I'm not sure why this is rated one of the top restaurants to dine in Toronto. I was really disappointed with my total experience at Buca.
Food:
Salumi di Buca Pizza was average. There was nothing special about the ingredients. The pizza didn't have adequate cheese, sauce or salumi. It was also dry.
Bigoli pasta (duck egg pasta with duck ragu) - I was so excited for this dish. I was very disappointed in what was served. It was not edible. The pasta was undercooked. I've been to Italy a couple of times. I'm sure the chef was attempting to be more authentic as to not over cook the pasta like most places outside of Italy, but this missed the mark. The sauce lacked flavor as well. Additionally, there were no pieces of duck. I didn't want to waste my calories on bad pasta so I returned the dish to the kitchen.
Cheese and Salumi board - I went with the waiter's selection. I didn't think any of the selected cheeses and meats had any lasting or redeeming qualities. It's hard to mess up cheese, especially because I love CHEESE!!!
Nodini - The warm bread knots were the only good item we had. It was definitely the highlight of the meal.
Gnocchi di Ricotta - This dish was a better choice for a pasta selection but similar to the other dishes was very small.
The service was slow, especially since we were there on a Sunday night at 9 pm.
Overall, I regretted my choice to come here given I only had three nights in Toronto.