Bufalina Due

We went tonight for the first time and had a great experience. We’d never been to the other location because there was always a wait but this location is right around the corner from our house and when we called to check there was no wait so we walked over. The restaurant was busy but not crazy, the service was fast and friendly, and the food was delicious.
The only thing I would change was the volume — it’s noisy from the customers and then the music is loud. But other than that everything was wonderful. We’ll definitely be back!

First, let’s address the obvious. Bufalina (the original) is a popular joint. Lines are long, they don’t take reservations, and the benches outside do not begin to sit everyone. I’m not surprised Bufalina Due, its slightly larger and newer sibling also has long lines. And a bit of chaos is to be expected in the first week of any new restaurant that people flock to. So my husband and I went, and waited. You can order a drink while you wait.
These pizzas are perfection. I had the Fresca (an old favorite from the original location) and we tried the chorizo and the brussels sprout pizzas. All the pizzas have balanced flavors, perfect slightly chewy crusts, interesting concepts. Due replicates the quality of the pizza in a larger space.
My husband and I were going back and forth about ordering dessert. We were full, but also, Lick is right next door. I’m very glad we did end up ordering dessert. The server recommended the Pretzel ice cream (which tbh sounded a bit like a candy confection) but name aside, it’s eye opening. Salty, sweet, textural, a bit tangy… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. As someone with a sweet tooth that’s almost problematic, this is kryptonite. We ordered a second portion. Meaning we essentially each got our own.
All things considered, very very high quality simple food with an incredible wine list for a relatively reasonable price.

A couple of friends and I were really excited to try the new location for Bufalina! Granted, it was the weekend and they were really busy — I felt for the hostess as there wasn’t a lot of space for her to get around people waiting at the door (with it being cold outside, people wanted to be inside, but there’s no waiting area). After about 20 minutes, we were offered seats at the bar but politely declined as we wanted to converse during our meal. We told her we would be ok waiting longer only for the hostess, seemingly frustrated, to say «3 just isn’t a good number for this restaurant» — I laughed as I thought she was joking. Needless to say, we left. Just a very disappointing experience that reiterated the fact that Austin restaurants are getting way too snobby. I’m sure the food is great, I wish I had gotten to try it! But this experience just left a bad taste in my mouth for this place.

My wife and I have been waiting months for Bufalina to open as we hoped to have a nice pizza place that’s close to our home. We walked in and I liked the look of the restaurant, but quickly found the the three design flaws. 1) the stools at the bar are EXTREMELY uncomfortable. 2) the area that people walk up to order their drinks is between two patrons chairs (I had to start throwing elbows to keep people from pushing me over). 3) there’s one pizza oven for everyone’s pizzas. This includes to go orders and dine in. It took us 45 minutes to get one pizza.
The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. Definitely not worth waiting that long. My wife and I ordered an appetizer and 2 pizzas. It took 1.5 hours
I guess I’ll have to keep looking for a good pizza.

We’ve become regulars at the original eastside Bufalina and so when the new restaurant opened we knew we needed to try it out. I love that the ambience is so consistent. Due definitely is larger but it *feels* just like the original in all the right ways. The service is just as friendly and the space is setup to get just the right lighting at sunset… just like the E Cesar Chavez location.
The food. The expanded size means a slightly expanded menu. We started with the burrata, which is always delicious, served with beets. We also had the arugula and potato salad which was rich, salty, and satisfying, as well as the bright citrus and beet salad. All three were a great start to our meal. I’m constantly impressed with the starters Alexandra Manley creates.
Our pizza choices for the evening were our ever-​favorite Brussels sprouts and Serrano ham and the new Spanish chorizo. The sprouts were thinly sliced on a mandolin and covered the entire pie which I thought an improvement over past variations of this pizza. The ham was extra-​salty and complemented the tang of the pesto. The Spanish chorizo pie was great with crispy edges on the sausage slices and a gentle heat.
The crusts were well-​cooked, crispy at the edges and soft in the middle, just like a Neapolitan-​style pizza should be. If you don’t like a soft middle-​crust, you may be looking at the wrong style of pizza. Fork and knife is required, as it should be.
Desserts were spot-​on as always with an exceptional pretzel ice cream and the return of the olive oil pound cake.
I’m impressed that Steven, Robbie, Alexandra, and the rest of the Bufalina team were able to replicate our favorite pizza place without missing a beat. Now we’ll just have to figure out how to split our time between the two locations!

After getting over the shock that upscale dining has descended upon Burnet, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our date night at Bufalina Due. Like its original eastside location, the space is cozy, verging on claustrophobic. I saw multiple people contort themselves awkwardly to get into/​out of their tables or pass by fellow patrons to find the loo. It’s also freezing, teeth chatteringly cold if you are seated at the front of the restaurant. We asked the hostess about turning down the blowy air conditioning, but she said that folks seated closer to the pizza oven were warm, so they couldn’t adjust it. Note to self: Wear layers.
Fortunately, the service from our waitress was attentive and friendly and the food was delicious. We shared a beet and citrus salad, which was beautiful to look at with varying shades of orange, pink, and red topped with bright green olives. A refreshing, tangy start to our meal. We followed that with two pizzas: the spanish chorizo and the brussels sprouts. The chorizo pie was good, but would have been better had it had time to cool before serving. (This was proven when we gobbled up the much better leftovers the following day.) The hot crust could not stand up to the heavier ingredients, so most slid off before you could get it to your mouth. Besides the chorizo slices, the roasted peppers were the strongest flavor with very little, if any, manchego coming through. The star of the night, however, was the brussels sprouts pizza. Each bite held a delicious combo of fresh, thinly sliced sprouts, bits of salty ham, creamy mozzarella, and a spicy hit of serrano pepper. I could eat that pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I’m glad to now have a northside Bufalina location and will undoubtedly return. I recommend coming early on a weeknight to avoid lengthy wait times and get a little more elbow room.

This was my first meal back in Austin after the break, and my friends and I were looking forward to trying their new location. The original Bufalina is located ~6 miles away.
Bufalina Due didn’t really impress.
I ordered the bread platter based on recommendation from the waitress because their breads were made in-​house. It contained sourdough, sesame sourdough, a French baguette, and a buckwheat pecan bread with a large slab of butter and a generous dash of chunky sea salt. I know artisan bread is supposed to have a crispier crust, but the crust on these, especially the buckwheat pecan, was way too thick. The other three breads were also just okay.
I myself ordered the Calabrese ($ 14). This was probably the best out of the 4 pizzas I tried. The crust was a bit too chewy in places and soggy in the middle. I’ve had a similar style of pizza before at 800 Degrees in LA, but Bufalina Due’s version was lacking in the crispier texture you get with that type of brick oven.
My next favorite was the Spanish Chorizo but it was too oily ($ 15).
The Fresca ($ 16) was an interesting combo of arugula, prosciutto, and shaved cheese on top (not sure what type of cheeses it was) and had a lemony tang to it underneath.
The Sausage and Broccoli Rabe ($ 15) was really weird, in my opinion. ²⁄₆ people in my party «enjoyed» it, but for me it had too fishy of a taste and the texture of crumbled sausage (not the Italian type, more like a stir-​fried Asian type of crumbled pork) was weird on a pizza.
Their service is great. I didn’t like the atmosphere because the music was too loud and the architecture of the place also amplified everyone’s talking. It LOOKS like a cute place to have a date, but way too loud to have intimate conversation. Also if you sit at the benches with the tables it’s a little far from the table if you’re short like me.):
Sorry, Bufalina Due. I was really excited to try this place but you have disappointed me and I probably won’t be back unless it’s to try the extensive wine selection.