Pepe Bocca

A few days I go I ordered a large Italian sub to go on a French baguette sub roll. They only had Ciabetta bread. The sub was not large, was medium at best. It had one slice of cheese, one slice of mortadella, one slice of Genoa salami and the usual fillers. It has to rank as probably the worst sub I have ever eaten for $ 10.25. It was grossly overpriced. I was extremely disappointed. I’ll never go there again.

Terrific! Ordered the Italiano, took a while to serve but to ally worth the wait! Very friendly and heartwarming staffs, this is my first visit and I love this place already!

Giovanni is as passionate and talented a culinary artist as I have seen. His breads and prepared foods are better than I’ve had in the N. End where I’ve worked for more than 25 years. Hands down, the best new place in Somerville. Keep up the great work. I’ll keep coming back!

Run into their breads by chance (!) after 40 years of total disgust and frustration with available bread here, AND, will NOT buy bread anywhere else from now on! Their bread is bread, what it should be and always have been. The taste, texture etc, but more importantly the inner satisfaction of putting in your body good basic organically handled food, is undescriptible.
For the first time in years in this country, I ate up to the last hard piece of crust with total pleasure. Gracie Giovanni, merci!

That eggplant Stromboli I just had there tonight rocked my world.
This place is great.
Can’t wait to return next visit. !!

The food looked amazing. I feel liked I ordered wrong. But for what I did order which was the special Orecchiette sausage pasta, it was under seasoned and swimming in a pool of Olive oil … Not a big fan.

Best chicken parm ive ever had. but the place suffered from overly slow, inefficient counter service.

Consistency is gold. I’ve been here a handful of times and each time has been consistently delicious. My favoriye pizza is the burrata. The ingredients are so fresh and the flavors are simple yet bold. Each component of the food provided is distinct yet complementary. The food tastes like a warm hug from a grandparent. Must go spot in Davis for real, fresh, and authentic food.

Homemade pasta, fresh bread, delicious cheeses, oh my!
I feel like a kid in candy store whenever I come here. There are just too many goodies around. Their ciabatta is great. The cheeses I got were all very good. The prosciutto was sliced melt-​in-​your-​mouth paper thin per my request. Their fresh pasta was tempting… maybe next time. They also have desserts, sandwiches, pizzas, sauces, antipasto items, olive oil, etc. The owners and staff are super friendly and helpful. They can be a bit slow, but a little patience never hurt anyone. I actually thought their prices were not too bad.
I’m definitely gonna be a regular.

Eggplant parm is best in the world!
Lot’s other good Italian specialties too.

Growing pains here. The staff are very very friendly and try to be accommodating, but I have found myself waiting for 5, 10, 15 minutes to just order, or to just buy a box of pasta on my way into town. They need to review their register practices. There were more staff than customers the last time I was in, and the process took a very long time for a simple purchase.
They produce some really special, unique foods. If I want a specialty meat, I find stuff at Pepe that I can’t at McKinnon’s or Dave’s. Definitely on the pricier side.
I want them to succeed!

Amazing selection of imported Italian goods and prepared foods. Davis Square is lucky to have you.

A few days ago my paws were getting itchy for a walk and like most of my walks, I found myself in one of the many specialty food markets in the area. This time it was Pepe Bocca in Davis Square in Somerville.
I had high hopes for this place, after all many people have posted rave reviews about the place, but personally I couldn’t see the attraction. Let’s start with the basics — bread. The selection of bread was impressive, however the breads that were wrapped and on a rack in the store were hard as a brick. After deciding I didn’t want to risk breaking a tooth, I opted for one of the baguettes behind the counter, thinking I’d be getting a better option. I didn’t realize it until I got home that the entire bottom of the bread was burnt, and I’m not talking about a little over done, I’m talking black as coal, scorched type burnt. It wasn’t edible. I threw the entire loaf out.
During that visit I also ordered one of their anise cookies. It was stale beyond words, and the anise flavor was so overpowering that the cookie was actually bitter.
From my experience and browsing through the store, this place is over priced and under quality. The only redeeming quality of my entire visit was that the woman behind the counter was very welcoming and with no attitude. With all the other great specialty markets in the area, I can’t imagine why anyone would choose this place. It was my first and last time.
Food Rating: 1 paw
Service Rating: 2 paws
Overall Rating: 1.5 paws
With love from my dog bowl to yours… Happy eating.
Shata

yum! Every bite of food I’ve had here has been amazing — pizza, fried smelts, arancini, bread, cheese, sweet treats, whatever. EVERY SINGLE THING has been awesome. The people are super super friendly and it really feels like a cozy family/​neighborhood joint (especially when the owners’ 10-​ish (?) year old daughter is working the cash register). You can get easy take-​out pizza or sandwiches, or pick up some pasta, sauce, and fancy olive oil to cook dinner at home.
Yes it does get a bit chaotic at times — where do you pay? where does the line start? who do I order from? but really, just find someone and ask. I’m a non-​Italian speaking female and have never felt uncomfortable or out of place (another review mentioned an Italian-​speaking boys’ club; that has never been my experience), everyone is really just lovely. MMmmm and I’m coming this weekend for some ricotta pie!

This place is amazing. It’s traditionally Italian and in such a convenient location. The arancini are magnificent and the ingredients are fresh.
Definitely recommend it.

This place is amazing. Choices beyond belief. Don’t miss coming here. The food is outstanding and the help is caring.

I really want to like this place more than I do:
1. They occupy a far more novel and useful niche in the Davis Square dining ecosystem than the infestation of overpriced sorta-​upscale pubs like Five Horses, Saloon, Rosebud, etc.
2. The employees are friendly and unpretentious.
3. Anything is an improvement over the moribund Sessa’s Italian Specialties grocery that occupied the space for years prior to Pepe’s arrival. In particular, the new space is much lighter, brighter, and more inviting now than the former layout and atmosphere, which resembled nothing so much as a fileroom crossed with a morgue, full of canned tomatoes.
However, both times I’ve been here for a sandwich so far, the experience has been disappointing. The first time, the bread was burnt and tough; conversely, the second time, the bread of the meatball sub I ordered was not up to the task and was off-​puttingly soggy and sloppy. At the uncomfortably high prices they charge ( Unilocal’s one-​$ categorization is way off; $$ is more accurate), it’s reasonable to expect higher quality than this, especially in light of the fact that Dave’s Fresh Pasta just a few blocks away will sell you a much better sandwich for $ 1-​$ 2 less.
I hope for their sake that these are just the growing pains of a new business, because as I said, they are a likable operation. However, at this time, I don’t find the product they are selling to be worth my money.

Got an Italiano today.(Italian sub). If you’ve had some Italian subs in Somerville. This is much different. Focusing on the house made ciabatta bread. Quality meats and cheeses as well as toppings. You can really taste the quality. Staff was friendly and quick. Sandwich was 10 bucks but it’s worth it if you don’ t mind paying it. Looking forward to trying the pizza.

Unbelievably fresh italian food. Pizzas, sammies, so good. They don’t have cream for their coffee, unfortunately. There are tables to sit at with cookbooks and you get plates and dinnerware that look like you’re at a family’s house. Its really great.

This place is incredible. The food is glorious, all made in house and the service is impeccable.
On a weekend you might be lucky enough to meet the owners’ kids. It is a wonderful family operation.
The owners always meet you with a cheerful hello and seem really happy to see you back.
The Italian sandwich is so perfect itll make you cry. Homemade bread and exceptional ingredients.
The pizza is always changing and is always, always delicious.

Deli Only review-​Not Restaurant
Gotten cold-​cuts here a few times. I used to buy them from Sessa’s before it was bought by the current owners. Not impressed with the way they slice expensive meats; at least John (Previous owner) knew how to slice meat. It is clean and offers a good variety. Decent place if you are looking for average/​meh.

When in Rome… actually, who needs Rome when visiting this little gem in Somerville? I wandered in for the first time a few months ago and received a warm welcome to the neighborhood (moved here in February by way of Seattle then Philly) and suggestions on what to order as a vegetarian. Left with a Caprese sandwich, fully intending to eat half and save the other. Devoured the whole damn thing. It was that good. The tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella and olive oil combo on rustic bread nearly garnered tears.
Visit number two was a «can you have a Margherita pizza ready to pick up for a deck party later? Make that two pies… just in case…» And a good thing, as both pies disappeared in minutes by my inquisitive guests («oh my GOD! where did it come from??») Not Rome friends, right here in Somerville. Tack on a few delicious almond cookies and biscotti and your pals will deem you the ultimate host extraordinaire.
Visit number three: my mama ordered an Italian «the works» sandwich to take on a later flight back to Seattle. Savored it, and pissed off envious seatmates nibbling on stale pretzel Delta Air snacks.
Today, the same delightful fellow welcomed me back for another round of pizzas for my guests and promised they’d be as good or better than the last.
I love this place, and the whole vibe: regulars chatting it up in their native italian, staff smiling and welcoming in customers, fresh baked breads kicking in my salivary glands. I sincerely hope they stick around for a long while.

I’m going to have to agree with the few negative reviews. It’s like an Italian old boys club in here, with most of the employees and a few regular customers yelling at each other in Italian and completely ignoring anyone else.
You could call it authenticity. but I wasn’t treated this badly at stores in Italy – even in Naples. ;) In fact, I’ve pretty much never felt so disrespected and invisible ANYWHERE I went to spend my money! So, next time I’m looking for fresh pasta, olive oil, and other Italian imports, I’ll take my business to Capone Foods.

This place is so fantastic.
For those who haven’t been, think of this place as a more Italian Dave’s Fresh Pasta. Was that blasphemous of me?
The bread is the best I’ve had in a while (maybe ever), and the sandwiches are a lot of food. Expect to go home full and satisfied.
I sampled their olive oil and it took me back to Florence for a minute. Unreal.
Make sure you strike up conversation with the owners: they are very nice and go out of their way to make sure you have a great experience in this place.
Thanks, guys! I’ll be back!

Phenomenal little Italian bakery spot. Great focaccia, awesome pizza and bread. Service is always super friendly and family oriented. Might take a bit of time, especially if there is a line, but it’s worth it.
Daves, just up the street, is still the spot for fresh pasta and sandwiches, but this place takes the cake for baked goods.

YESSSSSSSSS
okay, where do we start. italian nutella (glass jars)? YES. italian espresso? YES. some of the best fresh-​baked bread i’ve had since i’ve been in boston (aka better than iggy’s, better than when pigs fly? maybe on par with nashoba brook bakery)? YES. homemade ciabatta? YES. imported italian tomatoes? YES. italian meatball sub on homemade ciabatta, as tall as it is wide, like an overweight blimp heading towards your mouth, with wonderfully garlicky homemade tomato sauce, homemade meatballs, and all the veggies? YOU HAVE REDEFINED THE ITALIAN SUB.
pizzas in the back, too. a little area to munch as well.
i plan to go back for an awesome round of bread and some of their dried porcini mushrooms. they’re a store, they’re a bakery, they’re a sandwich shop.
their sign looks all fancy, too.
drooool.

Pepe Bocca is a relatively new establishment, as it just opened back in December.
The store offers a variety of Italian inspired dishes and ingredients, though there are a lot of tomato based products, vinegar, olive oil, and other things in a similar vein that stand out in particular. They also provide a number of ready cooked food options, and have a decent selection of meats and cheeses as well. Food to go is also available in the back, such as calzones.
I will offer some business advice: the previous establishment Sessa’s (which used to occupy the space that Pepe now occupies) was excellent in terms of it’s selection. I think the main reason it suffered was because it did not market itself well enough. Pepe’s survival will depend on whether or not it can get the word out about itself. Using social media would be one step, but I hope it is able to go one further than this. Also, considering that another Davis grocer, Dave’s Fresh Pasta, also targets a similar audience, Pepe will have to work hard in order to either distinguish itself from Dave’s, or offer similar products but at a higher quality/​lower price.

I love this place. I walked by once and it smelled so good from the outside that I couldn’t resist.
If there’s one thing I miss since I’ve come to the US, it’s the idea of a family establishment. A neighborhood joint. The kind of place where you can walk in and it’s always the same people, and you know them and they know you. Well, this is it. (The guy I assume must be) the owner is an awesome person, friendly to a fault and always asks how I’m doing. There are kids running around, friends coming in for an idle chat.
The food. Oh my god the food. All the ingredients taste fresh. The prosciutto is delicious, the cheese is amazing, the tomato doesn’t taste like cardboard. The dough is chewy, crunchy, tasty, yummy all at once. It’s all drizzled generously in tasty olive oil.
For comparisons, I like Otto’s in Harvard Square for example, and I’d say the pizza here is every bit as good if not better in some respects. It’s also just very different. What jumps out at you is the flavorful freshness and quality of the ingredients. For lack of a better term, it’s just very mediterranean.
I’ve had arancini, fried eggplant, few different varieties of pizza. Once I got a multi-​layer pizza monstrosity thing with different deli meats that was brilliant. I got some rustic sourdough bread that is crusty on the outside and very tasty.
They also sell a lot of other things, which I haven’t taken a detailed look at yet. The owner still seems to be trying things out, gauging people’s reactions, deciding. Every time I come in there’s something new to eat. I think that’s a good thing. But it’s off to a great start anyway.
Very solid, and I hope they do great business because they deserve it. Definitely underrated right now and I think they’ll be packed when people discover it.