 bottles of wine later, our bill came to $1500. Apparently when the reservation was made we were told that we could only have the table for 2.5 hours. 2.5 Hours for 4 courses? really? The staff was great and attentive, but the deserts were not out in the alloted time and we went over, which was clearly not our faults. While we were paying the $1500 bill, the owners/managers were coming over and "jokingly" reminding us that we were over our time and there were people waiting downstairs. While they were trying to be lighthearted, we got their strongly made point. I've never regretted spending money more. For the amount we spent, they should have 1. thrown in a couple of those bottomless bottles of wine, and 2. Let us sit there for as long as we wanted. They should have just been happy in this economy that there were people there and willing to spend money. There are plenty of empy restaurants out there...The food is OK, and the wines by the glass were reasonably priced when I looked at the list in the lounge downstairs. The waitstaff were great. I haven't been to Rocca other than this event, but I don't know that I would would go back. The food was good, but the end of the evening left a bad taste in my mouth.

• Pros: parking, reasonably priced wines by the glass
• Cons: rude manangement/owners not valuing the clients they have

01/02/09

Great parking....but....

by iluvpapi

Why did we have to ask for bread? Then we had to ask for butter. We were told that the butter was too cold. Where was the waiter? Why was a woman's winter coat sitting on the floor of the ladies restroom? Why was my food not better than what I can make at home? Why did we get nasty looks when we asked for lemons for the uninteresting calamari? Why did we not stick around for desert?

This place is highly over rated and highly over priced. The lack of service makes me scratch my head. Do they really think they can compete with other South End restaurants.?

Good parking does not a good restaurant make.

However, the parking is darn good.

• Pros: Parking
• Cons: Service

11/23/08

Joey rocks!

by BostonServer

Last week there was an eating out incentive called Appetite Stimulus something...I agreed to meet my friends for dinner at Rocca - first time there for me...certainly not the last.

I arrived and met one of my friends at the bar. As we shared a cocktail, a wonderful Ligurian Lemonade, our third and fourth friends arrived. Our reservation had been to dine on the second floor, but Joey, the bartender was so engaging, fun, and efficient that we quickly decided that we forget about the "fine dining"ambiance of the second floor for the excellent service that Joey had extended towards us.

The food was great, especially given that I was eating from a prix fixe menu - most restaurants offer minimalist, inexpensive dishes at these prices. I had a mixed salad that was very unique, delicious and perfectly dressed. The carbonara pasta with guanciale was amazing. The presentation was beautiful and the richness of flavors was incredible.

My only critique was not being offered fresh ground pepper for my salad or pasta - but honestly, it was not missing for me, the dishes did not lack it, but it would have been appropriate to have it offered. Then again, Joey was our server while also tending to the bar.

I loved the ambiance and decor, it was subtle, warm, yet modern. The high ceiling and sheer curtains gave it a much bigger, open feel.

All in all, I may try the dining room some day, but I would return to the bar as often as possible, Just hope Joey is there to be his efficient, charming self.

• Pros: Great food, even better service.
• Cons: Bartender should have a barback or server assistant.

09/14/08

I would love to come back

by yellowfad

Let me start off by saying that we had our dining experience at the upstairs bar. We walked in around 8:30 and were immediately seated upstairs at the bar. The host was such a nice guy. The bartender was fantastic. The food was amazing. We started off with the marinated olives and the polenta. Very delicious. Can the bread get any better? My pasta dish was really small and really not worth the price. It was delicious but there was hardly anything to it. Get the baked rigatoni. That's a full meal and it's really good! The place has a great vibe. It's a bit loud in there but everything else is great.

• Pros: Great food, ambience
• Cons: Small pasta dish, loud music

08/09/08

It's great, but.....

by JBanxXx

Well let me start by saying I went to Rocca on a Tuesday night around 9pm with reservations. I went to Rocca b/c my friend and I saw an episode of Phantom Gourmet and thought this restaurant would be nice for a birthday celebration.

FOOD:

We walked in and were immediately greeted by a nice hostess and promptly taken upstairs to be seated. Everybody was very nice; some so nice I wondered how much they were getting paid to so nice. Anyway, the waitress was very quick asking us if we wanted any drinks or appetizers, a little too quick. The appetizers took about 15 mins or so to come out, but were worth the wait (at least the mussels and the bread in the bucket were good). After the appetizers came she took our main orders and headed off. That was one of the last times she would stop by our table that night. I guess you don't have to be quick when you're serving a party bigger than 6 and the gratuity is already added in? The entrees took forever to come out (maybe 30- 45 minutes) and most of my party had run out of water and drinks by then, but we couldn't find the waitress. Most reviews I've read say the portions are small, and I would agree and disagree. I happened to get very lucky and everything I ordered was appropriately sized and REALLY GOOD (try the rigatoni). I finished the night with a Chocolate Martini which was delicious (ask for the larger one that is $1 more than the smaller size which is advertised on the menu)!!

ATMOSPHERE:

The atmosphere is a bit different downstairs at the entrance than it is upstairs. Downstairs is the place to be seen and hang out with your friends. Everybody was pretty fashionable and I saw everything from nice jeans and sneakers to sports coats and casual dress pants. Upstairs the vibe is a bit more "sididity" for a lack of a better world. The crowd is mostly Caucasian (however I didn't feel uncomfortable, except for some stares, but hey--) and apparently the lounge/bar is big a gay hangout spot.

• Pros: good food, nice staff, FREE PARKING
• Cons: slow service @ times, prices doesn't agree with portions

07/16/08

Right on Rocca

by JimBeaux

I attended a birthday dinner for a very good friend tonight. We had a wonderful time. When my partner and I arrived about 7 minutes prior to reservation time, the hostess nicely showed us to the space for the party. The waiter seemed uncertain about what he should do with us before the host and the birthday boy arrived. Once others arrived be began taking drink orders and settled into a nice routine. All the cocktails were excellent and well prepared. We sampled a wide variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts. The sliders were very popular, the fried cauliflour was tasty, the olives were quickly polished off. The only item that was even questionable was the sunflower bread with eggplant caviar. It was not bad and not wonderful. Some ordered steaks, some ordered pastas, some ordered chicken or pizza. Everyone seemed very happy with their food. The polenta was ordered as a side and was fabulous. I like good polenta a lot and can't stand it when it's bad. This was VERY good. For dessert we ordered a number of sorbet sundaes and almond bark with chocolate. All those items were very good, too. The dessert for the birthday boy came out with a candle and we all sang to him with the waiter leading us. This was a very nice evening and I would return at almost any time. One final note; I am a vegetarian and there were plenty of items for me to eat.

• Pros: Beautiful interior
• Cons: Surrounding neighborhood needs improvement

06/29/08

Stay Away - bad food

by kbruce

Went to Rocca on a Saturday night with another couple. We had an 8:45pm reservation and were not seated until 9:50! Normally this is forgivable if they provide good service and good for, however not so much. The apps were good (calamari and muscles) so things started off well, but then went down hill from there. My girlfriend said her pasta honestly tasted like it came from a can, my friend?s octopus was so overcooked she needed to take a sip of water after every bite just to get it down. the final 2 entrees were both the hangar steak which was tasty, but was like chewing on a piece of rubber.... this is when it got interesting! We very nicely voiced our displeasure with the waiter. And instead of apologizing like they normally would, he didn?t say a word! He just quickly and quietly cleared our plates and walked away.. Then moments later he passed by the table and just flung the check onto the table! Normally I am not one to complain but that got my steamed, so I went and asked to speak to a manager?. The Manager apologized, gave us a discount off the bill and then unprofessionally told us she just fired the waiter.. Which we all know didn?t happen.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: food, service

05/19/08

Horrible food and service

by AnonymousBoston

I am from Boston, and went to Rocca with a group of 7 (all 26-33 years old) for a friends Birthday at 10PM on a Saturday night and did not have a good experience. The service was horrible, they ran out of bread so we didn't have any, and they also ran out of broccoli rabe. 3 people ordered the hanger steak, and the other 4 ordered the swordfish. When our entrees arrived, the steaks were luke warm/cold. The people that ordered the swordfish said it was not very good either. It's too bad, because it's a nice restaurant, with a pretty good bar and atmosphere. The only positive part of our evening was the free parking, but I will never eat at Rocca again, and recommend you choose somewhere else also!

• Pros: Free Parking
• Cons: Bad Service, Cold Food, Ran out of food items (bread, broccoli)