Bocado Tapas Wine Bar

Absolutely delicious restaurant in the oddest section of Providence. Staff were incredible, owner was very sweet. Cocktails were delicious and strong; well worth the price! A small paella is anything but! Food is great portions and everything I have had so far has been delicious. I would make a trip to the area just to eat at this place again!

Two stars for service and wine. The servers and (assumed) manager/​host have been very friendly when I’ve been in (3 or 4 times now.) The wine list provides decent options at very reasonable prices.
The food, unfortunately is seriously disappointing. The fried goat cheese appetizer is the only dish I have had that I would order again. The bread, however leaves a lot to be desired (probably frozen/​thawed.) The last time I was in, we ordered one of the small appetizer size pizzas (the mushroom variety) which came out burnt, as if someone had forgotten about it in the oven for a while. This was not remedied nor removed from the bill, regardless that we are maybe ¹⁄₃ of it and told our server how we felt about it. Overall here are a ton of places I would go before Bacado in Providence. But if you’re just looking for some wine (and maybe cheese) it could be worth your time.

Being generous with four stars, lots of tasty plates – but a few misses.
Exposed brick, high ceilings, converted factory-​thing might be done to death, but it works here, inviting atmosphere, especially with comfy u-​shaped booths. And the plates we tried were (mostly) excellent.
Winners:
–fried mixed olives, saffron allioli, not greasy at all
–dates stuffed with goat cheese, bacon and thyme
–fried avocado with spicy shrimp salad, lemon ginger dressing, not too spicy, balanced flavors
–sautéed shrimp with garlic, parsley and olive oil, a classic done well
–hand-​rolled chicken fritters with red tortilla crust and honey allioli, really inventive prep and yummy
Not so great:
–pork meatballs with red wine, figs and bleu cheese, needed more seasoning or something, least favorite dish at our table
–lobster sliders, ridiculously minuscule amount of lobster, mostly corn salad
–BBQ summer paella (special), missing the «Soccarat» (the caramelized layer of crunchy rice that forms on the bottom of the paella pan), but the fried shrimp (on top) and spicy chorizo saved the dish
–chocolate almond cake (special) was really a torte, more almond than chocolate
Cocktails were well made… Service was super efficient.
The plates will add up, but pricing is reasonable. We left happy – and stuffed!

Sad to say this place has gone downhill… We just went in for dinner on a Tuesday night and it was hands terrible service and mediocre food. We sat at the bar, which was maybe ¹⁄₃ occupied. It
Took forever to get the attention of the server/​bartender to come over and ask if we needed drinks or food. We ordered our drinks and a few tapas to share, out of 5 tapas only 3 came after a long time waiting. Our drinks were empty for most of the time we were there. We had to cancel our two last tapas and we left. This is the last time
We will come back, it’s our 4^th time there and every time it has gotten progressively worse. I am from Spain and the food resembles little the true tapas anymore… Extremely disappointing. Don’t waste your time, much better places in town.

Went here on Thursday night. We had the cherry stone clams and chorizo, fried avocado shrimp salad and the Kobe beef burgers. The first two were outstanding and perfectly cooked! We did have to ask for some bread to eat with the clams, no big deal but would be nice if they expected it with the dish. The Kobe burgers were a disappointment as they were burned! I had a red sangria… Again good but not outstanding. We had the seafood pieaiea and it was really good! The chocolate cheese cake is very chocolate-​Ty consider yourself warned.

The restaurant’s menu is a wild card… While there are various items to choose from, many of which are unique to the restaurant and it’s unlikely that you’ll find it anywhere else. It’s either a hit or miss. I chose tapa style dining and my selections are as follow: lamb empanadas, truffle fries, chicken croquettes, BBQ braised chicken on cheddar polenta, and churros for dessert. The lamb empanadas were unique as it was topped with a type of curry sauce but a hit for me along with the truffle fries which in my opinion are probably the best item on the menu. Everything else was «okay.» The BBQ braised chicken had a lot of contrast flavors which I don’t personally think went well together and came out room temperature. Chicken croquettes were too mushy. Churros although were made from scratch didn’t appeal to my taste buds. I wouldn’t go here again simply because there wasn’t much of anything else on the menu that i think is worth the try.
Onto the area… Ambience is great as it wasn’t too dim. Tables were seated with enough space in between so parties weren’t on top of each other. enough parking in the lot across the street. Service was superb — our waiter Michael was very knowledgable of the menu. Bathroom was clean.

My group came here, lured by the promise of delicious Spanish tapas. Bocado half-​delivered. The tapas were tasty but certainly not the tastiest I’ve ever had — what with all the hype surrounding the restaurant, I had higher expectations. My group opted for the «Spanish experience» — six tapas as well as a main course of steak and paella (both dishes were delicious). The tapas we had included shredded chicken rolled into balls (there’s an official name for this dish, which I’ve totally forgotten), potatoes with Spanish aioli (yum — but to be honest, it’s pretty hard to mess up a. potatoes and b. aioli), grilled octopus (meh), and a charcuterie board. For desert, we had the churros with melted, warm Godiva chocolate sauce — which was divine.
The service ruined the experience. My group came to Bocado hoping for a quick but delicious meal. We were at the restaurant for a full three hours — perhaps eating slowly is a part of the «Spanish experience», but it wasn’t something we’d bargained for.

What a great place for dinner. Though we were a little skeptical about the location (being unfamiliar with the area), the minute we stepped inside it was so hip and cool and welcoming. The place was quiet and mostly empty (we were celebrating a Sunday birthday). Our waiters were very attentive and helpful in explaining the menu and not laughing when we botched the Spanish pronunciation of items. We had the Experience for 2. $ 75 and well worth the price as we were served more food than I’ve eaten in 2 days time. Highlights: fried goat cheese, shrimp, and chicken fritters. The paella… well I was honestly too full to even attempt it, so we took it home for later. A great experience and a great, fun time. Something about sharing food and having a conversation about it at the same time is so interesting and fun. And do not go without trying the sangria, the watermelon was delicious!

Bocado can be a bit of a mixed bag. I’ve found some of their tapas to be excellent (sweet potato gnocchi & lamb, brisket, and their goat cheese stuffed dates). They also have really wonderful flan for dessert.
However, on our 3^rd visit, we tried the lobster paella which I found to be subpar-​it was very salty had very little lobster (I had to hunt to find it), fried calamari rings thrown on top and an unnecessary aoli drizzle on top.

The woes of our dining experience started the minute we entered the restaurant. We were welcomed by the unconcerned hosts. We were visiting on the coldest night of the year (0 degrees) and we were seated right near the door. There were couple of tables which need to be cleaned inside the restaurant and we were not given that option. We had to ask couple of times to be re-​seated in the warmer area of the restaurant.
We got the Bocado experience for two. The Tortilla Espanola was supposed to be served cold but it was dry as a chalk. The Avocados served on our salad are spoiled. The saving grace was the charcuterie and Paella. In a whole the experience was dismal and it is a kind word. Not sure we will visit again.

What a great find! We were visiting the area from NJ. The staff was super friendly and the food was excellent. The seafood paella was great but so was everything else. We had a raspberry lemon sangria that was delicious. The portions are much larger than I thought they would be for a tapas restaurant. I highly recommend!

Was good, small plates as advertised but we bought coupon from groupon and at the time I bought it got another $ 10 off. So only cost us $ 39.00 for the 2 experience dinner. Most of the Food was good except the lasagna wasn’t. And they didn’t have salmon that night. It isn’t worth the full price of $ 75.00 they charge. But we used open table and they paid us $ 10.00 for our reservation so 5 stars for the discounts. But 3 for food experience.

Went here on a Groupon for 2 Bocado Experience. I agree the seating is close and the tables are small! The tapas come on these beautiful presentation plates that take up more room than necessary… it was very hard to fit both our personal plates, 2 flights of wine planks, 2 water glasses and either 1 or 2 tapas plates. My husband was starting to feel claustrophobic on the bench.
The food was pretty good, but I thought the classic paella had too much chorizo which over-​powered the rest of the flavors, plus the mussels and clams were laid on top for decoration, but this caused them to dry out during cooking.

A genuinely odd night. We had the same waiter from our previous experience at bocado. He was stellar before and now… strangely not. Uncommunicative, didnt seem to know anything about the food. My friend let him know she had a food allergy and asked if her allergen was in the food she wanted to order. His answer «…I dont think so».Silence. My friend «…can you check that?». Him «yeah sure.». He never did, just brought the food she asked him to check on.
We also asked if there were any dry reds. His reply «No.». Silence again. It’s a wine bar. We assumed there was one dry red he could recommend.
We let him know that we were getting our tapas as meals this time and could he bring them out at once. Nope! That didnt happen.
I found the prices had been raised since our last meal. 9 dollars for two of the smallest, ill butchered lamb lollipops. Why even ask what temperature I wanted them cooked at if you’re going to bring them cooked to shoe leather?
Top it off, one of my friends got food poisoning that night.
Off to try other tapas places Bocado. It was nice knowing you.

I really had my hopes up for Bocado, however, even with the Groupon deal and the friendly staff, I could not bring myself to give this place more than 2 stars, all of which were due to the food.
In my opinion, I love tapas and I’m always a little lenient when it comes to pricing, since they do range on the more expensive side. However, it is jarring to believe that after spending over $ 150 on dinner, we still left feeling very disappointed and hungry at the same time. I had purchased a groupon for this establishment, $ 95 for 4 charcuterie, 8 tapas, 1 paella, and 2 desserts (one flan and one churros). At a glance, this would seem like an amazing deal, but I was disappointed with the great majority of them.
Highlights: I liked the rabbit leg, it was the largest tapa they had and It was really quite tender… although I couldn’t have been able to tell the difference between that and a chicken thigh. The octopus was really soft and juicy and soaked in the oil and seasoning well.
Downside: in my opinion, all of the seafood dishes were terrible. The shellfish taste like they were blanched in tap water just before they were tossed into the dish as an after thought. This was particular notable in the paella (which was absolutely horrendous) and the littleneck soup. I can’t believe after an entire year of people complaining about this dish, nothing had been done. I was also very disappointed by the lamb lollipops, which were so gamy and poorly seasoned that my fiancée, who loves lamb, practically spit out the meat and handed it to me to finish. I also did not like how the pork belly was actually ALL fat, without a piece of meat on it. I like to consider myself a pseudo-​carnivore and I couldn’t even eat more than one bite. As for the desserts, the flan was like a brick when it settled in my stomach, and the churro was more fried than dough.
At the end of the day, the Groupon dulled the painful ache of bad food, but it just wasn’t enough.
Food: 2 stars
Price: 2 stars
Service: 3 stars
Ambiance: 4 stars

Went here on a Groupon for 4 for the Bocado experience.
The seating is really close. So if you’re not into sitting super close to other tables, this might not be for you. The chairs at the table were really awkward and uncomfortable for my friends (I sat in the booth after seeing how people had to squeeze behind those in the chairs).
It was our first time having tapas so our waiter explained the menu to us.
The food was great. Loved the fried cheese and honey.
The only con/​s was the churros. Not appetizing at all. They tasted like hot old oil.
Other than that it was a great experience.

I hate to say this, but I have been to this place 4 times in the past 5 months. I am beyond addicted! Its best to groupon. I honestly have never paid from like a «walk in» perspective.
Why does it get four stars? Well the drink are darn expensive. For a table for 4 we got a couple pitchers of sangria and beer, and it was about $ 170 for watered down Sangria. GET OUTTA HERE!!!
I love their entire selection of food! I will definitely be going back… just drinking form the cocktail menu of course.

Went here on a Groupon. It’s located right over in Olneyville with a lot with plenty of parking across the street. Inside you’ll find a converted mill building kind of ambiance with high ceilings, brick, etc. The cushioned chairs found at the bar and some of the tables are pretty uncomfortable, so brace your bottom for that. Service was more or less quick and friendly.
Per my Groupon, I got the «Bocado Experience» which includes 2 cheeses, 4 tapas, 1 paella, and 1 order of churros. I also got a cava flight. I’ll now review each of these components individually:
Cava flight: A great selection of three cavas; 2−3oz pours at 9 dollars and served on a beer flight-​esque paddle. I especially liked the rose Cava. It was such a nice start to the night.
Queso (2, of your choice): We ordered fried goat cheese and Valdeon. The cheeses come with the usual spanish cheese board acompaniments: membrillo paste (quince), almonds, and a pimento. The whole kit looked nice and tasted even nicer.
Tapas (4, of your choice): Tried a selection of tapas. There’s quite a few at your disposal, so you’re sure to find something that you’d like to eat. Problem is, none of the tapas we had were especially tasty, nor were they bad. Just your standard kind of tapas.
Paella: Tried the seafood paella. The mussels and clams tasted extra fishy. We found this pretty interesting because we had a mussels appetizer and had no such problem. Calamari in the paella tasted a little rubbery and we found the whole thing pretty drab.
Churros: Tasted of old oil, with notes of cinnamon. Chocolate sauce was pretty tasty though.
I probably won’t come back for the «Bocado Experience». It’s a cool place to drink and eat some cheese though.

5 stars for the Cava and the ambience
4 stars for the queso
3 stars for the tapas
2 stars for the paella
1 star for the churros
All in all, an okay place.

AMAZING!!!
I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while, but somehow Valley street just seems so far away when I’m hungry! Well, after last night’s feast, I will be insisting that we go more often. Not only is the menu extensive and full of options, but we tried seven different things, I loved every single one of them. We even managed to have some leftovers!
There is something on the menu for every taste; there are a ton of different types of meats and seafoods, if that’s your bag, and plenty of veg and cheese options.
We started with the fried goat cheese, patatas bravas and mushroom r-​something. It was all amazing. Our server was great, and was totally open to us ordering a few things, eating them, and then ordering a few more. The food came out just as it was ready, and everything was absolutely amazing. I almost never want to get dessert, but we opted for the pumpkin whoopie pies, and I don’t regret it for a second.
The space is also absolutely beautiful. We got a big booth for the two of us that could easily have seated 4 – 5. It’s cozy and intimate without feeling sinister, and I love the décor. Though it’s a tapas and wine bar, they do also have beer and cocktails. Also, there’s an off street parking lot across the street, which is MUCH better than trying to find street parking.
All in all, this was a fantastic meal where I, yet again, ate way more than I should have. I can’t wait to go back.