Eating at Buca di Beppo is an event — an event to be shared with as many friends and family as you can muster.
The Lynnwood location is one of two Buca’s in Washington state, but you wouldn’t know from its colorful, creative decor that this restaurant is one of 107 restaurants in 28 states. Icons of Italian culture welcome diners as they enter, with photos and mementos of everyone from the Pope to Joe DiMaggio continuing the theme as guests seat themselves in inviting, ample booths or tables, which are easily reconfigured to fit any group size.
Buca di Beppo specializes in the cuisine of Campania, Apulia, Sicily and the rest of Southern Italy. When Buca says it serves “Immigrant Southern Italian Dining,” that means that your dining party will order a selection of dishes to share, and your server will deliver large platters heaping with salad, pasta and dessert. It’s like home, only you don’t have to do any cooking or dishes.
The menu is equally colorful, offering the traditional Italian-American dishes as well as the nouveau. Servers are quick to offer a primer on the Buca dining experience as well as detailed descriptions of the day’s specials and everyday dishes. Their knowledge is only matched by their attentiveness, making frequent stops to refill beverages or bring extra utensils, napkins and condiments.
The “family-style” portions now come in two sizes: “Buca small” and “Buca large” size plates, to accommodate smaller parties of diners who either want to try several different dishes or don’t like taking home leftovers (that doesn’t seem possible). For our party of two, we took advantage of the former opportunity, ordering Caesar salad, pizza spinachi (tomatoes, spinach and cheese), spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic mashed potatoes. We made sure to leave room to order dessert, the classic Italian tiramisu, a pastry concoction consisting of layers of marscapone cheese, ladyfingers (cake), espresso, all soaked in Myers rum with powdered cocoa and crumbled chocolate biscotti on top.
Those with adventurous tastes aren’t left out of the mix — nor are vegetarians or diners with special dietary needs. Several meals can be had that avoid cheese and meat altogether, and 16 menu items offer nine net grams of carbs or less.
Be sure to set aside a chunk of time to enjoy the Buca experience — this is food not only meant to be savored, it’s meant for second and third servings.
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