Snapshot Restaurant Review: Bar Bambino

For the second Sunday night in a row, I ate at Bar Bambino last night. Of the many new restaurants that have recently opened in the Mission—it’s two blocks from my house—I want this restaurant to succeed. Sadly, despite the good food we were severed on both visits, the service was uneven and slow.

Last Sunday, Lou and I walked into Bar Bambino at the end of a long day. Both of us had taken part in the Pride parade earlier in the day, and we were exhausted. Neither one of us was up for cooking, so we decided to check out Bar Bambino. We took the last table in the crowded front section of the restaurant across from the bar (the space is beautiful and sleek). At first glance, the menu seemed somewhat limited, but we quickly identified several dishes that looked interesting and noted the plenteous selection of cured meats and cheeses. We settled on a selection of meats—genovese, prosciutto, and salumi—and a Cowgirl soft cow’s milk cheese wrapped in nettles (a favorite of mine that I haven’t tasted yet this season). We ordered a salad of tuna, cannellini beans, and red onion, a Bucatini alla Gangivecchio (thick noodles, served with fried kale, raisins, pine nuts, pancetta and cauliflower), and the meatballs. The food was exquisite. All of the meats were tasty and beautifully presented. The Bucatini was outstanding, with the flavors of the cauliflower, kale, raisins and pine nuts, all doused in olive oil, simultaneously stimulating the sweet and the savory taste buds. The meatballs were firm and served with a delicate tomato sauce heavily laden with sautéed onions and kale. The tuna dish was light and refreshing, but because it was served with the food, we felt like it didn’t quite fit with the pasta and meatballs. We also ordered a 2002 Benati Nerello Mascallese, like what we ordered at A16. For dessert we ordered a chocolate semifreddo and cappuccinos.

The service was a little slow and clumsy, and the timing was off on our main dishes. The pasta, meatballs and the tuna came out together, so we didn’t have a chance to enjoy the salad alone. I would have preferred for the meats and cheese to come out together first, but there was a gap between them, with the meats coming first and cheeses following along later. I wanted the salad next, followed by the pasta and meatballs. Our server was attentive, and yet not good at following through. The main problem, I think, was that his assistant was overwhelmed or not up to the job. I watched bring out several dishes for other tables, look around and deliver them to the wrong table. The poor diners next to us seemed to get screwed on each course. They were given beef meatballs, instead of the vegetarian ones—that’s probably grounds enough for a free meal in my book—and their dessert and their side dishes were mixed up or mistakenly delivered as well. Our service was not nearly as bad, but it was painful to watch them suffer mistake after mistake. The oddest moment for us was when we questioned our server about our cappuccinos. Both Lou and I were surprised that the cappuccinos came out looking more like lattes or macchiatos than cappuccinos, but when we said something about them to our server he simply said abruptly, “No, those are cappuccinos.” I thought that was a little rude.

We went back for another try last night to send off my friend, Dan, who had been visiting for the last week. We ordered much of the same food—meats, cheeses, bucatini, and meatballs—though we substituted a dish of sausage and lentils for the tuna salad and we also ordered a side of grilled asparagus. The service was excruciatingly slow. Our server—who was very nice and accommodating—told us that the owner would be preparing the meats and cheeses and he told us that had been taking his time in fulfilling orders. He was right. We waited for nearly forty minutes for the first tray of cured meats, and then we waited another ten minutes for the cheese. The server kindly gave us a bruschetta with squash, sauteéd greens, and fontina for free, but it was appalling to be made to wait so long for a first bite. Once our main dishes arrived we happily devoured them, and the dishes tasted good but I’m not sure the food is worth such a long wait. Such good food deserves tighter, more efficient service. I hope they’ll pick up the slack. I’d quickly give Bar Bambino a rave review if they do so.