La Boca Bar And Grill

Christmas Day. .Had booked for Christmas Lunch to find ourselves in a smörgåsbord environment …
could’ve been more festive
No plum pudding…
Staff couldn’t care about our disappointment
Music too loud
Food nice…
But won’t rush back
Not value for money
3 stars for food only

I liked the char-​grilled vegetables, but some of the meat was a bit fatty. For $ 37, it was an okay lunch buffet.

The last time I visited, they didn’t have the grill meats for lunch, so I am here to taste the grilled meats over coals which were on offer for the Sunday lunch buffet and I was disappointed overall with the buffet.
The meats were generally ‘dry’ even though they could be freshly carved.
There were sausages and black puddings as well, nothing special as the black pudding were not spicy enough for me but could suit others.
The plates were not ‘warmed’ for hot meals, there were roasted potatoes and carrots, whole roasted tomatoes, grilled capsicum and grilled eggplant. I can’t comment on these vegetables as I can’t eat any of these ‘night shade’ vegetables, what a pity as they looked ok. The carrots were over cooked.
There were empanadas but unfortunately I’m not sure if there was any ‘fillings’ in mine, all I ate was pastry.
There were a couple of salads on offer and they were the grilled zucchini and quinoa salad and green salad. These did not excite me.
There were 3 sauces on offer and they tasted bland.
Big bowl of rolls were on offer on the buffet but I didn’t have them as I didn’t want to fill up with carbohydrates.
One can go up to have as much servings as one so wishes, so it would be great for those who can eat heaps!
Entrees were placed between the salads and desserts, there were pâté and mussels but the smoked trout came out much later after I have had my dessert. I was told that the smoked trout was moist.
Dessert — one should go and pick them early as the better desserts are not replenished, and the dry ‘just defrosted’ cakes are then served. Definitely a disappointment.
I was glad we had discounts with the entertainment cards which brings the cost down.

A friend told us that La Boca did an Argentinian dining experience. Well, it does, but not the one we wanted.
Instead of an a la carte menu, there was a buffet-​style all-​you-​can eat set-​up. The meats on offer weren’t bad, but they had been sitting out for a while and thus were all cold and congealing. The chargrilled eggplant was tough and chewy, the bread rolls were stale, and the service was slow. On the plus side, the potatoes were great. However, for $ 37 (!!), I would expect more than just great potatoes.
It’s best summed up as an Argentinian Hog’s Breath. If you like Hog’s Breath, you’ll probably really like this place. But none of our party will be returning.

Overall I enjoyed my time at La Boca but it seemed like there was still a lot of room for improvement.
Service: After having made a booking and confirmed it via text message the day before, our ‘host’ informed us upon arrival that our booth had been given to another group. She offered to put two tables together in a very dark area near the DJ booth (the venue converts to a nightclub on Fri and Sat nights). We commented that it seemed very dark there — with the booths looking lovely and bright and comfortable — and this was too dark for my vision-​impaired parents (or anyone who would like to see what they are eating). We were given a hurried excuse ‘we can’t control the lights there as they are for the nightclub’. The young host was quite argumentative and not as accommodating as she should be. We shifted the table into the light ourselves. Upon being served later by our waiter, a lovely young gentleman, he apologised for the mix up with seating and offered a complimentary dip plate, which was well received.
Food: The dips we had for entrée were very tasty, though more bread would not go astray. Our meals had mixed reviews. Grilled steaks looked perfect, charred and juicy. Some woodfired meat was tasty and soft however mine was barely warmer than room temp — the fat marbled through the beef had started to solidify and give a white speckled appearance. My mother’s eggplant dish was very thick and not cooked well through, though she denied an offered replacement as it would take so long to bring out. Other eggplants we observed going by were smaller and had two small pieces rather than one large; this would have been much more acceptable. I expected much more spice and flavour for an Argentinean restaurant — the meat just tasted of meat, albeit well cooked. Sides of pumpkin mash and corn were lovely, and ask for a bottle of chimmichurri for your steak — it won’t disappoint. Expected a little more finesse for the price.
Drink: We sampled some Spanish Rose and two beautiful bottles of SA Red. The beers on tap were the usual suspects with some imports thrown in to the bottle list. Soft drinks were only available on tap with no option to buy a small bottle.
Ambience: Looks very different to the old Swish Bar it once was: lacks some of the warmth of a restaurant, probably because it still is the nightclub Viva after 9. Nice looking funky surrounds with beef-​themed comics inlaid into the tables. The impressive woodfire grill with huge prehistoric slabs of meat is a real sight. The middle of the restaurant is very dark, but the surrounds pleasantly lit.
Chairs etc were beginning to be packed up by the time we finished our mains, so book before 7:30 if you want to stay a while.

Looks nice from the outside and service is okay.
Ordered a fillet steak medium done. What I got was an overcooked dry piece of meat. Waiter offered to take it back. After they brought another piece of meat which was for sure not fillet steak and very greasy. They charged the same price. At least the waiter offered a glas of wine and apologised.
For a grill place I expect them how to cook and grill meat. Therefore I can not recommend this place.

Express lunch. 45 minutes no food… Service slow to non existent… Place almost empty, hard to see how they could cope with a full house

The last time I was in this space, it was called Swish and my feet were sticking to the floor as I busted awesome moves to Nothing But 90s music.
I have fond memories of the place, it was where I had my mixed-​gender hens night and many fun Fridays after work doing the Running Man, the Hammer slide, the Salt ‘n’ Pepa backbends and the Vanilla Ice «grab your foot and get your opposite knee to elbow» move before it became a regular fixture on the uni pub crawl scene and the dancefloor filled with people who probably weren’t even born when «Funky Cold Medina» was released.
Anyway, we had observed the re-​furb with interest from our vantage point in the building next door and arranged to check it out for the important occasion of my birthday lunch. A booking was made online via Dimmi (always a plus) and we were seated at a table-​for-​two on the main floor (not, as we feared, on one of the large communal tables along the North Terrace side). There are still booths along the windows but these are now elevated and considerably less covered in Jagermeister than they used to be, as well as normal tables of varying sizes towards the back wall.
The front entrance is dominated by a huge open flame grill with carcasses awaiting treatment hanging behind. This is not a place for sensitive vegetarians. The refit is cool, with a dark wood panel look and interestingly, vinyl-​wrapped table tops with murals on the wall and Latino music at a good level for conversation.
We were attended to straight away and ordered the drinks that came with the complimentary beverage card we had, having to first explain the conditions to the waitress who seemed unfamiliar with the promotion. We asked for tap water for the table at the same time. The drinks came out after a little while, our food orders were taken after that and then another waitress asked if we’d like water so we eventually got some from her.
I ordered the grilled boneless chicken thigh with roasted potatoes and my dining partner ordered the crumbed eggplant. We sat back, toasted with our sparkling whites, I opened my birthday presents, we chatted. .. and after about 25 minutes wondered where our food might be as we noted a few tables being served that had arrived after us. We asked for an update and were told «two minutes», and this was true, the meals did appear shortly after that.
Mine came with mixed vegetables which included two whole baby potatoes but not what I expected in terms of «served with roast potatoes». However, the meal was a decent size and tasty. The eggplant was also generous with two patties and mixed vegetables however was that it could use a little salsa or sauce to take it up to a more flavourful level but it was still quite good.
Almost as soon as we’d put our cutlery down after the last bite, the plates were taken away and we were asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu which seemed at odds with the previously slow pace. We didn’t, but were happy to sit and chat, then we were asked if we wanted coffee or anything. So we asked for the bill and it was brought over, then another wait to catch the attention of the waitress, then we were paid up and out.
I’d like to return when I’m not on my lunch break and therefore constrained by time — it seemed a long wait for a lunch when the place was only about half-​full and the waitress did seem a little unfocused. To be fair, we didn’t choose the «express lunch» option so I’ll give some leeway but I’d like to give it another go. The group dining options sound tempting and I would also like to try some of the cocktails (unfortunately at Adelaide prices).
It seems like there would be a good atmosphere for weekend dinner so I look forward to living La Boca Loca in future.

The food is superb. If you love your meat flavours then this place caters. I reckon it’s the perfect spot to chow down before a football match with your blokey buddies.
My husband was out done by 450gm meat extravaganza. It was odd being the meatasaurus that evening!
It feels quite tasteful a retro fit until you look at the table tops. Not sure what they were thinking putting childish cartoons on them as the rest of the space looks gorgeous.
Service is iffy. It might be because there is only one greeter and the remaining staff might not be allowed to seat people? Anyway our waitress was great after the initial experience.

I finally got to go to La Boca. It was worth the wait. I love the Argentinian Flavours from both the Entrée Dishes and the Main Course Asado plate.
The atmosphere of the place is great. Very Smart/​Casual without the pretention (I love all the cow jokes on the tabletops.
This is a place to go when you are not in a hurry, service is not rushed but we did ask for a nice slow pace for the evening.
We started with some lovely hot flatbread with dipping sauces, full of flavour, then moved to the trio of Entrée dishes, tasty chorizo sausage, some Tamale topped with pulled pork and some slow cooked beef with balsamic glaze. After that was the treat, the trio of Asado BBQ Meats (Beef, Pork and Lamb), all three of the meats were cooked to perfection, crispy pork, and lamb, crackling juiciest meats, so good, these were served with some roasted vegetables.
The only real issue I had was with the main courses. 4 of us ordered the Asado BBQ plate (3 meats and roasted vegetables) but there was large inconsistencies in the sizes (between the 4 dishes, the largest was almost double the amount as the smallest)

A group of 6 of us went for dinner on a Friday night — we were all really looking forward to it and some tasty, tasty meat. The restaurant was relatively busy, nothing crazy though. We received very prompt service to begin with and the waitress explained the menu options to us. All of us opted to get individual mains rather than the set menus — most got the mixed meats from the Asador and I tried the pork ribs.
Considering all they had to do was carve already cooked meat off the asador it took ages for us to get our meals. We had heard the portions were generously sized. We had heard wrong. If I am a paying $ 36 for pork ribs then I expect more than three small ribs on my plate, two tiny potatoes and a few roast veggies. The portion sizes of the $ 42 mixed meat plate were also quite small, the meat was not hot, the pork skin inedible and the flavour nothing to write home about. Then our second round of drinks never arrived and when we asked the girl said the order had never been put through. By that time we had finished eating so we cancelled them.
Not to be deterred we though, oh well, more room for dessert. It took ages for our mains plates to be cleared and dessert orders taken. I tried the pancake with caramel spread and banana icecream. A tiny little crêpe arrived filled with caramel. Ok flavour and the icecream was nice but seriously stingy portion again. I do not have a large appetite and I walked out of the restaurant still hungry and our wallets $ 350 lighter for the six of us (6 mains, 5 drinks, 4 desserts). Won’t be returning.

I order the chicken burger, my friends the braised beef and fish and chips. I found my burger to be tasty yet cold, including the side fish of chips. It took approx 45 minutes for our meals to come out. As it was a public holiday, the menu was quite limited and the restaurant’s atmosphere was quite flat. The wine list was adequate and they had several Argentinian selections. I had initially wanted pisco sour, however they didn’t have any, disappointing! I will not be returning as this restaurant did not meet my expectations; limited menu and it was quite expensive for what I ordered.

The décor and the open kitchen was cool. Drinks was slow. Very Disappointing wine list. bread in the bag was nice touch, but i am a little concerned about hygiene, also too much bread not enough dips. Had the set menu E and the pork ribs, ribs are way too dry and lack of flavor, the set menu was ok, but still very dry meat. New restaurant which still need a lots of work to do. Good luck.