Buona Forchetta - San Clemente

WOW!!! "an authentic experience of Italian cuisine and atmosphere". Did they hit this nail on the head? Such an identical look, feel, taste, smell and sound of the mother land. Even the servers were Italian or they had a really good impersonation accent. My son had recently visited several Italian cities. We had visited numerous areas of the Italian countryside and all of the tourist cities as well, back in 2018. We also have Italian in-laws and recently had an Italian student living with us for the last three months. He had just returned home to Molfetta just a few days ago. He would've thought this place to be a truly authentic Italian experience as well. The food was excellent for what we tasted. The pizza is identical to what you get in Italy; of course, the pies in Italy are regional as well but mostly the crusts are the lightest in the world. Unbelievably similar here at Buona Forchetta. Really great stuff. Buona Forchetta says it right on their menu, " "an authentic experience of Italian cuisine and atmosphere". An excellent customer experience. Dicks

It's a chain but they always deliver. Whether it's the homemade pasta or a regular entree. Food is always good and the service never disappoints. I went with a rack of lamb which was delicious as always. Would have liked more lamb but beggars can't be choosers. Risotto was super tasty as well. Pretty much anything you get here will be good. Trust. Parking is definitely a pain but that's pretty much everywhere in San Clemente. Definitely stop by if you're looking for some good Italian.

Tried Buona Forchetta for the first time, and I was absolutely blown away! From the warm ambiance to the outstanding food, this place is a gem.If you're planning to dine inside, make a reservation ahead of time--walk-ins are welcome, but in my experience, I ended up sitting on the patio (which was still a great vibe!).The chef's special is a must-check--when I went, they had homemade pappardelle with Tuscan wild boar ragu, and just wow--one of the best pasta dishes I've had.Service was fantastic, especially thanks to Alex, who took great care of us and kept the wine flowing. Definitely 5 out of 5, and I can't wait to come back!

Cute ambiance, good service, and decent food. We got the artichokes which were so so delicious. Then for dinner we got Buona Forchetta with Salsiccia on parpadelle. There were a lot of flavors going on but it was stilly tasty.

This place is so bomb and the service Is super friendly and fast. I got the Jackson with gluten free crust and vegan mozzarella and we also got the Juno pizza. Everything was delicious. I was shocked at how the gluten free crust tasted like regular crust. The server said they are famous for their gluten free crust.

So this is my fourth visit to this restaurant and it is still as fabulous as my first visit! In fact, I think it just keeps getting better! I love how small it is although it's so busy I do wish they would move into the old Sylvester spot so they had just a tiny bit more space and an ocean view! As a restaurant designer, I love what they did with the interiors. It's very quaint, but nice! The service is fantastic! I absolutely love the husband (Simone) and wife team that are truly Italian. I've had both the husband (Simone) and the wife at different times, both have great suggestions for food/wine and are also very attentive and take great care of you!! If you haven't been I highly suggest you go. The food is beyond delicious! The artichokes are perfectly cooked. The margarita pizza is perfection. Their fresh pastas are so good with any sauce although I typically get the Bolognese. I have yet to make it to dessert so I can't speak to that but everything else is so good!! I will definitely return!

We obviously love this place! I'm obsessed with their gluten-free focaccia and I want to eat it every day. The waitress was still wearing too much perfume but I just tried to block it out with extra garlic lol

Have been coming to this place regularly since they opened -- this is a good spot!The food is really good. You can't go wrong with the pizzas, but the pastas are also really good as well. Love the chick parm, meat pizzas, and lasagna. Everything I've had from here is good and the staff is very nice and service is great. Will continue eating here regularly

Buona Forchetta opened recently and we gave it some time to get over the new restaurant growing pains. My expectations were high, as the reviews look good and friends have raved.Since they are busy, being a new hot spot in San Clemente, I made a reservation at 5:30pm on a Thursday. Not an issue getting the reservation a couple days in advance and we were seated quickly upon arriving, even though there were a couple of groups of walk-ins waiting. It was not too crowded but by the time we left most tables were taken. I requested the patio, as it was a nice evening and I heard that the inside gets noisy when filled up.Once we were seated we were quickly brought a nice carafe of water with ice. Our server came up and introduced himself, can't recall his name, but the receipt says Alp. We were given various menus for drinks, wines, food, specials. Our table was very small, so it was fun managing the pile of menus around especially when we got appetizer and plates.The wife has a system, of sorts, when we go out to dine. She does not look at a menu before we arrive, like the restaurant's website. Once we arrive, she checks only the drink menu to pick a specialty cocktail. Once the cocktail is ordered she will check appetizers. The salad, entree and side menu is not cracked open until we are well into our appetizer and likely on our second cocktail. So that is how the evening progressed.To start, the wife picked the Venetian Spritzer (orange vermouth, prosecco, club soda). She loved it. I ordered the Buona Forchetta IPA on draft and it was very good. Since they only have beer & wine, the cocktails are imaginative concoctions of wine, sujo, vermouth.Cocktail on table? Check. Time to pick an appetizer. We both agreed on the Burrata Caprese: organic tomatoes, burrata, EVOO, balsamic glaze. We were served bread, olive oil & balsamic. The caprese was really good. Fresh burrata, fresh tomatoes, nice drizzle of EVOO and balsamic. The bread was just OK, a bit dense for me. They do give a hefty portion of bread.Now that we were enjoying our cocktails and app, the wife could look at the menu. A large selection of options and a large list of specials took some time to review. Unlike my wife, I don't like the stress of trying to pick out something when reading a menu for the first time, so I do look ahead and check Yelp to see what people liked. The wife calls it "cheating" and I call it "stress free". Usually I pick out a couple of things and then make the call at the restaurant unless there is one thing that EVERYONE recommends. In this case, I heard the most about the pizzas, so I concentrated there. (One other caveat is if one of the specials jumps out at me once I get to the restaurant)The wife decided on pasta and the way they do it is pick a pasta, pick a sauce and then pick "toppings". Toppings include various proteins, cheeses and vegetables. Her combo was Fettucine + Cacio e Pepe (Pecorino cheese, black pepper) + Shrimp (5 sauted jumbo shrimp). No side for her. Once we had the bill, it was interesting to see that they charged $1 for the fettucine after paying $19 for the sauce. Ok.I had a hard time deciding between the Puttenesca (Mozzarella, capers, anchovies, olives, San Marzano tomatoes) or the Bruna (Mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, spicy salame) pizzas. They have about 30 pizza options. It would not have been a pretty sight for me to try and pick one at the restaurant.Puttenesca it is.I ordered a tasty wine, Abate Pietro, 2016, Shiraz and Montepulciano.The food came out fast. We still had some appetizer, plates and bread on the tiny table. One server had to take away the app and plates while another server waited to set down our mains. While not pushing, they were certainly trying to move people through the restaurant. Upon presenting the bill, the server did hover, waiting for my payment even though we were still finishing our wine.The pizza looked good. Olives, Anchovies and Capers, Oh My! It reminded me of pizzas in Italy. I assumed that I would eat it with a fork and knife, like Italy, but it was already sliced. No worries. I picked up one piece and the tip of the slice sagged and the cheese, sauce, toppings slid off. The crust was firm until about 2/3 down the slice. I wish it was a bit less watery in the middle. The taste was fine, but not mind blowing like I had hoped. These days, 16 bucks seems cheap for an individual pizza!The wife's pasta looked nice but she thought it was only 2 shrimp, even though the menu said 5. She found the other 3. Jumbo shrimp not so big! All in all, she said it was OK, but didn't finish it or take any home.I finished my pizza, but had to use my fork to fold the soggy middle back on to the more firm part and then reinstall the cheese & toppings.The service was very good, though felt a bit rushed.It was a pricey meal of pretty standard pasta and pizza, so I am not sure when we will return.Go? Try it or go somewhere else? HAVE FUN!

Very friendly staff. Sorry to say but I've been twice now and disappointed both times. Chicken Parm, was just ok. Penne bolognese was flat as was the other pasta we ordered. Tasted like the pasta was cooked in unsalted water. No flavor.