Bocci's Italian Restaurant

Location:

158 Church Street

Charleston, SC 29401

Type:

Italian

Website:

www.boccis.com

Experience:

Bocci's was the location of the rehearsal dinner. And literally everyone who was going to be at the wedding was at this dinner. Which meant we were a rather large party. I did get to the restaurant first and like I always do in a situation where I am going to be around a lot of people who I don't know very well, went straight for the bar. After two or three gin and tonics, other people started to show up and that's when the fun started.

Like many establishments in Charleston, Bocci's appears to have at one time or another actually been someone's house. The main dining area downstairs was not that big, and seemed like half of the dining room was taken up by a bar. Admittedly, I did not spend much time downstairs so the dining area might have extended into other rooms, but I cannot say for sure. Our party was placed up stairs on what looks like it might have been at one time, an open air porch. It was a large room and easily sat all 30+ of us at the table. The only part I found mildly disconcerting was the fact that the room tilts slightly and when you have been drinking for the better part of the afternoon and then come to dinner, have a few more drinks, and then have to stand in a tilted room, things can get a bit difficult.

I managed to get into a seat and remain there for fear of tipping over. And then the food started to show up. The groom's family had offered to pay for the rehearsal dinner, and they have selected the choices for the meal off of the large party menu.

The servers were nice enough but as there were few of them and a lot of us, and their tip was assured, we didn't receive the best of service. If you ever got their attention and asked for something, it didn't take them long to get you what you wanted, but it took some doing and cleverly laid traps in order to get the servers' attention. 

When it came to food, I was impressed by some things and put off by others. Their calamari was very good. I think I can speak for most of the table in agreeing as the plates were cleared in nothing flat. The salads were okay, nothing particularly special about them though. As far as the entrees, I was very mixed about them. I had ordered the beef tenderloin "burgundy" and it was all right. Although, I have to say that I think they were using a lot of spices and glaze to hide the fact that the meat wasn't all that great. The side of vegetables was pretty good but the garlic mashed potatoes were in fact instant potatoes. I am not the only one at the table that came to this same conclusion and I was very put off by this fact. I wasn't able to try any of the other entrees but from the general reaction of the party, I don't expect that they were any better than my meal.

Overall:

All in all, the meal was okay, made up mostly by the company I had (I managed to sit next to my brother and his girlfriend and we kept each other entertained). The meal itself though wasn't particularly amazing. I am not going to try to dissuade anyone from trying Bocci's but I wouldn't recommend taking a large group there. Perhaps their normal menu is amazing, because I have heard from other people that it is a pretty good restaurant. Pricing isn't that bad, but I was not impressed by anything I ate there.

1.5 Carats