Café La Buca (Italian)

“Oh my gosh, this is better than …” says a friend, and that, dear reader, pretty much sums up our experience at Café La Buca in Pompano Beach!  If you haven’t been there, it’s worth the drive (one of my friends hails it as the best Italian in south Florida).  Café La Buca is owned and operated by a Napoli family, who obviously have done well in the local food business since they shut down for the summers to head back to Italy.  Must be nice!

If you are in the mood for some good (more like excellent), authentic Italian food and consider yourself open to letting the experience guide you, head on over to Café La Buca.  There are no menus (or posted prices) when you visit, you are served what the owner and his mama have concocted for the day (and usually it centers around whatever foods are in season or are freshly available).  And basically, they size you up and bring you out the amount of food that would be necessary for the people at the table (you probably want to tell them your cash limit, so you aren't shocked when you get your bill). When we visited, their main dishes were a bow-tie pasta with fresh salmon and pasta with pesto sauce. 

These were preceded by three rounds of appetizers: grilled and stuffed zucchini, ricotta stuffed breaded eggplant, and roasted peppers and olives bruschetta.  They were each amazing, and don’t get me started on the bottomless fresh bread, straight-out-of-the-wood-fired oven. 

  

For dessert, we had some type of Italian sponge cake with a Grand Marnier cream sauce topped with strawberries and cream.  Not only was it good, but I think we all felt a little giddy afterwards. :)

I hear their pizza is amazing, so that’s what’s on my table next visit.

If you need wine or beer with your meal, this place doesn’t serve it, but encourages you to bring your own (with no corkage fee).  Also, its best to show up for lunch unless you intend to wait a while for dinner, as reservations are required and the next available opening is usually weeks (and sometimes months) away.  With limited tables (5-6), they have limited space, so get there early!

Word of warning, if you are a control freak or a picky eater, don’t bother going – you might just get kicked out.  No joke.

Check it out:

451 S. Cypress Rd
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Tel.  (954) 786-0673