Buca Yorkville

From the escort to your table to the polished wait staff sporting imported Italian leather aprons, seafood-focused Buca delivers on all the buzz. Though the minimalist room in the ritzy Four Seasons in Yorkville can legally seat 140, the owners keep it to 85, which should tell you how serious they are about their customers’ comfort. Chef Robert Gentile—who, incidentally, is working with British celeb chef Jamie Oliver on opening Jamie’s Italian at Yorkdale Shopping Mall—not only achieves regional authenticity, he also manages to elevate rustic food to splendiferous heights. Whole raw sea bass is theatrically carved tableside and gently finished with prosecco and fresh lemon. Other highlights include Gaspe scallops with yogurt lumpfish caviar, and Pacific cod tongues in a bergamot zabaglione.