Boca2 Gastro Bar & Bites

Arrived friday at 11:00 p: m to get a late night bite, but they said they were closed, when clearly they state they are open till midnight. I won’t be going back.

Enjoyed the tapas and atmosphere on a Fri night while live music was playing in the background. Food was great — potatoes were my favorite (never thought of putting mustard on them, yum!), asparagus was a little over cooked but still tasty. Sat at a high table in the bar area with a friend. Service was slow at times, but we managed. The friendly staff make you feel very welcomed, unlike a lot of restaurants these days. It had that «hanging out with family» vibe.
This is a fun and quaint place to enjoy an unpretentious meal and drinks with friends.

Every time I eat here it is so relaxing and the food is excellent. The wait staff is so professional I enjoy this place immensely.

Very bad experience it pretends to be Spanish food but is not, the taste of the dishes is with bleach water also the manager is incompetent and rude! Will ever comeback and I don’t advise this place

So wanted this restaurant to be amazing. Everything we ate was dry. The complimentary bread and oil was the best dish of the night.

You get two stars Boca2 for the Spanish guitar players in the back, a fun ambiance, good service and good wine. Yay! When it comes to the tapas tho… What the hell dudes. The croquetas de manchego were served half cold and the papas braves were bland. Also who thought adding an egg to that would make it better? Are we at Daryl’s Diner or a Spanish Tapas restaurant? The tomatoes con chorizo were also disappointing — a dish literally anyone with a knife, some olive oil, decent cheese can make it home AND make it taste better. The only truly tasty thing we had was the short rib empanada and that too, felt like it had been re-​warmed in a toaster oven. We paid far too much for the quality of the food and it is not traditional Spanish Tapas by any means. Overall the food can be described as glorified «spanish» bar food.

This new location of the popular Bocados restaurant is smaller than the other location that I saw, but is intimate and full of life. Located in the corner of a shopping center in Spring Branch, the unassuming exterior leads into a dimly lit romantic interior with candle lit tables and a great selection of entrees, light bites, sandwiches, wine, and beer.
We brought a group here for drinks and tapas and everyone had an amazing time. Our server, Chance, was extremely accomodating and completely on point. Our food took a while to come out, which is natural when you have such a large group, but Chance was very friendly and went out of his way to make sure we were doing alright. I normally don’t name drop specific staff, but ask for his table if you go in. Much like the tapas and drinks, he’s top notch.

I will never be returning here again!
My friends and I had a TERRIBLE experience. We came on a bad night I suppose. We ordered about 8 different tapas menu items and AFTER 35 MINUTES HAD PASSED since we placed our order … The waitress tells us that they weren’t able to make anything we ordered because their main chef left for the evening and those dishes were «too difficult.» We proceeded to order a few more items that sounded good, the waitress goes to the kitchen and comes back again and says sorry I just talked to the chef he can’t make that. Okay so we order ONE more time. She says I think he’ll be able to do that one. Come back 10 minutes later and says AGAIN he can’t make that. So my next question was now. What can this «chef» make?
Meanwhile we can hear distinct yelling in the kitchen from the owner from all the way we were sitting. I was forced to order some pork medallions on a Rosemary stick that I didn’t want. (And I say forced because out of a whole menu of options, the waitress told us a list of a mere 5 items the chef can make and the other 4 items listed didn’t sound any more appealing. Two of the options given were sandwiches. Something I can make at home so no thanks.) I ordered the suggested item in good faith because I was hungry and the waitress was trying her best to be very nice because she understood how frustrating this situation was. A whopping 25 minutes later for ONE item the small tapas dish finally arrived. The meat came out dry and completely overpowered with rosemary.
At this point each of us had already drank a glass of wine and ordered an extra bottle for the table. We were being good sports about it and decided we would stay and drink some wine. We asked the owner if we could perhaps on the next bottle we order that we could get it discounted for the (terrible) experience we received. After all we were paying $ 40 for a bottle of wine that cost him $ 8 at best. He was completely rude about it, didn’t apologize for anything that happened and said all he could do is comp the mediocre $ 7 dish that we didn’t even want.
I don’t understand how out of so many good reviews what we experienced was so terrible! It wasn’t even a busy night, only one other couple in the restaurant that evening and it was a FRIDAY night. Honestly if your «main chef» leaves, your «back up chef «should know how to make the entire menu as well. Just saying.

This place is fantastic. I was looking for somewhere by work to have a drink and some food and I was NOT disappointed. I ordered two sandwiches and split them half and half with a friend. Both were fantastic. I’ll be back

Bartender was so friendly, everyone was very very nice here. Small place, food is good, but completely overpriced. Will be back though, we enjoyed ourselves. Best martini I have ever had hands down. THe potatoes were underseasoned but comes with a fried egg on top you break and the whole thing is very very good.

I’m very confused by the good reviews.
This place is nothing to write home about. Immediately when you walk in to the left there’s a sofa that looks like it came from goodwill… that’s what first caught my eye.
There’s a charcuterie board on the «happy hour» menu that had a total of 6 small pieces of meat and two pieces of cheese for $ 15. And I put quotes on the happy hour bc I compared prices to the regular menu and the differences were a whopping $ 1.
The croquettes that were supposed to be sausage and cheese was clearly tiny bits of ham. The empanadas had barely

The food is amazing here! And it’s very decent price wise. I’ve tried a few things of their menu and was happy with it all. Great service and very polite staff. The ambiance is definitely laid back and chill. Check it out.

How is it possible that 4 months later… the food wasn’t good anymore
We gave back the albondigas: the taste… terrible. Other meat maybe? Patatas bravas: too much… And with an egg… !? The tortilla: just some layers eggs. They forgot some herbs and eg peppers.
Sorry to say that we will not return. We love Spanish food but at this moment this resto made some big mistakes.

I love this place. Not sure where to begin. If you are looking for atmosphere, it’s unusual how versatile this restaurant is. It is cozy for two, and if you are with a party, it’s lively for a group. Nicely designed and set up. You would also never know I-​10 was a stone’s throw away. Now the important part… the food and drink selection. The food is amazing. The great thing about tapas is getting to try so many different things. We typically share each dish and order many. I have had nothing I don’t want more of. The oxtails are a must try. And the salmon. The salmon would be my last meal if I get a choice in the end. I’m a wine and martini person. A discerning one. The wine selection and Frank’s suggestions are great. Tapas lend a variety of choice with pairing wines. One night gazpacho was a special and the bartender was making gazpacho martinis. That was its own experience. I’ve never had anything like that. I’m typically a straight up martini drinker. Finally there’s happy hour. It’s generous and a must do for a lovely wind-​down.
Houston is a large city and sadly where we live (I-​10 and Voss) the choices of restaurants are so chain-​ish. It’s nice to have person-​owned unique restaurant nearby. I feel what we get at Boca2 far surpasses subjecting ourselves to the mega parking experiences of the restaurants in city centre or uptown or mid town. Give it a try.

The service was really spotty, they seemed really new. The paella was not very good. The rice was not good, really mushy. The mussels didn’t have a nice broth like I was hoping for, there was just pools of oil in the bottom of the dish, my guess is from the chorizo. The bread and oil was the standout of the meal, which is pretty sad. My friend ordered a glass of cava and was instead presented with a glass of beer, very strange.

Boca 2 (Bocados – as it’s pronounced) is near perfection! I have been twice now, and each time, found new foods that were both creative and spectacular. The short rib empanadas are simply impossible to pass on; they are served over a reduced balsamic/​caper mix that is to die for.
While you may expect this place to be a bit pricey, it’s not. The portion sizes are quite fair, especially for tapas, and the prices are deserving for what you get.
Last time, we made it during happy hour. We ordered nearly one of everything on the happy hour menu and – because the price was better – ordered a .5L sangria carafe off the regular menu. The sangria was perfect and reasonably priced, but we should have gone with the liter. Our total tab for two very full, very happy patrons was about $ 40. With the selection and variety you get, it’s well worth it.
Sadly, the happy hour prices are not much different and the food was a bit reduced to accompany the lower prices. While still well worth it, and in the run for one of my go-​to happy hour spots, some adjustments could be made in this area. They just rolled out their happy hour, so these types of things are expected.
They are still brand new, so for anyone disappointed with any particular area, speak with the owner (there EVERY DAY!). He is an awesome guy that truly cares about your experience at Boca 2. The food is very consistent, so what more could you really ask for in a brand new restaurant?

Met a buddy at the Memorial Wine Cellar on a Wednesday evening and we got hungry. One of the wine servers suggested Boca and their signature hamburger??? Hamburger you say? At a tapas restaurant…
Greeted at the door by a friendly hostess, the place was hopping with a group function that added a bit of noise and energy. We were shown to a table along with menus and a wine list. The Wine selections are nice, well-​priced and great for pairing to the tapas on the menus. We started with a couple of empanadas… the short rib selection was very good… Then, on to the hamburger. This is a masterpiece. A nice patty, well seasoned and cooked to perfection. It comes dressed with a nice Spanish cheese, fried strips of poblano pepper, bacon jam and arugula. If this tasty bite is an indication of what remains to explore at Boca we’ll be back. Oh, and the Tempranillo we selected to go with the burger was outstanding.

I went here with a group of friends on a Friday. I wasn’t familiar with the restaurant but saw it got good reviews on Unilocal so I was intrigued.
The space feels very new, and I think it was more formal than I had expected. They have a pretty extensive wine list and their menu is huge, so be prepared to take your time picking everything out. Just about everything is supposed to be authentic Spanish tapas, so they had lots of more traditional items like albondigas and patatas bravas. Between the 4 of us we ordered a pretty wide variety of plates. I was disappointed in the charcuterie plate as neither meat nor cheese selections really stood out to me. The paella was hands down the best thing we ordered! And the portion size was huge– I’d highly recommend it!
I was very disappointed in the service here. We had to flag the waiter down and ask to order food or drinks, or get refills on water. It just didn’t seem attentive enough, especially since they didn’t seem very busy.

Couldn’t figure out how to do 4 ½ stars… the place is new and may still be working on staffing and service needs… but, the food is well worth it.
Found this place on Unilocal so we thought we’d give it a try for date night. We tried the wine flight (3 smaller glasses of 3 different wines for the price of one). After a bit of a delay, we got our wines and enjoyed each of them. We had the olives (so so), the mushrooms (got better with each bite), the shrimp (nicely done), bread with olive oil dipping sauce (best bread & olive oil ever!), the asparagus (wonderful), and the pork tenderloin skewers (MUST HAVE!!!)
So many other choices, but not enough room. That means a return trip is mandated, and soon!
One piece of advice: be patient. Service may be a bit slow. They could use more staff, especially on a busy night. Just have more wine!

I went for dinner last night to this new restaurant that I had heard about. It is on the south side of the Katy Fwy. next to Antoine in a nice retail shopping center. Upon entering my first reaction was very positive. The interior is well decorated that gives it a dark and rich upscale feel to it. To the left is the attractive bar area and to the center is the dining area. I was seated by my waitress and then presented the food and drink menu for dinner. They have a separate menu for lunch. This is a Spanish Tapas restaurant and I took a pic of the menu. My waitress Kariana recommended the Churrasco which was flank steak with chimichurri sauce on top for $ 16. About 15 minutes later the food arrived and I took a pic. The meat very tender and flavorful. The chimichurri further enhanced the flavor of this dish. It was well presented and tasted very good (4). Since this was a tapas dish I wanted a little more food so upon Kariana’s recommendation I also ordered the Croquetas de Manchego which are crispy manchego cheese fritters in an aioli sauce for $ 7. When they arrived they were delicious. The sauce was perfect with the fritters (4.5).
My service during the meal was a 5. My waitress was very attentive and knowledgeable of the menu. Her recommendations were spot on.
This is a nice place for a tapas meal. The food is of very good quality and the décor enhances the atmosphere. My only small recommendations for improvement would be if there could be some separation between the bar area and dining room to better enhance the intimacy of both areas. Also if you sit in the back of the restaurant you will be able to look into the brightly lit kitchen. This is a somewhat dark restaurant and the lights from the kitchen can be a little distracting. I would recommend some kind of curtain to reduce the light pollution and partially block the goings on in the kitchen from the diners.