While visiting a lovely friend of mine, I was told I simply must eat at Bocca for their Saturday late lunch special. At the time (and this was over the summer, mind you), they were offering half-price coal fire pizzas during happy hour in the bar area. We opted for the Nonna, which is as standard as you can get. It was smothered in chunky, fresh plum tomato sauce, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, fresh mozzarella, oregano, and fresh sweet basil. I used to be a guy who needed tons of toppings to be satisfied, but now that I'm older and wiser, I've realized that a few simple, fresh ingredients go a long way. The pizza was the perfect size for two, maybe three people, but we went above and beyond, which is typically what tends to happen when we get together. To round out our meal, we also added an order of crab claws, served chilled over ice, and arancini, which are stuffed rice balls. This was my first time trying arancini, and I ended up really enjoying it. I was afraid it was going to be this really thick, dense ball of carbohydrates, but the rice was light and fluffy, so each bite wasn't quite as heavy as I had feared. In addition to their pizza, they also offer a wide range of subs, burgers, pasta creations, and seafood. Bocca is a nice, relaxing spot just a few blocks from the beach, great for anything from casual lunches to date nights. read more

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Hostess is horribly rude. Left full review on Trip Advisor, but the gist is, if you have thick skin and don't mind when an establishment acts like they are doing you a favor, have at it. Pizza is decent, Brussel sprouts were good, onion rings not so much. Plenty of local places to choose from, I'd rather spend my money where they consider the customer experience. The waitress and bus people were friendly. read more

You'd get the same quality food going to MacDonalds. You'd save lots of money too! Don't waste your time spending $40 on a meal.

They delivered this dish and called it chicken cacciatore. Looks like Chinese food. I called the manager and he said "this is our version". You can't make up your own recipe for a familiar dish. It's nothing like chicken cacciatore. It's like ordering chicken parm and getting bbq chicken. read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - Chicken Cacciatore? - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

Not terrible, but not impressive. Overall, food was very overpriced given the quality and quantity. Calamari appetizer was basically just 7 pieces of squid since they include breaded peppers as well. Chicken parm was overcooked and very thin. Burger also came out a bit overdone, and the salmon was not very flavorful. Service was good, but without a reservation it seems like they'll seat you in the pizzerria instead of the nicer dining area. The bar area in very back seemed nice, but was not the reason we came. Will probably not come back. read more

One of most enjoyable spots in the area. Great food and service. Try Saturdays when James is bartending. Terrific barkeep.

One of the best gluten free pizzas I have ever had. The crust wasn't thin and burnt, it was thicker and very well cooked. I got the sausage and peppers for toppings. The sausage was crumbled up versus larger pieces, but I enjoyed it. We also ordered the wings, without longhots and onions but coal fired. They were perfectly seasoned and crispy. I would definitely order from here again! read more

Great friendly bartenders. Food is good. Great neighborhood place to hang out! Pizza and wings are the best.

Thought about how to write this review The pros. Good food at reasonable prices with good wait staff once you are seated The cons- at any business, the first person you meet or talk to often sets the tone for your experience. The night my husband and I went to Bocca we were met by a surly, unsmiling, sloppily dressed teen age boy. When his boss motioned to him to seat us, he continued speaking to another customer who was negotiating where she wanted to sit. I politely walked over to the table where the boss wanted us to sit. The host, if you could call him that, then came to the table, did not apologize and in a surly fashion, dropped the menus on the table. But for the pleasant efficient server who came right over, I would have walked out read more

Great local meet and greet place. Open until 1AM, great atmosphere. I'm addicted to the Ahi Tuna burger, rare! It's a good hunk of tons with a spicy sauce on a soft bun. It's good and filling without inspiring guilt. All the other food looks yummy and people seem happy. The staff is really nice. Lots of tables that turn over fairly quickly. A great local resource. read more

I've never been disappointed by the food here. I particularly like the Hack Salad. The pizza is very good too. Service is quick and efficient if you're talking about food prep and service. They could use friendlier people at the door though. On certain occasions I felt that the young people at the door were not exactly acquainted with the benefits of making guests feel welcome. Maybe they need to take a hospitality 101 class. read more

Food is blah, service was horrible when we were there, we're gonna try this place again, maybe it was an off night.

Dined at Bocca twice. Both experiences were very positive. The wait staff are professional and attentive but not intrusive. The food is prepared perfectly, rich in flavor and served at perfect temp. The atmosphere is ideal for romance, friends and workmates. Plan to spend just over $100/couple for two cocktails, two entrees and a shared app. Note: the food leans toward salty. read more

Came here for lunch today and was surprised to see that they do happy hour every day 11 AM to 6 PM. They had multiple happy hour deals to include $3 select beers, espresso martinis, and other drinks. They service was quick and seamless and seems to be integrated into the community well. The happy hour deal also includes food. I had the buffalo tail tenders (essentially boneless chicken tenders with buffalo sauce) and a pizza. Overall, a very good location for lunch and drinks. I can see this place getting very busy in the summer since it is located in a beach town. read more

I don't usually update but I'm compelled. Went for lunch w a friend and ordered wings, Caesar salad and a pizza. The bartender says, You can't take anything home, you know." She says, I'm just sayin' you ordered a lot of food and you can't take leftovers." I was like, Okay, but puzzled. As we proceeded to eat everything but one slice of pizza, she actually offered all the regulars at the bar boxes for leftovers; one group of guys she actually took their leftovers, put them in a brown paper bag each with their names on them! She was so rude to us. Next instance, we ordered takeout. The meatball sandwich was so wet it was gross. In a town w the most delicious sub rolls, that's so unacceptable. The Caesar salad was soggy, and the third item my husband ordered was so mushy it was unrecognizable. read more

We had a party of ten come in. First, service was very slow. We got apps before our drinks. Next the French onion was so bland and had soggy crispy fried onions on top and like no cheese. Was not good. Next, all of the burgers were over cooked. Everyone else was done eating by the time the table got their burgers. Only two people enjoyed their food at the table. And even then, they said it could have been better. I just can't understand how this popular place had such bland food and bad service after all these years. The birthday girl was apologizing to us when she shouldn't have to. Unfortunately I am not the first person to say this. I was warned but didn't listen. Sorry bocca. read more

decided to order takeout from bocca tonight, a slow sunday night, for my mom and i as we're both sick and just were looking for pasta dishes. i ordered the spicy rigatoni for myself and clams and linguine for her. they forgot the salads in our order which they nicely had delivered to us, however when i go to eat the rigatoni it was extremely sour smelling and tasted spoiled. we drove back there and explained the situation, the guy behind the counter was extremely nice and apologetic which i appreciate so much. i asked him for a refund, so he goes to grab who i assume was his manager, who was extremely extremely rude, didn't say two words to us, didn't apologize or try to fix the situation on the kitchens behalf, didn't even look my mother or i in the eye. gave us our refund for the one dish, slammed the register and stormed off. he was extremely unprofessional and rude to us, even thought my mother and i both were very understanding and nice, especially considering we come here all of the time as a family and continue to give our business even though we're constantly let down everytime we eat here. definitely will not be coming back ever again. this isn't the first time we've been treated poorly by the staff. save yourselves the time and money! read more

Service is terrible. The manager was extremely rude to us when we wanted to switch a dish that was improperly described on the menu. Food is also terrible. Do NOT recommend this place at all read more

Amazing arancini just like Grammie makes. I like mine a little bigger but the breading, red sauce and meaty center were like home. Nona pizza also fresh, light and crispy and our server was excellent. Sweet Tea in NJ? Makes a southern girl happy! read more

I've come here plenty of times. I've never had great service even before the pandemic, but.. the food has always done justice enough that it never warranted a bad review. Today, however, was unacceptable. We showed up at 12:30 on a Wednesday. It was hardly busy. Our server was absolutely HORRIBLE. My sister had her before, and she said to me, let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Me, never having her before BUT expecting sub par service that I have gotten before, wasn't expecting much. My sister was right. It took her forever to greet us. She took our drink order and the owner ran it out to us. She took so long coming back out to us that her coworker took our appetizer order. Ok... "they're probably short staffed" we said. Understandable. She came back asking if we were ready. At this point we are slightly confused. "The other girl came around asking if we were ready and so we placed our appetizer with her. " "OH REALLY?! The blonde or brunette??!" All aggressive. "The blonde?" Oh s*** did we get her in trouble? "Oh? OK? Well, then.." she stutters. I say, "I mean team work right?" Considering you forgot to come back, is that I'm thinking. She made us feel as if we started some sort of turf war. Our app comes, delish as always. Our server takes our food order, which we wait another 35 mins for it to arrive. We got medium burgers with side salad as our sides. Within 20 mins of waiting for our burgers, she comes up to reassure us that she has placed our order, and that it should be coming out momentarily. Why not bring our salads out at this time instead of having us unnecessarily wait? I don't know. So 35 mins after placing our burger orders she arrives with the burgers and salads. She doesn't ask us if we need water, ketchup, mustard... nothing. Mind you, by this time we have placed our 2nd drink orders in and are still waiting for them to arrive, which again, the owner brings out to us. At this point our "Server" has barely had any interaction with us other than our initial drink order, and our burger order. Everyone else has done her job for her. By this point we have aready caught her taking phone calls on the side of the building. Her Co worker (the blonde) has given us enough attention that at this point we feel bad NOT tipping THE OTHER WAITRESS ( BLONDE WAITRESS ALSO NAMED LAUREN) , and instead having to tip our server. Errrr...!! Throughout one of our server's drive bys, I had to ask her for water, and ketchup/mustard for my burger which was now cold because I had to wait for so long for her to come back. All in all our check was $85, which is totally fine.... IF YOU WOULD HAVE GIVEN US AT LEAST DECENT SERVICE. But to spent that much for service that was nonexistent is atrocious. I could have gone to the liquor store and picked up 3 bottles of champagne, then McDonald's for burgers... for less than what I spent at this establishment and with BETTER service. Lauren with the gauges sucks (You tried to connect with me becausewe both had gauges but I would have loved if you connected with our bellies instead). She claims to have been there for 10 years but acts like a complete rookie. I don't normally call out people like this... but for you to present yourself with such arrogance, and a smile, as if you're amazing at what you do... gives HARDWORKING servicer such as your coworkers or us (servers ourselves) a bad reputation. Get your act together girlfriend. read more

I usually eat here whenever I am in Margate! But never again! Food took over 2 hours to deliver. Burger was undercooked! I asked for a well done burger! I did not get a full order of french fries, just a few fries & they charged me for a full order! I contacted manager & no response! I would not recommend Bocca! read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - This was my well done, burger patty! Not even a real burger! I couldn't even eat it! Yuck! - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

This is a great place! Awesome gluten free options including pasta, sandwiches, pizza, seafood, meat dishes and appetizers! They accommodated large parties and had a friendly staff, short wait time and great food! I would definitely recommend this place to others. read more

Ordered catering for 4th of July Birthday celebration and Bocca was ON.POINT! They easily accommodated my special diet requests (no garlic/onion in a couple of dishes), delivered the food hot and on time, and everything was delicious! The sausage with peppers and onions was plump and juicy, not dry like it can sometimes be. I'm usually very critical about food establishments but I couldn't think of a single thing to complain about. Thank you Bocca for helping make our holiday party successful!! read more

Seriously, nearly empty restaurant but angry that we didn't have a reservation. Seated outside. Ordered a dozen oysters, got 11. Charged us for the vinegar sauce/ cocktail sauce for the oysters. Are you kidding??? Server was accommodating- inside staff...no comment. I'm staying in Ventnor. Third time + giving this place the benefit of the doubt. Done. read more

Ordered a SQUARE pizza with sausage and peppers. Got a clearly ROUND pizza with hardly any peppers and what was clearly not sausage. Maybe bacon bits? $30. NOPE. Never again. read more

Wow, 5 stars, five solid, shiny stars. I dine out often, and this was the best meal I have had out in about 3 months or so. First of all, the place is amazing. This was a very, very positive experience driven event. It is clean, hip and exciting. The greeter was very happy to see us and actively engaged us as she showed us to our table. It was legitimate, not forced, she was happy we had arrived, and guess what, I never met her before. The waiter, and this is my second visit to this place, was awesome. Anthony is his name, ask for him. He is from South Philly originally and is a true team player at the restaurant. I learned this as the last time I was in, last January, I remember him mentioning that he was soon going to the Keys. Turns out he never went because they had some turn over at Bocca and he thought it best to postpone as a favor to the owner. The owner and I don't know his name or him for that matter, but apparently is a man for all seasons. Anthony told us that the owner and his son have always been good to him and his family, so when he was asked to stay and help out, there was never a question of what he had to do. The ownership apparently helps out the community, buys locally when possible and is genuinely just a nice guy. So in further conversations with Anthony, our server, he actually remembered some details of my last visit. I was there with 8 guys, in January, almost a year ago. He remembered where we sat once I said what we ordered, which was the flank steak. That is customer service, that is something beyond what a normal, everyday business and its employees would do or remember. So shout outs to Anthony. Ask for this gentleman by name, and tip well. This guy deserves it. He watches his customers; they typically don't need to get his attention as he just shows up. So, here is the only thing I could find that needed a little attention. It was a cold and rainy night, and something is wrong with a single light circuit in the bar area. Apparently it sometimes flickers in extreme weather, and their electricians can't figure it out. So, if it starts to flicker, ask them to turn off those lights, there is still plenty of light in the bar. HERE IS THE FUNNY THING: Anthony brought the flicker and the story to our attention and offered the solution. (I really did not notice the flicker, but he was concerned that it might interfere with our experience.) Wow. Also, cleanliness, there was an MOD on the floor that noticed some dust, yes this is completely true, there was some dust on the top of one of the booths. It was well above my line of sight. He had the busser clean the tops of the booths as soon as the customers left them. This place is clean. No one stops to clean a booth during diner, on that level, but these guys did, and they did it quick, and apparently very well, because the MOD checked the tops of the booth and gave a thumbs up. Ok, so, this is cool. The pizza is coal fired, really neat how the process is done. They have Guinness on tap, that is another great reason to go here. It is also the reason why I do not remember all of the details of their coal fired ovens. I digress.Ok, the salmon, amazing. Simply amazing. If it was not freshly caught they have figured out a way to make frozen salmon taste fresh. Definitely worth a try. Flank Steak-this is the go to. I had dinner with 8 guys previously, last January. So six of those guys were associated with the cattle industry and the beef buying market. They eat a lot of beef. The entire table ordered the Flank Steak. All 8 said it was a solid meal, and done really well. I sent a friend and her boy toy to Bocca for diner in May; both got the Flank steak and said it was phenomenal. Finally, I ordered the flank steak, again, so 11 times, 11 times this dish was ordered and not one person had anything but solid reviews for the meal. It is safe to say, the Flank Steak is something worth ordering, just do it. I had nothing left for desert this time, but if they still had Key Lime Pie available, I would have taken it home with me. Last time I was there, it was worthy of similar accolades. So 5 stars, go here, eat drink and create memories and enjoy life. , read more

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I was looking forward to a good meal tonight - we were all starving and I have had takeout numerous times and recall enjoying the sandwiches. We started with the calamari - it was okay, however overpriced ($14.50) and heavily breaded. The Thai sweet chili sauce definitely made it as the calamari was overtaken by the fried breading. The kids enjoyed the mac and cheese bites and fries. I tasted the fries and they were average. I ordered a chicken rabe sandwich - the best description of this meal, and the other two we ordered - awful. The stems of the broccoli rabe were barely edible and the first taste of each mouthful of broccoli rabe had an unusual taste. The chicken was on the tasteless side and my roll was way over-baked. It was too hard and crunchy. My wife ordered the chicken parm. The sauce was awful and the pasta just as bad. Even the pasta itself had an odd taste to it. I did not try the chicken, but I understand it was awful, too. My son had the mussels and linguine with red sauce. He couldn't eat it and swapped meals with my wife. I had one of the mussels (all of them were way too big) and it was so awful I had to spit it out. The inside was rubbery and hard, and the rest of it tasted completely nasty. There was no way I was going to eat that. Service was initially great - we showed up about 5:15 and were seated immediately and the drink order was quick. The service dropped after that - drinks and food were slow to arrive and there was very little interaction with us. We had wanted to go to Miyako, but thought that would be too expensive. With tip, for three kids and two adults (no alcohol), it was $131. I wish we had gone to the other restaurant instead. I hope I don't forget this experience. read more

The menu looked promising but the food was ok. My main issue was the complete lack of service after placing our order. Never saw the waiter again until I had to hunt him down for the check, and then he brought me a check more than double my actual check! I had to get up and ask a busboy for butter and he brought me a piping hot metal cup of melted butter. The restaurant was pretty full so I guess people like this place but I don't understand why. read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - Avoid the side garden salad unless you want half of it to be green peppers and black olives - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

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This place was great a few years ago when they opened. Since then, the service and food quality has gone down while the prices went up. Now the owner uses his political influence to cut a special deal to block the street so that he can out-compete the other restaurants that didn't get a political handout. On top of that, the owner's daughter openly dropped an F bomb on local residents to the media questioning the road closure. This place is not neighborhood friendly. Spend your money somewhere else. read more

We eat there often. Service and food is awesome! Pizza is the best I've had anywhere. Live music is always good! You won't be disappointed.

Went tonight with my family, same people as four months ago, and my experience was a million times better. Great seat with plenty of room for all. Waiter, Anthony, was maybe the best waiter I have ever had anywhere. He anticipated our needs for our 20 month old, and was obviously always paying attention and attentive but didn't feel like he was hovering. I had the margate breeze (I think that's what it w), delicious! Husband and I shared the special crabby eggplant. It was definitely different... Basically eggplant rollatine with cold crab meat on top... Like I said, interesting. The French onion soup was very good, but surprisingly a bit spicy (though not bad). And, the special, steak Marsala, done with sun dried tomatoes. It was delish. My husband enjoyed his Mahi Mahi and minestrone, my daughter hobbled up her chicken fingers and French fries. My FIL enjoyed his veal parm as usual and my MIL enjoyed her veggie platter, also as per usual. Tonight totally changed my opinion on Bocca and we will likely be back... and enthusiastic about the return. read more

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I really wanted to give this place 5 stars and I would have if the following events had not occurred. We were a large party of 9 and they sat us pretty quickly, which was a huge plus given it was a Saturday night. It all started great, we ordered two bottles of wine and a ton of apps. At this point, we were having a five star dinner. The apps were a little on the small side but all in all delicious. The Mac and cheese wedges were creamy and delicious. The garlic knots were crunchy and fresh. The point where the meals takes a nosedive is when our entrees came out. My entree, the crabby eggplant, and as exactly what I expected for the restaurant. Again still 5 Star meal. However, what my sister went through and the following drag this review to a 1 Star. She got the calamari as her main dish. I took one bite of it, and it was delicious as well, when she noticed a row of STAPLES mixed in. And let me be clear, these staples had evidence of breading and were very warm which means they were mixed with the raw calamari and fried before being served. I have no idea how staples would even be in the area that food would be, but thank goodness my sister saw them before eating them. We let our waitress know and appropriately she brought the manager or owner over who apologized and said they would take some items off the menu. We were satisfied. We also had a birthday in our group but by this time we just wanted the check. We asked seven times for the check, this is not an exaggeration. No check. Finally after about 20 minutes, they come over with a birthday dessert platter. The thought was nice but we had been asking for the check for some time and were a little peeved. The check only had the calamari taken off, which we didn't think was appropriate given the amount of food 9 people ate. Again we had to ask more than one employee to fix this mistake. After the entire process we were able to get one more dish taken off. All in all, if you don't want staples in your food, go to a different restaurant. I just can't trust a place that has that happen even once. read more

This place was certainly crowded for a Friday night, but we were still able to be seated right away. It's a casual dining out option with a big menu and lots of different options. We chose to be simple and order salad and pizza to share. We started with the Greek salad which was good and was enough to split with four people as an appetizer. The pizzas took a little longer to come out, as our waiter let us know the kitchen was a bit backed up. We chose the vegetarian and the chicken florentine pizzas. Both were okay, but they weren't extremely flavorful. They also both tasted really similar, just one had some chicken on it. I also wished there were more veggies on the veggie pizza. The crust also looked burnt but it wasn't as crispy as I hoped and instead was very doughy. In my second piece of pizza, I ripped a bite off the crust, and inside the crust found a black hair. YUCK! This is the worst when this happens and I totally was turned off at eating anymore pizza, as was my family who was dining with me. When we let our waiter know, he just said sorry awkwardly and walked away, offering nothing in return to make up for the fact there was hair in the food I ordered. Instead he just brought the check quickly. I was pretty disappointed by this service and don't know how fast I'll return here for dinner. read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - Veggie pizza - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

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Pizza was tasty, but the other entrees were average at best and overpriced. The service was also slow as well and with little communication. This was fine, but there are better places to dine at in the area. read more

I highly recommend Boca to all ages it is for kids who want to eat pizza and have fun it is for young people who want have a drink at the bar and dance to their live music and for old people who want to have an enjoying meal. All in all this restaurant is the place to be for everyone looking to have a good time read more

Very disappointed again with my second try at Bocca. To start I had the onion soup because I love French onion soup. Well, the soup was ok, but it was served with some cheese on top, and the cheese was covered with crispy onions. Totally not needed it just got in the way of that cheese that most onion soup lovers crave. Second, I ordered a breaded veal cutlet with a side of linguini. well, the breading on the veal was thicker than the tough piece of veal it covered. And to top that off, the veal was deep fried and burnt around the edges. I brought it to our servers' attention, and he did offer to make it over and I declined, it was removed from the bill which I apricated this gesture. Two tries at Bocca and for me they failed twice I will not go back. And if I do and I doubt it, but I was told the pizza was good... read more

We ate dinner there this past Thursday. We ordered a bottle of wine. As the server poured us wine, he accidentally spilt an entire glass of red wine on my girlfriend. She was wearing a white blouse and open toed shoes. Thankfully we live year round close by. She was able to run home and change. The server promised to "make it right." This was his idea of making it right. Not comp the bottle of wine he spilt. That was on the check. Not an appetizer or dessert. Not an offer to cover dry cleaning. They gave my girlfriend, who is 4'11 and 100 lbs an extra large Bocca t-shirt . Further, I called and left a message and received no response. We don't complain. We brought our party of six in and knew things would be slow due to covid and the summer season. This level of indifference is unacceptable. read more

Lousy food and slow service. Over cooked dry salmon, ahi tuna that was not fresh, charged $4.50 for fra Diavlo sauce to go with the calamari. By the time the sauce arrived the calamari was cold. Served steamed broccoli that tasted like fish. Lobster tasted like it came from a can. When the menu says, "failure to read the menu will not result in refund " BEWARE of this place. read more

Very good red sauce and perfectly cooked pasta but would you pay $14 for a plate of frozen calamari pieces? read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - $14 for a plate for of fried pieces. Beware of the calamari. - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

This is my first time ever leaving a review because I just don't care to do it usually, but I cant help myself with this one. I live local and have ordered/ dined with Bocca a few times now. I mistakenly ordered from them again tonight in hopes that the sandwich I ordered last time, would be made the same way. It was not. They are inconsistent and their food just really isn't that good for what they charge. The restaurant itself is nice, but the food and service are terrible. Never ever again. Learned my lesson. Done forever. read more