Bocce

If your looking for a great Italian dinner then you must go to Bocce. The food was yummy and service was great. Also the little small restaurant is so cute for an intimate dinner or even with a group of friends. I ve been here several times and like the BYOB :) my friends and I just bring a bottle of wine and have a great girls night out!

Have eaten there now 4 times, each time gets better! Really enjoy the beer battered artichoke hearts to start the night off. I’ve had 4 different pasta dishes each time and they have all been very flavorful.
I’ll be back
John

SO disappointed to rate this restaurant this way. I’ve been DYING to come here since I moved to this area over a year ago. I mean, what a cute date night — BYOB, quaint Italian restaurant, great atmosphere, right?
My boyfriend and I decided to be basic and ordered spaghetti and fettuccini alfredo. The food was decent, at best. My fettuccini was in the most watery sauce I’ve ever seen, his spaghetti had little to no flavor, and nothing about either dish stood out really. Add all of that to the fact that it’s also over priced to begin with, for a cute «hole in the wall» restaurant.
I’m not sure what anything else on the menu tastes like, but if you can’t get the basics right…
Seriously, I’m so disappointed. I hate even writing this, but for this place to be rated 4 stars I am unbelievably shocked. The service is great, the atmosphere is great but unfortunately, the food just sucks.

Celebrated my Bday here and they treated us like family. Food was amazing. Ate family style. Large portions and good prices. Bring your own wine was really nice.
Waitress was also terrific! We will come back!

The night had come to visit Bocce.
It was a quit cool Thursday evening in November. I was alone with time to kill.
No one was inside the brightly lit dining room with the requisite red and white checked table clothes and trailer park wood panel walls.
Two employees lingered bored and restless on elbows, jumped a bit as I walked in.
Sadly byob, I was without a bottle, but I still took a table outside on the little sidewalk.
For being a sort of local ‘hole in the wall’ in an old building, I was surprised to find pasta dishes in the $ 17 range. I was also surprised to find arrancini for $ 2 each, which I quickly ordered.
The friendly waitress brought me complimentary bread that was baked fresh and was warm. It came with olive oil.
The arrancini were in a red crème vodka sauce, the were crispy, not overly breaded, creamy inside and tasted pre-​pared but homemade and maybe just a few days old, actually probably made it taste better.
The real winner was the creamy vodka sauce. Fresh and homemade, silky.
For feeling economy in décor and a down to earth vibe «Bocce» hits a ball with decent Italian. I’ll come back to try the Grandmas gravy dish with a bottle of wine and see if it’s worth it.
Summary —
This joint might feel divey, but the prices are a bit high for casual dining in the area.
The food seemed homemade and had a special touch, but wasn’t flashy, or perfect, which was what I liked about it.

Owned by local Italians– and as a local Italian-​American, I can say– the food is phenom!
A true Dallas gem!!! Go here and BYOB!
Started with the risotto balls, moved to the most delicious house salad EVER, and finished with lasagna and pasta carbonara– before dessert.
Thank yall for making oak cliff so fantastic!

Wow this place is just what you want in a little Italian American style restaurant. Family owned and operated the mom of the chef was the waitress and was so friendly. Even brought us a complimentary glass of wine.
Food — was just awesome! And the plates enormous. All pasta is from scratch and sauces are just amazing. Fresh baked bread comes to table and solid bright green EVOO with herbs come with.
Only thing I’m sad about is I didn’t learn about this place a year ago. It’s a perfect break from when you don’t know where to go for a quiet dinner in The Cliff.
Oh and leave room for dessert. Can’t say no to gelato!

Very good haven’t had gelato in such a long time friendly staff manager is present and attentive
Family owned Roxie was sweet and informative great experience will diff. B back thx for a great Italian experience.
My family is Italian and German and this was the most authentic place I’ve visited yet and I’m very big on small ownership. Awesome

Here’s the experience we had last night.
Four of us arrived a little early for our 7:00 reservation and found the entire restaurant empty. That was a little disconcerting for a Saturday night. When we walked in, they asked if we had a reservation. That was amusing considering the place was completely deserted.
We were seated near the window, which suited us perfectly and eventually our orders were taken. This is where everything started heading downhill at warp speed.
Four orders taken + 2 appetizers.
The first appetizer, the white bean dip arrived in an average amount of time. Everyone loved it. The second appetizer, the polenta showed up 20 minutes later. Still no dinners. The polenta was pretty good. I’ve had better, but it was OK.
At least another 10 minutes and one of the entrees arrives. It is what was ordered. A good 10 more minutes at least before the 2^nd entrée (clam pasta) arrives and if that was clams, I’m Elvis. The last time I looked, clams were not orange. This was either shrimp or salmon and our friend who had the meal could not figure out which.
I ordered angel hair pasta with the arrabiata (?) sauce (spicy red sauce). It was at least another 10 minutes before mine arrived and it was spiral pasta, but by then I was hungry and did not want to wait another 30 minutes for them to replace it. The sauce was excellent. However… I never got the salad I ordered, which I asked for before the entrée.
My wife (and it was her birthday) NEVER received her order of salmon. We figured someone was on a plane headed up to Washington to get it. We asked on more than one occasion what was holding up the order and they kept telling us it was in the works.
Unbelievably bad experience. We finally gave up and left, paying for the two semi-​correct orders. Upon leaving one of the waitresses was very apologetic and told us they were short two people in the kitchen and had planned on not opening that night because of it. That would have been smart and they should have told us there would be delays.
By the time we left, there was a long table of about 16 people sitting and still not having placed their orders.
their communication is awful. The waitress we had clearly got the orders wrong and did not verify them when they came out.
We had such high hopes based on other reviews. I don’t know that we will ever try this place again. With so many other options, why would we go back?

The Bring Your Own Booze is a fun novelty, and that’s about as far it goes. Food is at best decent, and incredibly overpriced — expect to pay $ 14 – 19 a plate for below average «Italian» () food that could be almost equaled by a frozen Italian food dinner.
The establishment is also in the habit of releasing their cooking staff early, which is a strange thing since, you know, it’s a restaurant. I don’t think it’s uncommon to walk in or even call for a pick up and be told that «Our kitchen is closed» during dinner time. So, if you like grossly over-​priced, below-​mediocre-​at-​best «Italian» food that may or may not be available at any time you might want it, then this is the spot for you.

This is a little hole in the wall type of restaurant in the Bishop Arts area on W Davis St. They have a parking lot or you can park on the street so that’s a major plus about the location.
1 downside is they don’t serve alcohol but it is BYOB. They can give you a complementary glass of wine but you can’t get any other type of alcohol. (There is a wine store literally 1 door over through so an easy fix)
As for the food — it’s excellent. Everything taste homemade and is home made. Every the table bread tastes like a healthy choice! Speaking of the table bread — the oil they give you to dip it in has pesto at the bottom which is quiet delicious as well.
As for the meals — this place has the best chicken Marsala I have ever had. It’s a white sauce which I have never seen but it was absolutely delicious. My friend ordered a house salad and that was excellent as well. Love their house salad dressing!
I would highly recommend this place. It was a real pleasure to eat there and I will definitely be back again!

First off, lets talk about BYOB! Most restaurants have the worse selection of wine, however with Wine Poste next door you can quickly grab a bottle and enjoy the classic hole in the wall Italian experience.
Next! The garlic bread that comes with the meal is the best free thing i’v ever had at a restaurant. WARNING: you will also have he worse garlic bread imaginable.
I highly suggest their Fettuccine del mare. the seafood pesto mix is perfect. Their portions aren’t as big as most Italian joints, but the quality is like a good home cooked meal. The prices are a few dollars too high for the amount, but well worth the quality and great service given. Also person place to walk into while roaming around Bishop Arts District

Amazing! Everything is made in house including the bread pasta and sauces. My favorite is the carbonara. YUM! And it’s BYOB.

Fantastic Italian restaurant in Bishop Arts. Info: BYO Wine. Bread w pesto dip is complementary.
Tortellini is the best I have ever eaten. Amazing. Met the owner Bob — gracious and friendly. We will be back often.

First time here and it won’t be the last.
Had the shrimp Bocce as an app which was buttery and garlicky.
Then for the entrée was the carbonara with chicken which was the bomb. They cure their own pancetta in house and makes it Delish.
The mix berry cheesecake is a must have. Pastry chef in house that makes their desserts from from.
Really enjoyed the quality of this small — hole in the wall — joint of good Italian food.

For the people that were blown away by this place, I suggest you get out more. Went here last night for a friend’s birthday dinner and just as the two stars above indicate, «Meh. I’ve had better.» The place is tiny, which is fine, but it’s a bit pricey for portion size and food quality. We were the only people in the restaurant when I got there at 7:30pm on a Wednesday, but my dissatisfaction began when I ordered and asked the waitress what came with the hero subs. She replied, «I literally have never had anyone order one until now, so I honestly have no idea.» Then she came back and told me they were out of Italian beef and I could have a meatball sub instead. I agreed and about 15 minutes later they began bringing our food from the kitchen, one plate at a time.
Like I said, the food was okay, but once we started eating and were near finishing, the waitress kept coming over and insisting to remove our plates that were all at least half full of food that we were still eating.
Here’s what got me, though: BYOB is all over their chalk board outside, as well as their website and menu, and I totally understand a corkage fee on wine. I, however, being the not-​so-​cultured redneck that I am at times, was not aware of the «beer setup fee» simply because I overlooked it on their menu. I, therefore, brought 2 Lone Star Beers and drank them both with my meal. When the waitress brought my check, I saw that they had charged a $ 2 per beer fee on BEERS I HAD ALREADY BOUGHT and OPENED MYSELF. That’s more than I even paid for the brews in the first place! That was the icing on the cake for me.
There are much better and cheaper Italian restaurants in Dallas that DON’T charge you for the beer you bring in, that have much better service, and that will be around for a very long time because of genuine quality. This place kind of seems like a «Oh, it’s in the B.A.D. so it must be good» type of joint to me. Good luck to them, but I won’t be back.

It was really good nice cozy environment they customize food accordingly to your request. Please customers shall be back yumm

I came here to carbo load before the Rock n Roll Dallas Half. Love the cool Bishop Arts neighborhood and that this is a family owned restaurant.
Wasn’t aware of the complementary wine… we brought a bottle. There was complementary bread, which was brought warm with a pesto dip.
We ordered two large salads (which weren’t very large IMO) to share as a starter between four of us.
I had the spaghetti marinara and it was just OK. I know that isn’t the most exciting dish, but I try and eat light (no cream sauce, etc.) the night before a race. It was fine, but didn’t really excite me.
We opted out of dessert, so can’t comment there.
I like that they use square, so transactions are conducted at the table (like in Europe) and they made it easy to split 4 ways. Our waitress assumed it was a double date and asked if we wanted two checks… nope – just four friends hanging out!

First time at Bocce. I can’t say that I was blown away. I was hoping to be though.
Complementary glass of wine was a plus. Especially with the food prices.
Bread was toasted and fresh but was kinda bland. Maybe just my tastes.
I ordered the bolognese and was disappointed. My noodles were kinda tough but the sauce was great!
My wife ordered the chicken parm and said the chicken was good but found the pasta and sauce lacking.
Our server was awesome. She was very polite and always in eye sight. It’s kinda hard not to be in that small restaurant though.
Overall I would go back and give it another shot. It’s small and personal. Judging from the other reviews I might not have experienced what Bocce really had to offer.

This new Italian restaurant in Oak Cliff is a must eat. Park right on Davis Avenue and walk into a divine meal. Watch your step across the door step, the floor slants down at a sharp angle, so be prepared. Sit at a table or their from counter, either way you are going to feel the comfort of their warm & friendly service.
Prepare yourself for the complimentary toasted Olive bread and pesto… it is out of this world delicious. And this from an non loving Olive gal. Since this was my first visit at lunch time, I ordered and devoured their Meatball Hero.
The sub bread is slightly toasted with melted cheese, filled with stellar meatballs and homemade tomato gravy… that is sauce for you newbies.
Bocce offers dinner and weekend brunch. Call for hours. I will be back.