Bufad

Finally tried this neighborhood gem and loved it! The mushroom truffle pizza was definitely a HIT and will be going back again soon.

Been here twice now and seriously let down upon the second visit. The first time we visited, pizzas were a good size and filled with hearty toppings. We had a spaghetti squash pizza and a mushroom pizza (we are vegetarians). We were very pleased.
The second time (tonight) we struggled to find pizzas that catered to a vegetarian. We ordered a Margherita pizza and a mushroom pizza. We came hoping more innovative recipes would be offered, but most are meat-​centric. Pizzas were mediocre. Lots of mushrooms but the Margherita either didn’t use enough sauce or it dried up in the oven. Too much crust — relative to the amount of topping on a pizza.
The service was okay, but the rude bus guy took our receipt after we documented tip even though we didn’t need change and didn’t leave yet. It’s so rude — they should take it after we leave. Don’t give us the side eye for your lousy tip when we’re still in the restaurant.

My boyfriend and I have been wanting to try Bufad ever since it opened, so last weekend we were excited to be in the neighborhood and in the mood for pizza! Unfortunately, this place was a HUGE disappointment.
We walked in around 7 pm on a Friday. We didn’t have a reservation, so we ate at the counter in front of the window, right next to the door. This place is VERY small. Sitting on a stool wouldn’t have been so bad if there was a coat check.
We already went out to drinks so we just wanted to get a pizza for dinner. We ended up getting the sausage pizza to share. When the order came out I was shocked. A whole LOT of dough, and not many toppings… except tons of shredded, unmelted cheese on top. Definitely not what I expected for $ 15.
My boyfriend liked the pizza but for me, there was just so much left to be desired. Perhaps our pie was a little bit rushed? It seemed undercooked to me! Either way, now that I’ve experienced Bufad, I won’t be going back.

SOOOOO good, on a Sunday or otherwise. Really incredible and pure pizza combinations and other snacks, with incredible ambiance and seating inside a very small place right on Spring Garden. I never eat pizza, but what we had on a Sunday morning was so good, I went for seconds… and then topped with Espresso Chocolate something or other as a dessert. GREAT spot to check out, any day of the week.

Exceptional pizza and wonderful service! Prices are also very reasonable especially for locally sourced, humane ingredients. We got the antipasto platter with an assortment of cheeses and small tastes, and the sausage pizza. Both were delicious! We also tried the apple desert which was very flavorful but not too heavy. Will definitely be coming back!

I have been 3 times now and never been disappointed by the pizza or salads I have had. It’s also a BYOB, which is nice.

The crust is relatively thin and crispy, but it still offers enough substance to satisfy lovers of doughier pizza. The char on the crust is perfect, not overwhelming.
We ordered the spaghetti squash and the mushroom (sans the guanciale) pies. The spaghetti squash was inventive; a harmonious balance of sweet and salt. The use of red sauce and mozzarella cheese preserves the integrity of the pizza and contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the squash. The egg was a nice touch and the crust was an excellent delivery system for the runny yolk. The mushroom pizza contained a familiar assembly of ingredients, but it was divine. The fresh parsley and the truffle oil adds a nice herby dimension to the pie. They don’t skimp on the toppings at all. The garlic breadcrumbs and chili oil provide the opportunity for diners to customize their pie. I personally like when my pizza has a little kick to it.
UPDATE: I returned to Bufad disappointed to see that they eliminated their spaghetti squash pizza from their menu. This left very few non-​meat pies to select from. I was also disappointed to receive rude service. My meal was capped off with a host snatching the paid bill out of my hands. Literally. I will not be returning.

It had been a while since we were at Bufad and it seemed like a good time to update my review.
Parking was easy at Bufad and there are always spots on Spring Garden or a side street, especially on a Sunday night. The restaurant is small but fairly unique and industrial. I really like the way the re-​purposed the old fluorescent light tubes to make their light fixtures. The tables are interesting also. The servers have always been informative and helpful.
We started with the Pureed Chickpea Soup in Chicken Stock with Pancetta, Celery, Carrots, Onions and Pickled Fresno Chilies. This was a really good soup, especially on a cold night. It was served with warm bread and was just really good. We ordered one to share for 3 people and wound up ordering 2 more. That is how good this soup was.
We then shared the Shaved Kale & Fall Vegetable Salad– Shaved kale & fall vegetables tossed in a walnut vinaigrette with Asian pear, toasted walnuts, & shaved Pecorino Toscano. This was very good also and a nice size for sharing. We also ordered the Sausage Pizza– Cacio e pepe, sautéed greens & our house-​made spicy Italian fennel sausage. Finished with Fulvi Pecorino Romano. I had forgotten how good Bufad’s pizza was. The cheese and sausage were excellent. The dough is also great
For dessert we had the Banana Sundae withChocolate Banana Pastry Crème, Cinnamon Chocolate Ice Cream, Warm Bourbon Brown Sugar Bananas & Walnut Cookie Crumbles, This was an awesome dessert, not too big or too sweet. The bananas and the homemade ice cream were a great combo. Buffed also serves coffee by Rival Brothers. The cappuccino was one of the better cups I have ever had. It had just the right amount of foam and a strong coffee taste.
Buffed ran us a bout $ 20.00 per head but we had a lot of food and a great meal.

The pies are above average, but a long way from superb. The toppings are a hit or miss, and the dough is bland (add some more salt to the batch) and sometimes under-​baked. I have had very pale crusts with no «leoparding», and difficult to chew. After visiting many Neapolitan-​style pizzerias in Philadelphia and beyond, and in my opinion, Bufad has significant room for improvement. Speaking of room, it’s a strange location and the ambience would receive a much needed boost with good music and a more personable staff.

So we walked into this pizza shop where there were three open tables. Mind you, this is a pizza shop. They only had reservations. In 50 degree windy weather they offered us outside but told us they would not give us a heat lamp due to the wind.
Oh and once again, this is a pizza shop.
They didn’t offer us a wait time.
They just said sorry.
A pizza shop.
Won’t ever go here again.

Came here for a friend’s bday with a party of 6. The service was very good as our waitress immediately realized it was a friends bday and took our picture with a smile. She also got us wine glasses and opened the bottles we brought.
The food was good. We all split 5 pizzas and 2 appetizers. The antipasta, although it says was for 2 to share, had enough for each person to get a bite of the 5 different tastes. The burrata was very good, and had perfect texture with your normal fresh mozz on the outside, and the creamy burrata on the inside, enhanced by delicious brussel sprouts.
We got 3 margherita pizzas, 1 spaghetti squash pizza, and the duck confit pizza (special of the day). The margheritas were just fine. The crust was tasty, but not a lot of sauce/​cheese layered around the pizza, which led to the outside crust to be huge (felt like there was just as much cheese/​sauce area as crust area). However, the spaghetti squash and the duck were great.

I enjoyed Bufad quite a bit. We bought our own wine to this party: D. It’s BYO. We celebrated our friend’s birthday here and stayed pretty late. They have two heaters for outdoors dining.
DAT Mushroom Pizza DOE. It is the best pizza of that night. Out of all the pizza’s I tried. I’m also biased because I luv Mushrooms. haha
Their servers were extremely nice. I would come back again.

Yum — delicious food and great service!
I’m not much of a «pizza person» per say, so I generally prefer to avoid writing reviews for pizza places, but I had a wonderful memorable experience at Bufad! I came for a friend’s birthday dinner, and due to late reservations and a large party (twenty some of us), we were told that they were only available to seat us outdoors at 9pm. Since it was dark, they set up giant outdoor heating lamps for us and it actually created a really fun open-​air atmosphere!
Pizzas are excellent sharing food for large parties, since you can try several different types, and my favorite of the night was the rabbit ragu! The servers were super attentive and friendly, especially given the fact that they had to keep going inside and out. They also split the check into smaller groupings to make it easier for calculating. And finally, thanks to the fact that it’s a BYO, we enjoyed some great wine pairings with our food in a happily cost effective manner!

I am writing this review as I’m enjoying some leftovers from the absolutely show-​stopping tasting menu dinner I had at Bufad on my birthday a few nights ago. As I put another bite of the bolognese in my mouth, I think what I often do whenever I eat their food:
«How do they do it?»
By «it», I mean consistently knock my socks off. Bufad is literally a block away from me so I go there quite often. It’s my go-​to for delicious food. But it goes beyond proximity. This place is perfect to me because they always keep me guessing with their offerings, switching up the menu according to what’s in season. They always manage to surprise me with their ingredients, coming up with inventive combinations. They serve solid classic pizzas for fussy traditionalists but they’ve also got plenty for the more adventurous foodies. I can bring a crowd in there and I can be sure everyone will be happy and impressed. The desserts are unbelievable. And the service is always impeccable. I have never once been disappointed with any server there, and I’ve been there a whole lot!
Oh, and they’re BYOB, so going out to dinner here means meals are always affordable. I’ve been to Vetri’s pizzeria and spent much more on pizza that frankly was just not as delicious as Bufad’s. It is truly one of Philly’s best kept secrets.

Been here a few times and it is the worst quality and overpriced pizza place in Philadelphia. Please save your money and go elsewhere — unless you like dry, tasteless, chewy hard dough, and overly salty pizza.
Seriously Bufad, learn how to make better pizza or cook something else. Pizza is the most simple thing to make.
Pizza Hut and other pizza chains are better than this place. This review is based on my own dining experience as well as several other friends who would eat anything. Sadly, they would never eat here again.

The pizza is solid, and I had a solid experience yesterday.
First off BYO is always a win in my book, no corkage fee. As others have said, Prohibition Bar is about a block away, so grab some cold ones and do that pizza & beer combo!
Started off with the Burrata $ 12. A little steep, but the dish was pretty good, probably wouldn’t get it again for what it’s worth. The cheese was good, soft creamy and rich, served cold over warm asparagus, raisins, pine nuts. It was a good contrast of temperature, texture and rich cheese vs. fresh vegetables to combat the richness.
Got 2 pizzas because we are fat, judge me.
Mushroom pizza — YES. If you love mushrooms and truffle oil like I do, this one is a solid one. You can smell the truffle as sooon as the pizza comes out. The mushrooms are plentiful, the veggies make it fresh and give it texture. and the egg is not weird at all! Perfectly cooked, so the runny yolk is perfectly creamy and rich with the cheese. and mushrooms and truffle oil for the perfect creamy bite. I’m all about this pizza
Shrimp pizza special — this one was pretty good. Shrimp was fresh, cooked well and the tomato sauce was fresh. But the mushroom pizza stole the show for me
Personally, I would cut the pizzas even more, they cut them into 4 big slices — I prefer 8 smaller slices. but just a personal preference. Also, the crust could be a tad smaller for me so there’s more room for toppings! Otherwise, solid effing pizza.

I went to Bufad to try out one of their pizzas which they offer by the slice and I wasn’t disappointed at all. In fact I have now become a fan of this pizzeria. As far as I know, this is the only pizzeria in the Delaware Valley offering Pizza all’Amatriciana. Amatriciana is the famous pasta sauce from near Roma made primarily from tomatoes, guanciale, and pecorino. This pizza was really tasty and adding on some complimentary hot pepper oil just added to the great flavor. The place itself looks cool and the service staff are def friendly. I’m not into all the new «brainy» pizzas in Philly that come with attitude … I’m into unique tasty pizzas like Pizza all’Amatriciana at Bufad!

I had a great experience at Bufad for an impromptu Sunday afternoon lunch. My fiancé and I arrived around 2pm and there were plenty of open tables. The employees were so friendly — like we already knew them! I loved the décor of the restaurant. Very cool tables and light fixtures.
We started with burrata to share, which was just perfect. It was served with some parsley, roasted squash, walnuts and olive oil. We also split the margherita pizza and the sausage pizza. Both were perfectly cooked, toppings were just right and everything tasted great. I loved the breadcrumbs and spicy pepper oil served alongside.
We passed on dessert but received a small complimentary scoop of their salted caramel ice cream which was delicious! I would definitely order that on a future visit. Our total came to something around $ 50 including tip which isn’t bad, especially considering they are BYO. Next time, I’m bringing wine!

Menu:
ANTIPASTI-​Applewood-​Smoked Salumi, Roasted Olives, Pickled Fennel and Celery, Salty Egg, Fried Butternut Squash, & Herb Ricotta e Bianca
And… Margarita Pizza whicc has San Marzano tomato sauce and topped with chiffonaded (sic) basil.
My friend and I loved sharing these amply sized platters. Innovated fresh and imaginative are the best way to describe both.
Served up in a hip, minimalist décor which works great for the vibe of the neighborhood.
Service was attentive and quick despite the fact it was a Thursday and mobbed.
And no one made fun of us because we are over 40 :-) Double bonus.
We will be back.

Rolled into Bufad at 11 am on a Saturday right when they opened and it was pretty deserted. I kind of like it that way because it’s peaceful and I like beating the crowds.
Everyone was very nice and helpful with the menu, we started off with the arugula salad and the burrata salad. Both were excellent, the burrata paired with the roasted vegetables was on point and they complimented each other nicely. The arugula salad was really nice and you might think at first that there’s tomato on it but it’s actually watermelon which goes to perfect with goat cheese and pistachios that I don’t want it any other way now.
For pizza we went with the margherita pizza and the special white pizza they had with came with housemade fennel sausage that had a good bit of red pepper in it, I also added a fried egg to it. The pizza was legit, this place is SPQR certified so you know that they take their pizza seriously. If I am comparing this pizza to Pizzeria Vetri’s which we love as well, I think Bufad wins. The chewiness is amazing and the pizza itself holds up well against the toppings.
I did try dessert, the cinnamon panna cotta with peaches, very good. We will be back here soon, excellent pizza and close to Prohibition Taproom and Café Lift.