Had a great time at Bari the other week. There were seven of us and I was catching up with friends so it was a lively social occasion and I forgot to take photos or pay close attention to the food. My favorite thing was the focaccia con pomodorini, much preferred that to the Barese (plain). Lampascioni were good and new to me. Orecchiette with brocolli rabe was very good, preferred it to the stracinate al pomodoro though that was also good. Started with a delightful Anfosso Rossese and would have drunk it through the meal, but we drank all they had, so finished up with Valle dell’Acate Cerasuolo, one of my all-time favorite wines. Service was charming.
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Bari has full menu now though the bartender told me they’re still planning to add more pastas, maybe five pastas?!? Plus GM (?) mentioned they’re thinking of doing oyster nights with wine pairings, sunday prix fixe meals and rounding out the menu more. I believe adding a few more skewers and such.
I love that Bari is really getting going. For a neighborhood stop its a wonderful addition to the area
The housemade pork and fennel sausage was delicious tonight
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I was there last night too!
I agree that it’s still just starting to ramp up. Overall, this felt like the most complete meal I’ve had there (I know, duh because they were only antipasti until a week or so ago), but still there’s some room to grow and improve.
New menu
Alici Marinate
Just as great as it’s been.
Ricciola all’ollo
A nice addition, that’s much milder and more tender.
Focaccia con Pomodorini
A bit more crumb on this focaccia versus the larger one at Antico that makes it a bit weaker as a sauce soaker, but still necessary.
Orecchiette Crime di Rapa
The pasta itself is fantastic, but the broccoli rabe was a bit too bitter. It probably could have used more salt, because I couldn’t taste much of the anchovy, but for what it’s worth I did appreciate the healthy ratio of greens to pasta.
Stracinate Pomodoro
This was the better of the two pastas because it was much more flavorful. Shout out to the fantastic breadcrumbs that gave the dish an awesome textural contrast.
Finocchio
Super soft fennel bulbs that have been poached in olive oil. It was a bit subtle but enjoyable.
Lampascioni con Pomodorini
Hyacinth bulbs and small sungold tomatoes is another more subtle dish, but the pops of acid complimented the rest of the dishes.
Fagiolini al Pomedoro
Probably the heartiest vegetable side with a fantastic tomato sauce. I really liked this sauce the most with the focaccia.
Bombette
An interesting and juicy skewer that’s thinly cut pork shoulder wrapped around a bit of caciocavallo. Very nice.
Merluzzo Nero
It’s a very small portion of black cod, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (I wish there was more) with the salsa verde.
Salciccia Nostrano
Fantastic house made pork and fennel sausage that reminded me a bit of a really great breakfast sausage.
Bari is really rounding into form. I was a bit bummed to see only a handful of occupied tables and seats at the bar (I know it was a Tuesday) but the other restaurants next door had many more diners.
As the menu stands right now, it either seems best situated for solo dining at the bar or sharing a couple bites with a partner (order a few skewers, a pasta, and one or two other small plates) or for a large party that fires the menu and gets quickly overwhelmed by the number of plates on the table. In my opinion, it doesn’t quite seem right for a middle size group yet, because you won’t be able to order one of everything with this expanded menu. That said, I hope business keeps picking up!
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@rlw I totally agree with your last paragraph.
The first time I stopped in I got to talk with Colby for a few minutes. He said his dream was for tables to be overflowing with small plates, like they don’t know what to do or where to turn next
Nice!
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Nice! This would be my reason!
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We have the same dream!
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Warrior: I like this restaurant. I like the decor. I like the waitress’s hair, clothes, and service. I like the wine list. I like the food. Tonight, I especially liked the ricotta. So pure. The octopus was great too. So tender. The kampachi crudo was delicious; much better than average. Focaccia and taralli were good. Anchovies were pretty good. Barramundi skewers were a little disappointing; neither the texture nor the flavor seemed quite right. The fennel needed something more (e.g., salt). The wax beans in tomato sauce wasn’t my favorite recipe. The 1980 Intorcia Marsala by the glass was amazing.
Peony: I liked the food more tonight than on my last visit. I feel as they expanded the menu, I get to appreciate their vision of the food much better. All the dishes were prepared nicely and had beautiful texture. I also like that they were light with oil. The food tasted very healthy. The only thing I can’t fully appreciate is they are very light on the salt, making the food very bland for my tastes.
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That sure wasn’t the case when I was there. I wonder if they dialed it back after feedback from halophobes?
Yeah I had a panzerotti a few weeks ago and whoever salted that thing before sending it out really, really wanted me to know it had been salted before being sent out.
It’s like they were making up for previous panzerotti they’d forgotten to salt
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Warrior: Peony and I both felt that the fennel and wax beans were undersalted. I would say everything else was appropriately salted. The salt flakes on the crudo were perfection.
I think that might be how those two dishes are supposed to be? Because I recall thinking the fennel especially needed some salt–but that might be my uneducated taste buds expecting something different out of the dish.
My take is the fennel and artichoke that was on before it is more a showcase of delicate poaching with olive oil
I liked the artichoke more than the fennel which I wouldn’t have guessed before trying both
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Same–it was the first time I actively thought I would order an artichoke dish again 
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Question: Is Bari roomy? I need to find a place for dinner with hubs’ co-worker and his wife doesn’t like cramped, loud restaurants. Kinda’ hard to find a place in LA that isn’t cramped and loud.
It was roomy and quiet on our two visits because only 1/3 tables were occupied.
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Great. Thanks.
The place seemed full when we were there but certainly not cramped. I didn’t notice it being noisy, no problem talking with people at the other end of a table for seven.
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Went to Bari for the first time this week. We were pleasantly impressed. Focaccia con pomodore, ricotta with almonds, panzarotti di pasquale, orchiette, salsiccia nostrano were outstanding. Great service and a very pleasant vibe.
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We enjoyed it too a few weeks ago.
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