Bacaro

Stopped in for drinks at the bar before dinnertime. Cozy place, good ambiance, friendly bartend staff who provided nice service. I’ll go back.

Our waiter Leo was amazing, such wonderful service. Food was scrumptious as well.

I went to Bacaro for the first time last night. We sat at the bar and had SUCH a great time! The drinks were amazing and my friends also ordered a few appetizers. Dann, the bartender (and bar manager) was really the highlight of our night. He was so attentive, and suggested drinks for our second (and third…) based on our first drink order that we liked even more, which I didn’t think was possible. I love a good cocktail and Dann really didn’t disappoint. My friends also loved their appetizers, the food is really good. It’s a little pricey, but totally worth it. I can’t wait to go back!

I absolutely love this place. The food (Tapas which they don’t call it that) is spot on. excellent.
I had dinner outdoors and the vibe was great, Sangria was out of this world and affordable. great service too!!!

After trying this place once and giving it 2.5 stars at absolute best. my friends wanted to go on a birthday night and as much as I couldn’t talk them out of going to a much better place, we went anyway. I haven’t much to say other than they didn’t have our reservation, even though it was called in 10 days prior. I had to scramble and got us in to CAV. This place was completely not apologetic and had no intention of even trying to fit us in. Dinner at CAV was excellent. I will never step near this place again. They absolutely don’t deserve your business. I would give ZERO stars if I could. CAV gets 5.

Some of the tapas were excellent others were okay. Wonderful fresh pasta. Nice drinks. Service was okay, not at the level of the restaurant prices.
We sat downstairs which was fine but not special.
Would recommend to try at least once.

This is my favorite restaurant in the state. There are many fancy dishes and techniques, but it’s the simplicity and passion of the smaller dishes that inspires. A few weeks ago I had the fried eggplant tapa. (I don’t know the Italian word for tapa.) It was excellent. A thick-​cut oval of local eggplant breaded and perfectly fried with a dollop of sweet/​rich tomato sauce and a slab of cheese I probably couldn’t find (or afford) in my local market.
Eat here. Tonight. You will believe.

Nom nom double nom, this place was DELISH. The hubs and I checked it out for a special anniversary dinner and were not disappointed. The upstairs dining room was understated but gorgeous. I’m not sure which was better, my view of the city or my husband’s view of the open kitchen.
From other reviews it sounds like the service here is really up and down, but our waiter was awesome. He was professional but super laid back, knew the menu extremely well and did a great job in assisting us with our choices, and paced the meal perfectly. It was two hours from the time we arrived until we left, which was perfect because we definitely needed some time to digest the massive amount of food we ordered. I wish I remembered his name because I would give him some props here and also ask for him again next time.
I started with the absolutely delicious sangria (even better than Spain’s). We built our own charcuterie plate which was amazing, and followed that up with a basil pizza. The pizza was really tasty but my one complaint of the night was that I felt it was quite overpriced at 24 dollars. Instead of ordering entrees we selected from the tapas menu. I think we ordered 7 or 8 things, which was way too much with all the other food, but oh well. The standouts were the duck, the adult grilled cheese, and the squash blossom. Nothing was bad, but the Gorgonzola crostini was a tad too moldy for me. Moving on to dessert, I ordered the brownie ice cream sandwich. The homemade ice cream was an amazing, creamy delight. The brownies were good too but I like my brownies sweet and slightly underdone, while these were rich and cooked through. The standout dessert was my husbands blueberry tart. It was seriously a piece of heaven. The crust was flakey, sweet, melt in your mouth goodness, and the blueberries went perfectly with them. It was a special but it’s the same crust they use in their other tart desserts. I’m usually a stickler that dessert must include chocolate, but when I come back I may have to branch out just to have that delicious crust. This place was perfect for a relaxed date for two foodies, and I can’t wait to return.

The food is 5 stars. The service is 1 star, and that’s being generous! Consistently snooty servers who treat customers like crap. We have gotten to the point where the food is just not worth being treated poorly anymore. We have been going there since it opened and have always had bills ranging from $ 150-​$ 350 — so it’s not like we are hillbillies going in there asking stupid questions about the menu, requesting ketchup for our steak, splitting an entrée and getting treated badly for being cheapos!!! They are so pretentious and condescending it’s almost laughable! I really don’t know who they think they are. So we have decided that we just aren’t willing to give this place our money anymore. If you want to eat some magnificent, creative and impeccably executed food AND be treated like dirt while you are «enjoying» it, then this is the perfect place for you…

I was taught to always start by saying something nice before giving constructive criticism: The setting is very nice, and the free parking for WaterFire could not have been more convenient.
HOWEVER, the food was just OK. Some dishes were great (those that were easier to cook; the pastas and the pizzas). The highly over-​priced entrée’s were no where near as good as the prices suggested. Furthermore, the tapas were far too small of a portion. Being a New Yorker, I’m used to high prices and small portions; but even in New York I get a larger size burrata cheese than this place serves. And the Octopus was not char-​grilled, it was charcoal… It was literally cooked until it became ash. (Which is a real shame, because Octopus is one of our favorite dishes.)
Here’s the kicker though… My father-​in-​law and I both got violently ill about 30 minutes after leaving the restaurant. Neither of us had been in the same state together, or even within 200 miles of each other for at least 30 days. We met at the restaurant, dined and then both got the EXACT SAME STOMACH ILLNESS at the EXACT SAME TIME. The only common thing we ate was the tapas… so I will echo the other reviews that state the tapas do not seem fresh. They are definitely NOT fresh. (For those of you who are cynics… I was drinking club soda, my father-​in-​law had 1 beer… we were not drunk.)
Overall, the price tag for the quality of food, quality that is highly suspect given the above mentioned illness, was extremely disappointing. To quote my mother-​in-​law: «They have a lot of nerve serving that food for those prices.» @Bacaro you are really too expensive given your calibre of food.

I don’t have anything but good things to say about this place. The food here is on point. Staff is knowledgable (Rigo), food is done to the best of its capabilities, wine list is exceptional. All in all great experience.

I almost gave Bacaro three stars because the food was good but reflecting on the other elements of my experience, the two starts is well-​deserved.
We made reservations ahead of time for 7 pm. We were seated upstairs right next to the bathroom and entrance to the kitchen which had a lot of traffic was very closed off from the rest of the restaurant. We asked to be moved to a different seat and were immediately, which was good.
From the start it was obvious that this place was trying to get as much money as it could from its customers. We were offered bottled, sparkling, or tap water. Instead of serving water to everyone for free, this was a way to get people unfamiliar with ‘fine’ dining to pay up when usually they would be fine with tap or could order bottled or sparkling water on their own time. I was frustrated after I realized how things are run here.
Our waiter was friendly but training someone during our meal. He was attentive and trying to show a good example, but it felt like he wasn’t fully engaged or listening to what we were requesting.
I’m vegan, so I asked for recommendations. Since the prices are so high and since I called ahead to confirm there were vegan alternatives (and I was told there were MANY), I expected this to be a simple request. The waiter kind of left me to guess what pastas and sauces were vegan until I asked again for a second time when he recommended vegan noodles they had with marinara and basil.
We waited over half an hour for our meal. The waiter forgot to bring my mom’s wine until she reminded him. We were so hungry and the bread did not come out for about twenty minutes… and it was really hard. The bread came with a tiny cup filled halfway with olive oil and a salt shaker. It was so odd that it was actually funny… as an Italian I’ve never seen such a thing. We asked for more olive oil and moved on.
Our meal arrived and it was really good. Portions are nice and large, some dishes could probably be shared. However, they forgot to add basil to my meal which was literally the only additional ingredient I asked for in my already simple meal.
The amount of times we had to ask for things or remind our waiter about something made us uncomfortable and reluctant to get what we wanted to have an enjoyable meal, and we’re not a picky or high maintenance family.
On top of that, it was very dimly lit and noisy with very quiet music being played.
Overall, the food was good but this is a restaurant trying to live up to the fine dining, upscale image without the proper staff or organization to match that vision. I’m sure we could have had a better experience with one of the many other Italian restaurants in the area. Not really worth the prices and patience it takes to eat here.

A beautiful view of the water, tastefully decorated rooms, five star service and unique menu make for a great evening.
We had a fabulous server named Coranee; she was very attentive. The menu is large and varied. Although I do notice that peppers are in many dishes to give it flavor. I always feel this is cheating and that an array of spices can achieve a similar effect. The dishes came out very quickly and were delicious. My friend had a bowl of pasta and I had the pizza Bianca. Both were excellent. For dessert I had the cappuccino bombe while my friend had the brownie. Again, both were great. The one problem I had was, based on portion size and it seems like every dish was $ 5 extra than it should have been. The only thing that was priced correctly were the drinks. I can’t say I’d become a regular, but I’ll definitely come back.

Not a review, just a statement: based on what I ate tonight, this is as good as any Italian restaurant in Providence, and better than most.

I call Bacaro the Al Forno lite– and that’s not a diss. It’s a delightful restaurant with greater antipasto, drinks/​wine, pizza, entries, and dessert. Their prices are similar and inexpensive for what you get but it’s not a knockout punch like AF.
The parking and location sure is a hell of a lot better than most Federal Hill places or AF.
The charcuterie boards are probably the best of any of the italian restaurants in Provy. You’d only do better going into Tony’s Colonial or Venda Ravioli and ordering in bulk.
The pizzas are grilled and similar in size/​flavor to AF as are the tart deserts. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s owned by similar folks or utilize similar pastry chefs. However it still lacks the same muster.
The entrees are fair with good handmade pastas. The fungi truffle dish with warm egg takes the cake. It’s a legit 5star pasta. I can’t stop ordering it.
Try the Bacaro Cocktail if you enjoy campari and grapefruit. It won’t disappoint.
Service is very good and certainly less snoody than most italian providence joints.
This may be the best Italian restaurant for groups in Prov.

This was probably the second best meal my mom and I had in Providence. We stopped in here on our last night in the city on Unilocal and hotel recommendations. The weather was great so we opted to dine outside (inside it gets kind of crowded and loud).
Service was prompt. We ordered drinks and appetizers. Bacaro has a selection of small plates and salads as appetizers that do the trick for sharing. We opted to share salami and olives as our starter with cocktails.
We both ordered pasta dishes as entrees and the portions were plentiful and tasty. I ordered some pasta with mushrooms and a savory sauce while my mom ordered something with lobster/​crab (she loves it). We both enjoyed our choices and were sad to not be able to take leftovers with us since we were staying in a hotel.
Toward the end of our evening, the service became a bit slow because people were talking and enjoying themselves. We just wanted our check at some point and our waiter was MIA for over 20 min. I ended up asking a hostess about our check when I stopped inside to use the washroom. It was a bit ridiculous.
All in all, good dining experience, but expect your service to slow down on weekend nights because the place is full and most people are content to sit around and drink a ton of wine.

What an excellent dining experience. The food was tasty, and tapas are so fun.
On a Saturday night this place was packed, it was very loud and busy… but in all fairness it was a full lighting at Waterfire and a beautiful night.
We started with a Southern Italian Board complete with mozzarella, speck, nutsm honey and jams… oh so tasty. We proceeded to have several small tapas– 6 total between 2 people and it was just enough food. My favorites were the bolognese stuffed olives, the fired zucchini blossom, and the sausage trio. I liked how authentic the menu is and the diversity of the choices. Overall I would go out of my way to return to this restaurant.

Wow, just an amazing experience! Great tapas, excellent drinks and enthusiastic staff; you really can’t find a better place. I came here on a Tuesday evening, no lines, no wait, just instant seating and let the indulgence begin. The overall establishment has a restaurant-​meets-​deli shop vibe with a romantic flare. I recommend dining primarily on the tapas, with either a nice bottle of wine, or try their grapefruit inspired vodka drink with ginger beer (I don’t remember the name, it may start with a B”) but it was absolutely amazing; tart, refreshing and tingling sensation that made me blush a little bit for liking it too much.
As for the tapas, my only regret is not getting the glazed pork belly and the arancini risotto balls, but hey, can’t get it all done in the first run, gotta leave room for a return visit, right? I ordered the pan-​seared duck breast, fried smelts, salt-​cured fois gras crostini, the beef tenderloin one…, and the Siciliuan eggplant caponata. Everything was just phenomenal, but I really loved the duck breast. The fois gras was incredibly rich and fatty, and married so beautifully with the jam. The stuffed Mortadella Alla Griglia was also quite a treat, but I especially loved the mustard seed jam.
Price…well, to be honest, each tapa was around $ 7 – 9, but they were worth it. If you pregame a little bit, maybe munch on a few carrots, slices of bread, and jars of peanut butter, your wallet may not take too much of a hit. Otherwise, you’d be tempted to fall down the tapa’s rabbit hole and find yourself crying both out of happiness and stinginess.
Food: 5 stars
Price: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars

Tapas!
I have to say I really like this restaurant and the concept. Sometimes you just don’t want to sit down and eat a big meal and Bacaro gives you that option.
I am a notorious fast eater and the way this place operates, it forces me to slow down and enjoy everything.
This restaurant has a full menu, but you really come here for the tapas menu.
The food on this menu is mostly cured meats, aged cheeses (soft and hard), and small hot one bite sandwiches. The menu is great for going out in a group. Everyone can order things they like or that they want to try.
Favorite items:
Mini steak strip sandwiches
Create your own meat and cheese board (great bread comes with it)
The porketta is awesome
Eggplant app
Value:
6 people ordered literally 35 tapas dishes and 3 rounds of drinks and the bill was 300 dollars with tip. 100 bucks per couple for the quality of food and drink seems like a pretty good deal to me.
Thanks

Come if you like super-​greasy, overpriced Italian food.
I came to Bacaro with high expectations, given that so many people like it better than Al Forno, but I was definitely underwhelmed. The pizza was dripping gallons of grease, and the tapas were not fresh.
Bacaro’s USP is its extensive tapas menu and selection of charcuterie/​cheeses. I’m vegetarian, and a quick scan of the tapas menu revealed that the only vegetarian tapas were crazy cheesy and/​or deep fried. OK with me… however, my tapas didn’t taste fresh at all… I’m pretty sure they made them ahead of time and just reheated them for me. I tried the eggplant parm and the battered grilled cheese sandwich. However, I will concede that the Shropshire cheese was delicious.
To balance out the grease, I ordered the mango, beet, and avocado salad. While the salad had beautiful presentation, I didn’t think the flavor of the mango meshed well with the avocado. I’d avoid it if/​when you come here.
The one thing I would definitely order is the mushroom pasta with truffle oil and a poached egg. This is INSANELY delicious and has a really lovely truffle flavor. You must order this!!!
Overall, if I was looking to spend $ 30 – 40 on a meal, I’d go elsewhere. And by elsewhere I mean Al Forno.