Little Buca

Tucked away in the very same Little Silver shopping center where we recently reviewed Felicia’s is Little Buca, a classic Italian eatery from Stephania and Steve Raia, the team behind the more upscale restaurant Raia’s. What began as a private supper club for friends and family has grown into a beloved neighborhood dining spot.

The owners have done a great job transforming this tiny strip mall storefront into a bonafide destination for a fancy night out. The simple white room has just 11 setups seating about 50 diners, and uses black tables and black chair rail wainscotting to create a stark, urban effect. A black ceiling adds to the intimate feeling, and a three-quarter wall mirror back by the kitchen keeps things from feeling claustrophobic. I like that the two-tops have cobalt blue tabletops ringed with gold, and tiny gold sconce lamps. It transforms the vibe into cool but cozy.

The walls are peppered with black and white framed photographs of classic film stars, old New York sports heroes, and downtown cognoscenti. There’s Marilyn Monroe with Joe DiMaggio. That’s Lauren Bacall, and there’s Ann-Margret. And is that Andy Warhol hugging Divine? How delightful!

By 6:30 p.m., the spot is already filling up at this BYOB, cash-only establishment. Our waiter Liam brings us chunks of parmesan cheese (like at sister restaurant Raia), zucchini crisps, and focaccia. He inquires about any allergies, then serves up the Rose D’Anjou we brought and plunged the bottle into an icy silver bucket. It’s so cold, fog is rolling off of it, and I am here for this!

Liam tells us about specials including an 8 oz. lobster tail pasta dish, and a pricey ball of burrata battered and fried “like the world’s best mozzarella stick.” He really sells the menu, but notes they are out of the $72 pork chop, which is fine by us.

J and I decided to get one selection from each of the menu’s sections, primi, ensalata, and pesce (but we skipped the carne section during this visit). We order the calamari fritti with marinara and aioli, and make a note to try their baked clams and long hots with sausage on our next visit.

For the salad course, we tried the Sicilian salad, with orange, fennel, olives, red onion and prosciutto, which is very similar to the house Buca salad. We’ll go for the artichoke salad with walnuts and parm next time.

Liam recommends the tomatoey Roma pasta with sausage, and we go with his recommendation. We pair it with a Mediterranean sea bass, a whole fish cooked with lemon and EVOO. The Positano also looks good, featuring clams, mussels, jumbo shrimp, lobster and hot cherry tomatoes, but the wife doesn’t care for bouillabaisse-type dishes, so that’s probably a deal breaker.

Once we’ve put our order into the kitchen, we sit back, sip on our wine, and enjoy ‘80s pop hits over the sound system. Tucked away in the back behind a mirrored wall is the bustling kitchen, where cooks are hustling to meet the demand of the rapidly-filling restaurant.

Before too long, a runner comes by with a huge platter of crispy calamari, with a nice marinara and pesto aioli. I eat the rounds and J eats the tentacles. She admits to me that she always thought squid was just the tentacles part, but also somehow the rounds part, separately. I told her both parts were connected, with a glass endoskeleton inside. Minds boggled.

Next came our salad course, the Sicilian with strips of fennel, orange, red onion, and black olives, with pieces of thin-cut prosciutto around the edges of the plate. It was nice, and the olives added some necessary savory, but the fennel was just too big to tackle. This salad would be better served with fennel shaved or in matchsticks, so it’s more manageable. J offers that it could do well with a bitter bite of arugula, but she doesn’t particularly care for fennel’s licorice bite.

Liam the waiter checks in on us, and like at Raia’s, the service is good with attention paid to details, like our wine served in that cold ice bucket with pretty wine glasses, and our being welcomed with that wooden dish of nibbles.

There’s a bit of a lag between courses, during which a runner comes by to pack up our leftover apps. Ten minutes later, the pasta and fish arrive. At first, the fish looked fishy and I thought, “Why did I order this; I don’t like fish.” Then I take a bite and think, “I guess I like fish.” It comes, unexpectedly, with a side of broccoli and carrots that are garlicky and good.

The Roma pasta looks amazing, and I’m so jelly of J right now. I hope she’s ready to trade soon. We share courses and her pasta is indeed delicious, with sausage hot and sweet. I can taste the guanciale in the red sauce reduction and the tiny cherry tomatoes are blazing hot. While not greasy, the rigatoni has just the right amount of red slickness on the bottom of the bowl.

Our verdict: we like Raia better, but can see how they elevated this original concept to make it what it is. Little Buca serves up an impressive menu in  a small space with a lean staff of two writers and a runner. By 7:30 p.m., every table is filled (on a Wednesday, no less) and we’re ready to settle our bill. It’s $156 before tip which J declares is “Not bad.” Just remember, Little Buca is cash only.

Little Buca
125 Markham Pl, Little Silver, NJ 07739
732-741-1900
https://littlebuca.com/

Monday 5-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday-Saturday 5-9:30 p.m.
Sunday 4-8 p.m.

Save a Few Clams

Save a few clams via BYOB wine and spirits, usually the most expensive part of any meal. Keep an eye out for seasonal menus and the occasional holiday gift certificate giveaway contest.