I won’t lie, when I get an email telling me a restaurant that is less than a year old has a new chef and menu it tends to be met with some hesitation. Such was the case when I got the email asking me to come in and try Bocce Bar’s new menu. I thought to myself, “wait, didn’t this place just open?”
But, alas, the restaurant is owned by the Samba Brands — the people behind Sugarcane, London’s Duck & Waffle and you guessed it, SUSHISAMABA — so I trusted that they know what they are doing since this is one restaurant group that rarely missteps.
I’m glad I took them up on the offer because the new dishes were delish. Bocce has a brand new chef Daniel Tackett, a good ol’ Southern boy who got his training up in some of the best kitchens in NYC, and his menu is going the more traditional route instead of the restaurant’s more “whimsical” opening approach. AKA you can actually tell you’re at an Italian restaurant now. Not that the menu wasn’t good before, but I didn’t get much of an Italian vibe from it.
A few classic from the original menu are sticking around like the Ricota di Bufala and Brick Roasted Chicken, but Tackett’s new menu is filled with much more traditional Italian items like black squid ink pasta, branzino, ravioli and a wood-roasted pork chop that will change your life. No joke.
If you want a glimpse of the dishes and what to expect check out the images below.
