Perusing Ristorante La Buca’s menu beforehand doesn’t necessarily give diners the full idea of what to expect. To showcase the day's fresh catches, servers roll a seafood cart through the dining room, giving diners the chance to pick whatever strikes them in the moment.

And diners can rest easy knowing that whatever they choose from the seafood cart will be in capable hands. “Chef-owner Giuseppe Giuliani is a minimalist with seafood,” says Philadelphia magazine, “only lemon and olive oil on the whole fish, perhaps adding a bonus of lump crabmeat to a pan-crisped fillet.” Fish, lobsters, and scallops may receive the most attention in the dining room, but the menu also includes a number of familiar Italian dishes from terra firma, such as veal marsala and Tuscan-style chicken breast.

Within Ristorante La Buca’s intimately lit dining area , a mural dominates one entire corner of the room. The ocean-side scene mimics the look of a Renaissance-era fresco, depicting small groups of revelers hefting goblets and jugs mid-conversation. This bright and dynamic scene lends a lively spirit to the rest of the dining room’s rustic assortment of brick archways, dark wooden trim, and cellar-like wine racks.