Barbuzzo, after 2 years of waiting, was it worth it?

Our meal started with high anticipation as the restaurant had a line before they were officially open at 5:00 pm. We were promptly seated as the restaurant started to fill up. There was a sophisticated simplicity to the decor with modern lighting set to the appropriate level of brightness. Our waitress was very friendly and offered her recommendations as well as answered all our questions. The restaurant is tapas style but also offers pizza for something a little more filling.

As a table we started with 2 appetizer courses, the "SHEEPS MILK RICOTTA (10) and the ROASTED MARROW BONE (8) which set the mood for the rest of the courses to come. The Ricotta was both savory and light with almost a whipped consistency that did not leave a heavy taste on your pallet at all. The vin cotto added just the right amount of sweetness to balance the toasted garlic french bread. The marrow course was literally served in the bone with a celery salad and pickled onions. The salad and other pickled onions over shadowed the marrow which although unique and flavorful was on the greasier and blander side. 

Our next courses to arrive were the GRILLED MEDITTERANEAN OCTOPUS SALAD (13), PAN SEARED GNOCCHI (15) and GRILLED DORADE (14). The octopus salad was absolutely excellent with the most tender grilled octopus I have ever had. Apparently the chef poaches the octopus slowly with very low heat and finishes it with a quick sear on the grill and the end result speaks for itself. However the salad was easily eclipsed by the pan seared gnocchi which was served in a luxurious mushroom truffle butter sauce, my only complaint would be that there's not enough of it. The fish course however did throw me off a little but in a good way. To me no ingredient on a plate should be there by accident and this grilled dorade was a perfect example. While the fish eaten by it self was a little "fishy", combine that with their tomato pesto and salmoriglio, cut the fishiness instantly and really transcends the ingredient to bring you something that is really surprising.

At this point in the meal all of us were already started to get full and where some of the food showed some flaws. Granted maybe we were full and that's when we get more critical:-) the last three cources to come out were the SMOKED PORK TENDERLOIN (14), PACCHERI CALABRESE (14). GRILLED HANGAR STEAK (17). Here, the pork tenderloin was cooked perfectly and their tonnado sauce had a bit of a spicy kick. However I did not get much of the apple flavor as I expected but other than that the pork was perfect. The hanger steak was also cooked perfectly at a medium rare however the eggplant, tomatoes based escalivada was not very additive to the dish and the meat itself could have used a little more salt. And the final pasta dish though well executed, was not something that I haven't had many times before and I have had better at other restaurants. 

Now it came time for dessert we had to make room for SALTED CARAMEL BUDINO (8) which as it turned out was a perfect bookend to our meal. The combination of the caramel with dark chocolate and the whipped cream in the middle gave the perfect balance of savory and sweet that took us full circle to our riccota appetizer which had a similar theme.

So based on atmosphere, service, and food, I'd give Barbuzzo a solid 8.5/10. Based on my tasting, dishes you should not miss are the GRILLED MEDITTERANEAN OCTOPUS SALAD (13), PAN SEARED GNOCCHI (15) and the SALTED CARAMEL BUDINO (8). Oh and just one more thing, their cocktails are also delicious:-) Till next time, eat better friends.