Baci Italian Bistro

My first question when I walked into Baci was, «How long have you been here?» The answer? EIGHT YEARS!
I was just stunned. I am so sad I never knew they were here before now. I’m so happy to know about them, now!
Our family had gone to celebrate Mother’s Day and my mom’s birthday, courtesy of my brother. What a treat!
It’s nicely painted and holds a goodly number of people. There is a lovely water feature in the middle of the front dining room. There are tv’s for people to watch, and an assortment of booths and tables.
You can definitely bring a group or your family.
Warm fresh bread, crusty on the outside and soft inside, was served generously; there is butter, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil for the bread. You do not need to order appetizers, but they’re tasty.
Appetizer portions are small-​ish but are priced low (about $ 7) so that you can order more than one and have a nice variety to share. We ordered the fried antipasti with three selections: zucchini, mushrooms, and cheese sticks. It came with huge portions of marinara and ranch to share.
Then the salad or soup (you choose) was served. Salad was a nice, generous portion of mixed greens with a few crisp croutons and dressing. I enjoyed the bleu cheese dressing with my salad.
By this time, I was feeling fairly surfeit.
And then the food came out.
These portions are easily enough for two people (and I like to EAT).
Dinners are, on average, about $ 13-​$ 16. Of course it’s more of you’re having veal, less of its just pasta and sauce.
I had the chicken broccoli Alfredo. Huge. I got through about ¹⁄₃ of it.
Husband had lasagna and he managed half, but he feels sorry for himself now.
My sister and brother had the Pasta ala Baci; sister asked for it spicy, brother asked for extra sausage.
Mom had fettuccini Alfredo with brocolli.
Sister’s 3-​yr old grandchild had a child’s portion of pasta with one meatball and sauce on the side (child’s portion was still would have been more than I could have eaten). Sister in Law had Tortellini Paisano in a vodka sauce that looked great.
Everyone was making «those noises» as they ate. So delicious.
The pasta is clearly handmade; if you’ve ever made your own pasta, you can absolutely tell. Firm but tender al dente, no mush. The Alfredo sauce was thick and creamy and there was plenty of it (I hate it when restaurants are chintzy with sauce!), the chicken tender and juicy, the broccoli perfectly tender-​crisp.
Husband pointed out that if you don’t like your food, it’s your fault, because they’ll literally do it any way you want. He’s right.
However, after all of that, my favorite part about the restaurant was the pride evident in the staff. They like what they do. They’re rightfully proud of what they’re doing there. It was a pleasure to experience. I can’t wait to go back!
Next time, I’ll skip eating appetizers and some of the bread, and get dessert!

This used to be my favorite place to come but unfortunately the customer service has gone down. My husband ordered lasagna and I ordered the tortellini with vodka sauce which we always order. When they brought out our food they brought my husband ravioli which wasn’t what he ordered. My husband at that point decided to keep the ravioli because we were hungry and wanted to eat together but the server took it away right after he said that. Didn’t even give him a chance and she walked away in a hurry with an attitude. So as I’m almost done with my dinner his lasagna came out and my husband couldn’t even eat it because it was chewy and tasted as it was heated up in a microwave. Which you should be able to cut right through lasagna if it was fresh. After we said something the server had a worse attitude on her. When we were walking out I decided to ask for a manager because I was actually upset with the way we were treated especially being my favorite restaurant. The owner came up to me and I explained what happened and the owner didn’t even want to listen to what I had to say. He said «well would you believe I’ve been a chef for 35 years.» That doesn’t change the fact the lasagna we asked for wasn’t up to par. He didn’t even want to hear what I had to say all he had to say was that well this server is requested by others all the time and she wasn’t in the wrong. He said that the trainee overheard my husband say ravioli and not lasagna. Well the fact is that’s not what we ordered. Apparently the owners behavior isn’t anything knew from what I read in the reviews. I’ve worked in customer service since high school and I work with patients all day long and I would have NEVER handled the way that server/​owner did. I am very disappointed and we won’t be back. Good customer service goes a long way. Having a big ego and not listening to customers will ruin that.

We had a great experience at this restaurant! It was packed, so we waited for about 10 – 15 minutes in the foyer. The owner was socializing with everyone… those sitting at the tables and then came to the entrance and started up friendly conversation with us. He made us feel comfortable and found us a table in the bar area where we waited until our table was ready. We enjoyed our drinks in the Italian atmosphere and watched as he continued to float around the restaurant engaging everyone in conversation. We started with the artichoke florentine… which was delicious and layered with flavor. We ordered salad, pizza and pasta… everything was original and fantastic! We are looking forward to returning to this gem!

We been wanting to try Baci for a long time. What a huge disappointment. The waitress was horrible. The butter for the bread was rock hard. The salad was nothing but lettuce. My mom’s potato waffles were frozen. My chicken artichoke pasta was all pasta with little chicken or artichokes. Gross. Would never recommend this place.

We have eaten at Baci for 12 years. Never disappointed Outstanding service and great Italian food. Frank (owner) gives the place the feel of your favorite neighborhood restaurant where you always feel welcome and can not wait until your next visit. A real value for the money.

We just keep coming back for the excellent food and service here. I took a party of 30 (reservation was made) and everything went off without a hitch! Can’t be happier with this place!

My family and I really like this place! I have been there with my wife and kids, as a couple and with my whole family of 20+ people. We always have good service and everyone has always enjoyed their food.

Baci is a local favorite. Convenient to go ordering and always a pleasant experience dining in. The food is consistent and always good. Great for families although I suggest ordering fewer entrees than people in your party. Portions are large.

Oh my goodness, the food is so delicious.
I have visited this store twice, and both times, two thumbs up for service and quality of food.
Great job :)

I love the food here. Busy on weekends, they don’t take reservations for less then 6 people. But you can wait for your table in the bar. The alfredo sauce is to die for. Portion sizes are huge. Everyone walks out with doggie bag. We eat here at least once a month.

This Is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the east valley. My wife and I went to Italy a few years back and we are always on the hunt for authentic Italian. And This place it right on point, never been disappointed. And portions are very generous.

The service was very excellent from the minute we walked in. It has a very family vibe– just like any good Italian resteraunt should do. The owner is up front– greeting customers and very involved in his business. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. The glasses were never empty. The service was very well paced and so was the meal.
Amazing food. My husband and I shared the chicken fettuccine Alfredo and lasagna. You get some tasty fresh baked bread that you can dip in olive oil. It tasted fresh and delicious. Both meals came with either a side salad or soup. We opted for one salad with ranch (my choice!). And we shared the tortellini soup which was full of flavor. Our main dishes were great tasting and huge servings. We had to take more than half the food home.
We did opt for some lovely decaf coffees and a cake which was heavenly.
If you haven’t tried it… you really should.

If I had the option to rate lower I would. The service was decent but the food is bland and inconsistent. My husband and I ate here a few years ago and I swore I would never return after ordering a glass of wine not realizing it was going to come with a loogy, reluctantly I was convinced by my husband and father in law to give it another try. FAIL…
The first order of bread we got was day old stale bread, my father in law order another and it was straight from the warmer– inconsistent.
As for the food, the pasta was over sauced and blan. The pizza was overly doughy and taste like cardboard.
BLAND BLAND BLAND… I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone and will NEVER be convinced to go back.

Nice looking place from the outside. Adequate service.
Food — boring and over sauced.
I had their signature dish Pasta Baci — Sausage, peppers, mushrooms in a marinara sauce. If you like heavy uninspired pasta loaded in a red sauce then this is your place. Not a place that anyone needs to rush to.

This place is a hidden gem! If you weren’t specifically looking it you might miss it. Trust me, stop on in, you won’t be sorry!
First impression is a friendly staff greeting you at the door of a clean, nicely decorated little restaurant. Followed by an excellent menu variety, fair prices, delicious food and topped off with incredible customer service. My drink never reached half empty and the attention to delight was consistent throughout my visit. Chloe was our server and she’s simply a sweetheart!
I will definitely be making the detour off the main roads to go here over other Italian choices in the area. I recommend that others do the same.

Stopped in while visiting out of town relatives and have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Interior of the restaurant is clean and nicely decorated with a fairly even distribution of both booths and stand alone tables. Our wait, for a Saturday evening was a reasonable 7 minutes and the restaurant was fairly busy at the time.
Our waiter Steve was excellent and very well informed with regard to the menu and possible variations. 5 Stars for Steve.
The food was very good and there was an abundance of it! Best of all, we got out of here for a very reasonable price and they even honored a $ 5 off coupon that was sent to me via text and was only on my phone.
Is highly recommend stopping here from some excellent Italian Cuisine!

My husband and I recently moved to the east valley and decided to give this place a try. The food was «good» but not worth the price in my opinion. My dinner salad was yummy but was drowning in dressing, next time I’ll ask for it on the side. I had the Tortellini Paisano and it was good, but incredibly salty (which says a lot because I actually like salt).
My husband had the Chicken Cacciatore and he seemed to like it but I had a bite of it and wasn’t overly impressed with it.
The best part about the whole meal was their bread. They make it themselves and it’s REALLY good. And at least we had leftovers we could enjoy the next day since the portion sizes are so large.
We walked out having spent $ 50 (including tip) for 2 entrées — no appetizer and no drinks. Just a little overpriced if you asked me. I could spend less than that at a nicer restaurant in Scottsdale and would have had a more luxurious meal. Maybe I’m spoiled, I don’t know.

Delicious had the salmon Florentine
Hold the red onions and tomatoes substitute with artichoke and mushroom

Superb! I had the pesto ravioli special (SO good), and my friends got the fried ravioli appetizer (once you try fried ravioli you’ll never want to go back to traditional — consider yourself warned!), the chicken Parmesan (which was good enough to make me go slightly cross-​eyed), and a sausage pizza. The bread that they serve is fresh and delicious.
The bathrooms and restaurant were clean and clutter-​free, so I felt quite relaxed. I feel the best part of my meal there was the service. My glass was kept full, and the hosts and servers made sure that we were comfortable and that all of our needs were being met. Our main server, Steve, was amazing. Super friendly and helpful dude!
Our meal was brought out in well-​timed courses and I loved every bite. Give it a try!

For some reason, from my house, it said this one was one of the closest Italian Restaurants was Baci and it was like 20 minutes away.
Anyway, I had a take-​out and service was pretty fast which was good.
However, the pasta and calamari, and I quote my boyfiend, «tastes like something I could’ve popped from the microwaved.» :/​
Maybe it was the drive; maybe the food. I don’t think I will be back.