Böcc - Menu

We arrived quite late in the afternoon from France and were in a hurry for some food - but not too much as we had planned a nice dinner in a local restaurant la... read more We arrived quite late in the afternoon from France and were in a hurry for some food - but not too much as we had planned a nice dinner in a local restaurant later that night - with a couple of drinks.These were served by a very friendly waitress, and all in all, both food and drinks were excellent.

Recently my friend and I visited this so called "Cocktail Bar" - as advertised outside Bar Bocc. My friend ordered a Negroni (10 CHF) for himself, and a Pina Co... read more Recently my friend and I visited this so called "Cocktail Bar" - as advertised outside Bar Bocc. My friend ordered a Negroni (10 CHF) for himself, and a Pina Colada (13 CHF) for me as a surprise treat for me. However, when the so called "pina colada" arrived, it consisted of only rum, ice and a piece of mint leaf. Pina colada is one of my favourite cocktail drinks and whilst I am not an expert in cocktails, I do know that the BASIC ingredients of a pina colada should consist of: 1. pineapple juice; 2. coconut cream; and 3. rum. The very word "pina" is a Spanish word and it means "pineapple". I was disappointed that this so called "cocktail bar" did not add any pineapple or coconut cream in the cocktail drink. I had a tiny sip of that drink and it tasted terrible - so I gave it back to the waitress and the barman and told them that that was not a proper pina colada, and that I would have a café latte instead. Then the café latte came and it was not the normal coffee topped with frothy milk as most people would expect - it was simply a shot of espresso topped with milk and water. When we asked for the bill, we were told that the bill came to a total of 23 CHF for the two cocktail drinks even though I did not have the pina colada! I then explained the situation to the Barman and explained to him that we should only paid for the Negroni and the café latté. This barman then acted in an aggressive way and demanded we paid for both drinks. We then reluctantly made the payment of 23 CHF as my friend did not want to discuss this matter further with this barman as he was not willing to listen to us. About half-an-hour later, I reviewed this situation and felt that I was treated unfairly by this barman. Because I did not want any other tourists to fall into the trap of Bar Bocc, so I contacted the local police (the Lugano police station is located within close walking from Bar Bocc) and two policemen went to Bar Bocc and asked them to refund me the difference between the pina colada and the café latté. This is because Bar Bocc had breached trading standards by selling drinks that are not as per the description or common understanding of what that product is supposed to be. To my surprise, the barman said that he would not refund the difference as he considered his version of pina colada (which only consisted of rum and ice), was what a pina colada should be. The policemen then said that they could not pursue this matter any further as we had already made the payment. The policemen advised us that if this kind of mistreatment was to happen again, then customers should not pay the money but call the police instead - in that way the police will be in a stronger position to protect consumers. I therefore urge any tourists to exercise their consumer rights - and make sure that you check with the waitress and barman about the ingredients of the cocktail drinks or food before you place your order. Otherwise you may get ripped off. None of the waitresses or bar man could speak English (or that's how they appeared to be) so if you can try to get someone to translate your order for you and make sure there is a good understanding of what you will be getting for your money. Or one should simply go to another bar as this Bar Bocc serves terrible cocktails and the customer service is really poor. The outdoor seating area fronts onto a large car park - so even though the bar has distant view of the lake, your views are mostly blocked by the parked cars. The outdoor seating area is also full of smokers so if you are a non-smoker then you will suffer from the cigarette smoke all around you. I urge the Management of Bar Bocc and the Lugano Consumer Council to look into this matter without delay - this Bar Bocc is a disgrace to Lugano and it damages most people's perception of Switzerland - which is supposed to be a fair and just country.