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

My husband and I have been regulars at Bocca since we bought a place right around the corner. In fact, it was where we went to lunch after closing. Extensive menu - you can always find something that appeals to you whether it's a super casual pizza or a nicely crafted dinner. Appetizers are tasty. Like most places at the shore, drinks are priced higher. The only thing that disappointed us so far in the countless visits was the French onion soup. Service has always been excellent! Absolutely recommend to people coming to Margate for vacation or just passing through. read more

My second visit to Bocca was just as mediocre as the first. It's good, just not anything to RAVE about in my opinion. The coal fired pizza is probably the best option on the menu here. The menu is huge though, so you can pretty much get anything from Italian to a burger to a big filling salad, which is what I had last night. Our waitress recommended the Chopped salad so I went for it. It was massive. It was filled with great meats and cheeses and the balsamic on top was excellent. The bottles of wine are very reasonably priced and they have happy hour 7 days a week which is cool. Last night was a Friday and there was live music which was nice. It strangely only lasted for an hour or even less. The restaurant is big, and was packed at 9pm on a Friday night, so unless you're a party of 2 or 3 I'd suggest a reservation! read more

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

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I was taken aback when we entered Bocca. Our first night at the shore and Bocca looked like a crummy pizza place. In fact, we were sitting in the pizza side probably because there were 6 of us +2 babies with high chairs. My distress wane when the menu came out and disappeared at the first bite of food. I had the Paleo Salmon. Crisply grilled, lovely spice and lots of asparagus. I need my carbs so I ordered a side of fettuccini with red sauce. The sauce was yummy and the pasta was a little beyond al-dante which was the way I like it. Other items that we deemed very good were the chicken parm, chicken sandwich, gnocchi. Reasonable prices, good service, friendly staff. Go! read more

I am appalled how Boca reacted to me calling after we got bad wings delivered. I usually don't complain but we got wings and salads delivered today. One of our orders of wings had 4 wings that were all bone. When 10 come in an order it's unacceptable. I called spoke to manager. He said he has autistic kids working their and they sort the wings. He said, I have enough trouble finding anything for them to do. Who says that to a customer. Don't blame others you are the manager on duty. The manager then says well I'll send someone out to bring you 4 wings. What restaurant does that? How does this manager have the audacity to blame autistic kids. He's in charge it's his responsibility. I won't order or eat there again. So disappointed read more

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

Disappointed that Bocca is only serving bottled water now, because "there's no access to tap water outside." Well, don't the servers have to go inside for all other drinks anyway? Plus they're charging a dollar per bottle, and causing so much unnecessary pollution!! We also asked for no straws but got them anyway, and not all tables were spaced 6 feet apart. read more

Always made it a point to dine here but after tonight it will be our last. Extremely rude staff, poor service and terrible food. What happened? read more

Fast service, truly a local tavern with a LOT of personality. Weekday specials are awesome, we love PRIME RIB night Thursdays. We order grilled garlic and then finished in the brick, open flame oven. Tremendous. Lou and crew (Carmine and Francisco) are awesome in making you feel at home (we live in Margate). Summer crush? Just let them know you're here and presto, seated.....Community events, charitable causes and "Cheers" like atmosphere. #BOOM read more

Fantastic well priced happy hour special. The food is excellent and the pizza is amazing! The coal fired wings are good and pretty spicy. The standard menu is overpriced but if you go early, sit in the bar area and stick to the happy hour menu you'll do fine! The pepperoni knots are a real treat! They're like homemade Stromboli's. read more

Awesome awesome food! If you go, make sure to order the fried Brussels sprout appetizer. Best sprouts I've ever tasted.

Gave Ryan third chance,, but this time was the worst .he's killing the happy hour.. Sitting with empty beer glasses.. Disappeared from bar.. Not going back till his shift is over read more

Have visited here regularly for only one reason, because they support the local community/schools/organizations. However, I have not been happy with the service over the course of several visits. Last night we visited for probably our last time. We sat for nearly 15 minutes before someone came to our table. I asked the hostess to please send over a waitress and she gave me an attitude. When we finally did get our service it was spotty at best. The adult pizza arrived a good 8 to 10 minutes before the children's food. Which is clearly an issue. The busboy, the hostess, and the waitress were not professionals. Very disappointed. read more

We attempted to eat at Bocca today to celebrate my birthday for the third year in a row. I was told about the extended Happy Hour, and in the past I quite enjoyed the coal-fired pizza and wings (too much, perhaps). I highly recommend both, and I should also mention the gargantuan mussels. While others were intimidated by them, I shared no such fear and enjoyed them fully. However, I was unable to enjoy any of that today. We arrived and were seated in the lounge area (which is where the Happy Hour menu is honored). We were told someone would be right with us. Ten minutes later, we were asked if a server had seen us. No, one had not. Five minutes later, a member of our party asked if we had a server, and was told one would be with us soon. The server whom we had been in contact with then walked by us, asked the table behind us (who had been seated after us) if they had a a server, and when they said no, she proceeded to take their order. I'm a non-confrontational person. However, I cannot say the same for other members of my party. A few of them stood up angrily, said several words that I won't repeat here and went towards the exit. The server then commented back, and I explained that we felt that fifteen minutes was too long to wait for a server to at least take a drink order. I would like to apologize for my party's behavior. I was embarrassed, and I felt that they used language that shouldn't be used in public let alone in front of my 11-year-old. Some members of my party then went to the main desk to complain, and to be honest I'm not sure what was said because I wanted to get my child out of the situation. However, it all could have been avoided if someone had simply taken our drink orders within the first fifteen minutes of being seated. I hope that this was an isolated incident, and that future visits will be more positive for both the waitstaff and us as the customers. But more importantly, if you go, you must try the sweet chili coal fired wings. They are exceptional, and I am deeply saddened that I was unable to enjoy them today. read more

We stopped over in LongPort and on the way out stopped here for lunch. My 5 year old ordered chicken fingers and fries. Whatever chicken by-product they use it was worse then MCD chicken nuggets and to top it off it was raw inside. My wife ordered pasta puttanesca and it was total garbage. The pasta was dark overcooked and the sauce was some tomato paste out of the can. This was truly the worse meal we had in decades. The only thing that tasted good was the corona light that I ordered. Would not recommend this place to anyone. Only bright spot was the service from out waitress. read more

Stopped by Bocca tonight because the outdoor venue we were planning on celebrating my son's high school graduation at was closed due to rain. It was a blessing in disguise because there was no way we could've had a better time than we did at Bocca! There was something for everyone on the menu-actually it took us forever to order because of the various selections. There was a live band ( Sterling we Love You!) and even though it was a party atmosphere it was perfectly acceptable to have a younger teen celebrating with us. Colten, our server was very attentive, our drinks were never empty, our used dishes were promptly removed, and he was very informed about every menu item we inquired about. My husband and I are in the restaurant business so we have a high tolerance for mistakes, but our night was Flawless! Can't wait to go back. Thanks for the Memories! read more

7pm res at 830 still no food. Asked to pay the bill while we waited bc small kids and wanted to get out of there when food was ready. Instead they accidentally cancelled our order them refused to put us back in line and told us another hour. We left with 4 small children and no dinner at 8:45. Manager, woman with short hair, was incredibly rude and unapologetic. The only item that come was some crappy applebys ripoff. Don't waste your time. read more

Horrible service Overpriced, greasy and low quality food all around I found a hair in my bruschetta pizza Need I say more I am never coming back-- bocca used to be so good a few years ago read more

Overpriced for the venue... seems like they mark up for the Margate crowd, but some items are more expensive than nice restaurants with rave reviews. Chicken parm is $24 Salmon with asparagus $22 We went with... Caesar salad $13 Burger $13 French onion soup $8 Food was mediocre. Service was average. They do not take discover cards. read more

We came as a group of 18 with a reservation made 4 days before we came. When we arrived, the hostess showed us to our table, which was set perfectly. Even though we probably should have had 2 waiters because we were such big group, we only had one, but she managed us very well. First we ordered drinks, soups, and appetizers. They brought them out in their respective orders, with the kids food first. We got many appetizers, I tried the fried and sautéed calamari, the mussels, the minestrone soup, and some coal fire wings. They were all excellent but the sautéed calamari was a bit overcooked. Then, we ordered entrees. I got the garlic scallop which was excellently cooked and had a nice sear. The spinach that came with it was good also. Also tried the ahi tuna and clams from other people and they were great also. Overall, the food and service was excellent, would definitely come back read more

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

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Live right down the street from Bocca so I was excited when it opened up. Ate there a few times and ordered delivery but stopped before the end of summer because it was mediocre. It wasn't bad by any means but it wasn't great either. They also did not have any gluten free options which I needed. Just ordered from them tonight because my husband and I were starving and was pleasantly surprised to find they added new menu items as well as gluten free ravioli and pizza. Ended up ordering the ravioli and when they delivered they gave us a free gluten free dessert (peanut butter bomb). Both were delicious. Very happy with the changes and am looking forward to trying the gluten free pizza. read more

Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - This is the free dessert they gave us... Gluten free peanut butter bomb... Yummy - Italian Near Me - Margate, New Jersey

Found Bocca today while just cruising the area. Absolutely had a great meal with wonderful service! Pizza was just downright yummy! Prices (esp happy hour) were extremely reasonable for the shore. Clean, friendly, delish! We will be back! read more

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

This use to be my Favorite place., I met a friend their for Dinner. Our Waiter set the tone Place was not busy . He was more concerned with the game on the tv. At the Bar. Then tending to our needs. Bread was hard. I had to get my own water and silverware. Food was just ok. Overall it was a poor dinning experience I won't be going back. read more

They double their prices got chicken parm that they have the nerve to charge 25 bucks for and it came out barely warm. Horrible it wasn't even worth the money or effort. read more

Ordered a Sicilian Pizza for delivery with 3 vegetable topping (@$3 each). For a total of $30. Pizza came cold and burnt. The crust (my favorite part) was like a dry tasteless cracker. No problem, it was Saturday on a busy summer night, anyone or any business can make a mistake or have an off day. Called and spoke with the manager, who I told simply that the pizza I received wasn't up to their high standards. She was the consummate professional (at least I thought so) understanding a customer wasn't satisfied she didn't ask what was wrong but immediately offered to send a replacement pizza which I accepted. THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THE REPLACEMENT NEVER ARRIVED! read more

This place has seemed to go downhill a bit. We sat outside for dinner and the service (who was the manager) was awful. I mean we had to get up a few times for service as well as the people sitting next to us. The food portions were pretty small (lobster ravioli and crab dip). And the food was just good. Nothing special. I probably wouldnt go again. I had Pierres pizza the next night and they had amazing italian food. read more

Service is poor. Employees lacking menu knowledge. Late night menu says wings pizza (but they can't make tails). Pizza is then burned on one side, you can tell they just don't care about the food. read more

Never had a bad Meal here everything is so good ! We love the sweet tai chili wings and the sangria is delicious

Favorite local seafood, bar and coal-fired pizza restaurant. Plenty of seating, TVs to catch the Phillies and a casual, lower priced pizza shop on the other side give you plenty of options when you have the kids with you. read more

This is probably one of the worst dining experiences I have had in years. Visiting the area from LA to see family and friends, my girlfriend said this was the place to go on Thursday nights for their prime rib special. She had taken others here the last 3 weeks and said everyone loved it. The special is very fairly priced and comes with soup or salad baked potato and broccoli. There were 3 of us and we all ordered our prime rib with different preparations as offered. Firstly, the food did not come out together. My friend ordered her's sizzling and it came out first (without he potato and vegetable) at least 5 minutes later the other two came out. Mine was as ordered, rare and with au jus but the temperature was cold. I am not accustomed to returning my food to the kitchen but this was cold meat! I asked to have a warm piece and then got some other piece of meat that looked shrunken and almost well done. Sorry, but it went back again and then the 3rd piece came which was possibly medium but not with au jus and with a shrunken baked potato and no broccoli. The waitress Teresa never can over to see if our food was good, if there was anything else we needed. My meal and all around service was VERY Disappointing!! Supposedly the owner was on the line in the kitchen but not sure how he or the expeditors let the plates go out in this manner. The food and overall wait staff service was awful. read more

Was looking forward to good pizza & supporting a local business in this time. Tried ordering pizza online & over the phone since 6pm.. both were temporarily unavailable for hours. I figured they must be busy, so I take a 20 minute drive there & then wait in line for 15 mins. When I go to place my order it is now 7:15 & I was told "Absolutely not we close at 8" .. no apology or explanation of them being backed up which I would have understood. I don't plan to return simply because of how that situation was handed. Very rude & unprofessional. read more

When I asked my local Ventnor friend Rich to recommend a good pizza place on Absecon Island he answered without hesitation, "We'll go to Louie's place. The pizza's coal fired." Having lived in Mt. Vernon NY for 15 years the home of Johnny's Pizza (cash only, closed Sundays and Mondays 9.1 rated pie from famous pizza boy David Portnoy, I know a little about pizza. We ordered Bocca's Nonna Pie & Rich wanted the Veggie Lover. If we did things my way we would've gotten the prosciutto, arugula, garlic pie, What made the Nonna pie memorable was the red sauce on it. It's taste caught my attention immediately & I got no agita from it. Rich's veggie lover pie was good too, but I'm coming back for the arugula, prosciutto pie. Bocca has great ambiance. They care about cleanliness which matters during Covid. We ate inside and I can remember every minute we were there a day later. Hannah our waitress was a lot of fun too and they have Mango White Claws which is important. Go here if you want a good experience during stressful times read more

After eating here on three different occasions over the past six months, I feel compelled to finally write a review. At first, I was willing to give this establishment the benefit of the doubt as they were new and still fine tuning things. After today, I can't be so forgiving. I have sat at both the bar and in the dining room. On every occasion, service was poor. Long fire times, inattentive staff and poorly executed food. After I sat at the bar, I was immediately approached by a bartender (female, blonde) who took my drink order. She returned with my drink, placed the ticket in a glass in front of me, and walked away. She never offered me a menu or even discussed the food or the evenings specials. About 15 minutes later she was replaced by a male bartender (male, short brown hair) who ignored me until my drink was empty for a few minutes. When he approached me, I asked for a refill and a menu. I placed my order for an entree, which he confirmed with me. He did not ask if I would like to order an appetizer. No attempt at up-selling or increasing the check average was made. No mention of specials, however, they were listed on the menu as an insert. At this point, the bartender went about his business setting up for his shift. There were about six other patrons at the bar, a few with empty drinks. The bartender eventually got around to them. Meanwhile, a server at the end of the bar was making himself a mixed drink in a 16oz. plastic cup, which he then placed behind the bar amongst the liquor bottles. After he walked way, I noted that the bartender went over to the drink and sampled it with a straw. There were cameras at the bar, but they were all pointed away from the service bar and Aloha POS's, at least two of them appeared to be obstructed by a surfboard hung in front of them. Approximately 20 minutes later, my entree arrived. I had the grilled flat iron steak, ordered medium rare. The steak was raw in the center, lightly marked on the outside. It had not been seasoned before it hit the grill. The potatoes and vegetables were piled on top of it, essentially hiding it. There were whole cloves of garlic, which were undercooked to the point of being raw. The plate needed more seasoning and an acid component overall, as the balsamic drizzle was very sweet. As I finished the bartender approached me and asked me if I would like another drink. I asked for the check. No attempt was made to sell me coffee or dessert. In all of my three visits, I was never touched by management to see how my dining experience was. In all of my three visits, I was essentially ignored by the staff. In all of my three visits, There were serious issues with the execution and quality of the food. Bocca is a beautiful space, and it is obvious that money was spent to give this restaurant a warm and comfortable atmosphere. It would seem that there was no money left over for a well-honed kitchen crew and bar staff, which are abundantly available for work on the island if you know where to look. It is an okay place if you are only going there to grab a beer and watch a game on one of the many muted TV's, but if you are expecting to be 'wowed' by the food and service, you will be disappointed. read more

Too bad I can't give it a zero! Went in tonight with a party of 9...waited 25 minutes for water. 30 for drinks at bar because they ran out of wine glasses..was given room temperature wine that sat out for 20 minutes in plastic wine glasses. My dads beer never came so he went to order one at the bar but yet was charged for one he ordered from waitress but never received Apps and salads came out at all different times. 8 of 9 dinners came out when asked about the cheeseburger that never came our waitress said they gave it to another table. Waited an additional 10 minutes...services was horrible, food was ehhhh. Have gotten food from this place many times and the last time said we weren't going back. Gave it another chance tonight...what a mistake. $400 on a meal that sucked in a disgrace. All the while a man who appeared to be manager or owner walked around smirking noticing we didn't look happy. Tonight experience was the worst I have ever had! read more

Not a very good experience. Orecchiette was stated to be homemade it was not... sauce had virtually no taste. Huge chunks of tomato were put in two dishes for what reason we still don't know.... and they weren't very ripe. Very pricey the food. read more

Bocca is our favorite place in the area to get take out pizza. Their nonna pizza is our favorite and their garlic knots are the best I have ever had. We have never been there for dine in, but their take out is tasty and fast delivery. read more

The staff is crazy rude. I couldn't tell you how the food is - the hostess' ineptitude made sure we never got a table, and her callous indifference ensured that we'll never be back. We showed up as a party of three on a Sunday night. It was crowded, but we were more than happy to stomach the 30 minute wait they predicted. 45 minutes later, after we had watched 3 or 4 other similarly sized parties - with no reservations - get seated ahead of us, it became pretty apparent they lost our name. So we went inside to ask politely about our status. "Name?" Oh, we already gave our name. We're just checking to see if there's an update on the wait time. "Oh right. Party of...four?" Erm, uh, no, three. "Oh. Ok. Yeah. Uh. Ten more minutes." We got through about five of those minutes when we saw a party of three walk right in and get seated at the empty table outside we had been standing next to the whole time. So we go up to the hostess with the short grey hair. Hi! We noticed that group sat at that empty table. Could we sit at one of the other available outdoor tables? "No." Scoffs. Turns. Walks away. And boom, we're off to the Chinese place across the street. Deuces, Bocca. Enjoy your lost business. read more

it was a busy night, and I can understand the hectic environment our waiter was dealing with, but it took entirely too long to get some attention. The Manager did help out with getting our drinks but still I wish we didn't have to wait 20 minutes to place our order. Pizza: Coal Fired pizza with grilled veggies. Crust was bland, not charred and way too thick. Oily and rubbery. Tasted nothing like a coal oven. salmon salad: Decent chunk of salmon with salty toppings and wilted lettuce. Edible but not great Coal fired wings: Good sauce, but again didn't get that smokey charred taste I love and expect from an establishment with "coal" in its name. Pizza, salad, wings 3 draft beers with tip and tax was 75 dollars for 2 people. Overpriced and underwhelmed. Won't return. read more

still one of the best restaurants on the island. Very community minded, moderate prices and a very friendly staff. The food is consistently good and the drinks are creative read more

In my opinion the food was terrible. The waitress was non-existent. She never ask you if you needed condiments. And when I complained it went to deaf ears. I will never go there again in a million years will be too soon. And that is my opinion. read more

I've been dining here and loving it for years, but last night's service, and the horrible attitude of management and the owner, have made me do something I have never done- write a negative review. I'll spare the reader the details except to say that one issue was that after an extremely long wait everyone was served and completed their dinners except the 5 year old who waited well over an hour after ordering until we were all done eating to finally get his children's menu Mac and cheese. We paid but never got an itemized check despite begging the manager and telling the owner today. For all I know we paid for someone else's dinner. They could have cared less. What a pity this once good restaurant had such a lack of concern about its horrendous service. read more