Bucatini Trattoria

We were EARLY for our movie next door and our hunger pains sent us a STRONG message. Rosario greeted and seated us promptly. I was very surprised at the interior design of the restaurant. It is very warm & cozy.
Rosemary Panini Bread was brought out for munching but it was a little bland. They can definitely add more of a punch.
Both pizzas were VORACIOUSLY DEVOURED. One was a Pepperoni and the other was called the Svizerra which is Pesto based. Man, I am digging Pesto more and more. The pies were thinner AND the ingredients were fresh.
We will be back.

Ok I have come here since they open and always ordered the Lasagna and tonight I asked them to finish it in the pizza oven, «The Bomb!» There is always an owner on the property to take care of your preparation requests! Italy is here, Enjoy!
P.S Not a tourist clip joint and very clean with seasoned owners that also operate a quality restaurant in Palm. Springs!
Pss: If you are by yourself you wont feel that way at the high tops or beautiful bar, forget the formal attire too! Say Hi to Enzo, the owner!

Good Italian food for La Quinta, pizzas are authentic tasting and pair well with the salads.

Just a few observations…
Booths too small for four, very hard, upright & uncomfortable
Menus were old, frayed, covered with food stains & consequently the offerings were as old as the menus.
Don’t get the veal. Thick & tough. I complained & they did not charge. Good on them.
Wine list: NO. I mean they have one, but.
They have a pizza menu & an 850 degree oven. I’ll stick to that. In case I go back

We came slightly early before our reservation. We
were greeted and seated quickly. The server was somewhat formal but friendly, attentive and accommodating. I had the Fettuccini Alla Crema Delicata… outstanding! The touch of white wine added to the Alfredo sauce is what tipped the scale. Possibly the best pasta dish I’ve had or comes a close second to the seafood risotto at Little Napoli’s in Carmel. I have to say the bread served is toasted on the grill is blah. No texture, no substance. That’s the only reason for 4 stars.

I don’t know what has happened to this place. I’ve eaten here several times and enjoyed it. We dropped in the other night. There was hardly anyone in the place and the service was aweful. This place has gone straight downhill since they opened. The wait staff couldn’t keep up and the owner was just sitting at the bar sipping expresso and paying no attention to his guests.

Have been to Bucatinis several times and I love the food and service there. The wait staff is always wonderful and the food is definitely authentic Italian. I love their gnocchi and their salmon plate. We live right down the street so we enjoy going there for dinner at least once a week. The prices are reasonable and the food great. They also have a nice selection of wines. And now with the movie theater right next door it’s a great dinner and movie night for a couple!

Stopped in early afternoon for a quick lunch with my daughter. Food and wait time were both excellent. I would have given 5 stars, but our server seemed to be bothered by our presence there.

I am such a fan of this restaurant, amazing Italian food, flawless service, and one of my favorite Sangrias!
Atmosphere & Service: this place is my go to Italian restaurant if I’m looking for something a little more upscale in the desert. Again it’s not super fancy, but lovely elegant dishes & an atmosphere for a romantic dinner compared to the little mom and pop restaurants in the area.
Service is always fantastic, friendly servers and waiters. Waters are always refilled, we are checked up on in a timely manner, and with so many of the wait staff being from Italy I think that alone can speak for itself and the kind of food they are trying to showcase.
Now for my favorites:
House red sangria is fantastic! Chunks of real fruit and the slightest hint of spice (maybe cinnamon?) adds to a delicious Sangria. Only thing I was sad to see that changed was it used to be served in a giant gauntlet like cup it’s now served in an average glass.
As far as dishes go the margarita pizza is a fan favorite. We opt for this as an appetizer to share, cheesy and fresh goodness.
Also I’d highly recommend their seafood pastas! Fantastic! The lobster ravioli is great, tastes even better as leftovers ;) but my all time favorite dish is their spicy seafood pasta that has scallops, shrimps, and lobster it’s a fancy dish with plenty of flavor, sure to impress if your feeling adventurous.
This place deserves your business, give them a try.

ONE OF THE WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES EVER!!! Came in with my Girlfriend and her daughter to have a bite to eat before seeing a movie next door. We came in at 6:40 PM sat down and ordered our food at 6:50 PM. After 35 min I enquired where our food was and asked for a manager. A senior server came out and said that the kitchen was backed up, the owner was not in, and the food should be right out. Well… 10 min later still no food. I went up to the bar and told the bartender I would like my server to get my check for the two beers I had and I could not wait any longer for food. Food came out 30 seconds after I asked. As we were all hungry and had to make an 8p movie, we ate. (Food was cold and terrible but when you’re hungry and with a 9yr old you have to make do) I asked for the check before we finished our food because I wanted to be out as soon as we were done. Not one item on the check was comped. We walked out heading to the movie theater and I could see somebody in the back that looked like they could be the owner. I decided to walk to the back to see if it was and sure enough it was the owner.(this is after I was told that the owner was not present and there were no managers) I asked to talk to him, he ignored me at first but could see I was not happy. He came over and told me that he was busy helping out in the kitchen. From the look of his crispy clean pink polo shirt I don’t know how he could be helping out unless he was just folding pizza boxes. I told him I didn’t appreciate being lied to on top of the horrible experience. He pretty much couldn’t have cared less.
This place is TERRIBLE! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!

My first visit here was for dinner service. I was hesitant because of done reviews but kept an open mind. We walked in around 7, without reservations, and was seated right away even though the pace looked packed. The seating hostess was friendly too.
While browsing the menu our waiter came to take the drink order. He was really pleasant and calm which was nice because the place was loud and busy. A few of the drink orders included a mojito, Italian Kiss, and Desert Oasis. All were strong and good, but my favorite was the Italian Kiss. It was bubbly, sweet and refreshing. Bread was also quickly brought to the table which was fresh. I didn’t really have any, but the crust was toasted around nicely.
Food orders included the prosciutto and burrata, Eggplant Parmigiana, and the Pere salad (my personal dish) with added salmon for an extra $ 7.
The Proscuitto app was so good and filling it could be a dish on its own. It’s served in a way that could be shared for around a part of four. Tonight there were only two of us and I almost had all the prosciutto by myself because it was that good. A little salty but I expected that for the most part.
The Pere salad with salmon was fresh and filling. The dish might look small from above but it comes in a bowl so most of the walnuts and gorgonzola cheese fall to the bottom. The flavors of everything are great together. I got mine with salmon, so I’m recommending that for your protein. It was moist and delicious with the pieces of gorgonzola cheese, pear, and caramelized walnuts. A little sweet and savory salad. (Not really little, though.) The raspberry vinegairetteeeee makes everythibg just a little more sweet, so get it on the side to control that.
Our server was just great the entire night. I noticed him walking around and around his section checking on everyone. And when he did stop at our table he did not seem rushed and made us very welcomed. Great customer service.
Prices are steep but there’s a complimentary bread basket, the service is nice, and the ambiance is charming and fun. I’ll suggest this place next time is someone forces Italian food as the dining option.

We have been coming here for years and I have never been disappointed. It can get very busy during season and on the weekends. Make a reservation if you can. My favorites are the Pollo Vesuvio, Lobster Ravioli and the Panzanella Salad, the best! Everything is authentic italian and so good! Service is excellent as well!

Dinner was delicious last night. The restaurant is casual, open and lively. When we arrived they asked if we had reservations but we did not. I thought it was a funny question because the restaurant was relatively empty They sat us even without reservations and within 15 minutes the entire restaurant was full.
For starters we had garlic flatbread with pecorino Romano cheese and a marinara dipping sauce. Was really delicious and not too much to fill you up for dinner.
For dinner the two entrées we tried were veal scallopini and farfalle del contadino. Both were good. The veal scallopini with lemon and capers was good and the pasta was good as well.
For the price this is a place where I will go back to try other things on the menu.

I just left your restaurant after waiting to be acknowledged first then I sat on your patio and nobody came to wait on me so I left. Great customer service! There was who I assumed was a manager talking with other guests on the patio, why wasn’t I greeted? A good manager will greet and take a drink order.

Rosario was a wonderful waiter and Bucatini is in a great location with plenty of parking and a short walk from the new La Quinta cinemas (BTW, you gotta try this theater out!). That’s the good stuff…
Not as pleasing is an eggplant parm requiring a knife to eat it as one slice of eggplant was woefully tough. Also salad that were WAY over-​dressed with dressing sticking to the otherwise appetizing micro-​greens. Finally, for the first time in my life I was surprised to be up-​charged $ 3 for requesting my martini to be served straight-​up! Really folks?

We have mixed feelings about Bucatini. It’s a beautiful space, particularly the outdoor patio complete with large fountain and strands of lights crossing overhead. The food was mostly very good but there was something that missed the mark — -the same for the service. For example, the wood-​fired oven pizza was good but the bottom was burned. As for service, the hostess was on the phone and never looked up (the lobby was empty but busy night). Someone personable appeared and seated us but the original waiter, who seemed peeved we asked for a few minutes before ordering, disappeared. Did we mention the food is a bit pricey which makes for an expensive dinner and a movie (the new theatre is adjacent).
Bucatini has a nice variety of entrees on the menu (pricey), including a variety of authentic wood-​fired brick oven pizzas that are cooked in less than a minute in a blazing brick oven. We ordered (eventually, after a manager asked if we were being helped, another waiter took good care of us):
*WOW! Complimentary HOT BASKET OF BREAD and olive oil for dipping… nice surprise!
*Mozzarella Fritta… DELICIOUS deep-​fried slab-​o-​cheesy goodness (not the finger shapes)
*Panzanella Salad… good but had tiny tasteless croutons instead of large fresh tasty bread chunks. $ 14 is high for a few fresh cheese balls, tiny hard croutons and Romaine lettuce
*Gnocchi…VERY GOOD dense yet light in a creamy vodka sauce. Ample portion
*Margherita Pizza… Fresh, hot, with abundance of good chewy cheese. but bottom burned (I don’t mind «epicurean char» but dining partner not a fan)
Bucatini does so many things right (beautiful space, complimentary hot bread basket, overall good food, friendly servers, authentic wood-​fired oven) but other things a bit off (many items overpriced, burned pizza bottoms, some service issues and this sounds petty but at these prices our menus shouldn’t be stained and splitting).
Bottom-​line: Good but spendy food entrees. Pizza is charmingly charred on the bottom.

The staff is AMAZING and the food is great. Please go see for yourself. And all the negative Unilocalers don’t be so mean… this is the best Italian restaurant in the valley and has LOTs going for them!!! LOVE-​Bucatini-​yum!

I was very disappointed in both the food and the service. The restaurant was empty when my friend and I ordered lunch. I ordered the pizza salad which includes some sort of meat and I asked the waitress for a salad without the meat and extra vegetables and she was very rude. The pizza base was adequate but the salad was 95% lettuce. My friend ordered capresse said and a pizza salad arrived. My friend explained it was wrong and she was given a very nasty argument. Also this is an Italian restaurant that serves absolutely NO SOUP.
No wonder this restaurant is empty when the movie theatre walking distance from it is packed.

Horrible food, just finished my diarrhea this morning from the food I ate last night. I ate the lemon chicken pasta and I knew something wasn’t right when I ate it. The chicken was very stale, hard and the portion of the food was not that great either
Never going back there again

we were in town for a golf tournament and our (new) favorite italian place was closed for the evening so we checked out Unilocal for an option close by. i wish i would have read the reviews more closely.
we sat at the bar (as we always do) and some of the staff who were finishing their shift were sitting at the bar as well — this always annoys me. it’s extremely unprofessional. while at the bar, the owner came and reprimanded the bartender (who was a generally nice fella) in front of us and another couple seated at the bar. that made us perfectly uncomfortable.
the food was hardly «italian» — sure it was pasta with a cream sauce and some bacon — they called it carbonara — but it was tasteless and the pasta did not seem fresh /​home made at all! the Hubs had the chicken parm which was served with a side of fettuccini with a cream sauce, which was a nice touch, so that was redeeming. we also had the bruschetta and a cesare salad to start — both of which we not memorable.
the atmosphere is definitely not italian — more like an upscale fern-​chain or steakhouse chain. it was clean inside, but it just didn’t tell me we were at an italian place.
prices are average — not great, but not out of this world high.
i would not recommend this place if you’re looking for good italian with an authentic atmosphere as there are better options in town. but if you want low-​middle of the road food, fair (ish) prices and a lot of parking, this might be an option for you.