Don't count on special occasion reservations being honored....

   Rognfayemorello - 10/27/2008

My husband had a milestone birthday coming up and I wanted to do something special for him. I asked where he'd like to celebrate his 74th and without a pause, he selected Boca....at the Chef's table. We checked for availability, it was, and we reserved it for 7PM, Thursday Oct 23rd.

We live in Felicity, Ohio, an hours ride from Boca, and arrived with great expectations for a lovely dining experience. Not to be. When we were seated at a small table, I told the young lady there was a mistake, as we had reserved Chef's table. She left us stand to go check, and when she didn't return right away, we walked back to find 4 people huddled over the reservation list. It seems the Chef had seated some young girls at the table, and they didn't know how to ask them to leave. So we did....leave that is. We were followed to the street by a young man, offering to seat us elsewhere. He didn't seem to have a clue, that the evening was my birthday gift to my husband . I was hurt that I was left empty-handed, and that our celebration was also dashed. He offered to seat us another evening and make sure the table was open. We had checked in advance to be sure of that ourselves, but the Chef obviously overridden our reservation. My husband's comment was, "Fine, unless the chef decides to seat someone else instead". Before we left, he offered to buy us a drink. I was insulted by that offer. Small compensaton for a ruined evening wouldn't you say? There are many fine dining restaurants in Cncinnati, with food as good as David Falk's, none of which would ever dream of offending clients in such a manner. Will we ever return to Boca? In your dreams.....

not that great

   superlawyer99 - 03/01/2007

The crowd was better than the food. Lots of 50 something divorcees looking for a hookup and lots of boy toys looking for sugar. worth the show

EXCELLENT

   stockspat - 02/10/2007

Good Food, Good Service but Expensive

Our new favorite restaurant

   foodiefly - 01/21/2007

We had dinner Friday night and sat in the trattoria. We'd never sat in the room before, but found it much more comfortable and less cramped than the main dining room. The ambience of the fireplace and our perfect view of the open kitchen was a plus.

We had the three course dinner with dessert. Our server was lovely - knowledgable, gracious, and friendly. For our first course, she recommended the beet salad for me and the sea scallop with brussel sprouts for my husband. I don't usually like beets but the salad was excellent and fresh-tasting. When we asked about wine, she sent the wine steward over to recommend wine for each dish (a really nice touch). His dish was deliciously rich. The touch of blue cheese sauce worked beautifully with my dish.

Next, I had the seafood stew with pasta in tomato broth and my husband tried the lasagna. Both far exceeded our expectations. The lasagna was meaty and hearty; I especially enjoyed my stew which was delightfully spicy on such a cold ngiht.

Our server recommended the braised short rib and risotto chicken. Both were terrific; subtly flavored with recognizable spices, but far too complex to recreate at home.

Dessert was OK, but maybe we were just too full to enjoy it. A wonderful experience - we will definitely go back!

   bluffchef1 - 05/08/2006

A memorable dining experience

   jonwku - 02/13/2006

Reading these reviews I'm not sure what these people expected. Boca is an upscale restaurant, with upscale food and upscale prices. It is more of an experience than a dinner. My wife and I ordered the 3 course. Each course was small but absolutely excellent. Her hand caught sea scallops and my crisp green bean salad with poached egg were a great start. Next up we she had squid ink dyed ravioli and I had white asparagus pasta with chanterelle mushrooms. For the final course I opted for the extra few dollars and got the lamb chop served over a Tuscan bean soup. I'm not sure what she had, I was so happy with mine.

The wine was reasonably priced and the only let down was the dessert. If you have ever been to Pho Paris you know a dessert. Sadly Boca's were mundane and pedantic that evening. It hardly mattered, I was stuffed so full by that time anyway.

It is a place to see and be seen. With at least a week wait for prime weekend times, this isn't a run of the mill dinner. How could someone go to Boca and only write one sentence?

Its plenty of $ to go, but worth every penny.

Excellent!!!

   sassyh11 - 12/20/2005

I savored every bite. You have to try the diver sea scallop. It's wonderful!

Grossly overpriced

   rlwagoner - 09/28/2005

I expected so much, I got so little. Literally. Portions were miniscule, while flavorful. Grossly over priced. Bottom line: If you want to pay for "being seen" at the "in place" have at it.....and pay you will.

too much $$$

   bobbowfinger - 02/04/2005

too much $$$,not worth it

We'll find out

   cdixon1445 - 01/26/2005

Some of my friends (and big foodies not to mention paid critics) and I will be there Saturday to give it our thumbs up or down. Look for my extensive review on Sunday.