Just opened: Buca
The brains behind Brassaii, Jacobs and Co. and soon-to-be-opened The Saint are adding yet another restaurant to their empire, this one tucked away in the alley beside Cheval on the ritzy King Street strip. The week-old Buca is serving Italian fare by executive chef Rob Gentile, a former sous-chef at One, Bymark and North 44°.
“The kind of food we do here is what you’ll eat at the family table in Italy. It’s the food I grew up with,” he says, sitting in Buca’s dimly lit back room, which will open to diners next week (Penelope Cruz enjoyed a private dinner when she was here for TIFF last month). He’s flanked by hanging meats that he cures himself. Every Thursday, an entire animal is brought in, and every part of it is used; even the pork fat is used to make shells for cannoli.
Daily menus are printed and date stamped each morning. Prices are in the standard King Street range of $15 to $25, and the dishes fall into the usual categories: antipasti, pizza, pasta, meat, fish, small plates, raw. On the day we visited, dishes included an Ontario heirloom tomato salad ($12) with Gentile’s 30-year-old vinegar; duck egg tagliatelle with duck ragù ($18); and funghi pizza ($18) with lobster, mushrooms and mascarpone. Vegetarians need not be intimidated by the giant leg of prosciutto near the entrance; there are plenty of veggie options on the menus.
The space in which all of this is served used to be a boiler room. Co-owner Peter Tsebelis says he netted the place in November 2006 but had to delay the opening due to a moratorium on liquor licences in the area (it’s not just Ossington that’s too hip for the city). It’s easy to imagine that this was a 19th-century utility space; the old brick walls remain, set off by dark woods and bare light bulbs—the kind more commonly seen in a mine shaft. Though the restaurant looks effortlessly put together, the before picture is quite tragic: there was no floor, just sand and a giant boiler that had to be taken out in pieces. “The architecture of the place is very simple and clean,” says Tsebelis. “Much like the food.”
Buca, 602 King St. W., 416-865-1600.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/just-opened-buca/&title=Just opened: Buca&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Robcuringroom.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_13089" align="alignleft" width="350" caption="Rob Gentile hangs with his meats (Photo by Karon Liu)"][/caption]
The brains behind Brassaii, Jacobs and Co. and soon-to-be-opened The Saint are adding yet another restaurant to their empire, this one tucked away in the alley beside Cheval on the ritzy King Street strip. The week-old Buca is serving Italian fare by executive chef Rob Gentile, a former sous-chef at One, Bymark and North 44°.
“The kind of food we do here is what you'll eat at the family table in Italy. It's the food I grew up with," he says, sitting in Buca’s dimly lit back room, which will open to diners next week (Penelope Cruz enjoyed a private dinner when she was here for TIFF last month). He’s flanked by hanging meats that he cures himself. Every Thursday, an entire animal is brought in, and every part of it is used; even the pork fat is used to make shells for cannoli.
[caption id="attachment_13090" align="alignleft" width="580" caption="The industrial-chic interior of Buca (Photo by Karon Liu)"][/caption]
Daily menus are printed and date stamped each morning. Prices are in the standard King Street range of $15 to $25, and the dishes fall into the usual categories: antipasti, pizza, pasta, meat, fish, small plates, raw. On the day we visited, dishes included an Ontario heirloom tomato salad ($12) with Gentile's 30-year-old vinegar; duck egg tagliatelle with duck ragù ($18); and funghi pizza ($18) with lobster, mushrooms and mascarpone. Vegetarians need not be intimidated by the giant leg of prosciutto near the entrance; there are plenty of veggie options on the menus.
The space in which all of this is served used to be a boiler room. Co-owner Peter Tsebelis says he netted the place in November 2006 but had to delay the opening due to a moratorium on liquor licences in the area (it's not just Ossington that's too hip for the city). It's easy to imagine that this was a 19th-century utility space; the old brick walls remain, set off by dark woods and bare light bulbs—the kind more commonly seen in a mine shaft. Though the restaurant looks effortlessly put together, the before picture is quite tragic: there was no floor, just sand and a giant boiler that had to be taken out in pieces. "The architecture of the place is very simple and clean,” says Tsebelis. “Much like the food."
Buca, 602 King St. W., 416-865-1600.){kind=link}
We dined at Buca a few weekends ago for a private sitting. We sampled almost everything on the menu! I can’t decide which dish I like best because each one was fantastic and unique but still reminded me of Nonna’s dishes. A few of my favourites were the thin crust pizza with sardines and salsa verde, the tagliatelle with duck ragu and the home-made ice cream. Every bite was delicious! Congrats to Rob!!
Unfortunatly this place is much more hype than substance. These owners always bank on there connections ahemm food writers to get as much publicity as possible and as a result people go and spend money all to be dissapointed.
PS Justa because a food writer wrote it doesn’t mean its true. Like any buisness friends help out friends
Ambiance was great, service was satisfactory, food (taste) was very good….portions were too small. All four in my party felt like going across the street for a Kraft burger after dinner.
An Italian restaurant, really?Starving after a pasta meal, why? Teeny-tiny portions and I’m female and tiny myself. Authentic, yes, worth the price, NO! I’d rather nosh at Terroni or Capocaccia where quality equals price.
Without a doubt, the best Italian restaurant in the city. Yes, pricier than Terroni and Capocaccia, but well worth the added cost for the quality of the ingredients.
Would probably have to agree more with Joseph above. Really high-level food here from the classic Italian to the more unique items on the menu with very modern twists. Had a great meal.
I’d recommend the orecchiette, kale salad, nodini, and many other items. Menu changes daily though so no guarantees.
Full review here if you want to take a look:
http://restosinto.tumblr.com/post/14430321484/buca
Cheers,
RestosinTO.com
The food is good however they should be a little more generous with the portions-especially for what they charge.
Restavu morta di faaaami!!
Seems many higher end Italian restaurants in Toronto have this problem.