Bricco Italiano - Bluffton

Gave us a reservation for the last available table in the dining room. I explained that it was our 39th wedding anniversary. The owner of the restaurant and his wife and son all came to speak to us and congratulate us for a long and happy marriage. The food was excellent as was the service!

Last night we were seated by a host after being told we would have to wait approximately 5 minutes. We were a party of 6 and it was supposed to be an anniversary dinner for a friend.Well after over 25 minutes with not so much as a waiter/waitress taking our drink orders or bringing bread, we decided enough of this and we all decided we were leaving now.We walked out past the waiter and host, and they didn’t even notice.Bad service!

Last night we were seated by a host after being told we would have to wait approximately 5 minutes. We were a party of 6 and it was supposed to be an anniversary dinner for a friend. Well after over 25 minutes with not so much as a waiter/waitress taking our drink orders or bringing bread, we decided enough of this and we all decided we were leaving now. We walked out past the waiter and host, and they didn’t even notice. Bad service!

I've heard great things about Bricco but, because they don't take online reservations, I just haven't made the effort. But I finally broke down and left a voice mail on a Tuesday asking for a reservation on Wednesday and they squeezed us in at 7:45. We were seated promptly in a very crowded dining room. Clearly they really had squeezed us in so I was grateful for the last minute reservation. The host left us with a wine list but no regular menu and only one set of silverware. We wanted to be ready to order wine when the server came so we had to pull up the menu on our phones so we could get an idea of what we'd be pairing our wine with. It was several minutes before a server came by. Again, it was very busy but it was long enough that I wondered if the host hadn't told them we were there yet. He was very knowledgeable about the wines and left us with the dinner and special menus to peruse while he got the wine and some waters for us. He also brought bread and I asked him for silverware which he literally grabbed for me immediately. So the food. The bread and butter were good. Very basic but warm and fine. Not the best I've ever had but it was fine. We had planned on sharing an antipasti, pasta and entree but my husband veered a bit. We did share the special burrata and red pepper antipasti. My husband loved it. I'm not a huge fan of burrata but think it was good. I don't know if the burrata is housemade or not. It was a little firmer than I'm used to (which is a good thing for me) and was nice and creamy. My husband opted for the veal marsala with roasted potatoes and vegetables. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the marsala had not only mushrooms but also artichokes. He definitely liked it and did not share as we had originally planned. I got the Linguine Puttanesca. It was one of the best I've had. The olives were really nice quality and not too strong. Sometimes cheap kalamatas can overpower a puttanesca and these did not. There was a very strong anchovy flavor, again, a positive for me as that is one of the signature flavors in a good puttanesca. This dish managed to meld all the flavors together well without any one overpowering another. Strong flavors but very well balanced. I'm afraid if we go there again, I will become that person who gets the same thing every time. We finished off by sharing a tiramisu. It was perfect portion. It was small but honestly all we needed after a perfecty portioned dinner. We'll definitely go back.

The BEST restaurant I have been to in years! Dinner for two, end barstool seats, 5pm on a Saturday night as a birthday treat from a dear friend, Joy. Kinda the perfect restaurant experience... bartender, ambiance, food(beyond), service and the laid-back sophisticated vibe with NINO the owner running BRICCO like a Broadway producer. His NYC restaurant savvy, hysterical banter and the Lowcountry spin he serves are the BEST-SHOW-IN-TOWN. We left just after his invite to "dance naked on the bar! "To be continued...DENNIS STOKELY