Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge

Went to bossanova tonight in hopes of a great meal and was really disappointed. The waitress took forever to take our orders. I ordered the panko chicken and it was just terrible. It was cold and the chicken was so over cooked, I couldn’t even cut it. My friend ordered the Nicose salad and it was average at best. Very disappointing.

With a group of eight last weekend. Everyone enjoyed the food and cocktails! We are locals and always enjoy it!

Alton’s great little secret. Great food, love the mussels. Good cocktails, wine and beer selection. The staff is wonderful.

My husband and I love coming here. Delicious martinis, and a small but exceptional food menu. Staff is always friendly. The only problem with it is during busy hours it can be difficult to get a table.

Love their beer selection! The food is amazing too :) This is such a great dinner for a date night :)

Went there with my older parents and had a great meal. Food was awesome. 80 year old parents want to go back to eat and drink — the dooley family

Very quaint place that serves out of the box pizza/​flat bread. By out the box I do not mean the pizza/​flat bread came out of one. they have very unique combos that one would never think of making. Their appetizers are very good we had the tuna and also the bacon wrapped scallops. Nice selection of Martinis and a wide selection of bottled beers. No draft beer but I personally think that is a great idea and limits the risk of bad beer. Really worth the trip for a nice dinner and a few drinks.

This place is hard to beat! From Steve, Jill, Kevin, Becky or Heather to the owner Russ, all are just wonderful people who care about their customers and enjoy their job. The martinis are very, very good, they have a wide selection of alcohol, and the food is amazing. Chef whips up some great dishes. I love the buffalo chicken pizzeria ($ 5 on Mondays!), the bst pizzette (bacon, shrimp, tomato), the spin dip with French bread, the beef teepee, Pasta… I could keep reviewing what I like on the menu or you could just get in there and try for yourself! I recommend the latter.

Came to this hidden gem tucked in the heart of downtown Alton for dinner with friends. The restaurant environment is incredibly intimate and welcoming with its dim lighting and comfortable booths. We were drawn by their $ 5 pizza special on Mondays. These aren’t your run-​of-​the-​mill basic pizzas. Bossanova offers gourmet pizzas with high quality ingredients. I went with the lingurian pizza which was amazing. It’s similar to a flatbread style pizza topped with succulent shrimp, briny feta cheese, toasted walnuts, sun-​dried tomatoes and herbacious pesto. I hear the buffalo chicken and cheesesteak pizzas are amazing as well. In addition to our pizzas, we tried the smoked salmon rangoons and pork lollipops. The rangoons were okay, but they could use more filling. I’d say skip it and order another pizza. The lollipops were juicy and flavorful, but I didn’t care for the apple butter sauce — overly sweet for my taste.
Although the restaurant was poppin’ with patrons, you’d never know because our server was incredibly attentive and did a great job answering questions about the menu and suggesting items to order. Our drinks were always filled and plates were clearly quickly after we were finished. I will definitely return to try their regular menu items in the future!

I could live here. Honestly.
The food is to DIE for, the ambiance is second to none, and the martinis are tasty. Generally, I get the feta/​olive oil crostini for starters, some beef tepees (the best oral sex you’ll ever have, no lie!), and finish off with a smooth Plenty O’Toole, which is – I swear to God – an Andes mint in a martini glass. Throw in some smooth classy entertainment on the weekends (be sure to check out Sky West Trio the first Saturday of every month!), and you’ve just moved to heaven!

What a gem nestled in old downtown Alton! I enjoyed a Pussy Galore, a Dixie Normous and a Kissy Suzuki Martini while breaking bread with a few friends. From the sensual artwork smack dab in the middle of the bar to the modern masonry work this place is a class act. The service here was great, the drinks amazing and artfully presented and the ambiance cool and chic. Our waitress even looked like Juilanna Margulies. (totally adorable)
Next time I am in this neck of the woods I will come back and try a few more menu items on the food section and maybe even a few of the Austin Powers or James Bond themed martinis. If you live in St. Louis and like a sophisticated martini bar and enjoy Chocolate Bar or SubZero you will feel right at home at Bossanova.

High quality variety in a tight fun upbeat package in a kind of a Katy Perry quality of body with a Shakira quality of mind. Good prices on unique salads, pizzas and entrees. Well sourced ingredients.

Love this little Martini bar! Nice selection of martinis and my favorite Absinthe!!! The food menu is unique and flavorful but could use just a few more items. The limited food choices and small restroom are what kept them from 5 star

This was my first visit to Bossanova and I am in love. The bartender was friendly. She offered the drink menu which was two pages of martini’s. They have taken the 007 theme and the martini’ are named after characters in the movie, it was fun to read the menu. I knew that I had to drive so I stuck with wine. We ordered from the appetizer menu, they have a dip with olive oil, feta cheese and kalamato olives served with chiabatta bread. It was delightful, a healthier version of the appetizer. The place must be popular amongst the locals because people just kept pouring through the door. The bad part is no outside seating and it does not open until 4 o’clock. This is a must stop when you are in Alton.

This restaurant is a great little find. I came on Valentine’s Day and it was packed, but did not have to wait long for a table. The menu is small, but they are small so i commend them for not trying to do more than what they can handle. The drinks, are AMAZING! I tried 3 different martinis (X-​Rated, Dixie, and the White Chocolate). I don’t know which I would choose if I was to go back. Our server was great, the owner stopped at our table to ensure we had everything we need, and the atmosphere was unbeatable. I would recommend this to anyone who like martinis and good food.

It’s 3:42p Sat., 2÷4÷12, the lights are off, the doors are locked.
The business hours listed on Unilocal sure are wrong. At least at this point in time for today.

Stopped in for a drink, bartenders were fun. Had a decent drink variety, had a martini which seemed to be their «thing.»
I’d stop by again. Heads up: the Google Maps and Street View is about a ½ block off from the true location.

Bossanova serves quality food late, and has a wide variety of drinks to choose from. The bartenders are always friendly and the service is prompt. The tables are easy to adjust depending on the size of your party, and if you have a table of 8 or more, there are two tables in the back that are reserved for such parties. The martinis are the best in the area, and there are even bands that play there on occasion.
The only negatives that I have are:
1. reservations are not available ahead of time which is understandable due to limited space
2. that the menu hasn’t noticeably changed in the year that I have been a patron of this bar
Favorite dishes: Beef Tepee, Coconut Shrimp, BST pizette.
Favorite martinis: Dixie Normous and X-​rated.

This was not where we’d intended to have dinner, but I’m so glad we did! The place was packed, but the service was still friendly, prompt and professional. The wine list isn’t extensive, but offers good choices. They’re a martini bar so the martini list is exciting reading — I wasn’t in the mood for a martini so will go back for that.
HUGE yum factor on the food. The goat cheese salad with pistachios and beets is a must have (and I’m not a fan of beets usually) with the roasted red pepper dressing. We also shared a shrimp and sun dried tomato pizza with a pesto sauce. The pesto had that marvelous fresh flavor of basil just brought in from a sunny spot and the toppings were a perfect compliment. The crust was just thick enough to support the toppings and thin enough to be a crisp texture contrast to the chewy langostino tails.
Looking forward to my next visit to Alton, IL.

Were it not my city cousin transplanted in Alton telling me this place is as good and as sophisticated as any classy city bar, I would never have believed it. But, it’s true.
This is not what snob me was expecting. This is a first class fabulous restaurant and bar.
They have a HUGE assortment of martinis and all else. The menu was sophisticated in that they don’t serve «barf-​ood.»
My seafood gumbo was superb. My cousin’s personal size pizza with fresh carrots and other veggies was creative.
And Jill, the legend of Alton’s East Side, I hear, was our bartender… and excellent.
Why go elsewhere? No point.