La Bocca Urban Pizzeria + Wine Bar

Delicious! Very thoughtful flavors. My mouth was in heaven. I got the sicily pizza and the smoked prosciutto bruschetta
I may request this for my birthday dinner this year… Along with maestros butter cake!

I got a pizza here that I was only so-​so on, but everything else was great. Excellent service. Very well made cocktails and a good beer selection. And their cookie skillet desserts were delicious.

Any pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard enough, right? La Bocca Pizzeria, where pies cost $ 10-​$ 15 each, believes this wholeheartedly. How are you supposed to reheat a pizza that has a fresh spinach salad on top? You’re not. Get your life together and eat this whole pizza in one sitting already.
The truffled mushroom pizza tasted much better when I scrapped off the spinach. The spinach was overpowering, visually and inside my mouth. The picture of the pizza is still making me laugh. The people want spinach? Give the people what they want! The crust was decent, and I tend to shy away from crust.
The goat cheese & pear salad was fun: who knew that purple-​colored pears and candied walnuts could take spring mix to that next level? Sugar is a fantastic thing.
My most favorite memory from this meal was how my Mormon colleague discovered virgin mojitos here. Drink on, friend, drink on. Our server was quite funny and very prompt — she was loving the virgin mojitos.

We came here for wine after work one night. Expensive but delicious. Great atmosphere and the staff was so helpful. We had a great time.

On a suggestion from a friend who lived in Phoenix, 3 of us went for lunch at one of her favorite pizza restaurants. She said we had to try the Truffled mushroom pizza. I had a good feeling the minute our waters were served with a thin slice of cucumber on top, which gave the water a hint of its’ flavor, that this was going to be good. Caprese Salad was spot on, so tasty. We chose 4 different bruschetta on plank-​house made Pesto with Roma tomatoes were super fresh and delicious, Gorgonzola with pear, basil & balsamic reduction was a nice combo, Fresh ricotta with rosemary & honey was amazing, more like dessert, and my favorite Smoked prosciutto with fig/​mascarpone/​truffle oil melted in your mouth! We then ate the Truffled Mushrooms, tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, spinach tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette Pizza. Holy cow, as a New Yorker with great pizza everywhere, this one ranks right up there. Waiter and manager Tony were delightful! In fact Tony gave us a piece of tiramisu that was one of the best we ever had! When I visit my daughter in Phoenix, La Bocca will always be included in our culinary visits. Thank you for a great lunch!

I love this place. Everyone time I town for work and when I come back, I stop here. Always friendly staff. Epic drink mixs (orange blossom is my favorite. I’ve had almost everything on the menu and it’s all amazing. The bruschetta (specifically fig and ricotta favorites) are all amazing. The pear salad is a favorite. Whether you’re visiting az or looking for a new regular spot, I recommend here! You won’t be sorry!

Came here last night before hitting a movie. The atmosphere was nice. We sat outside and enjoyed some wine and a salad. The music was a little loud so unfortunately it was hard to carry a conversation.
I love that the menus offers to split the salad between two. It is the perfect size for a light dinner. The goat cheese and pear salad was fantastic! I would absolutely return and have it again. It was full of flavor. The pear was the perfect texture and the goat cheese was nice and creamy. The dish was pleasing to the eyes and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Although the food offered here comes from local sources, they don’t offer organic options. As well, because pizza is the main dish on the menu, there is no gluten free options so I had to skip trying their brick oven pizzas which looked delicious.
They had a nice wine selection and I appreciated the fact that they mentioned where the wine came from. Not all wine is created equal, but the Pion noir I had there was refreshing and smooth.
The service was great. the lady who took care of us was nice, attentive and friendly.

This is one of my favorite places to eat in Tempe. Whenever my boyfriend and I need to grab something to eat but can’t figure out where to go, we always come here and are never disappointed. The food is always super fresh and tastes great and doesn’t even take that long to come out. The service is also excellent, every time we visit we leave with smiles on our faces! The olives, caprese, sandwiches and pizza are great! As for everything else, I’m sure it’s awesome too I just haven’t gotten around to ordering anything else yet since I love my regular order so much. If you’re ever in need of a yummy and super well priced meal, definitely stop by!

We are visiting Tempe and we tried La Bocca on a Wednesday night. It was slamming. We could barely hear each other. The old movies near the bar added a super touch to the restaurant. We didn’t have alcohol but I can say that the lemonade was spot on. We both ordered calzones (actually my husband ordered a pizza but they brought out a calzone, no complaints). The calzones are hot, fresh and large. Mine was veggie with ricotta, mushrooms and spinach. My husband had pepperoni and sausage. We were both super satisfied and disappointed that we couldn’t take the leftovers with us. Favorite meal in town so far.

Very nice little spot in a more pedestrian setting near ASU. Ate at the bar and got some excellent advice from the bartender/​waitress. Started with the bruschetta — don’t hesitate to get the Gorgonzola, it’s made with pear and a balsamic glaze, absolutely fantastic. Had the pasta Bolognese for the main, asked them to spicy it up for me and they killed it — cerrano peppers did the trick. Well textured, light but flavorful, meat was tasty and just the right accompaniment. Oh, by the way, wine list is great — had something spicy to start (Malbec) and a very nice Cab/​??? Blend called the Riddler, terrific and well balanced. Finished it off with a decaf espresso (meh) and tremendous coffee choc chip gelato — would def come back, especially for that Gorgonzola bruschetta…
Food/​drink: 4.0
Service: 4.5
Ambience: 3.5

We went out last Saturday on Mill and decided to try this place out because wine-​not ;)
Corny jokes aside, the place was very nice and the waitress was really sweet. I ordered a cookie skillet-​thingy that was reeeeeallly good. My other friends ordered some drinks and they decided to mooch off my cookie… So I made them order their own: P

I took myself to lunch today! Since I don’t eat gluten I worked with very accommodating server and had delicious heirloom beet salad with addition of Italian chicken salad. Yum! I was totally comfortable solo, eating outdoors enjoying the weather and people watching. Great service. Savory and fulfilling lunch!

We had to walk out. After they seated us on a lazy afternoon, we were ignored. Table say after us served. I asked a server, after about 10 – 12 minutes, that we felt invisible she said ok. No apology, no recognition, and still no service. Plenty of staff walking around ad not crowded. Walked out. Sad.

This was our first time at this restaurant. I will summarize my comments in 3 categories.
Staff — really friendly and caring.
Ambiance — the inside ambiance is great. Outside is nice but a bit noisy. The patio tables are so old and dirty. Time to get new ones from ikea. It is only $ 7 each.
Management — TERRIBLE !!!
It took 45 min to get our food. The restaurant was not busy for Friday night. The manager came out and apologized and offered us discount but when we got our bill, it was full price. I was not happy with how they handle the situation. I didn’t go back to ask for the discount because I felt so cheap to do that. The pasta also came too cold but the quality was ok.
I don’t think I would go there for a long time.
Not happy in general

Really liked this place. Nice outdoor seating… great wine if you get beyond the popular fruit bomb selections. The Super Tuscan at $ 5 off during happy hour (which BTW lasted till 6:30!) was great. Pizza menu touts «Chef» pizza preparations… and truly so. I am always sceptical of Unilocal pizza reviews especially in college towns, but this was legit! Ceasar salad was good too with Cabatta bread with quality xvoo. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience here. Our waiter Christopher was very knowledgable of the food & drink selections available. He had a great personality, which complimented the fantastic food and wine he had brought out. The Mediterranean platter was one of the best we’ve had. I usually like to post pictures of the food, but we couldn’t hold back from diving in first. Pricing more than reasonable too… 2 people with a bottle of wine, app, 2 salads, 2 entrees for less than $ 75. The quality was beyond what we had imagined. Thank you!

This place is the original Postinos to me. I really like the ambiance inside the place and the servers and bartenders are always lovely.
The bruschetta board is a must with some wine, the only issue is that of course you have to fight off people on Mill to get here.
I definitely only come here on weeknights to avoid being trampled.

Came here w/​a party of 30 or so. Service was very good from beginning to end, and the food was well received.
Servers were friendly and attentive, and I am pretty sure no one waited on a drink order or a refill all night. Chow was plentiful, especially the appetizer platters. Hummus plates were very tasty. Pizza/​pasta plates were well received by all, and there were few leftovers. Lastly, the tiramasu was downed by those who exclaimed, «just a taste». On the downside, i could not hear anyone except those on my elbow — they need to turn the music down. Also, I felt like I was in coach seating to Europe, but on a butt-​numbing wooden chair. Otherwise, an okay experience.
Cheers!
RS

One of my friends recommended La Bocca to me. The walls of the restaurant were maroon red. They were decorated with large greyscale abstract paintings and a mosaic of black thick framed photographs from various cultures. Next to the wine bar, there was a screen with the movie Paris, Je T’AiMe playing. There was also Spanish music playing in the background.
Shortly after we were seated, our server brought us water garnished with a cucumber slice. We couldn’t resist from ordering the award winning sangria (the «blanc»). It’s interesting that you have a choice of ordering blanc, rojo, or mixed sangria. The Sangria was made from wine, spirits, spices, and fresh fruit. The Blanc sangria was quite refreshing. It was garnished with pineapple chunks and chopped orange slices. The Rojo sangria tasted like sour cherry. It was garnished with chipped orange slices. For non-​alcoholic beverages, I’d recommend the Desert Bloom Iced Tea. It’s a local tea that the restaurant brews daily. It’s naturally sweet green rooibos tea with floral-​earthy tones from notes of cactus essence, cactus petals, and cornflower petals. The tea has a peach and mango flavor.
We were happy with everything we ordered tonight. Every dish was the perfect portion and quite flavorful. Everyone in our party was able get a taste of everything ordered without getting too full.
For appetizers, I’d recommend the Heirloom Beets salad which consisted of diced golden and red beets, served over a slice of green, yellow, and red heirloom tomatoes. It was topped with a bed of arugula and candied walnuts and drizzled with balsamic shallot vinaigrette. Since some of our guests weren’t fans of goat cheese, we requested for it to be served on the side.
For pastas, I’d recommend Chicken Limone which consisted of freshly kneed taglietti pasta in a lemon garlic caper sauce. It was topped with roasted chicken, lemon zest, and freshly grated parsley (and possibly other fresh herbs). It was with two slices of tomato based garlic bread and a side salad of your choice. I chose a side Caesar salad which was tossed in a tart Caesar dressing and garnished with sliced grape tomatoes.
For pizzas, I’d recommend adding diced roasted chicken to the Margarita pizza which consisted of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and basil.

This place was great. We sat out on the patio to people watch. It’s a great location of downtown right around the college.
The service was good. We went for happy hour and I got the red sangria. We split a salad with goat cheese that was easily spilt by two people and we finished the whole thing. We also shared a margarita pizza and it was sooo good! I love traditional pizzas and this one hit the spot.
We sat there for awhile, over 2 hours and then as we were getting up this place was getting really busy. There was a line out the door and people we waiting for tables. I’m not sure if it was a certain event and that’s why they were so busy, but I would call and ask if you need to make a reservation if you’re coming in after 5 pm just in case.
Overall great happy hour! I will be back when I’m in town!