Nodini
Warm dough knots with rosemary and salt. The correct way to start and the hardest thing to stop eating.
Italian · King West
Buca
King West Italian in a boiler room, still serving the best nose-to-tail salumi in town
ItalianKing West, Toronto$$$Details being confirmed
The review
Buca opened in an old boiler room and never lost the feeling of it — brick, low light, and a room that has aged better than most of King West around it. The Italian cooking is regional and specific, not the generic Italian-restaurant version.
Start with nodini, which are warm dough knots and which you will regret ordering only one basket of. Then a pasta — the bigoli, thick and rough-surfaced, is the dish that shows the kitchen's hand. The salumi board is cured in-house and includes cuts most restaurants quietly discard.
Honest notes: this is King West and the bill reflects it. Weekends are loud. Portion sizes swing between courses, so order in stages rather than all at once.
What to order
Bigoli
Thick house-extruded pasta, usually with something dark and slow-cooked. The dish to judge the kitchen on.
Salumi Board
Cured in-house, including the parts most kitchens throw away.
What works
- Salumi programme is the real thing
- Pasta made in-house and it shows
- One of the better-looking rooms in the city
What doesn’t
- King West pricing
- Loud on Friday and Saturday
- Portions vary a lot between courses
Verdict
Nodini, then bigoli, then salumi. Order in stages and share the pasta.