Restaurant Post – Pizzeria Bufala

Curtis and I visited Bufala last Thursday night for dinner. This was our second visit within two weeks. It recently opened the month of June in Kerrisdale to great fan fare. The owners are of Wildebeest fame, Josh Pape and James Iranzad. Bufala’s space is dazzling from the clean white tiles walls, to the open kitchen and pizza bar seen from outside the large windows that over look the Blvd. and side street. There are talks to expand with a patio on that side street, where if so, I will be planting my butt there next summer.

Our initial visit was, from the service, to great Campari cocktails and delicious food. We both had that first evening a Campari cocktail (I chose a Bicicletta and Curtis had a Negroni), shared a Kale Cesar Salad, a Finocchiona pizza and the Basil Panna cotta. The Kale Cesar is addictive, fresh, you can pick up the anchovy flavour and we basically fought over it. When the pizza arrived at our table, we were met with a welcoming aroma of spices. The dough has a sourdough tang and is perfectly crusty. I debated whether or not the crust or middle is my favourite. The server brings over oils, from chili, Parmesan, ham and herb, to sprinkle over your pizza for added flavour or to dip your crust in. We chose to do both and weren’t disappointed with any.

We opted to revisit this week because Curtis had a pizza craving and I wanted to see if our second visit would be just as delightful as the first. We arrived to a vivacious crowd inside, enjoying every morsel they were putting into their mouth. I sensed saliva starting to build up in my mouth as I put our name down for a table. 10 minutes later we were seated at the pizza bar. I highly recommend sitting at the bar or open kitchen at least once for a meal. You get to see the action, and usually converse with whomever is on the other side.

I chose to have a Bicicletta cocktail again, and ordered myself an Oxtail and Kale pizza. Curtis ordered a Calabria pizza. I went into that thinking I will only eat half and bring the rest to lunch the next day at work. Well anytime I tell myself that, I end up eating the whole thing. It was worth it, the braised oxtail was succulent and nicely spiced. Kale was a nice pairing with the aged cheddar and spicy peppers on top. Curtis said he really enjoyed his with the spicy sausage and manchego cheese, and I believed him because he also cleaned his plate.

In all, I highly recommend Bufala to anyone who wants a memorable pizza and cocktails experience. Meatballs is on my list of what to order next time as when we were leaving, I spotted a kid enjoying them by the door… till next time.

Pizza Bar

My Finocchiona pizza

Basil Strawberry Panna Cotta

Pizzeria Bufala

5395 West Blvd

Vancouver, BC

www.bufala.ca

604-267-7499