Baci Restaurant

Great local scene with dancing to live music. Fun atmosphere with nice people who love to dance. Beautiful Italian wine list, great selection of veal dishes and of course, pizza with anchovy. Dine, drink and dance the night away!

If you are 65+ it’s the right place for you! People are dressed up and there is live music. I just wish I would’ve known beforehand. Food was good… might go back in 20 years;)

Unfortunately, there are limited options for Italian in the North Burnaby area that takes reservation on short notice. So I decided to come back for a visit. We were a table of 8 with a reservation time of 8:30pm. We got to listen to live music from the beginning when the band set up to the end at 10pm when the band left the stage. Only one entrée arrived and everyone was left starving including a 5 year old child at 10pm. We asked a server to check on the food and we were told it was coming. I went straight to the manager to complain that there was a child at the table and that it was already 10pm. I kept watching the kitchen area after 9:15pm and I did not see food other than dessert coming out of the kitchen. Maybe they were busy with take out orders? Our server was also absent for long periods of time. We received our food after 10pm and were done eating by 10:20pm. We skipped dessert as we had enough of the lack of service. Two staff members promptly cleared plates. They were faster at clearing tables than making food. We were out the door by 10:30pm.
Was it worth the revisit? We should have lined up at Anton’s and would probably be served faster even waiting in line. I did not realize that eight pasta dishes would be that challenging for the kitchen when it was a later dinner time.
We also received no compensation or follow up from the manager. We paid full price. It was suppose to be a nice dinner with out of town guests gone very wrong. The live music is nice. I would recommend this place for people who want to drink and dance the night away as it is lively. We did receive all our alcoholic beverages and bread very promptly. However, I could not enjoy the music after awhile when I am starving and waiting for my food for over an hour. I also felt bad choosing this restaurant and making everyone (especially children) at my table starve with me. Lastly, I do not recommend this restaurant to families with young children as the service is unpredictable.

I had been meaning to try this restaurant for a while and finally had the chance to dine here last week. I was with a large group (12 of us) but that did not impact the service in the slightest. I guess this restaurant is used to dealing with large groups.
I started out with the antipasto platter ($ 11 for one person or $ 18 for two) and I was pretty impressed with the selection of items on the plate. There was some prosciutto, a large grilled prawn, marinated vegetables, bruschetta, tomato with mozzarella and some calamari. Some of my dining companions tried the soup of the day, which was mushroom with truffle oil — apparently a big hit!
For my main, I asked the server what she would recommend between the veal osso buco ($ 28) and the seafood linguine ($ 21). Without hesitation, she recommended the veal, claiming it was amazing. I chose this based on her enthusiastic response. Unfortunately, when the food arrived, I was not overly impressed with the meal. The osso buco was not what I expected at all. I was anticipating very flavourful, fall-​off-​the-​bone tender veal. What I had was firm veal (as though it was cooked ahead of time, refrigerated and re-​heated) and disappointing sides of risotto and mashed vegetables. I would absolutely not order this again. Good thing I was using an Entertainment coupon, so there was a discount on the meal.
The restaurant had live music, which made it very difficult to have a decent conversation at our table, as we were seated right by the stage. Most of the customers at Baci are older (50+) and seemed to be there primarily for the dancing — the dance floor was packed by the time we were ready to leave. Although the service was excellent, I don’t think this restaurant is really my cup of tea, so I will likely not return.

We’re looking for Italian restaurant nearby and found Baci on the list with good reviews.
It’s so called authentic Italian. We walked in at 6ish, no customer yet on Friday evening.
The restaurant has a small dance floor with live music on the weekend and it’s funny to see couples and kids rocking to the music on the dance floor. But, it would be very loud for dining.
My hubby and me doubt about the quality of food and only ordered simple dishes to try.
Mussels — it’s so tiny and fishy.
Mushroom soup — powdery and bland
Meat balls spaghetti — it’s mediocre and salty.
Prawns linguine — it’s salty too
I would give them extra star for friendly service. If you are looking for a place for live music or gathering not for food, this is the place to go.

After our first visit we had many times take out dinners from Baci. we tried the Pizza and found it not to be to our taste, to much stuff on it and to soggy. However, since we had the Lasagne, we are hooked. It is just the best Lasagne out there.
Having had such good experiences we decide to have our small wedding dinner there as well, and it worked out amazingly.
Our guests, all 15, were complimenting us on our choice of venue. The food was really good, plentiful and varied to cater for all tastes. The wine recommendation was excellent. The service was top notch, loved the waiter who again had flair, charm and wit to keep us all having fun and our glasses filled.
The icing on the proverbial cake was the bill, that ended up being a couple of $ 100 less then expected. All in all a place to recommend.

Just to be fair, I must mention that my reviews are not based on my latest visit only, but also all the visits I had in the past, and it is an overall impression on this restaurant and service.
Years ago, we used to be semi regular customers to this place for Friday evenings mostly. After numerous references from our friends who were all regular ballroom dancers, we decided to check it out since we were always on the hunt for a nice places to dine and dance.
The live band was quite accommodating switching over between various genres of music. In fact, I thought they were pretty good. Food was all right. However, I can easily recommend several other places for better foods with lesser prices; Arms Reach Bistro, Mythos Greek Taverna, etc. No, I am not related to these places.
Service? Overall NOT so impressed. When they are extremely busy, customers are left unattended for a long time. The nights they were not so busy, they were not so attentive or even try to accommodate what customers asked for a small favor.
EX) It was my partner’s birthday. We wanted to avoid busy Valentine’s day and wanted to have some quiet evening with dinner and dance. I asked several days ahead to clarify if they could change the music or change the tune so that we could dance considering the dance floor would not be filled with crazy drunks and uncontrollable children dangerously running around on the floor. The person answered the phone told me that would not be a problem. Really? Apparently it was.
I asked the guy who appeared to be in charge that night if he could change music for more suitable for dancing since the music they were playing had hardly any beat to dance with. He said, «During the week, people like to enjoy quiet dinner.» I did not ask him to pump up the volume so that people could not carry conversation. All I asked was the right music to dance with. I felt embarrassed of asking such a huge (?) favor. If I had known that it would be so much trouble for them, I would have picked many other places I could have dinner without dance, yet better foods.
Speaking of dinner and dance, I hear there are several more places I can try out in Vancouver area. Maybe it is time to venture out some new places where I can expect more fun with less unpleasantness.
Having all said and done, I realized why we stopped going that place. I thought things would be bit different 2 years later, but it was not. I guess we won’t be going to this restaurant any more. But, it doesn’t mean it is not a place for many others who might enjoy what they can offer. I just wrote my experience and opinion with my own words so that others might have a bit of an idea what to expect one way or the other.
Peace…

My boyfriend brought me here for a birthday supper and what a pick! Amazing food and service. I highly suggest the mussels appetizer so tasty! I had the stuffed chicken with shrimp and cream sauce found it very filling. Crème brûlée for dessert, yum. Can’t wait to go back here again, very decent prices for some fine food!

I went here on my first real date with my current boyfriend; I saw a coupon for $ 50 off (or something extravagant like that) and figured it would be a good time to go here and then head to Fright Night after.
The location was optimal for me as an SFU student, as the 135 bus heads straight there and basically drops you off outside the door. (Well, you’d have to cross the street, but still.) The servers were fairly reserved; they weren’t very talkative and friendly, but they weren’t rude, either. (Maybe it was because we had a coupon?) My boyfriend ordered the steak, which he said was OK, and I had the chicken in mushroom & brandy cream sauce, which I thought was excellent. We also had martinis, which were alright, but not really worth the price.
The highlight of the restaurant came with the bread basket. Before our meal, the waiter presented us with the bread basket. We didn’t really have any, because we wanted to save room for the meal, but Dan decided that he wanted a piece of bread after he’d had his steak. So, he buttered up his bread and takes a bite, and put it back down on his plate. The server then proceeds to take his plate away, with the bread and his butter knife on it. I give him my butter knife and plate, and Dan butters up another piece of bread and takes a bite. Again, the server comes and takes the plate away. Mind you, this is literally while Dan is still chewing his bread. It obviously wasn’t a big deal; bread is just bread. But it was hilarious.
If I were to give Baci any advice, it would be to be more perceptive of the customers. Overall, it got three stars because of the two customers, one was satisfied while the other was dissatisfied; the value is OK for the price; the location was pretty good; and their martinis suck.

Classic Italian dining room, often with a band. They make great scaloppini and have a large grappa selection. Very popular in the Italian Community for parties such as christenings and graduations. Easy parking out front.

This used to be our «go to restaurant», but after our last visit we agreed that the food had gone down hill this past year .We will no longer go there !

Baci consistently comes through every time for our family celebrations and we have been there many times. Just went for Fathers Day and enjoyed delicious salads, large servings suitable to share. My daughter had oysters on the half shell… delicious. I had their seafood pasta, my husband had the salmon special and my daughter the seafood risotto and everything was excellent. Great service, reasonable prices and nice décor. They even have a dance floor and a two piece band which plays great music for the dancers in the crowd which makes for a really nice evening.

We went at 5:30, as we had an Entertainment Book card, which said that they could only seat us before 6pm on Friday/​Saturday. They said that they were fully booked for the rest of the evening past 7pm, so were glad that we came early.
The service was attentive, and the food was excellent. I ordered veal canelloni, and my boyfriend ordered one of the chicken dishes, which he said was very good, as well.
It turns out they have live music Thursday — Sunday, but that Thursday and Sunday evenings were less busy, and otherwise we would need a reservation a week in advance.
We’ll come back to hear the music, and dance; they have a lovely, but small, wooden dance floor.

I was invited to a birthday party at Baci. There were 15 of us. We had a great host and drinks were free flowing. We enjoyed the group menu dinner — I cleaned the plates. Tira misu cake was great. Our hosts also ordered an ice cream cake. Great service, ambiance and great live music. Will be back.

I heard about Unilocal,but never used the site before. When I went to this Restaurant, I felt very compelled to sign up for an account and Unilocal IT! So here goes… At first sight, the Restaurant seemed to be very promising. There was a full bar, a dance floor, families, music etc. When looking at the menu, there was no doubt about the food being over priced but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The placed looked like it was family owned and would have been worthy of having the title of «family owned.» The Restaurant was packed and may have been the reasoning to why my server acted in the way that she did. I ordered a $ 20 plate which looked very tasty but seemingly was not the I had thought I ordered. I requested if it could be redone to white sauce instead of red, and to my surprise the waitress said no and shoved the plate on to the table. I asked to see a supervisor, to complain about the rude server and get bombarded with questions about what I said to the server and how I would have to pay for the plate even if I did not want it and sent it back.
THE SERVICE IS HORRIBLE, the place may look good but the customer services is ridiculously the worst place I have ever experience.