Bavaro's Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria

We’ve been to Bavaro a couple of times in the past and have always enjoyed the food, so this visit was disappointing.

One of the glasses of water on our table was dirty. They only serve unfiltered tap water, which had a strong taste, so you’re almost forced to buy the $8 bottled water.

I also ordered a martini, but the olives didn’t arrive about 10 minutes later and was charged $20….We ordered rapini with our pasta, but the rapini was served well before the pasta. By the time our pasta arrived, the rapini was cold.

Our waitress was friendly and did her best, but there seemed to be a clear lack of management and coordination in the kitchen and service. Empty tables around us were left covered with dirty dishes long after guests had left, which made the dining room look neglected and reinforced the impression that the restaurant was not being managed efficiently.

After reading other reviews, it also seems that many customers raise similar concerns, yet the owner’s responses come across as short and generic, without addressing whether any meaningful improvements are being made. That left us with the impression that customer feedback isn’t being taken very seriously.

Unfortunately, because of this experience, we won’t be returning.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 3

The outdoor seating area and live music were great, but unfortunately the service and food were disappointing. We were given dirty plates, one of which had a hair on it. The cheese garlic bread and vodka pasta lacked flavor, and the pasta itself was undercooked. After our food was served, we had to ask for forks because no utensils or napkins were provided. Overall, it was not the best experience, and the food was not worth the price.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

My Husband and I loved the food here, we will for sure be back! Service was also great as well!

Maybe I am spoiled with authentic AVPN pizza back home in Plymouth, MI at Pizza e Vino, but this pizza didn’t meet the mark for Neapolitan pizza. It was undercooked and the middle 1/3 of the pie was soupy, and the crust was still doughy. Next time I’m in Sarasota area for work I will continue my search for an authentic Neapolitan pizza!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Love. This. Place.

Table of 8 with reservations
. 15 minutes for drinks
35 minutes later we finally got to order.
Appetizers came out with dinner, except for my pasta dinner he forgot. He rushed it out so I could have undercooked pasta.
Service was okay but slow and screwed up.
Food is normally good, but it wasn’t tonight.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with my experience today at this place. I have eaten here 3 or 4 times before and everything was excellent, which is why I decided to come back. However, today’s experience was completely unacceptable.

I called at 9:10 PM to place an order and was told to call back at 9:40 PM since I was planning to pick it up at 9:50 PM. When I called back, I was informed that many items on the menu were no longer available because they had “already put them away.” This makes no sense and shows a serious lack of organization. If they did not want to take more orders, they should have said so from the beginning instead of wasting my time.

The food was also very disappointing. The pizza had only a few tiny pieces of prosciutto, the pasta was completely bland with no flavor at all and a very small portion, and the Nutella pizza was completely burned and inedible.

It is unacceptable to pay this kind of money and receive such poor-quality food and service. The standard has clearly dropped compared to previous visits. Honestly, I would not recommend this place after today’s experience, and I highly doubt I will be returning.

Food didn't taste as good as previous visits. Order the same dish pasta with mushrooms. The sauce wasn't good and the noodles were stale. Not a good visit.

nothing like sitting in an Italian restaurant like a family style and literally hear people having conversation in Italian. two tables over pointing fingers and sharing pizza and having a great time.. the food was phenomenal. you have to try the baked oysters.. next time that's going to be my meal alone, but the seafood pasta dish even my Nona would approve.. the service was great. we sat outside. got to talk to a few other patrons. the only thing that I didn't like is that near the entrance the walkway as you walk up there were people smoking. look like one of the employees and maybe a regular. I don't think that that's a great impression to have to walk through smoke to get into a wonderful restaurant. it was my first time here. I will be back for the food. hopefully next time those people won't be standing near the entrance

Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza with Prosciutto, Tiramisu, Penne Alla Vodka

Possibly the most mismanaged restaurant in all of Sarasota County. Shocking!!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

It was our first time here..We heard mixed reviews on it so we decided to try for ourselves..We saw online they had happy hour beer and wine..,The menu also stated it was.When we asked the waitress for happy hour beer and wine which was stated to be half price she said beer was not on happy hour..We showed her the menu and she said..”oh” then I asked for A happy hour Chardonnay and she said they were out of Chardonnay…So I settled for Pinot Grigio..We had 2 pizzas which were ok…When the 80 dollar bill came we were shocked…The happy hour wine was 9 dollars a glass which means regular price would be 18.00 dollars a glass and half price beer was 8.00 …not much of a happy hour.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Best pasta ever!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food efficient friendly staff. The table we were seated had a foot or less between the tables. It was a bit of a challenge! I did persevere however.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Genuinely the worst restaurant I have ever been too. We made a reservation at 8:15 for inside and upstairs, got seated at 8:50 outside. The hostes was also very rude. We ordered and got moved upstairs at 9. A whole hour went by without anyone checking in on us or giving us any water. We got our food at 10, they close at 10. My pasta tastes like it has been sitting out and the bread was stale. We also ordered pizza which when we picked up a slice it fell apart and looked unappetizing. There was also a group of four next to us who also had complained. We drove an hour and waited two hours just to not eat and have this horrible experience. This ruined my day. Don’t let these review fool you. If you want nice food and experience do not come here. So disappointed.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

My husband and I both enjoyed our dinner at Bavaro's tonight. We split a large caesar salad and the wild funghi pizza, both which were so good and filled us up. Our waiter, Gabriel, was very helpful and attentive and made our meal even more enjoyable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5