Osteria La Buca

(323) 462-1900

5210 1/2 Melrose Ave (Wilton Place)
Los Angeles, CA 90038 34.0834 -118.3139

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Neighborhoods: Greater Wilshire / Hancock Park, Central LA

OSTERIALABUCA.COM

Hours:

Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm

Sat 5:30pm-11pm

Sun 5pm-10pm

Last updated 10.14.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, B.Y.O.B., Food Delivery, Hidden Find

Cuisine:

Pizza, Italian

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Osteria La Buca

Featured Review

Nicolas Rabinovitch

Contributor

The Scene – Since the expansion in late 2007, the former La Buca, meaning den or hole, restaurant now offers a trendier osteria atmosphere. The simple yet elegant loft feel created by designer Kristopher Keith still retains the cozy setting of the original by adding accoutrements like the wine bottle chandeliers. Neighborhood couples can still enjoy a romantic Italian setting while Melrose shoppers enjoy the more upscale vibe. The new space also boasts an upstairs lodge perfect for a 20-person private event or birthday. – – The Food – Mamma raises the bar for homestyle…

Editor's Tips

What To Drink:
The once BYOB space now boasts an extensive and professionally designed wine list as well as specialty drinks like ginger beer created by mixoligist Vincenzo Marianella.
Save Time:
Avoid the often long wait for table by ordering your meal for pickup or free delivery ($25 minimum).
Parking:
Nearby spaces are scarce during the day, but street parking is free on the north side of Melrose after 6pm, and on the south side after 7pm. Most streets in the surrounding neighborhood require a residential permit. Valet is avaiailable from 6pm until close.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “But the pastas are absolutely to die for, and the atmosphere was nice.”
  2. “The atmosphere is amazing.”
  3. “understand they've remolded and made the place flashier and more modern, but it maintains a warm atmosphere and uber-friendly and helpful staff: all Italian, all smiles.”
  4. “We won't return to La Buca - menu is limited, location is not convenient unless you are a true local and can walk there.”
  5. “The warm ambience and service make you feel right at home.”
  6. “For a romantic evening.”
  7. “place is nice and cozy, maybe a little too dark.”
  8. “It's tiny bistro atmosphere is perfect for a date or getting together with friends, and the Italian staff is extremely friendly and extremely Italian.”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “The food was delicious, except for the salad and dessert.”
  2. “So I would go back, minus the salad and dessert in favor of that wonderful pasta.”
  3. “Large, light, fluffy pouffs of gnocci melt in your mouth along with the delicious pink vodka tomato cream sauce highlighted with shrimp.”
drinks
75.0% positive
  1. “Impressive wine list too.”
  2. “must admit that my gnocchi bolognese was delicious and I like the free corkage and bring your own wine policy, but I can't recommend this as a friendly establishment.”
  3. “Oh and I almost forgot about the wine, great wine that's hard to find most places.”
  4. “and then to literally make you feel bad for opting for ONE $40 bottle instead of giving in to the incessant $90 wine push was completely ridiculous!”
food quality
95.53999900817871% positive
  1. “Thin, light crust - in short - an incredible pizza.”
  2. “great food, great service, cool place.”
  3. “To start, we tried a calamari dish and a margharita pizza that was amazing.”
  4. “My wife and I usually start with a salad of fresh burrata cheese over baby arugala, served with sweet ripe cherry tomatoes and Italian sausage and prosciutto, followed one of the daily specials-- anything from prime steak with gorganzola to expertly grill”
  5. “also recommend the caprese salad.”
  6. “can't recall the last time I had well prepared pasta with the right amount of amazing sauce.”
  7. “So I would go back, minus the salad and dessert in favor of that wonderful pasta.”
  8. “In fact we are going to order pizza take-out tonight, so don't forget to consider that as an option too.”
  9. “The food was delicious, except for the salad and dessert.”
  10. “The pasta is perfection in both taste and al dente!”
  11. “enjoyed the pesto pasta with a glass of Proseco, then topped off with tiramisu and expresso.”
  12. “had a great time- LOVED our food and will be back!”
  13. “Amazing deals for such delicious homemade pasta.”
  14. “Great authentic Italian food!”
  15. “Wonderful food, zero attitude!”
  16. “Menu features simple but PERFECT, mouth-watering pizzas, seafood raviolis with subtle but complex flavor combinations and daily specials.”
  17. “BUT, the food was outstanding.”
  18. “Romance, service with love, and great food”
  19. “The ravioli with butter and sage sauce is perfection.”
  20. “was prepared to have a delicious meal with my boyfriend and a good friend.”
  21. “The food is delicious and because they know me I am treated very nicely.”
  22. “Our Italian waiter greeted us with charm and a friendly tone and even brought us into a room to show us the fresh homemade pasta before they cook it so we could pick out what kind we wanted!”
  23. “An intimate place for great food (they make their own pasta) and conversations with friends or loved ones.”
  24. “it's just damned good, and the no corkage fee policy is great - perhaps you should bring your own glasses though, as they offer only the most basic authentic 'chianti glasses' (aka small tumblers).”
  25. “One could easily pay three times the price at Valentinos, but the meal would not be any better, as La Buca is as good as it gets.”
  26. “Perfect thin pizzas, freshly made pastas, among the best we've ever had, anywhere, all made by the owner's Italian mom.”
  27. “This place has very very good food with a New York small restuarant feel.”
  28. “That doesn't mean the food is not amazing.”
  29. “The bread is warm and served with a flavorful, a bit spicy, marinara sauce.”
  30. “We received our food (which for the most part was delicious) and had been eating for less than 7 minutes while my friend was in the middle of telling a very interesting story.”
  31. “went with my boyfriend for dinner and we shared the most fabulous meal!”
  32. “eat spaghetti with ketchup because I don't really like sauce.”
  33. “The food is just too delicious for some of the negative reviewers to not give it a second chance.”
  34. “Nothing horrible, but it just wasn't good pizza.”
  35. “What was once an awesome, charming, delicious and authentic Italian restaurant has seemingly gone corporate.”
  36. “Large, light, fluffy pouffs of gnocci melt in your mouth along with the delicious pink vodka tomato cream sauce highlighted with shrimp.”
  37. “Their fresh pasta and real home sytle pizza is nothing short of being in the old country.”
  38. “The tomatoes are so fresh, it's just the right level of spicy and it's the only arrabiata I've liked since I traveled to Italy a few years ago.”
  39. “think with that kind of price range - $50 per person, I think La Buca could afford to give us more time to enjoy our meal and not treat us as if we were in a fast food chain or a diner- By the way, the hand-made Pesto Pasta was not even that great.”
  40. “This homey little restaurant has the best pasta I've ever eaten outside of Italy, and it's better than most places IN Italy.”
  41. “flavour. Super tasty with a leading note of fennel.”
  42. “have never had a bad meal here.”
  43. “The service is warm and friendly, and they take a huge amount of pride in their food.”
  44. “La Buka is the place to go if you like great old-world Italian food.”
  45. “unbelievably delicious everything (especially the sausage/mushroom pizza and gnocchi with pink sauce).”
  46. “The food was great and they have a wide selection to choose from.”
  47. “From the fresh salads to the amazing pizza and pasta, I love this place.”
  48. “The pizza was delicious - I prefer a little crispier crust, but the quality of ingredients and preparation were obvious.”
  49. “Amazing food.”
  50. “ate lunch last week at LaBuca, absolutely, by far the best pasta ever.”
  51. “I've been meaning to post this review for months and after another amazing meal I came home and made myself write this.”
  52. “In addition to amazing food, La Buca's staff is very authentic Italian which matches the extreme authenticity of the food (we brought our friend who is from Italy here last month - this is the ONLY Italian restaurant she has liked in the US.”
  53. “It started 3 minutes after being seated, when I was recommended to order the $27 steak and the $16 appetizer, mind you, before my friends had even arrived.”
  54. “must admit that my gnocchi bolognese was delicious and I like the free corkage and bring your own wine policy, but I can't recommend this as a friendly establishment.”
  55. “Everything is homemade, everything is fresh and flavorful, just as you would hope for.”
  56. “Amazing pasta, taglietelli my fave, with the fume sauce.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “The food was great and they have a wide selection to choose from.”
  2. “We won't return to La Buca - menu is limited, location is not convenient unless you are a true local and can walk there.”
  3. “As for the results of our first sojourn into their menu, the Calamari was better than average, the Napoli Pizza was very good but could use a bit more salt in the dough (even with the anchovies), the Trenette al Pesto was IT and totally made the experienc”
  4. “Online menu was impressive, and more than I wanted, really.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “Our favorite restaurant--highly recommended!”
  2. “great food, great service, cool place.”
  3. “La Buca is by far the best Italian restaurant in the city - what are you waiting for?”
  4. “Our favorite new restaurant of the year, hands down.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “We won't return to La Buca - menu is limited, location is not convenient unless you are a true local and can walk there.”
  2. “BUT the biggest,grossest, worst thing about this place and what will make us NEVER return was when we turned to look on the wall next to us and theres a big r@ach crawling around on the wall.”
  3. “really enjoyed this place and will defintiely be back.”
  4. “So I would go back, minus the salad and dessert in favor of that wonderful pasta.”
  5. “had a great time- LOVED our food and will be back!”
  6. “We received excellent service and can't wait to go back.”
service
89.80999946594238% positive
  1. “Out server was very friendly and helpful.”
  2. “Always great service and excellent suggestions.”
  3. “The staff was very attentive and charming, making sure our waters were filled and our stomachs happy.”
  4. “great food, great service, cool place.”
  5. “Drool over the beautiful hostess as she attempts to translate the ingredient "wurstel" (in their Tagliatelle Viennese) by touching her own flawless cheeks.”
  6. “Good news people - they are expanding into the space next door, so perhaps that will help with the 90 minute "time limit" on seating.”
  7. “must admit that my gnocchi bolognese was delicious and I like the free corkage and bring your own wine policy, but I can't recommend this as a friendly establishment.”
  8. “In addition to amazing food, La Buca's staff is very authentic Italian which matches the extreme authenticity of the food (we brought our friend who is from Italy here last month - this is the ONLY Italian restaurant she has liked in the US.”
  9. “We received excellent service and can't wait to go back.”
  10. “Romance, service with love, and great food”
  11. “Our Italian waiter greeted us with charm and a friendly tone and even brought us into a room to show us the fresh homemade pasta before they cook it so we could pick out what kind we wanted!”
  12. “My waiter was nice, but pushy.”
  13. “The service is warm and friendly, and they take a huge amount of pride in their food.”
  14. “wish I could say that this charming little Osteria would become my new favorite LA Find, but I have to say that I was completely tuned off by the pushy wait staff (or at least one in particular.)”
  15. “The warm ambience and service make you feel right at home.”
  16. “It took a little while to be seated even though we did have a reservation, and I wouldn't say the service was the best.”
  17. “understand they've remolded and made the place flashier and more modern, but it maintains a warm atmosphere and uber-friendly and helpful staff: all Italian, all smiles.”
  18. “It's tiny bistro atmosphere is perfect for a date or getting together with friends, and the Italian staff is extremely friendly and extremely Italian.”
value
81.25% positive
  1. “was looking to go cheap, but being that La Buca got a 9.8, I figured I'd spend the extra money and get some good delivery.”
  2. “Coming from a looooonngg background in the restaurant industry, I can 100% money-back-guarantee that every single restaurant known to man has had unhappy customers from time to time.”
  3. “The service is warm and friendly, and they take a huge amount of pride in their food.”
  4. “One could easily pay three times the price at Valentinos, but the meal would not be any better, as La Buca is as good as it gets.”
  5. “We all know restaurants make a huge margin off the booze they sell, but to be THAT pushy about it.”
  6. “Amazing deals for such delicious homemade pasta.”
  7. “Seems like they TRIPLED their prices just for such a special occasion.”
  8. “think with that kind of price range - $50 per person, I think La Buca could afford to give us more time to enjoy our meal and not treat us as if we were in a fast food chain or a diner- By the way, the hand-made Pesto Pasta was not even that great.”
wait time
75.0% positive
  1. “It started 3 minutes after being seated, when I was recommended to order the $27 steak and the $16 appetizer, mind you, before my friends had even arrived.”
  2. “We received our food (which for the most part was delicious) and had been eating for less than 7 minutes while my friend was in the middle of telling a very interesting story.”
  3. “Good news people - they are expanding into the space next door, so perhaps that will help with the 90 minute "time limit" on seating.”
  4. “went there last night for the first time after seeing that is is packed nearly every night of the week even while restaurants around the country are reporting slow downs in business.”
4 Star Rating: Recommended

01/31/12

nice

by Bill Sigsworth

Honestly, I hate corporate Italian Food but this time I honestly loved it. It pains me to say it too. I really do love there lasagna!

4 Star Rating: Recommended

04/13/09

Freshest Italian in LA

by vanaaron

The freshest pasta I've tasted in LA. The bruschetta is great and tiramisu is phenomenal. I was less impressed with the pizza, but I'll have to try out another pie to really give it a fair chance... still by far one of the best Italian places in town.

Try to get a spot up top near the fireplace if you can

  • Pros: the food!!!
3 Star Rating: Average

03/05/09

Okay, Lovely Interior, Expensive

by indyjo

I went to Osteria La Buca because it was relatively close to my work and it had five (5) stars on this site. The restaurant is right by the studios in a slightly sketchy area. The inside, however, is lovely and it definitely seems like an industry hangout. My waiter was nice, but pushy. I consented to a meal that I didn't pick and ended up ordering a dessert I did not want. I had one of the pasta specials which wasn't anything special... It wasn't really good at all. It was about on par with spaghetti and Ragu. Plus, my companions and I were left hungry due to the small portions. The Diet Coke mix was off as well. The tiramisu, however, was actually pretty good. The bill for three (3) pasta dishes, two (2) desserts, and three (3) soft drinks came to eighty dollars ($80) before adding in a tip. Although the prices aren't exorbitant, they are way too much for the quality and amount of food you receive.

  • Pros: Beautiful Interior
  • Cons: Expensive, Mediocre Food
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/13/09

Romance, service with love, and great food

by jujudiva

This is my new neighborhood joint. Well, when I have someone over with money willing to treat me, that is. I went there last night for the first time after seeing that is is packed nearly every night of the week even while restaurants around the country are reporting slow downs in business. There is a great energy inside. If you don't know Italian wines - which I don't really - just ask for a reccomedation. Or ask to try a sample. They will gladly oblige. Have a drink at the intimate bar and then have your dinner there too. Or move upstairs to the cozy fireside room. The ravioli with butter and sage sauce is perfection. The pizza was delicious - I prefer a little crispier crust, but the quality of ingredients and preparation were obvious.

This is the place to take your friends with money who don't know this pocket of LA and then they will think you know secrets about the city that they don't.

Last night, dinner for two with salads and two drinks per person came to $143 including tip.

  • Pros: Romantic setting, Excellent food, Great Vibe
  • Cons: Expensive
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/21/08

BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN LA

by lucky77777

I'm a former restaurant owner and I'm a pretty damn good cook. I found La Buca a few years ago and I have watched it grow into a beautiful restaurant. Comments to other reviewers. It's not a pizza take out joint. The pizza is served as a first course.Secondly, if a waiter rushes you, ask to speak to the manager. The waiters interested in turning your table over.Don't put up with it because the owner won't. The food is delicious and because they know me I am treated very nicely. The main pleasure beside the food is that they recognize you and greet you warmly, something that many restaurants in LA lack. It's not an Olive Garden, so relax and let them take you back to Italy. Lokk at the Chandelier and enjoy the ride.

  • Pros: Pasta"s & Pizza the best in the city
  • Cons: none

The Details on Osteria La Buca

Place Categories:

  • great oldworld italian food
  • best pesto pasta
  • fantastic little italian place
  • best italian restaurant
  • great service
  • very attentive italian staff
  • nice tiny bistro atmosphere
  • amazing margharita pizza
  • delicious everything
  • impressive online menu
  • favorite charming little osteria
  • impressive wine
  • nice waiter
  • helpful server
  • delicious vodka tomato cream sauce
  • tiramisu bruschetta
  • fresh salads
  • best chef
  • good news people
  • great hidden gems
  • favorite new restaurant
  • clean plate
  • perfection ravioli
  • never bad meal
  • unique experience
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