Buca di Bacco ★
A beachside restaurant in the Amalfi Coast town of Positano
Buca offers the best value among the see-and-be seen splurge restaurants overlooking the beach at the center of town.
Even if it's only to take a post-beach drink, definitely stop by to hobnob with the glitterati and occasional celebrity of Positano's summer set.
For full meals—the kitchen has made great strides in recent years to rank it back among the top of the coast—head upstairs to the arbor-covered terrace and reserve well ahead of time for a table along the railing with the sea below.
Linguine all'astice (noodles with prawns) is a popular primo, or try spaghetti areganati (with garlic, tomatoes, oregano, and a generous pinch of hot pepper). The best main courses are simple gamberoni grigliati (grilled giant prawns), boccadero al limone (red sea bream in a light, summery lemon sauce), or a lombatina (veal chop in butter and sage).
They also have nice hotel upstairs.
» book
Tips & links
Details
Via Rampa Teglia 4
tel. +39-089-875-699
www.bucadibacco.it
Open daily
Closed Nov–Easter
€€€
General dining tips
- "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
- Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
- Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
- Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.
Italian dining phrases
| English (Inglese) |
Italian (Italiano) |
Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| Good day |
Buon giorno |
bwohn JOUR-noh |
| Good evening |
Buona sera |
BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
| Good night |
Buona notte |
BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
| Goodbye |
Arrivederci |
ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
| Excuse me (to get attention) |
Scusi |
SKOO-zee |
| thank you |
grazie |
GRAT-tzee-yay |
| please |
per favore |
pair fa-VOHR-ray |
| yes |
si |
see |
| no |
no |
no |
| Do you speak English? |
Parla Inglese? |
PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
| I don't understand |
Non capisco |
non ka-PEESK-koh |
| I'm sorry |
Mi dispiace |
mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
| |
|
|
| Where is? |
Dov'é |
doh-VAY |
| ...a restaurant |
un ristorante |
oon rees toh-RAHN-tay |
| ...a casual restaurant |
una trattoria
un'osteria |
oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah
oon ohst-air-EE-yah |
| I would like to reserve... |
Vorrei prenotare... |
voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh |
| a table for two |
una tavola per due |
oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way |
| ...for 7pm |
per le sette |
pair lay SET-tay |
| ...for 7:30pm |
per le sette e mezzo |
pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh |
| ...for 8pm |
per le otto |
pair lay OH-toh |
| |
|
|
| I would like |
Vorrei... |
voar-RAY |
| ...some (of) |
un pó (di) |
oon POH (dee) |
| ...this |
questo |
KWAY-sto |
| ...that |
quello |
KWEL-loh |
| chicken |
pollo |
POL-loh |
| steak |
bistecca |
bee-STEAK-ah |
| veal |
vitello |
vee-TEL-oh |
| fish |
pesce |
PEH-shay |
| meat |
carne |
KAR-neh |
| I am vegetarian |
sono vegetariano |
SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no |
| side dish [veggies always come seperately] |
cotorno |
kon-TOR-no |
| dessert |
dolce |
DOAL-chay |
| and |
e |
ay |
| ...a glass of |
un bicchiere di |
oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee |
| ...a bottle of |
una bottiglia di |
oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee |
| ...a half-liter of |
mezzo litro di |
MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee |
| ...fizzy water |
acqua gassata |
AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah |
| ...still water |
acqua non gassata |
AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah |
| ...red wine |
vino rosso |
VEE-noh ROH-so |
| ...white wine |
vino
bianco |
VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh |
| ...beer |
birra |
BEER-a |
| Check, please |
Il conto, per favore |
eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh |
| Is service included? |
É incluso il servizio? |
ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo |
Useful links & resources
- Airport transfers (Rome):
- Bus (total: €28–€30; 5+ hr): Marozzivt.it (bus Sorrento-Roma Tiburtina; €20–€22; 4 hr) + Trenitalia.com (train Tiburtina-airport; €8, 48 min)
- Private (€65–€120; 3 hr): Viator.com (note: Rome airport or hotel to Sorento or any Amalfi Coast town)
- Regional rail & access points
- Circumvesiviana train (Naples-Sorrento): Eavsrl.it
- Italian rail (Naples-Salerno): Trenitalia.com
- [The Amalfi Coast itself has no rail service, only bus and boat. Sorrento is the closest train station to the most popular A.C. towns, and the over-the-sea Sorrento-Salerno bus ride is more spectacular than the cliff-hugging Salerno-Sorrento reverse route.]
- Car resources
- Emergency service/tow: tel. 803-116
- Highway agency: Autostrade.it (traffic info, serivce areas, toll calculator, weather)
- Italian automotive club (~AAA): Aci.it
- ZTLs: Ztl-italia.blogspot.com (lightly outdated, but handy, links to cities' traffic-free zones)
- Ferries & hydrofoils
- Alicost.it (Sorrento-Positano-Amalfi; Capri-Positano-Amalfi-Salerno)
- Travelmar.it (Positano-Amalfi-Salerno; Amalfi-Minori-Maiori)
- Alilauro.it (connecting Sorrento and Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri, or Ischia; also connecting Amalfi, Positano, or Salerno with Capri or Ischia)
- Gescab.it (connecting Capri with: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Salerno)
- Coopsantandrea.com (Sorrento-Positano-Amalfi-Minori-Maiori-Salerno; Amalfi-Capri)
- Caremar.it (Sorrento-Capri; Naples-Capri)
- Private boat transfer (Naples-Sorrento, Naples-Amalfi)
- Viator.com
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