Savor Fine Italian Food in Bend, Oregon
Tucked into the historic Bakery Building on the bustling Galveston Avenue in Bend, Oregon, find BOSA Food & Drink. Inaugurated in 2021, BOSA has captivated the community with its menu of Italian and French cuisines. A reservation can be hard to snag, but for good reason. BOSA consistently delights patrons with its superb dishes, exceptional service and inviting ambiance.
The design is simple, bright and beautiful. Velvet bar seats, snug booths, tasteful blue accents and playful tile elements collectively contribute to an upscale yet inviting neighborhood bistro vibe. Whether you opt to belly up to the bar or settle into one of the cozy booths, get ready for an evening of dining you won’t soon forget.
Service at BOSA exceeds expectations. The kind and attentive waitstaff adds a personal touch to your evening, attending to your needs and offering knowledgeable recommendations with a genuine desire to enhance your evening. If you make BOSA a habit, you’re sure to become familiar with the staff members who are always delighted to welcome you back.
The Menu at BOSA Food & Drink
As you peruse the menu, it’s difficult to make a wrong choice, but there are some standout dishes that should be on everyone’s tab. One is the housemade focaccia, a divine creation with a perfectly crisp exterior and a fluffy interior, served with whipped butter and herbs. The Gem Lettuce salad, featuring Caesar dressing, savory herb croutons and Parmigiano, offers a simple, light and refreshing starter.
For the main course, indulge in handmade pasta crafted daily. The Bigoli, BOSA’s rendition of the classic Cacio e Pepe, is a mouthwatering dish of bucatini pasta, beurre monté, cracked black pepper, Parmigiano and pecorino, all topped with toasted breadcrumbs and parsley. Alternatively, savor the Fusilli pasta with housemade fennel sausage, rapini, kale and pecorino sardo.
If you crave something besides pasta, explore the diverse menu, ranging from meatballs and Tuscan chickpea stew to bone-in ribeye steak or branzino. Also, be sure to take a peek at the specials menu for a taste of something novel.
To complement your feast, the bar offers a selection of house cocktails, such as “This Paloma Hits The Marche,” featuring Espolòn Reposado, grapefruit, Meletti Amaro, lime and grapefruit bitters. Alternatively, seek a wine recommendation from your server to perfectly pair with your meal. Conclude your night with a sweet finale, choosing from options such as mousse au chocolat or Basque-style ricotta cheesecake.
A European-Inspired Neighborhood Bistro
With its inviting atmosphere, top-notch service and delicious dishes, BOSA Food & Drink is a standout choice. BOSA’s palpable commitment to ensuring each guest experience is a memorable one is evident whether you’re a regular or a newcomer. Buon appetito!
How to Get There
1005 NW Galveston Avenue, Bend, OR 97703 | bosabend.com | Monday – Saturday, 4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Click here to read more about our local food and restaurant scene. | Visit our Dining Guide here.
November 21, 2021 by Nancy Patterson
About BOSA Food & Drink
It’s been nearly two years since chefs Nate King and Bill Dockter announced the launch of their new Italian eatery, BOSA Food and Drink, just outside of downtown Bend. The fact that the doors finally opened just this past summer says it all—the road to opening BOSA was far from smooth.
King and Dockter first met in Aspen, Colorado, at Cache Cache restaurant. King spent 17 years in various positions at the classical French cuisine restaurant, while Dockter worked as their sous chef. Over the past six years, the two discussed the idea of operating an Italian restaurant together. In 2019, the pair reconnected in Bend, resurrecting their collective dream of opening their own eatery.
King and Dockter were relishing in excitement after signing the lease for a vacant space on Galveston Avenue, next door to Sunriver Brewing’s pub, in February of 2020—only to face an array of challenges just weeks later. The two chefs had to make a choice; move forward and open their dream restaurant during uncertain times or take the offer to withdraw from their commercial lease. Lucky for Central Oregon, the two chose the former. “We definitely went through a roller coaster of emotions and had to dig deep into whether to stick it out,” said Jenny King, BOSA’s manager and wife of Nate King. “Our landlord gave us the option to walk away from the lease, but after discussing how much we wanted to make the BOSA concept a reality, we also knew that we wanted it to be in that location as well.”
After endless delays and many pivots, the King and Dockter families opened the doors to their own restaurant in July of 2021. The restaurant’s namesake, a town in the Sardinia region of Italy, bears a striking resemblance to Bend. “We came up with the name Bosa first and then found that the town of Bosa in Sardinia had such a great comparison to Bend, with the river bending through the town and the colors of the architecture resembling the colors of the Bend trees in autumn,” King reflected. “Though the name comes from a town in Sardinia, the menu itself isn’t based on Sardinian cuisine, but more on the regions of Italy as a whole.” On a mostly Italian-inspired menu, diners also find many influences from France and the Mediterranean.
BOSA’s menu follows the trajectory of a traditional Italian dinner. All of BOSA’s plates are served family-style and intended to be shared. Starters include a variety of seasonal “cold” and “hot” appetizers; burrata is a permanent staple on the antipasti menu, served with focaccia croutons and heirloom tomatoes. Patrons who enjoy a shared plate of calamari will love BOSA’s grilled calamari spiedini. Tubes of calamari are slightly charred and skewered and served over a potato-olive-tomato salad, which is dressed in a garlic cream and warm sherry vinaigrette.
The Pasta at BOSA
Per the recommendations of the chefs and Italian tradition, pasta is served as a shared dish between the antipasti and main courses. A popular and comforting course during the cooler season is their tagliatelle pasta, hand-made fresh every day and cooked al dente. It’s tossed in a rich beef and pork ragù and dusted with parmesan cheese, chili flakes, and parsley. BOSA’s tagliatelle is so perfectly prepared that it maintains its texture and consistency from the first bite to the last. Shared main courses include a half-rotisserie chicken, pork Milanese and a hearty bone-in ribeye steak. All courses and side dishes are offered a la carte, which allows guests to choose from whipped potatoes, creamed corn and pommes frites—to name a few—to pair with the meal.
While the menus will change with the seasons, there’s one thing that will stay the same: BOSA’s commitment to sourcing its ingredients both locally and seasonally. “We currently work with many local companies, including getting produce directly from farms like Windflower [Farm], Boundless [Farmstead] and Sungrounded [Farm], to name a few. We always love when new farms or artisans reach out to discuss working together,” King said. “We also love to represent Bontà for our gelato and sorbet, Metolius Teas, Lone Pine Coffee and Village Baker for some of our artisan bread.”
Along with a full bar, BOSA offers a diverse wine list that’s likely to rotate throughout the year. “In addition, we also have great personal relationships with wineries in Oregon, California and Italy,” King shared. “We love to keep the wine list super fun and represent some of these great producers and the fruits of their hard work.” And, of course, the wine list will always feature Oregon-grown Pinot Noir to sip alongside your pasta of choice.
