If you are after Italian small plates in Southampton, Bacaro is the place that comes up most often. It sits in Ocean Village, at Ironside House on Canute Road, right on the edge of the marina with views over the moored yachts and out towards Southampton Water. The whole thing is modelled on a Venetian bacaro — the kind of wine bar you find in Venice serving wine and simple Italian dishes — and the building itself, a late 19th-century house, keeps its high-beamed ceilings and exposed period masonry.
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The room leans into that rustic feel, with exposed brick, wooden furniture and an open kitchen, and the atmosphere is described as warm, homely and lively. There is an outside terrace as well, which works on a first-come, first-served basis and suits an aperitivo or a light lunch in the sun. The menu centres on cicchetti — Italian small plates and sharing dishes — so you can pick and choose rather than commit to a single course. Marinated olives, bruschetta, chilli squid with harissa mayonnaise and pulled beef croquettes sit alongside pizzas like a classic Margherita with rocket or a wild mushroom, grape and red onion chutney version. If you want something more substantial, there are burgers, big bowls of pasta, chicken Braciole with truffled chestnut mushrooms and saffron-marinated sea bass with roasted endive and Bloody Mary butter. The Sunday roast is a popular fixture, mixing cicchetti with classic roasts, with sharing roasts served only on Sundays.
On the table, the cicchetti generally land between £10 and £20, with olives coming in under £6, and the average spend sits in the £30 to £49 range. There is a 'Best of Bacaro' 2 for £18 deal if you book a table, and cocktails run every Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 6pm and 9pm to 10pm, plus all day Sunday, when you order two of the same cocktail from the menu. Reviews point to the pan-seared scallops with chorizo, the beef croquettes, arancini with horseradish cream and tarragon mayo, a goat's cheese tartlet topped with figs and drizzled with balsamic, and a duck breast with barley, asparagus and port jus. For dessert, a treacle tart and an affogato with an amaretti biscuit. The charcuterie board, truffle gnocchi and vegetable sharing boards also get mentioned.
It is child-friendly and built for groups, seating up to 60 and taking 100 standing in the bar and restaurant area, so it works for birthdays, parties and pre-cruise dining, with live music supporting local Southampton talent. The kitchen closes between 9pm and 10pm, or after the last table booking. Summer hours are 6pm to 11pm Monday to Thursday, 4pm to 11pm on Fridays and 12pm to 11pm on Saturdays, with Sunday running from midday. Private reservations are available Monday to Saturday by prior agreement, and opening hours stretch during graduation season. With the Southampton Boat Show running from 18 to 27 September, the restaurant keeps lunch and dinner service going daily throughout the show, with terrace drinks including Italian aperitifs, spritzes and craft beers, and group booking options for private and semi-private dining — tables fill quickly that week, so it is worth booking ahead. It holds a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 and was featured on SquareMeal.
