Bacio

If you like genuine family run restaurants with tasty, freshly cooked food at reasonable prices in goodd sized portions in a unique, relaxing and convivial atmosphere then Bacio is the place for you. Don't expect to be waited on hand and foot, do expect it to be very natural, we had the wrong wine brought to us and my meal came, unexpectedly, with clams, which I am allergic to. The owners, an Italian husband and English wife team, who were waiting on us all, could not have been more apologetic and quickly remedied the situation bringing the right wine and fershly cooking me some more squid, with some spinach instead of the clams, that I could barely finish after my delicious starter of asparagus gratinated with parmesan cheese. My parents's dishes of avocado, mozarella and tomato followed by lamb cutlets and wild mushrroms cooked in garlic on rocket followed by veal, both main meals served with perfectly cooked fresh and simply served vegetables were equally well presented and delicious and we left feeling comfortably full but not bloated. If I lived closer this is the kind of place I would go to regularly of an evening for a plate of pasta and glass of wine to read my book on a quiet evening - exactly what many locals apparently do. My only suprise was how quiet this little gem of a find was on a friday evening. GO but when you are theer enjoy it's unique quirkly atmosphere and good value real food and don't get upset when it's not Conran-style service!
Comment on this reader review

Sara
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 22, 2007

There are plenty of good and bad points about Bachio, but the pros hugely outweigh the cons.The service can sometimes be a bit lacking due to the lack of staff but the owner, Lucky Fortunata is an extremely nice guy and makes a big effort to make you feel at home. The decor is helped by the paintings-His wife is a very talented amateur artist. One criticism I have is the temperature in there-it can often be sweltering hot-and not just in the summer.

The range of choices on the menu is slightly limited but I can honestly say that I have never had a bad meal there and sometimes find it quite exceptional. The pasta dishes are delicious-my favourite is the seafood one-and the main courses are all excellent, my particular favourites being the liver and the chicken dishes.

At a time when the area is packed with overpriced Italian restaurants, this is by far the most reasonable in terms of value. I can't really think of any Italian restaurant in Chelsea that I prefer.
Comment on this reader review

Jimmy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, November 06, 2006

Went as a small group of 5 people, who all enjoy dining out regularly, had one of our worst dining experiences, slow service, a manager who need a change of shirt evey 5 mins because of the amount of running around he had to do! After an hour and half of waiting for main dish, came out to say that they'd run out of one of the dishes and would we like to re-order!
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Whenever I am in Chelsea I end up going back to Bacio for great Italian food. The pasta is always excellent and the best I've had at an Italian restaurant in London. The service is always outstanding and I have never been disappointed.
Comment on this reader review

Priya Ravi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I went here for a birthday party a couple of weeks ago and was very disappointed with the quality of the food. To start I chose the gnocchi which turned out to be undercooked pasta shells in a thin tomato sauce. For the main course I went for the veal and after a long wait was presented with a grey cut of meat which was tough and greasy, served with hard undercooked pototoes. I declined dessert. Considering that there were only 3 choices for each course the food was very average, slow, and poor value for money - including wine, the cost per head came to £45. I have eaten a la carte at Bacio before and had a better experience, so my advice would be to avoid group parties here.
Comment on this reader review

Monday, November 07, 2005

This is a top class italian restaurant. The food is consistently wonderful and the service is excellent. The staff are very friendly indeed. It is also reasonably priced.
Comment on this reader review

Emma
Wednesday, November 02, 2005

bacio and the manager lucky allways serve real italian food with such warmth and passion. this light and clear rest is allways a pleasure to visit with wonderful food to match
Comment on this reader review

paul wood
Thursday, June 30, 2005

I love this place, The food is real italian food, and the wine is good, but what makes it are the family that run it, they are so welcoming and friendly you just want to go back over & over again.
Comment on this reader review

Wednesday, June 01, 2005