What a nice experience. Â From Megan taking my reservation to the wonderful servers we had a very enjoyable dining experience. Â The food was exellent, perfectly prepared and served promptly. Â I rarely rave about the appetizers but the culiflower was great. Would recommed this place highly & will return.
Review Source:at at this promising new restaurant and have the following thoughts.
Wife daughter and myself greeted pleasantly and seated promptly and asked for a decanter to give the Esprit de Beaucastle we brought time to breath..Waiter promptly at table opened wine and short poured into glass indicating "no decanters"...asked for large sparkling water pelligrino or other and confirmed " large" for our party of three. Also at same time ordered a glass of chandon to go with the ceviche and an order of calamari..
As an aside tthe wine list was lacking even for a small local bistro..Chandon should be replaced with Shramsberg, the upscale champagne was nv Mumms for $80...should offer Gossett or Billicart at same price point and the pinot was non-existant..Windy Oaks (local) or Small Vines Sonoma would be good choices. A decanter or two is a must.
They appeys were served (without the usual chips or bread service....surprising) and were both wonderful. Foccacia is available as an appetizer but in our view the ceviche at least should have something, The sparling water was a pint size Pelligrino and we had the last bottle. It was served with 2 glasses.
The entre choices were chicken with figs (nicely prepared but nothing special) the mushroom gnoche (quite tasty) and the weekend lamb chops (absolutely superb if slightly overpriced at $42.)
The Chocolate Desire desert was OK, nothig special for $10 but should be served warm not room temp. The expresso was downright cool.
The bill included a very reasonable corkage of $10 but it was never mentioned, not sure whast i think of that. Total without tip was $165.
All in all an enjoyable meal that needs some work to get a fourth star in my book, will go back because the food, setting and service are decent and if they keep the committment to serve late is often the only game in town..
Tried Booka for the first time tonight. Â We loved it! Â Our appetizer, the flat bread was very good and the fennel salads were fresh and wonderfully good. Â My husband ordered the filet mignon, it was delicious! Â I first ordered the Booka Burger, the flavors were wonderful but then the saltiness over took the flavors. Â I did have to send it back as it was way too salty for me. Â The reason I gave it five stars was because they were very apologetic and accommodated me quickly by getting me another meal. Â I ended up having the papadeli with cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced jalapenos, oh my, I really enjoyed it. Â Ordered the flour-less chocolate cake and loved it
I must admit that I will try the Booka Burger again but will request them to use minimal salt. Â We definitely plan on going back.
I have eaten at Booka three times.
I like the ambiance of Booka and I'm excited they are getting so much attention. It's always fun to have a new restaurant in the neighborhood.
The first time I went with friends we ordered a wide variety of appetizers and main dishes. I ordered the burger, but immediately noticed too much salt.
The second night I went with a group and we each ordered two appetizers and were happy with the variety. Everything was delicious.
Tonight we took guests from out of town, I ordered the Paella, which came soon enough but immediately I found it too salty. Two other people at our table also ordered the Paella and said it was salty as well but they were hungry and said they would eat it any way. I knew if I sent it back it could be awkward for everyone one and would definitely change the tone of our dinner. Sure enough, my replacement didn't arrive until the others were finished and it too was salty in spite of me specifically asking for no salt. The waiter apologized profusely but was annoyed and when the owner came to the table to apologize he asked no questions and blamed the saltiness on the "sea beans". One of our guests remarked that it felt dismissive.
In my opinion the owner should not make excuses but apologize and at least comp a glass of wine. I doubt we will return.
Got there right at opening, 5:30. Very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. The 14k martini was great, good bang for the buck. Had the cauliflower appetizer, excellent sauce, not over powering.
Mushroom gnocchi was superb IF you love mushrooms. My wife had the chicken schnitzel which was ok but but not really my thing.
For dessert we had the flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel. This was amazing! I wish there were a bit more if the caramel as it really enhanced the flavor of the cake. We sat in the front room and the sun was brutal. The place needs the light but should add some tint to the windows to cut down the heat. Overall I was very happy to find a place with an interesting menu and excellent food. Â Our server Jess was great.
We felt very welcome at this restaurant.
First we ordered the Focaccia (the house flat bread) that comes with three dips. Tomato "matbucha", lemon eggplant and lavender labane cheese. My favorites were the lemon eggplant and lavender labane cheese.
Then we both had salads. One Caesar and one tomato salad. Both were excellent.
For our entrees we ordered the weekend domestic Lamb Chops and the Israeli Style Schnitzel. Both were cooked perfectly. For dessert we had the Chocolate Nemesis Cake with a Crème Anglaise. The plate was beautiful- Yumm!
The food and service were excellent! I'm looking forward to going back. Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying their dinners as well. Great job Booka! We are happy to have you here in Aptos!
We are so happy that the Bayview Hotel now has this excellent restaurant, Booka. The cocktails are inventive. Â We tried the Cucumber Jabanero Margaritas (they are off nenu) which were amazing, as was the special paella. Â Service is phenomenal. Â The place was packed... What a great thing to see, and yet they still managed to prepare and serve superior food. Â We will be back!
Review Source:For only being open six weeks, you would NEVER know it based on the PERFECT service and DELICIOUS food.!! Â Everything about our dinner from start to finish was perfection. Â Our 8 year old son devoured everything he ordered. Â Can't rave enough. Â Slightly more expensive than most of the mediocre places in SC County, but well worth it. Â Great value for the quality. Â Portions were plentiful and beautifully presented. Â Casual vibe which is nice especially in summer. Â Will be frequenting at least twice a week. Â I don't cook so my family is thrilled to have another place to add to our list of regular haunts. Â Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Review Source:This place has potential. That being said I would wait a couple of months to eat here until they get their act down.
I never ate at Barolo's, but from what I have heard I can only imagine Booka is leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor.
Called to find out what time the restaurant closed, the person on the phone said the kitchen closes at 10 but they will stay open as long as people are there. Got there around 9 and were totally rushed! The waiter had us order everything at once as the kitchen needed time. We were brought the appetizers before even our drinks came out.
Appetizers:
Cauliflower: Bland and presentation really lacking
Calamari: Totally on point and delicious
Ceviche: Added too much citrus, was overpowering. Good besides that.
Halfway through appetizers, drinks finally arrived. We got a white grape cosmo and a Manhattan. Manhattan only filled half of the glass. I understand some drinks are meant to be served as a smaller portion, but they should be served in a smaller glass. The server asked if wanted a cherry in the Manhattan and disappeared for 10 MINUTES! Finally came back with a cherry from a jar. The white grape cosmo was pretty bad, didn't even finish it.
Entrees came while we were still eating appetizers. We ordered the fish with risotto. Fish was way over salted. Couldn't finish that either.
From when we sat down to being completely finished was about 40 minutes. Felt totally rushed....unfortunate.
Would definitely wait a couple months and then maybe give it another try.
I'm giving this place a break since it's new and has potential. Â Cocktails were excellent. Â Bread was dried out. Cauliflower was fabulous. Â Gnocchi was in a wild mushroom sauce which had a chile pepper in it and it was too hot to enjoy. That was unexpected and a warning should have been on the menu. Friendly, attentive service.
Review Source:3, 2,1 oops there goes another Bay View Hotel restaurant. Â This new one doesn't seem to have a theme. Â The food was described as sort of European, Israeli, American. Â We tried the beet, tortellini which was a tasty but small serving of three pieces of pasta served in a tomato, beet sauce, $13. Â There were no complimentary appetizers served with cocktails so don't go hungry. Â The ambiance was also eclectic with vintage rock playing through speakers, 1930 era light fixtures and 1990 weird, wire light sconces on the dark grey walls.
Review Source:Glad to have a new restaurant in the area. First, let me say that I would like to give this place 3.5 stars but Yelp doesn't have that option, so I have to go for 3 because it just isn't a 4 star place yet. This restaurant takes the place of the now defunct Barolo, which really wasn't good at all. From what I understand, the owners/chefs of Booka are from Israel. You can tell the influence when you look at the menu too.
The good news is that I think they have a lot of potential. The menu is interesting, but it is still a little disjointed. They haven't really found a solid theme yet. Look at the menu and you will see what I mean. I would expect that to evolve over time. I had the $17 burger, which was flavorful, but unfortunately cooked poorly. The temperature was not medium-well as ordered, it was straight-up raw. Basically, it was seared like ahi would be. When I sent it back it came back well done. This was because rather than make me a new burger as they should have, they just re-fired the old one. Lazy and cheap. Also, the menu says clearly that it comes with caramelized onions, but when I brought up their absence to my server, she went and asked and was told by the owner or chef that those were an up charge. Either fix your menu, or deliver on what is says. My server mentioned that I was not the first person that had this same issue. The menu clearly says the burger comes with caramelized onions and if you want "additional" onions it is extra. Lame.
I also tried a cocktail(strawberry mojito-$9), which was fairly tasty, but it really didn't have much booze in it.
The service was very good, in fact it was the high-point of my experience. My server was attentive and seemed to know the menu very well.
Overall, I liked this place. I don't know that I will rush back anytime soon, because it was just a 3.5 star experience, and kind of expensive. I will watch the Yelp reviews and if it stays strong, I will might give it another shot in the future.
We were there last night with another couple;we all said we are not returning...!
We were all excited at the new venue's potential.While the service was great,the food was NOT...from start to finish..
The portions were very small,which was okay,since the food was lackluster and FLAT!
We all hope Booka improves,or sadly,it will be gone.
Well Aptos, you now have a great restaurant.
BOOKA is, what can i say...FANTASTIC!!!!!
The restaurant is beautiful, both inside and out.
The owners are wonderful warm and
gracious. Â And the staff is great and ready to make your meal memorable......which it was.
We had a relaxed meal in a very comfortable space.
As for the food......well i am not going to try to describe any of the 6 or 7 dishes that we had, {from appetizers to dessert } other than to say, "unique, beautiful, subtle, creative, and INCREDIBLY delicious".
The presentation was done with consideration, and soul.
It is nice when a dish comes to the table and all you need to do is enjoy what the chef has done for you. Â
{Please, don't add salt or pepper to the food............}
The Chef and his kitchen know what they are doing.
Anything i could say about BOOKA, would fall short.....so i suggest you go see, and taste for yourself, what an absolutely wonderful restaurant is now in Aptos.
ps.the only dish i had a comment about was the four color cauliflower appetizer, Â would be just the presentation of the cauliflower on the plate. The almond cauliflower cream was subtle and delicious.
POST SCRIPT.....went back yesterday and
had the" booka burger.".....DELICIOUS....ordered it  r/mr.   cooked perfectly{don't have it overcooked}, with the caramelized onions incorporated in the meats, made it very moist and , again, delicious!!!!  it was served with an Asian inspired slaw, nice touch
Was visiting friends in the area with my wife when we heard randomly about their opening. Â We were so lucky we did! We were blown away by the tasteful ambiance, we were treated like absolute royalty and then there was the food! I can only describe it as perfect! I rarely have had a restaurant experience like this accept for anniversaries and abroad at restaurants with stellar reputations (even then I am sometimes unsatisfied). I know its early but I am naming this my surprise restaurant of 2013. I am so glad I got to go here before this place is discovered so I can say I knew first!
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