Bacio

This place is awesome! Immediately dug the vibe upon walking in (and being greeted by their charming canine hostess). It’s definitely a very cozy atmosphere. When we told the owners’ that we were vegan, they were super friendly and told us they could alter almost any item on the menu for us. We had a casear salad and sweet potato gnocchi with pesto. So, so yummy– some of the best pesto I’ve had. For dessert they told us they didn’t have any vegan desserts, but the owner offered to make us something off-​menu. It ended up being a completely delicious brownie with vegan cream frosting. I was so impressed! Not only with the quality of the food which was absolutely delicious, but also how they went out of their way to make us feel accommodated; this is certainly not the norm with most Italian restaurants! We can’t wait to make our way back to Bacio’s soon, or better yet, here’s hoping they open up a place in downtown Philly instead! Thanks for the wonderful meal!

Wow! What a wonderful meal. First time, and most definitely not the last. Started with a small antipasto, which had a nice assortment of veg, meat and cheese, and a most delicious oysters rockefeller. Then, on to home made pasta with pesto, and my husband had clams and linuine (so many clams!!)…al dente, tasty and just rich enough. And dessert, a warm chocolate, walnut pastry… oh so good. Service was friendly and relaxed. I’m not sure it can get any better, but if it stays at the same level of goodness, I will be a very happy patron.

Bacio pleases vegans! Our party of 9 ordered an all vegan traditional Italian dinner last night at Bacio: 2 different delicious salads, stuffed portobello mushrooms, homemade spinach and tofu ricotta ravioli, eggplant parm, and cannolis for dessert. Everything we ate was perfect. We had great service by the warm and friendly staff. Every one of us loved our dinner and equally loved the cozy but sophisticated ambiance.

Great atmosphere. Very special. Food excellent and made with lots of care. It was our first time there and we were treated like special guests. Chicken parmesan and shrimp scampi outstanding. They gave us a warm piece of ricotta pie for desert — so delicious!

This is our favorite restaurant. Every time we go it seems better than the time before. Jay (owner/​chef) always has great specials, especially veal and fish dishes. A great blend of the adventurous and Italian American soul food like your Nona made.

Awesome vegan food! The chef made me a surprise dinner that included vegan ravioli plus eggplant. Then had an amazing shellless cannoli with blueberries.
All was amazing!!!

Amazing group dinner. Very small space — at most 40 seats. We had 15! Apologies to small parties that night. We did a fixed menu to make it easy and service was fine. I suppose if I was dining on my own it would seem slow, but since we were all talking it was a good pace. I gave 4 stars because the MEATBALLS were out of this world, 10-​star worthy, and the lasagna was really good — lots of stretchy cheese. But everything else, while good, paled in comparison. The meatballs were THAT good.
Parking is a challenge, plan early. BYO — but if you are going, you probably already know that. Come hungry — expect leftovers.

As a Knuckle Dragging meat eater and someone who loves Gluten I can say to other like me «Don’t let the Vegan/​Gluten Free» stuff scare you away. I went there not knowing it was a vegan friendly restaurant. I usually stay away from places that specialize in these items because, quite frankly, their other food is bot usually very good.
This is not the case here. All the food was excellent. The dandelion salad special was very unique and tasty. The Chicken Bolognese was very rich and luxurious. We liked it so much we are going back this week.
TIP — try the meatballs. The ones made with real meat…

Bacio is a great BYO for homemade great tasting Italian food. The food was delicious and the night’s specials, braised short rib appetizer and lollipop lamb chops were cooked perfect. We arrived at 6:30 and the hostess and cook (I can only assume the owners) made us feel comfortable and like family. They were very accommodating and attentive to our needs. Aside from taking a while to get our check at the end of the night when the restaurant was wall o wall packed, everything was what we expected or better!

My girlfriend and I had minestrone soup for appetizer which was really good and chunky. Then we each had grilled branzino for main course, which was also very tasty. There was a pleasant hint of garlic in each dish we had which is a plus. I recommend this place to anyone looking for really good Italian.

Their gluten free chicken parm is to die for! Small but friendly staff, nice atmosphere. Highly reccomended for vegans or those with a gluten allergy. This is the best Italian experience Ive had since developing Celiac’s! A total breath of fresh air.

Well I’m no Italian food expert but I know I def like restaurants that cater towards vegans and this one def does get that part right.
Our first time dining here was on Valentine’s evening. Of course we made reservations as obviously it’s the most busiest night of the year for most restaurants.
Entering the restaurant we noticed tables were close together but didn’t bother us so much as we’ve experienced dining like this before. The hosts were extremely friendly. All the women in the restaurants were given roses on this special day.
Vegan tips: they can make almost make anything vegan — just call and ask ahead of time. The servers have knowledge and great suggestions. Reserve a vegan cannoli. And don’t forget Byob if you want that experience. Don’t come here expecting you’ll be in and out of the restaurant quickly. You come here for the experience.

When we first walked in, we stood awkwardly in the doorway for a few minutes before being acknowledged or greeted. The server was nice, but it seemed pretty clear that service was slow.
We started dinner with a medium antipasto. It was not a good start to the night. Everything on the dish seemed to come directly from a can that I could have gotten at the grocery store. We are less than half of it, and then it sat there uneaten for at least 40+ minutes while we waited for our entrees.
The service was very slow, we even contemplated leaving because it was taking so long.
So why did I give this restaurant four stars then? Because the entrees were redeeming. Both my entrée and my companion’s were excellent. She had the gluten free version of the chicken parm. It’s not often that restuants offer a GF version of almost everything on the menu.
So I will go back, but with the understanding that the service will be slow, but the food is worth it. Just be sure to skip the antipasto.

The other reviews indicate the service is slow and this is no exaggeration. As a vegan, I guess my expectations for the food were pretty high, but I found myself a little disappointed.
To start, we ordered the «special» fennel salad which was very small — literally greens, fennel, and dressing on a small plate — it was delicious, but way over priced at $ 11. We also ordered broccoli rabe which was average tasting at best.
For our meals, we ordered eggplant parm, sweet potato gnocchi, and lasagna — all made vegan, of course. We were looking forward to the gnocchi the most, but were the most disappointed with this dish. The gnocchi was mushy and topped with marinara. I felt like I was eating mashed sweet potatoes covered in tomatoes. The lasagna was ok, but would have been better if it had veggies and/​or was topped with vegan cheese. The eggplant parm was our favorite. Perfectly cooked with a small side of pasta.
For dessert, we had a vegan cannoli which was delicious. A perfectly small sized dessert.
I’ve lived in Italy and have worked in several Italian restaurants so I’ve eaten my share of delicious Italian food. Bacio was good, but there is no part of me that is dying to go back.
If you are looking for a good Italian restaurant, visit From the Boot in Lafayette Hill. Whether you eat meat or are vegan, you are sure to love anything you order — and the service is fantastic!

Unilocaling for «vegan» in the Philly area always turns up something good. This time I found Bacio. Stickers on the door proudly inform: Vegan Options Inside! Excellent Reviews-​Happy Cow! Zagat 2013! People Love Us On Unilocal!I can see why. The roasted beet salad with vinaigrette (mine with Go Veggie parm) was refreshing and delicious, a perfect start. I loved my eggplant parmesan. The marinara was great and the Daiya mozzarella (the best vegan cheese) was melted just right. The dish was light yet filling. My companion went gaga over his NY strip steak, said it was just about the best steak he ever had. The portion of spinach served with his steak was large enough to share. We took ricotta cheesecake and a vegan canoli to go – yummy! The music was a mix of Sinatra and jazzy Broadway tunes. Our very friendly server made us feel totally at home. While the chef worked in the open kitchen we got to talk with him. He’s very interested in customer feedback. Eating at Bacio was both relaxing and stimulating, and we left feeling very nourished and satisfied. I would certainly be a regular if I lived in the area.

I seriously can’t say enough amazingness about this place. First of all I am allergic to soy and gluten, and they are so, so accommodating. I’ve been here half a dozen times now and NEVER had an issue. If you have allergy or dietary concerns it doesn’t get any more friendly about working with you than this place!!! Aside from that, you should go because the food is delicious and truly fresh, not pre-​prepared, its just so good and you FEEL good after. This is why some reviewers say its slow. I’d rather have REAL, FRESH food and wait an extra 5 or 10 minutes, honestly. And portions are rather generous but not overly so. Plus the service is sweet and its adorable and BYOB.
Some things I love are the antipasto, the minestrone is drool worthy, the clams and other seafood always fresh and delish, I love the chicken picatta, I don’t eat pasta or bread but my hubs LOVES the chicken parm and gnocci, plus the entrees come with pasta (even gluten free pasta) and fresh veg which is the way Italian should be. And they always have specials — most recently the cod topped with Portabello mushrooms and black currant reduction was knock your socks off good.

I don’t know how they do it, but they do a good job at it. I’m not a huge fan of Italian food so to impress me is a big deal. My partner and I had the same entrees– mine vegan, his non– and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. The artichoke hearts were delicious and on the house because our food took a little long to come out. I would say the eggplant rollatini was just okay. Decent at best. The lasagna was what really sealed the deal for me. How they got this thing to taste so good without using cheese, I have no idea. But I’ll definitely be back.
As the previous reviews suggest, the wait is pretty long. I would have been annoyed had we not have gotten the artichoke hearts and the eggplant rollatini came out first. So, don’t come here starving or in a rush.
Update: I went back last night and the gnocchi was so good I had to add an extra star. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so impressed. Delicious!

I absolutely love this traditional Italian byob restaurant … Hearty, tasty satisfying beyond my expectations. 5 STARS!
Service was great and fast last night.
We had the medium size antipasta, the clam conch mussel shrimp white wine linguine and the veal pork beef meatball w house made sauce and pappardelle!!! House made pasta … Delic! Also complimentary rosemary bread and olive oil.
We were so full that we took leftovers home and had no room for the desert. But we are def going back and next time I’m going to save room for dessert.

Bacio was awful. It is unfortunate since we have been anticipating going there for almost a year and all of the prior reviews were positive.
Ambiance was very plain and boring.
The cleanliness level of the restaurant was poor, dirt on the floors, cobwebs on the light fixtures, a stale acrid smoke and mold smell was coming from the back of the building where we were seated in the back room area. The tables are much too long for the banquet seating making for an uncomfortable meal.
There was an extension cord running through a seat and table for the air conditioner unit near our table.
The food was pitiful sadly upon which i will elaborate.
My caesar salad was very small, filled with romaine cores and saturated in their eggless dressing which was mostly parmesan cheese; it was also very small for a $ 7.95 salad.
All four of our entrees were luke warm inside which was shocking since the restaurant was practically empty for our sunday evening meal. The Pasta E Broccoli was poor and filled with well done brocolli. My lasagna was very plain and drenched in their red sauce to compensate for the average flavor.
A great health code violation was when the server brought us parmesan cheese to grate and handed us a brick of cheese and a microplane grater, this clearly had been given to and handled by many guests.
An additional whopping health violation was when their dog walked up to our table. Yes!!! A dog roaming freely in the seating area and around the open kitchen.
That is one of the most glaring health violations i have ever seen as a food service professional.
Their bread baskets and table sets for salt and pepper were also filthy and clearly never cleaned after each service shift.
Our server was sloppy, unprofessional and very unattentive, he seemed more like he would be suited pumping gas than serving tables.
All in all this was a majorly disappointing waste of our time and money.
As a resident of Mt. Airy I try to promote our local establishments and enjoy the neighborhood but Bacio is a sad blemish on the delicious food scene in Mt. Airy.

What a wonderful dinner my friends and I had
On the eve of Christmas, the service was grand
We were greeted with warmth and a cozy table for three
Ordered entrees and apps and waited with glee
7 fishes, gnocchi, and chicken soon came
To our gastronomic delight we savored the same
Desserts were amazing and the check rather low
To this BYOB we recommend that you go! :)