Buona Forchetta

In 2024, two locations of San Diego’s Italian chain Buona Forchetta opened for the first time in Orange County: April in San Clemente, and September in Newport Beach. Super friendly, attentive service and nice dining rooms are designed to ensure guest experiences are positive; the Newport location is within walking distance of the beach, and its patio seating overlooks modern buildings that almost look Mediterranean if you squint enough.

Buona Forchetta focuses primarily on two types of menu items – Neapolitan-style pizza (with ~30 different variants) and pastas (seven types, numerous sauces and toppings) – while also offering a collection of fairly typical Italian appetizers (calamari, meatballs, bruschetta), salads, and basic sides (brussels sprouts, mushrooms, potatoes), plus several desserts. After viewing the menus online, we had one in-person surprise: Our server told us (and other guests within our earshot) that the specials menu developed by this location’s chef was their “good” menu, compared with the much longer standard menu. Rather than assuming the worst – who wants to order “bad” food? – we took that to mean we could get the standard items at any of the chain’s other locations.

For our savory courses, we ordered one special appetizer – figs, prosciutto, and stracciata with mango jam and almonds – which arrived as six fresh half figs, each pleasantly creamy, sweet, and salty – and two types of pizza. One (“Eva”) included red sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami, pepperoni, ham, and spicy honey; it was fine overall but had more watery sauce, zero spice, and less meat than one might expect from the description. The other was sauceless (“Alexa”) with provola, fennel sausage, and broccolini, arriving both beautifully garnished and more intensely flavored. Each pizza was on the small side, but the perfect Neapolitan crust made every bite worthwhile. (A small plate of focaccia bread arrived with olive oil and vinegar before the pizzas, and was fine.)