I recently had the opportunity to have dinner at the newest Buca restaurant, Buca Osteria & Bar.  Located at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto’s Yorkville area, this restaurant is different from the King Street locations.  Rather than focusing on meat, this restaurant is full of seafood choices (don’t worry, there are non-seafood dishes as well).  It was a lovely meal, and our party of four, consisting of my husband, my parents and myself, shared everything.  Three of the items we ordered were the burrata and salsiccine pizzas, which are on their regular menu posted online and another was the branzino, which was on a separate seafood-only menu, one I assume changes either daily or on a more regular basis.

The entire dinner came in courses.  We had ordered salads first and it came with Buca’s signature bread knots, their nodini – little tiny knobs of bread drizzled with olive oil, garlic and rosemary.  They were absolutely delightful and felt extremely light due to their miniature size (about the size of a quarter, maybe slightly larger). The bread and salad was followed by the two pizzas, which I’m actually not entirely sure which one I prefer.  The salsiccine, which was with cured spicy sausage, virgin mozzarella, bariole olive, testun di barolo cheese was warm and delightful and the taste was just salty enough.  The burrata pizza cool and light to the taste with its creamy cheese topping (the cheese was added after the pizza was cooked).  However, since the cheese is cool, those expecting something warm might be disappointed.  Both pizzas were served with a pair of scissors and diners can cut as large or small a piece they wished.  In addition, the crust was extremely thin, so one definitely does not feel too full.

The branzino, our main, was made to serve about three or four people.  We had a choice of having it pan-seared or baked in salt.  Since pan-seared fish is available just about everywhere, all the time, we opted for the latter.  The fish arrived whole and was presented to us prior to being de-boned table side.  There were several sauces available to accompany the fish as well.  The fish was, like the earlier dishes, extremely well-cooked and to be quite honest, delicious even to people who are not typically fish eaters.  It was also extremely light and while it was cooked in salt, the fish itself was not salty.

I have to admit that I had my hesitations going into the restaurant.  Outside of fish, I’m not much of a seafood fan and was actually worried that I would have limited choice.  However, upon seeing the extra menu and tasting the food, those hesitations quickly disappeared.  In addition to the wonderful food, the service was excellent, with staff explaining in detail the menu’s offerings. Buca Yorkville is definitely on my return list.

Reservations to Buca Yorkville can be made online or by calling 416-962-2822. .