Buca Di Beppo, Redondo Beach

It is stylish and cosmopolitan on an intimate scale. The cozy rooms, décor and decorated ceilings give it a feeling of warmth and personality, with an intangible
quality one diner calls 'vibrancy'. Buca di Beppo in Redondo Beach is a large restaurant that seems unusually intimate in scale. Diners have a choice of a
handsome casual dining rooms and the cozy bar where locals come for
amazing drinks, music and the wall of celebrity and amazing photographs.

Buca di Beppo offers a selection of authentic Northern and Southern dishes
prepared with skill and a subtle hand. Signature dishes make the difference
on the pasta list; for example, the half-pound mouth-watering
meatballs smothered in their homemade marinara.

Everything is made fresh on the premises- pastas,
sauces, sausages, breads and desserts.

Few enough Italian restaurants serve food that tastes as it does in Italy;
one that seems to capture the genuine flavors is Buca di Beppo.

Without a doubt, Redondo Beach has an abundance of restaurants that proudly allude to their ‘fine Italian cuisine.” Most of them offer authentic renditions of distinctively unique dishes that originated in either northern or southern Italy and would certainly qualify as cuisine di buongustaio. Many of these restaurants also feature well-appointed interiors with décor that achieves the highest standard of elegance.
That being said, a good number of their guests who have also had the
opportunity to actually dine in Italy will confirm that the atmosphere in
a lot of our local Italian eateries misses the mark by a country mile.

Pesto Bucacini

There are different types of eating establishments in Italy, and Florence in particular. Trattorias and Osterias are far more casual than those that feature fine dining, and often serve their food on bare tabletops with unadorned drinking glasses. They
are a lot less expensive than the best formal eateries, which generally offer
a more extensive menu and usually do not serve a ‘house’ wine.

Long Island Ice Tea Asahi Beer

On the night of our visit, my guests and I were served a variety of trattoria specialties along with a marvelous House Chianti which was reminiscent of a marriage of a fine Chianti Classico and a smooth Merlot. While there are less than a dozen wines on
the list at Buca di Beppo, the ones that are served are absolutely
excellent and accommodate a wide range of tastes.

Champagne Preparing the Pizza

Joey, our server soon arrived at our table with a couple of fantastic appetizers; the Bucacini, these risotto balls are filled with rich ingredients reminiscent of the garden
of Sicily. We tried 2 varieties; the Pesto, with sun-dried Tomatoes and Mozzarella filling, and the Sausage & Gorgonzola, a Spicy Italian Sausage and Gongonzola
filling. These were delicious and a great start, especially if you are hungry, they
are very delicious and filling, but we had to save some space for all of the
other amazing appetizers and entrees that we were about to taste!

Sausage & Gorgonzola Bucacini

Finocchiona Pizza Pizza Angela

A delightfully fragrant Finocchiona pizza and the Pizza Angela was the next item to be served, and proved to be a real deviation from the thick, doughy pizzas that are sold by American-style operations. The crust of this pie was very thin, a bit crunchy and, instead of being slathered in canned sauce and piled high with everything but the kitchen sink, it was tastefully topped with homemade tomato sauce, fresh
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced imported salami and grilled, marinated bell
peppers. It’s true; fresh, high-quality ingredients really do make a better
pizza, especially if it is assembled and baked by a chef from Italy.

Prosciutto Stuffed Mushrooms Side of Green Beans

Another amazing appetizer was the Prosciutto Stuffed Mushrooms, with fresh herb stuffing served on a pesto cream sauce. Wow, this was to die for! Light and very tasty, a great appetizer that satisfied our entire table! Also, do not miss their
delicious Apple Gorgonzola Salad, with fresh Romaine, Gorgonzola,
Seasoned Walnuts, Dried Cranberries and Granny Smith Apples.

Apple Gorgonzola Salad

Chicken with Lemon

The best, however, was yet to come. When Joey brought our steaming entrées, my guests and I were both captivated by the tempting aromas emanating from the huge platter that he presented on our table with a flourish. The Chicken with Lemon, and Chicken Parmigiana with Prosciutto, it was replete with the haunting essence of
freshly picked rosemary leaves, and featured tender chicken drumsticks that
were sautéed into a hunter-style mélange along with fresh tomatoes, ripe Italian
olives and both yellow and red bell peppers. This hearty and delectable dish
was served country style, and had both of us taking advantage of the informal
trattoria motif to dip chunks of our ciabatta rolls into the remaining gravy
at the bottom of the plate so that none would be wasted.

Crazy Cannelloni

Quatro Al Forno

Also, we tried a variety of Baked Pasta Specialties that it is hard to describe each one, but I must say that they were all absolutely perfect and delicious and authentic, and I can say that, because I am Italian! We tried the Quatro Al Forno, a sampling of the Cheese Manicotti, Stuffed Shells (spicy sausage), Baked Ravioli, and chicken Cannelloni, with ricotta, fresh sage, provolone, marinara and Romano sauces.
It was truly an amazing dish because it combined all of the
four specialties in one dish. We loved them all.

Porchetta Rustica, Herb-Roasted Pork

The next was the Porchetta Rustica, Herb-Roasted pork in red wine sauce with Balsamic vinegar, blueberries, capers and hazelnuts served with Italian Broccoli Romano. Another winner and if you love pork, you can’t miss this dish.

Chicken Parmigiana with Prosciutto

I must alert you that their “small” portion is enough to feed 6 people. We
ordered the small Spaghetti Meat Sauce, and the Crazy Cannelloni, and
it was absolutely delightful, and huge, we were at this point,
truly satisfied, and could not ask for a better dinner.

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (small portion)

The last pasta we tried was the Linguini Frutti di Mare, which was another winner, with all kinds of frutti di mare inside, and al dente, this dish is truly spectacular!

Linguini Frutti di Mare

We were so full by the time we finished our entrée that dessert seemed out
of the question, but Joey suggested that perhaps some 3 dolci’s would be
something we should try, and a smooth desert wine might be the perfect,
crowning touch to the meal. His point was difficult to argue, so we
ended our evening at Buca di Beppo with a sweet sip and a crunch.

Tiramisu

Apple Crostata

Desserts were amazing and they serve the best Tiramisu in town! The Apple
Crostata with apples, baked inside a flaky pastry, with crunchy
almond topping, vanilla gelato and warm caramel sauce.

Gelato della Casa Our Fantastic Server Joey

We also tried the Gelato della Casa, a pints to share
with Vanilla and Pistacchio, humm… delicious!

This restaurant is bound to build a strong following because of its unwavering commitment to offering its guests a true trattoria experience so bonafied that
diners may even be a bit surprised they are still in Redondo Beach
when they step back out onto the sidewalk beyond its doors.

For map and location click Here!

For more information please visit their website at http://www.bucadibeppo.com

Today is: Thursday, November 21, 2024